Your game looks so much like mine that it is scary.  I have been trying to figure out the same movement problems you are describing for a couple of months.  I have not been successful in correcting my problems, but I think I have identified some root causes.

 

First I realized that there are two types of movements to make.  One is movement to get into the "center of angle" position.  This is the movement you should make just after you hit the ball based on where you hit the ball.  In the video you do this really well when you push and you actually do it pretty good when you topspin.  When you push the play is slow so you have lots of time to make your adjustment so you make larger moves and still get ready.  In topspin play there is less time so the movements should feel more rushed even when you do them right.   The second movement is the "adjust to the ball" movement.  This is the movement you should make just as your opponent hits the ball (or at least as soon as you know where the ball is going) to put you into proper hitting position.   This is the movement that you are doing very poorly.

 

So why would you do one correctly and not do the other one right.  After you hit the ball (if you do not overswing) you basically have your weight centered over your feet and the position you are moving to reach (next ready position) is one in which you are centered.  This makes doing the 2-step sideways movement relatively easy.   When you are doing the "adjustment" movement you have do deal making 2 movements.  One is the same 2 step side to side movement you make in the "center of angle" move.  However, especially on the Fh side, you are also rotating your body and moving your arm out to your side to get into the backswing position.  If you rotate and swing your arm out before you move your feet you can get yourself in a position where you can not move your opposite side foot (one away from the direction you are leaning) without falling over.  Instead of moving you just lean farther and only after hitting the ball will you suddenly bring the opposite side foot across.   At this point you have way too much momentum going in the direction you moved and end up moving way to far in that direction.  

 

So the correction is to:

1. Move you feet before you start your backswing (body rotation and arm movement).  This is really easy to say and very hard to do if you have developed the habit of reaching for the ball first.  I did a drill the other day with just this in mind and for about 5 minutes I just could not make myself move the feet before I reached for the ball. 

 

2. Widen your stance and  bend your knees so that you lower your center of gravity.  This lets you make a little of that rotation and arm movement (and even some lean) without getting so off balance that you can not move the opposite side foot.  My theory on the stance width for players like us is that if it feels comfortable then it is too narrow and too high.  You really want the stance as wide as you can get without losing the ability to rotate the body enough to put the racket into the Fh backswing position without using arm movement.  Some experimentation showed for me this meant getting the stance between 2.3 and 2.7 times shoulder width.  For reference, my comfortable stance (the one I keep defaulting back to during points) is about 1.8 times my shoulder width.

 

So far I am not making much progress in taking these changes into matches.  In drills where I am not under much time pressure I can do the two things above fairly regularly.  However, in matches or when drill speed (ball frequency) gets closer to match conditions I revert back to my old habits.  I am very frustrated in not being able to get myself to do what I know I should be doing.   Your movement against pushes may be better just because you have more time and don't feel pressured to get the arm out there (rotate and lean) before you move your feet.

 

 

Good luck and hope this helps some.

 

Mark

Here's criticism that i recently got from some of the high lvl players on my team in my league (around 22-2300 players u.s rating):

First, you should always be on ur toes.  A lot of the times im on my toes waiting for my opponents serve and then right after that first shot, my feet are flat again which slows me down A LOT.

Second, there should ALWAYS be at least a little movement in your feet.  What i mean is, i watch some of the 2400 players play (some of my high ranked junior player friends) and before the serve, there bouncing just a little on their toes.  It's almost unnoticeable but if you watch carefully, they are bouncing just a little.  This will help you keep your feet moving and it will improve your reflex time because your feet are constantly moving instead of staying still.

Im not sure if i described that second part right but i hope you get my point.

The problem with probably ALL of us, is we miss shots not because our strokes or timing is incorrect, but because our feet aren't at the right place.  That leads to us moving our arms first before our feet (which is a terrible mistake) and constantly missing what we call "easy shots" because we're not in position.

Just something I thought i need to work on and something that would help improve your game as well

 OK, I watched the vid again and have two things for you for now.

It seems you are actually a bit square to the table when attacking with your forehand so get your left foot slighty in front and this will help you naturally use your torso more

 You have got spinny fubber yet you seldom topspined it (so get stuck in and get the ball wizzing lol)

Ndragan has a point about guiding the backhand over at times (you can do this on service returns on serves that you understand) and the beauty is keeping it low rather than spinny

 We all get caught out with being flat footed so just keep reminding your self to move

Those high ones with a bit of backspin that look light sitters can be hard if you wait too long and and then  plonk, so get to the ball and aim at a place and whamo

 Keep practicing and also try and add this into your real practice games, Things that I might do are

The same serve in the whole game so you have to play better to win points

say to myself every long serve I get will be looped

or Im only going to topspin (don't worry about the points) as this will lead to confidence when needed 

Nice game! 

