World Table Tennis Champion Zhuang Zedong once said, "The highest state of playing table tennis is to play with your fingers." This shows that game of table tennis is, in fact, painstaking work. ball and most effectively transfer force of body in table tennis at "moment" of hitting ball. The following is personal experience of professional players on feeling of hitting ball instantly, and see how much you can understand. To those who can understand and do so, congratulations, you have mastered skills and essence of feeling of instant impact in table tennis and have entered ranks of masters.
1. Relaxation and acceleration
Relaxation and acceleration are closely related phenomena that constantly occur throughout entire stroke. Developing this kind of awareness, relaxing before hitting ball, and accelerating moment you hit ball can make your movements more natural and fluid, and you can have more power and speed when hitting ball. To give an example of archery, specifically action of pulling racket is actually a process of relaxation and energy storage, at this time body, waist, arms and fingers are in a coordinated and unified process of transferring to opposite direction of hitting ball, which seems to be sensation of pulling bowstring back ; process of swinging racquet feels like moment you let go of string. At this time, you will not feel force, and your body, waist, arms and fingers will move in direction of hitting ball; it is process of "accelerating" to give table tennis ball maximum power and speed, just like process of shooting an arrow from a bowstring in archery.
In any exercise, only when body is relaxed and coordinated can force be released effectively and accurately. Many golfers are always in a tense state because they are afraid of making a mistake, which will lead to stiffness of hitting movements and unsightly posture.
2. Finishing touches for fingers and wrists
At moment of hitting ball, power skills of fingers and wrists are very important, which are also “iron” that distinguishes professionals from amateurs. Generally speaking, amateurs can rarely use their wrists when hitting ball, professional players can use their wrists when hitting ball, and higher-level national team players can even use their fingers to apply force. Don't underestimate slight bonus in finger strength, often difference between heaven and earth as a finishing touch.
In order to transfer maximum power and speed of racket to table tennis ball, it must reach this peak at moment of impact, which is "whiplash effect". It is necessary not only to have a certain acceleration in swing, but also to have ball stop suddenly at moment of touching ball, which requires interaction of wrist and fingers.
3. Compact Action
Amateur table tennis fans often mistakenly believe that if they want to hit ball with power and speed, they must move wide and wide. In fact, "moment" when racquet touches ball is key to transferring power and spin. Big movements can only cause you to waste energy on useless work, and this is not conducive to recovery and connection to next board.
Therefore, correct stroke should be small and compact. The moment racket strikes ball, wrist and forearm must contract rapidly to generate maximum power and speed. At same time, body must also remain stable, without shaking or moving excessively, in order to ensure accuracy and stability of hitting ball.
October 04, 2023
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