I lost my footwork

Table Tennis Footwork

Last updated 9 years ago

Wayne Sy

Wayne Sy Asked 11 years ago

Hi there coach, I played table tennis yesterday and I noticed that I have lost my footwork. And I am pretty sure that it is not because I did not play for a long time since I am playing regularly. I am guessing that its because I haven't done a footwork drill exercises for a long time, which caused my footwork to become slower. What should I do in order to have my footwork back? And how do I maintain my footwork speed? thanks in advance coach


Alois Rosario

Alois Rosario Answered 11 years ago

Hi Wayne,

The key is definitely regular training.  Do at least one or two footwork drills each time you train.


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Thoughts on this question

D K

D K Posted 9 years ago

Is there any way how to help to improve footwork without having a chance to play at the table?


Jeff Plumb

Jeff Plumb from PingSkills Posted 9 years ago

Hi D K,

You can practice your shuffle movement anywhere as long as you have a little space. Watch our footwork basics video and simply practice the shuffle step. You can even take shadow swings between the movements.


Dieter Verhofstadt

Dieter Verhofstadt Posted 9 years ago

I do shadow practice at home, once a week. You can basically do any drill without ball. The good thing about shadow practice is that you can focus on the footwork and returning to neutral position (body & bat). Then, when you do actual training with the ball, you can concentrate on the ball while the body takes care of itself through muscle memory built up during the shadow practice. I have already felt the benefit of this.

The downside is: shadow practice at home is extremely boring and silly. Somehow it is more embarassing for me to be caught by my wife or kids amidst a shadow practice session than when watching a TT video, while shadow practice is definitely returning more on the investment.


D K

D K Posted 9 years ago

Dieter described very well the reasons why I hate this practising.

I am trying it sometimes,but it is sooooo boring.

No motivation,no action,nothing that I can react to.


Jeff Plumb

Jeff Plumb from PingSkills Posted 9 years ago

Hey Dieter,

Don't be embarrassed. A lot of table tennis players tend to just do a shadow swing at random times even when they're not specifically practicing!


D K

D K Posted 9 years ago

Embarrasment is one thing

I do not know how dieter,but in my case the main problem is that the practising is actionless


D K

D K Posted 9 years ago

So I surrender after a while,because it is an unreal situation and I have problems with overcoming the difference between reality and a "shadow"



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