I had been struggling recently with the BH loop but have done some improvements, my coach told me that used my forearm and wrist too much in my BH stroke.

To correct that I tried picturing my shoulder being the pivot point for my arm motion and good results showed up immediately. My FH loop was already really good and when I tried to picture that for the FH loop while still using a strong hip twist it worked great as well( ( I also usually think of my left leg as my lower body pivot point it helps with the twist )

Othen than that I like to picture my legs like springs so I always stand on my toes and it allows me to bend better and to move more effectively.

So I want to know what do you picture/imagine while playing and while you execute specific strokes ?

More experienced players probably don't picture anything anymore as it became muscle memory but if you can remember what you used to think about as you were developping it would be great help !

Thanks Mark

I also visualize my elbow as the pivot point on serve returns, fast rallies and flicks.

but if I do on a loop then it catches the net or goes long so I need the shoulder lock visualisation.

I guess it depends on the playstyle.

This method is good for both backhand and forehand.

The result is often impressive...

When you say that the best backhands in the world only use arm acceleration to create quality, what do you mean by quality? Is it a combination of power, speed, spin, consistency, etc? Or is it a specific thing you're referring to?

I ask because I feel like quality is a combination of so many things, but since you said only to add quality, it seems like it's a secondary process, if you know what I mean.

Thanks!

P.S. I'm striving to have a backhand as good as yours one day, even if it's a weaker part of your game haha.

If Harimoto's backhand has more speed and spin then it has more power. For practical purposes, power in a table tennis shot equals speed plus spin. Depth of the shot on the table counts in terms of how much of the power gets to the opponent. So by power do you mean the depth of the shot? Or do you mean that FZD generates power in this backhand more efficiently, with faster recovery, etc.?

I always wondering this as well. People talk about speed and power like they are two separate things. I don't get it. If speed means the speed of the ball, then what is power?

In my interpreting, speed in this case probably means timing. Early timing to be precise. The earlier you hit the ball, the less time your opponent has to react, so I guess some people call it speed. While power actually means the speed of the ball.

I can't be sure if it's what Tt Gold means, though.

I'm sorry but the ball doesn't carry mass (or any force behind it) in it. It has only speed, spin and its own weight.

I've read this, or something like it, and it's not the only time I've heard pro coaches or players talking about power as something different from speed plus spin. I don't doubt that they're making some kind of meaningful observation but it's hard to know what it is because strictly speaking it's nonsense. A ball flying through the air can have speed (translational momentum) and spin (rotational momentum). And for practical purposes (ignoring energy gained and lost as heat as the ball deforms on impact with racket and table and then resumes its round shape), that's all there is. This basic physics is directly connected to the feel of the ball as it hits your racket. A "heavy" ball feels heavy because it's moving very fast, or because it's spinning very fast, or some combination of both. And that's it. There's no other mysterious extra component of power that could cause your racket to shake more when blocking for FZD versus Harimoto...

...unless by power you mean something that doesn't belong to the moving ball itself. Such as where it lands on the table. Or on your racket. Or how quickly off the bounce it was hit. Or how ready you are to receive it. A deceptive, off the bounce shot that lands deep on the table can "overpower" you more easily than a faster, spinnier shot that you're ready and waiting for. But that's just a figure of speech.

So I'm still left wondering what you and LGL are talking about because it seems interesting. But power is the wrong word for it.

Spin to speed ratio is my favorite candidate for the mythical non-spin non-speed component of power. A ball with a low spin to speed ratio can have surprisingly little energy, as I'm reminded every time I dump a fast long dead ball serve into the net. And high spin to speed ratio shots can be a lot more powerful than they seem which is why blocking for higher level players than you're used to playing can be so tricky. I'd guess FZD's shots are heavier than Harimoto's because of mostly invisible extra spin. 

the one with more topspin will be faster for sure. Topspin ball always "jumps" forward after bouncing on the table.

I believe in linear and rotational energy as well.

Speed and spin, in varying quantities, If a player with 'more power' goes for spin and less pace, that is what he gets, if he goes for pace and spin, the same. Timo Boll. Visually you should think about where you intend to put the ball, but I think the op is talking about style.

 Very true, but that added spin with pace gives your brain less time to work the bat angle out!