 

I think your winning odds will be increased if you focus more on the following points you made: five(loop underspin), six(return of service) and eight (3rd ball attacks), 

 

icontek wrote: NOTES: -I notice that I only seem to move when pushing. -The majority of the points I win are on the strength of push (placement, spin) -When topspinning, I stand still unless it's a wide ball. Then I RUN. -I tend to move AFTER taking a shot, rather than moving before I take my shot, I am not setting up my FH by getting in position and am forced to jam or adjust my stroke because my feet haven't set up my position. I think this is the root cause of my inconsistency. -I still refuse to loop underspin with my FH. What is the point of drilling it if I am too tentative/tight to get my feet there to use it in a match? -My service reads were horribly inconsistent. Peter's serve is fairly deceptive, but I can usually keep it close simply by identifying the BH serves, pushing those, and then BH topspinning everything else. -Tonight my BH topspin did not show up - My backhand wrist is too tight and I am not taking a full stroke. -I miss too many 3rd ball attacks.

Return of service
Third ball attack.

Problem is he HAS NO LOOP.

The real answer is to get coaching to learn to loop.

Return of service needs a loop for long serves and a good push for short serves.

Unless the 2nd ball is a sitter, you need a loop to make a third ball. If the 2nd ball is low, a flat hit will not work.

To return a short, low serve, you need a proper push. (or flip) Pushing after the top of the arc is giving the other guy the opportunity for a forth ball attack.

Icontek, your game is not bad at all. As a matter of fact you have the tools to beat this guy. The issue is that:

1. You're not using strategy when you play your friend

2. You're not adjusting.

Here is what I see in your game ( I only watched first game, but I'm certain all other games are the same ).

1. You are too eager to swing with your forehand on anything instead of taking your time and spinning the ball. Because you hurry to take that shot immediately as if that's the only way to win the point, you fail to realize what is actually happening. Your opponent always flips into your forehand and you are at 50% on that shot instead of being safer and aiming to be at least 80%. So, when you serve deep sidespin serves to your opponents backhand, your opponent always flips to your forehand. You should expect this "answer" and adjust your game accordingly - by being prepared to use your forehand with safe offensive instead of all out make it or miss shot.

2. Your pushing is good and you move your opponent around with pushes, but... you are not winning too many points this way. Why? Because you serve long sidespin serves. Long serve invites an opening from your opponent and not a push - so you only get into these push exchanges when your opponent serves short underspin. 

3. Your service return is very poor on the backhand. This is because of your stance. You are too perpendicular to the table and you're standing in the middle. Serves to backhand make you reach to the backhand side instead of stepping over there and returning it. Plus, you're not reading the ball. So you always struggle noticing when an underspin ball comes over or no spin. Meanwhile, your opponent serves to your backhand 80% of the time. The other serves are to your right hip - cross over point. Use this information strategically, be ready for backhand serve ALL the time, watch the service motion to read the spin, then attack. If the serve goes to forehand, try to spin safely a bit later - this will give you a comfortable return - which is better than missing the service outright.

4. Placement of your shots. When you return the shots - they always go to the middle of the table or to the backhand. You need to start using angles. Your opponent does not have a good forehand. He prefers using his backhand. The problem with that is that he is using a penhold grip - where the backhand is the weaker side, so having poor forehand is a just horrible.  That means your opponent can be stretched easily. To expose his backhand, first - loop to forehand, then block or counter to backhand. Attack moderately, don't try to crush the ball so that your consistency stays on the positive side. Since you struggle with serves, you'll need a safe way to retain the lead - giving you the margin to make some service return errors and not giving up the match.

5. Finally, keep asking yourself what is my opponents tendencies and weakness? Keep doing it after every point. What made your opponent miss? Force him to make his mistake again by repeating the play. For example, your opponent missed attack of underspin 80% of the time, that's why he allows you to get into long pushing duel, meanwhile, your consistency on the push play is better, so you're winning that as well. Your opponent has poor side to side footwork, so force him to move by making consistent angled attack - not powerful. Your opponent has better backhand, so don't attack the backhand unless he has to reach or run to get there. Serve short at least half the time.

Give some more thought to strategy. It will pay off.

My little brain is ticking and although I agree with Hookshot and leshxa about looping and technique I also think that a very natural stroke for you in particular is a top of the ball drive, this incorperates a shorter swing with the bat close to a 45` angle and driving the ball in its desired direction with some force, this also is a shot that Hurricane is fantastic at, you watch how the Chinese use this shot against topspin and a slightly higher ball at the table

Strategy suggestion-Work on trying to block your opponents loops. You seemed to want to counter hit hard. A simple block will be very effective against this player and much easier to execute.

Technique suggestion-Your FH often was almost a slap of the ball. As others have said, looping (grazing it) would be helpful. For your BH you hit/blocked a number with the paddle out to your side. I would suggest moving more and keeping your BH shots in front of you.

just some suggestions.

Also you serve out of a closed hand btw:)