hurricane-as-training-tool
lem496 asked 5 years ago
Hi guys,I hope all is well. I’m a big believer in following advice from people who have a game I admire. A friend from the club who has been playing for over 50 years 2k level player suggested I swap my Dignics 05 out for Hurricane3 Neo and practice with it during the shutdown. He swears when this is over and I go back to the “more forgiving Dignics”I will notice an incredible improvement in my loop. I’ve been giving it a go with my robot. Does this advice make sense? more ?s to follow
Tom Academy Coach answered 5 years ago
Hi Lem496,
Yes that does make sense what hes saying, with the hurricane you have to play a “proper” shot each time as it is much slower and harder than dignics so you don’t get away with half shots and you have to use quite a bit more effort. If you can play with this and maintain good form and technique and keep a good acceleration while using the hurricane when you swap back it will take a short period of adjustment but I would say you will feel like looping is much less effort and you can generate speed and spin in a more relaxed way.
Feel free to send us in a video of you on the robot or fire us any more questions you have on this topic. I’d be really interested to hear how you’re getting on with it!
Cheers, Tom
lem496So, the Hurricane is quite the eye opener. The amount of spin I generate is incredible as well as control. But, (there’s always a but) there just doesn’t seem to be much “zip” on the ball. I The minute I try to add power to the ball top spin takes it right into the net! My friend calls the Hurricane “An instant feedback machine” . I’ve Googled how to reach the upper gears of Hurricane but all I get is hit the ball harder while brushing it more, that seems counter intuitive. I will say the few times I have hit the ball correctly, the ball barely rises from what would be the opponents side of the table. Any advice on reaching the upper gears? I will upload a video shortly.
I try to limit my questions to one per month, I just have so many! Thanks and stay safe.
Yes I’m not surprised by you having this feeling of no zip, because that’s very common when using hurricane especially in the earlier stages. Yes it’s all about hitting through the ball quickly but with a brush feeling, which as you say can seem a bit counter intuitive. I think a great way, especially now while you have time to experiment is keeping the arm speed quick and play around with your bat angle, so play a few a bit flatter then really try to close the bat and spin the ball. By doing this you will eventually find a happy medium, although to be honest I wouldn’t ever expect the same zip from hurricane as say dignics or tenergy, you simply won’t get that with hurricane without boosting it. It’s a very different feel to other rubbers because of the very hard sponge it doesn’t have much spring effect at all.
No need to limit your questions that’s what we are here for, happy to help and get back to you on any topics, so fire away as many as you like! Look forward to seeing a video soon to so I can provide some feedback that way. Thanks, Tom
Hi Tom,
Here is a video of me struggling with the Hurricane Rubber. It’s been 2 weeks since I swapped out my Dignics 05 for it. I am attempting different angles on my bat trying to access the higher gears in Hurricane. I’ve been playing for a little over 15 months my form is still a bit rough.
Lem
https://youtu.be/SJhuCTZNWeM
Hey Lem, tried to watch the video but it’s set to private at the moment. If you make it unlisted and post the link again I’ll be able to view it. What I would say is after only playing for 15 months or so it will be a major change with the hurricane. What I think would be interesting now is going back to the dignics and seeing how you feel with it, I think even for that short period you’ll find it much easier to topspin now with the dignics and you can still develop good solid technique using that as the grip is very good. Anyway I’ll have a look at the video if you can send that in an unlisted link again and there might be some feedback I can give you that will help make things easier too. Tom
Sorry, I hope this fixes it.
https://youtu.be/SJhuCTZNWeM
Sorry, I hope this fixes it.
https://youtu.be/SJhuCTZNWeM
Sorry, I hope this fixes it.
https://youtu.be/SJhuCTZNWeM
Hi Lem, no worries it’s working now. I actually think you technique is this is looking pretty good really! The only things I would say is perhaps using a it more snap from the elbow and lower arm, especially when using the hurricane and also a little bit more rotation back with the body as you back swing, but the overall technique is very good!
To be honest I personally think go back to the dignics now and train with that, you technique is more than solid enough to improve it whilst using the dignics and it will be much less effort of course. Your contact on the ball here is also fine and I think you will find it very satisfying now when lopping with the dignics. If you do continue with the hurricane I’d say just keep doing what your doing plus the couple of tips I mention above. You will get more comfortable finding the higher gears if you can think about really hitting through the ball with a fairly closed bat angle. However long term training wise you will certainly be able to improve your loop with the dignics on there.
Hope that makes sense and helps.
Thanks for the quick response. This is the first time I actually saw my form on tape, I wasn’t impressed, but your kind words will have me taking another look.
I’ll take your advice and switch back to Dignics and upload a new video next week. I have to admit, when I managed to hit the higher gears on The Hurricane it was a thing of beauty.
No Problem, Yeah I don’t think it’s nearly as bad as you think I was impressed with your technique! Ok that’s great, will look forward to seeing a video with the Dignics. Yes I know exactly what you mean about the Hurricane, when you do cnect well and get timing and contact just right with it, you get a nice feeling however it’s quite tricky to reach that consistently and requires a lot of use of the body and lots of effort. that’s why not that many (other than very high level or pro) player use it and go for a more typical European/Japanese style rubber like Dignics or Tenergy which has more spring and zip. It’s good to test and try these things anyway!
Hi Tom,
This is Day 3 of going back to Dignics. I’ve also tried to add more rotation to my topspin. I feel like my timing is off and I’m finishing across my body too much. My God, learning and trying to play this game at a competitive level starting at age 63 has been a challenge.
I attached a link
https://youtu.be/TcruvjXRWgI
Hi Lem496, It’s a hard game to learn at any age for sure but I think your doing pretty well really! Your rotation and technique actually look good here I think why it doesn’t feel right is kind of linked to timing. I feel your arm and body are just not quite in sync yet and when you get this it will feel much more natural. A good way I like to use to improve this is think about the shot in 2 parts, so part 1 is the back swing and the rotation back and part 2 is the rotation forward, weight transfer and swing through the ball. Think about counting these 2 parts in your head and having a very small pause between the 2.
Also something that I think will really help you stop going across the body is using more snap from the elbow, I think at the moment you shot is being generated more from the upper arm and shoulder. If you think about the 2 parts as I mentioned above with the pause and also try to get the shot coming more from the elbow and lower arm by trying to think about the elbow as a hinge. So opening the hinge as you rotate back and the snapping the hinge shut to about 90 degrees as you swing trough the shot, this will make it more compact and easier to stop the swing quicker and more in front of you. Hope that all makes sense and any questions let me know! It’s not as bad as you think and with these small changes I think it will start to feel much better 🙂
Thanks, I’ll try the one two count and to be more conscious of the forehand snap. I’ll get back to you in a week or so.
Thanks for the new workout videos. I’ve started doing them to increase my leg strength and incorporated kettlebell swings to help with my hinging at the waist
Stay safe,
Lem
No problem, yeah that’s great look forward to seeing that. Glad you like the new videos I will be trying to add more in the near future, kettlebell swings are great too. Thanks Lem, same to you!
