Just like other sports, you need to get some skills to play table tennis. Learning to play table tennis can be really exciting, and with a few weeks of dedicated practice, you can learn new skills to play table tennis.
Are you excited about playing table tennis and want to buy types of equipment to enhance your skills? Before you buy any equipment and gear for table tennis, you must decide which equipment is ideal for you. For instance, There are different ping pong paddles with different pros and cons. This site gives you a detailed review of the seven best ping pong paddles to consider.
Important Skills in Table Tennis
1. The Forehand drive
To learn the Forehand drive, you must have the correct stance to balance your body perfectly. The correct stance will be to keep your feet open wider than shoulder-width apart. For right-handed people, your right foot must be slightly backward than your left foot diagonally. Now slightly lean forward, keep your knees bent a little, put the weight of the body on your feet between your toes and your arch, and put your arms in front. This is the correct stance for forehand drive.
Now comes the backswing. The backswing is the backward movement of your hand after you see the ball. A backswing gives you the force to hit the ball back with enough power and also allows you to direct the ball in a particular direction. For a perfect backswing, rotate your body from the right from your waist and, shifting your weight onto the back foot, make a swing with your hand backward.
Next comes the strike. The strike is the forward movement of your arm to hit the ball. To strike the ball correctly, rotate your body from the left from your waist and transfer back your weight onto the front foot while swinging your hand towards the ball to make a hit. Keep the bat slightly close to the ball after the first bounce so you don’t miss the hit.
The finish of the shot is the last important thing to perfectly perform a Forehand drive. Try not to over-rotate. Keep your bat pointing towards the direction where you want to hit the ball and once you execute the shot, come back to your original position to get ready for the next shot.
2. The Backhand drive
To learn any skill, you must have the correct stance. For a backhand drive to perform a correct stance, your feet must direct diagonally towards your opponent’s backhand corner and keep other positions similar to forehand drive. Arms out with a bent elbow, keep your knees bent and slightly lean forward and keep your feet open wider than shoulder-width apart.
Now again comes the backswing. The backswing for the backhand drive doesn’t require many movements. You just have to bring the bat backward towards your body, keep it above your waist, and angle the bat slightly close.
To make a strike keep the movement of your arm along with your bat forward and up from the elbow towards the ball. To strike the ball correctly, lock your wrist and move your forearm to make a perfect strike. Just keep your bat angle close throughout the Backhand drive.
The finish is the same way as the forehand drive. Move the bat towards the direction you want to hit the ball, keep your arm slightly bent, and get back to the original position as soon as you execute the shot.
3. The Backhand push
The backhand push is simpler than the other shots. The stance is similar to that of the backhand drive. Keep your body and feet facing the direction of the play. Practice the stance carefully as it balances your body posture, which is important for table tennis.
To perform the backswing perfectly for the backhand push, bring back your arm along with the bat backward and up towards the chest. Keep a 45° angle with your bat and keep your elbow bent to take the shot.
The right strike in the backhand push requires you to push the bat forward from the elbow and strike it towards the front. The backhand push lets you hit the ball somewhere between the bottom and the back of the ball. Keep your bat angle open throughout the shot and try to scoop the ball like scooping up ice cream.
The finish of the backhand push must make the bat out in front and down towards the table. Slightly bend your arm and open your elbows to land the perfect shot.
4. The Forehand push
The forehand push is the toughest shot amongst the four. The correct stance for the forehand push is similar to the forehand drive. Keep your positions the same way as in forehand drive.
The backswing is not as difficult as the forehand drive. This show requests less power; hence move your hand backward without applying much force. Twist a little backward to take this shot, open your bat at an angle of 45° and keep a little space between your body and elbow.
To make a perfect strike twist your body forwards, moving along with the weight of your body and step in with your front foot if the ball comes short. After you make contact with the ball, hit the ball gently without applying much force. You can adjust your elbow slightly to make the shot and keep the bat angle open throughout.
To land a perfect finish, your forearm must move forward along with the bat, following the line of the ball and directing it towards the direction you want the ball to go.
Final Words
Playing table tennis can be a lot of fun, especially when you know how to play it. For beginners who are learning to play table tennis can start by learning these four important skills to land a perfect shot every time the ball comes to you. Once you learn these four basic skills, you can always learn more if you want to participate in a tournament or competition.
