FH no good, maybe should call it quits

Maybe it's just time to move onto something else. I used to be heavily involved in the martial arts but stopped working out many years ago. Maybe it's time to get back into that, or back with my piano playing. Anyway, my FH technique is so frustrating I feel like giving up. I have a very bad habit of closing my angle on the backswing then opening it up again just before I contact the ball. WTH is up with that! I also use way too much wrist. Don't know where I picked up this bad habit, but can't seem to get rid of it.  I keep switching my grip a little between FH and BH that I end up holding the racket too loosely. All of these things add up to a lot of frustration on my part. Maybe I should take some lessons, hit with the robot everyday for a while, or just walk away from this sport for some time off. Is it possible to lose a bad habit on your stroke or am I just stuck with it?

Absolutely possible to break a bad habit like that. I had a similar FH issue myself - my stroke was very up-ish, and I had bat angle problems like yours. My BH was strong to compensate, but I had to pick my FH shots very carefully in a match.

First up, I watched a lot of videos for some examples of the raw mechanics of the FH stroke.

Then I had some proper coaching sessions. At my club, I enjoy practice matches too much, and don't concentrate enough on drills. The coach corrected the major problems. Felt very uncomfortable at first, but after 3-4 sessions things improved a lot.

Finally, I got a robot. They're not for everyone, but I used it to concentrate on some basic drills. I recorded some footage to make sure I wasn't slipping back into old habits. Each drill session I focussed on one single thing - bat angle one day, twisting at the waist the next, footwork, etc. Ideally I'd do all that with a coach, but you can't get a coach every day of the week and the robot is always there.

The result of that is more of a reliable mechanical FH shot. I still brush a bit too much, and I wish I would drive more consistently, but it's so much better now that I don't mind. I used to be scared of loop-loop rallies on the FH side and just block everything until a low-spin ball came back to me. Now I can counter close to the table, and loop a heavy topspin ball from mid-distance. That will sound like childsplay to some members here, but my weird FH habits were preventing me from doing this.

So yeah, you can sort it out! It just takes time and a planned approach to it. I remember the frustration with this, but I'm so happy to have sorted the majority of it out.

If your fh swing "can't" be retrained, that particular face angle is perfect for pips out, have you considered that? if you go that route, you'll have to work on accuracy and pace for hitting somewhat flat.

if you're one of those "perfectionist", you'll never be happy :)

*edit* just noted your raystorm...use that as your FH too if it's your BH right now.

Edited by The Shakehander - 02/26/2013 at 9:52am

If you get a lesson with a coach maybe you can tape it (and share here?). That way you'll have many similar sequences to analyse and separate the wheat from the chaff.

I find it's weird  that 2182 rated player is complaining/quitting.

Think of it this way ......

My first reaction was "I would die a happy old man to ever achieve 2182" and although that might be true, Bogeyhunter really added an important perspective:

Dave,

I'm an old-timer who recently corrected a fatal problem with my grip. I just had to "spend" some of my focus, "watching" my hand during play, because otherwise I would move it subconsciously.

AcudaDave wrote: wow...didn't know I would get so many replies. thanks everyone...lot of good input. Good luck with the RPB Sandiway, and thanks for the input.

 

You would have gotten many more if you weren't 2200 already.  Improving at my level is way easier.  I've spent the last few months totally rebuilding my forehand.  I think the principles of changing habits apply, but the big difference is that I suspect that your forehand is better than you give it credit for being and you probably think it is holding you back from getting better, hence your annoyance with it.

 

I think you should get a really experienced coach and strategist to analyze your game and think about what direction you should take it in if you are still serious about improving.  Your forehand might not be what is wrong with your game.  It might be something more subtle.

 

And I think Sandiway's comments are the most important - often, building a new weapon into your game requires you to lose rating points, but sometimes, we are too addicted to immediate results to wait for the long term change to set in.  That's why I think you should see a strategist first, so that the vision for your game is something you have settled before putting in the hard work for something that you may end up not liking (as it seems happened with medium pips).

bogeyhunter wrote: I find it's weird  that 2182 rated player is complaining/quitting. There are many players would love to trade places with you. BTW If one coach isn't working well/can't fix something then change coach or ask someone.

I know EXACTLY how he feels. 

When I was a serious golfer, I had a handicap that was in the 95th to 97th percentile range: around USGA 3 to 5, very close in a relative sense  to a USATT 2150 - 2300.  Yet my inability to become a USGA 0 handicap or better (roughly equivalent to USATT 2400+), along with a growing family, eventually drove me from the game in frustration. 

It was fun as I moved down (lower the better in golf) from 20-ish into the teens, then down into the coveted single digits, then into the near-elite lower single digits, exciting.  But then I ran up against the wall all players eventually hit, and I couldn't get better.  I became a cynical jerk, throwing clubs, making playing partners miserable.  People whom I could easily beat couldn't understand because they'd have given a digit off their little fingers to have a handicap like mine.  But I eventually quit and have only played once in the last 9 years.

wow...thanks for the story BizLaw. You definitely understand my frustration.  You get so close then hit a wall and it gets frustrating.

BizLawProf wrote: bogeyhunter wrote: I find it's weird  that 2182 rated player is complaining/quitting. There are many players would love to trade places with you. BTW If one coach isn't working well/can't fix something then change coach or ask someone.  I know EXACTLY how he feels.  When I was a serious golfer, I had a handicap that was in the 95th to 97th percentile range: around USGA 3 to 5, very close in a relative sense  to a USATT 2150 - 2300.  Yet my inability to become a USGA 0 handicap or better (roughly equivalent to USATT 2400+), along with a growing family, eventually drove me from the game in frustration.  It was fun as I moved down (lower the better in golf) from 20-ish into the teens, then down into the coveted single digits, then into the near-elite lower single digits, exciting.  But then I ran up against the wall all players eventually hit, and I couldn't get better.  I became a cynical jerk, throwing clubs, making playing partners miserable.  People whom I could easily beat couldn't understand because they'd have given a digit off their little fingers to have a handicap like mine.  But I eventually quit and have only played once in the last 9 years.

Well if your forehand is no good, then you must quit

Perhaps this will work. Make changes in small increments. Against a robot, start with your racket near the contact point, establish a racket angle, and contact the ball with a mini swing. Do it until you don't have to think about it, then start with the racket a bit further back away from the contact point and contact the ball with a longer swing. Progressively shift the starting point further back until you reach the end of your normal backswing and execute full swings.