The use of shoulder in forehand topspin
darion888 asked 2 years ago
Hello guys,
what’s the role of the shoulder in a forehand topspin stroke? Should it be used in any of stages or is it only a snap from the elbow and shoulder remains still?
Tom Academy Coach answered 2 years ago
The shoulder definitely shouldn’t move too much, it’s mostly just to stabilise the shot and as you said it’s the snap from the elbow and a small amount of wrist. Of course during the shot the shoulder may naturally move a very small amount but it shouldn’t be used to generate the shot as this movement is too big, hard to recover and can cause injury too.
darion888Ok, I think I know what you mean. I would be grateful if you can take a look of me performing forehand topspin (adding some wrist as it was presented at Liam Pitchfords’ masterclasses) and give some feedback if my arm is moving in a correct way while performing this stroke.
Link below: https://youtu.be/F9Z3Axi_prI
Hey Darion, ok this looks pretty good but there are a couple of things that I feel will really help you improve and get to the next level. Firstly really trying to be more relaxed and smooth with your action. Take the speed down and focus more on spin and having a smooth relaxed motion through the ball. Also I do think you can keep the shoulder more still and get a lot more hinge from your elbow and lower arm. Try to think of it like the elbow opens up at the start of the shot so your arm is nearly straight and then as you swing through the elbow angle closes and ends up at about 90 degrees. If you can get these 2 parts and work on them I fell you will see a big difference in the quality and consistency of your forehand. Keep up the good work! 🙂
Thanks for analysis and feedback :). Yeah, the video was recorded some time ago like around 1-2 months ago. I’m currently at the table tennis traning summer camp, where we have 3 trainings a day with some professional coaching stuff :). So the coaches told me exactly the same things as you had mentioned and now I’m trying to incorportate them and already see a difference :). Unfortunately when I started playing table tennis I was taught a wrong technique, which makes a process of stabilising a stroke a harder and my forehand is not so fluid as backhand is. But I’ve come so far that I can’t give up :).
I will of course send you in the nearest future my current forehand topspin and will be happy if you take a look at it :).
aniket_mishra answered 2 years ago
Hi Darion
Did you watch Liam Pitchford backhand masterclass course. If yes then please help me i have some doubts about backhand.
Thank youÂ
Hi, what kind of doubts do you have? 🙂
aniket_mishraCan we talk on insta or any other platform it would be more convenient for me.
My insta Id – ankursharma6663
Any other platform in which you are comfortable because this is my friends account so each time I have to ask him for his phone to reply .
Btw thanks for your help
Sure, I’ve already texted you on insta. Greets! 🙂
