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It should first be pointed out
that these strokes are not everybody. If you are a very young player with a
lot of potential, you should first master the basic strokes to maximum
possible consistency before experimenting with these types of strokes, since
many of these strokes are "transitional" strokes used in a
"mix'em up" mode. Once you have mastered the basic
strokes to the maximum possible consistency (that your talent & skill
allow then you must seriously consider these strokes, because to become a
better than average player you will need to add as many strokes to your arsenal
as possible (but within your style limitations).Advanced strokes can be
divided into three groups 1.Counter strokes 2. Combination strokes
3.Counter-Combination strokes. All the so called "weird shots" are
indeed one of the above three.
Counter
strokes:- are simply strokes that mirror your
opponents’ strokes. A simple counter stroke of course is a push where you
push back your opponents push. It sounds easy but unlike the good old days
when (hard-rubber defensive) players pushed each other to death, in the
modern game, if your push is weak you might as well kiss the point goodbye
because the ball will be loop-killed out of this planet. If you opt to push
it should with a purpose with accurate placement so as to catch the opponent
in an awkward spot or at the very least cannot be attacked. A counter-push
does not necessarily have to be short & low. Even some very good players
can have trouble with long pushes with an arcing trajectory(especially into
the body), as the ball comes so dead and is difficult to either hit or loop. All
advanced stroke are similar in style to this simple (counter-push) stroke. Often
overlooked stroke is counter-chop; which is somewhat more difficult than
counter-push & it is also very difficult to execute with any rubber other
than regular or super-sticky inverted with relatively thinner sponge. Counter-chop is generally a wristy stroke
& over the table. But this is a very powerful stroke as a change of pace
weapon for offensive players. Of course the most common counter stroke is the
counter-drive which really is not an advanced stroke but to be above average
you need to be able to counter-drive consistently along with of course the
more difficult counter stroke, the counter-loop. The counter-loop is of
course a much analyzed stroke & you need to be able to counter-loop from
all points, re-loop at bounce or near the floor, with the in-between stroke
being the most difficult since the spin is at its maximum. To be able to loop
is one thing but to have the ball counter-looped back at you consistently is
entirely another matter; however this is what separates the good from great.
Combination
strokes:- A combination stroke is, as the name
simply implies, a combination of two different strokes. A simple combination
stroke which is more easier for a penholder is the push-block. You are
pushing the ball but also blocking it .This is generally executed at bounce
& is very effective when a shakehander uses it since it catches opponents
usually by surprise. In a good push-block the ball goes back very short &
very quickly, making it very difficult to attack. The chop-block is a
difficult version of push-block but easier for a shakehander than a
pen-holder. For a chop-block you catch the ball at bounce like push-block but
impart lot more spin by rapidly pulling down the racket head, preferably in a
compact wristy stroke. This is very effective against loopers especially with
long arm swings. This can also be a solid weapon for physically handicapped
players who cannot move well & I have seen one handicapped player who has
perfected this technique.
A more difficult version is the
side-chop where you impart heavy sidespin as well as backspin & this is
an absolute must in any choppers arsenal. To execute this you pull across
from left to right (backhand, generally over the table) while also chopping,
but this requires good timing. On the forehand it is a squat-chop (or a wiper
chop) & easier for shorter players, in which you sit down & play the
ball at about shoulder level (like a windshield wiper), pulling it left to
right & is usually against a loop or smash & played away from the
table.
Side-block-smash is even more
effective against loops especially on your forehand, where most players have
a weaker block. In the modern game if you just keep straight blocking the
ball it serves you no purpose since a consistent looper will usually prevail .One
way to end this is to side-block-smash. On your forehand, you aggressively
punch-block at bounce, into the ball (for speed) & at the same time
pulling the racket up (for reversing topspin) & also right to left (for
sidespin).The ball is contacted on its rightside, rather than on the back, as
in a normal block. Due to the speed & side & top-spin, it is very
difficult for your opponent to repeatedly loop & most times you will win
the point outright.
Inside-out-slap-smash is a truly
brilliant basement stroke but extremely effective. A righthander steps to his
deep backhand & smashes the ball in a slapping fashion, pulling the
racket from right to left, creating sidespin (which is what drives other
inexperienced player's crazy).For an advanced player this is a good change of
pace tool.
The side-block is a block where
you also pull your racket left to right (or vice-versa) imparting sidespin. This
is very effective against mid & long-distance top spinners since it
catches them out of position often & also makes it difficult to keep top spinning
successively. A push-loop is a paradoxical term used for a push when you
return the ball with super-backspin(as when your loop is chopped back with
your opponent's long-pips).The incoming ball has an incredible amount of
backspin & unless you are a very very good player, all you can do is push
it back carefully & the ball goes back with topspin(left over from
incoming chop) & this gives it the name push-loop. With good placement,
therefore, this can be just as effective as a loop itself.
The most important combination
stroke of course is the side-loop in which the ball has both top & side
spin. You need to be able to break the ball both ways (towards left or right)
with both wings(backhand & forehand).For most players it is easy learn
forehand side-loop first & then graduate to other combinations. You must
understand ball movement angles very clearly because the sidespin can be used
against you at supersharp angles both by knowledgeable & unaware
opponents. As an example if you side-loop to the forehand of a righthander
with the ball breaking away towards his right & if the opponent has no
concept of sidespins & if he blocks it, the ball will go to your extreme
short forehand angle & will catch you out of position. It is more
complicated against a skilled opponent who may adjust for the sidespin &
correctly smash it down your backhand or if he is great he may even loop=kill
against the spin to your short forehand at extreme angle(like the weaker
opponent but at much higher speeds & spins).The side-loop by itself is
generally not a point-winning stroke but is a great point-opening stroke. Unless
the side-loop is attacked strongly, you will generally be in a position to
smash or loop-kill the return if it was blocked back. This pattern (side-loop
,loop-kill) can be a useful weapon against blockers. Placement & sidespin
is more important than heavy top-spin against a blocker. By placing the ball
in the deep forehand corner of a blocker, you can force a weak block(since he
has to block against the spin), which you can loop-kill or smash. However
topspin is more important than sidespin against a hitter; otherwise the
hitter can smash the side-loop down the line easily. This is all the more
true in the case of pips out hitters.
