The Push in Detail

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An important stroke

The humble push does not sound like an exciting stroke but it is one of the most important shots in Table Tennis. Having a great short push can be the difference between being an average player and being a great player. Make sure you allocate the appropriate amount of practice to mastering the short push.

Thoughts on this video

Brian Gibson, a premium member said...

on the 10-Jul-2011 06:40:35 PM

I greatly enjoyed your video on breaking down the push in detail. Then again, I've enjoyed every video from the Premium Lessons series. I've seen five or six coaches teach the push,and they all emphasized the important points you taught. Keep the ball low, short, and with a decent amount of backspin. And one or two of them said to occasionally switch things up and push the ball long to keep your opponent on his toes. After all, you don't want to become too predictable.

Which is why I was taken aback by one of the videos in a series produced by Butterfly. The series is taught by the United States national team coach, Stefan Feth. He is also ranked #3 in the current USATT rankings along with #236 in the ITTF world rankings. I'll let you take a look at this quick 2:25 video and see what you think.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gwzTOPRR6Q&feature=player_detailpage

Did I miss something in your video? If I'm facing a push with backspin to my forehand should I try to return it nearly everytime spinny, low, fast, and long?

If it had been an average or even good player I would have just dismissed it and never watched it again. But with a player who is of world class caliber, I can't very well say,"Well, obviously he doesn't understand table tennis tactics or stroke mechanics."

I look forward to your reply,

genemarinacci

Alois Rosario from PingSkills said...

on the 11-Jul-2011 04:00:34 PM

Hi Brian,

I assume he is talking about the basic push. Certainly as you move forward with your skills you don't want to be pushing the ball long.

Linda Zbinden thought...

on the 18-Jul-2011 07:41:30 PM

It very nice video about push, I wish I could do short push with spin and low, but the fact is my push sometimes two high, or too long or no spin, very difficult for me to find the timing to push the ball with low and with spin.

Jeff Plumb from PingSkills said...

on the 18-Jul-2011 08:43:50 PM

Hi Linda,

Have you tried using the technique we talk about in our free lesson on keeping the ball low? This is a really effective way to ensure you don't push the ball too high.

With the regards to your timing on short pushes, try taking the ball quite early (almost on the bounce). This will mean you are hitting the ball closer to the net and it will be easier to keep the ball short on the other side.

Let me know if these tips help you out.

Linda Zbinden thought...

on the 18-Jul-2011 08:52:23 PM

Hi Jeff,

Thanks for your reply, I will watch the video again and practice with timing for push the ball. Will let you know.

Linda

Ian Costello, a premium member said...

on the 27-Jul-2011 07:52:52 AM

This might sound weird,but will you make a topspin in detail so you can demonstrate how to make shots fast,faster,and fastest,our slow,slower,and slowest,our have more spin,even more spin,and the most spin,our less spin than usual,even less spin,and the least amount of spin? Thanks so much.