The side-loop with an interesting
name is the slice-loop. A righthander executes this stroke by pulling his
racket from his right to his left(creating sidespin & the ball will break
towards the left of the opponent) & at the same time pulling the arm (in
a semi-circular motion) downward & then upwards & forward (creating
topspin).This is a very difficult stroke & calls for perfect timing &
contact. For heavier spin make contact on the left of the ball. To make it
more versatile, you can also contact the ball when your arm is going
downwards in the same stroke, making it a side-chop. Even more difficult
stroke is the slice-loop the other way around but left-handers, for some
strange reason seem to be more successful but with a short swing, which makes
reading the break direction difficult. A slight variation of this is the
inside out loop which is also quite difficult. The ball breaks in the same
direction (towards the right from left of the player executing the stroke).
The lob-loop is in fact a
slow-loop but executed from long distance. The slow speed of ball travel
& heavy spin buys time to get ready for the next shot. One has to be able
to place the ball deep consistently; otherwise the ball can be killed at
sharp angles, despite the heavy spin.
The flip-loop (or flick-loop),
used against short serves, is one of the most difficult strokes & only
very good players seem to be able execute this. In top table-tennis just
flipping the ball over the net does not help you much because it can be
looped back hard even if your flip has extreme angles & placement. To
reduce the power of this third ball loop, you need to loop yourself first but
with a wristy flipping motion (you rub the ball with a grazing motion), which
of course is a very difficult stroke since it calls for perfect timing as
well as predetermining the spin(s) of the incoming serve. Side-flip-loop is
an even more complicated stroke where you also pull your racket left to right
(or vice-versa), usually adding (rather than reversing) to the sidespin on
the incoming serve. Yet some players seem to have mastered this technique so
much so that they can even side-flip-loop AGAINST the spin of heavy
side-spin-serves !!.
Side-chop-smash is an extremely
important but most neglected stroke. When an opponent lobs & if the ball
is short, you can smash hard at the ball but at the same time also chopping
it as well as pulling the racket right to left(righthander).The ball will
break very sharply to opponent's right & if he is way back & you win
the point outright. Even if he returns it, it will miss the table to your
right, unless he compensates & hits the ball to about 2 feet to the
outside of left of your table (due to your extreme sidespin !!).This is a
must against short lobbed balls;if you just keep straight smashing it, then
it just becomes a lobbing exhibition for your opponent & (s)he can wear
you down(Moreover regardless of how good anyone is, they end up looking
stupid if they miss smashing a lob !!).You can chop-kill(without side-spin)
even medium low, medium long (lobbed) balls (or even pushes) with some
practice but it would be extremely difficult to side-chop-kill low, deep
balls.
Side-chop-block is a chop-block
but also with racket moving right to left (or vice-versa).Very difficult to
execute since it calls for perfect timing but can stop your opponent from
going into a loop-fest or as a change of pace weapon.
Side-push is a heavy push
executed over the table. You push the ball but also pull your racket left to
right or vice-versa. This is very important for choppers especially to break
the push & loop patterns used by attackers, in which an attacker will
loop one ball to drive the defender away from the table & then push the
ball to bring him in & then will smash or loop-kill any weak push returns
(forced by the "puppeting" of say a tired defender)by the defender
(who may be uncomfortable near the table, as most choppers are).But if the
defender uses the side-push, then this will force the attacker to make more
errors or the least play a low-speed lift or loop. The defender can also use
side-flip-loops (discussed earlier) to mix it up even more since the flip is
(slight) top-spin & push is (slight) back-spin.
Counter-Combination Strokes:- In executing a counter-combination
stroke you are doing so many different things all in the very same stroke. A
counter-side-loop is a simple example, in which you side-loop back an
opponent's side-loop, usually reversing the spin. You need to compensate for
opponent's sidespin & place it accordingly on the table(Again world-class
players can of course place it anywhere they want !).Assuming both
right-handers, if a side-loop breaks towards your right, you want to place
the ball on the opponent's left-half of the table(otherwise opponent's
sidespin will carry the ball out of the table to his right).It is also
necessary to lift the ball over the net since your return will usually dip
due to opponent's sidespin.
The side-re-loop is the same as
side-block-smash discussed earlier except that you use little more arm motion
for more spin & speed. This of course is more difficult than the
side-block-smash as it calls for perfect timing.
The side-counter-chop is a chop
against the chop but also with side spin, created by moving the arm left to
right as well as downward & forward. It is difficult to execute with
thicker and or hard sponge rubbers & can be best executed with a medium
thin super-sticky rubber. This is very effective against heavy choppers, as
it prevents them from chopping heavily again & again, enabling you to get
your own loop in.
The flat-counter-kill is a stroke
in which you are flat hitting back an opponents flat kill. This is an
extremely difficult stroke with very low error margin, yet some pips out
hitters seem to be able to flat-counter forever (micro-inches above the net)
without missing. This can be more difficult with inverted rubbers.
This by no means is an exhaustive
collection of advanced & unorthodox strokes. The purpose of the article
was only to stimulate your thought processes in analyzing & understanding
advanced (& seemingly unorthodox) strokes & help you invent (this is
the synthesis phase) your own set of "strange" strokes. Back to Home Page
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