Smash is considered as a very powerful move in table tennis. However, there are many people who are not good at such smashes.
Below, I’ve put together some tips for easily hitting smashes. We hope that you will be able to learn how to hit a perfect smash in table tennis.
The basics of forehand smash are the same as normal forehand. Swipe it in the forehand to make it a smash.
The difference is in the height of the backswing. A smash hitting a chance ball tends to have a high hitting point.
Therefore, the backswing is also high. The position of the backswing is not constant; it changes with the height of the ball.
If you are smashed and have a lot of misses or over-misses, we recommend that you keep your backswing modest. If the backswing is taken too much, the power will come out, but the swing will not be stable.
Therefore, it will lead to mistakes such as missed swings and over-hitting. If you have a lot of smash misses, try to hit the backswing sparingly and compactly.
The basic way of hitting is the same as backhand half volley (normal backhand). You can smash (swipe) by swinging faster than usual and extending your elbows further.
The big difference from compact bang is that the backswing is large. A compact bang takes a little backswing, but a power swing that emphasizes power takes a fairly large backswing.
From the front of the body, the racket will reach the left pocket of the pants. It’s almost like a sword technique.
You can read our full article on what is smash here.
5 must-have tips for player who can’t hit smash!
There are quite a lot of players who have trouble not able to hit smash. Smash against the chance ball.
Below, we will introduce 5 tips for improve smashing .
5 tips
The first trick is to hit at the top.
It is easier to hit a smash if you catch it at the top.
The trick of hitting at the top applies not only to smashes but to regular forehands as well. The vertex where the ball stops temporarily makes it easier to catch the ball.
Furthermore, it is easier to hit the ball on the opponent’s court by hitting it at a position as high as possible from an angling perspective.
If you are worried that smash will not be perfect, try improving the hit point first. Smashes are much easier to make simply by changing the hitting point.
The second trick is to hit at an easy hitting point. This trick is also about hitting points.
In the first tip, I introduced “hit at the top”, but the top may be too high depending on the opponent’s ball. At such times, if you try to forcefully hit the top, you will end up with an unwanted posture and mistakes will increase.
The basic idea of the hitting point is the place where you can hit easily. Try to hit in your strike zone. I think that hitting at the top is the ideal spot.
People who do not smash tend to hit the ball too early or, on the contrary, drag it too much. To stabilize the smash, wait for the ball to hit your own point and then hit it. That is the trick.
The top is easy to hit and it is the ideal hitting point, but do not stick to it too much. The basic idea of the smash is to find the hitting point easy to hit.
The third trick is to “shake the racket compactly.”
Most people who do not get smashes are those who are overstretching their arms and swinging around. If you make a big swing, the power of the ball will certainly increase.
However, I cannot recommend it because it lacks stability.
The trick to keep your smash stable with, is a compact swing.
Thinking that the “chance ball has arrived”, shake it up and hit it. But the more the opponent is stronger or the tense scenes arrive at an actual game, the more the ball turns and changes.
At that time, you have to keep up with the changes. Some don’t take a backswing anymore. They swing from the side of the body.
Strictly speaking, the backswing is necessary, but it is important not to take it big. Smash can be hit stably by shaking the racket compactly.
The fourth trick is to hit with 70% power.
Smash is something that you hit with all your might. Many people consider it a deadly move. But there is a reason why smashes don’t go as expected. Hitting smash in full force is not stable.
In addition, we cannot respond when the smash is returned. The best smash is just a special move. If you don’t do it in one shot, you risk getting it over again.
Therefore, we recommend that you hit with 70% of the power. The less the force is, the more stable the ball is. You can afford to aim for the course. In addition, when returned, you can quickly respond and hit repeatedly.
Even with a smash, it is a good idea to calmly control the force and hit it stably. If you can’t hit smash, be aware that you need to adjust your power.
Players who have misses a lot of smashes tend to be smashed. Therefore, many players can’t hit it if it is returned.
The fifth trick is “do not rush.” It’s a psychological tip, but it’s a surprisingly important point.
Smash hitting the chance ball is a chance to score. Therefore, players tend to rush to get power. When it comes to a match, impatience and tension are maximized.
If you hurry, you will miss the ball.
What is important is to stay calm and cool. You may feel impatient with the opportunity in front of you, but stay calm. If you hurry, there will be a chance of miss hitting.
Watch the ball and wait until it comes to your best hitting point. Then, hit the course properly with 70% power. Not only smash, but the biggest knack for stable hitting is to not rush.
Once playing a stable smash is learned, it’s time to increase the power and accuracy of the smash next.
The first trick to increase power is “to shift weight.”
Not only smash but the trick that is common to other ways of driving.
Put your weight on your right foot at the same time as the backswing
Hit while moving weight from right foot to left foot
By hitting the smash while moving the weight, power is added to the ball and power is increased.
The second trick to increase power is “keep your horizontal swing in mind.”
The powerful smash swing swings horizontally.
By leveling the swing, the contact time between the racket and the ball is reduced resulting in a smash with speed and stretch. Moreover, you can cut the side of the opponent’s court.
So many players mostly worry about over-miss. The following is a summary of how to deal with over-miss. I would be happy if it could help you a little.
If the angles do not match, you will miss.
The cause of the smash over-miss is that the racket angle is not correct. If the racket angle is not correct, you will make an over-miss, no matter how clean the hit is.
Specifically, if the angle of the racket is located too high with respect to the ball, it will lead to over-miss. Basically, it’s OK to use the angle when you usually do a rally.
Forehand and smash at the time of rally are basically the same technique. Smash does not change how you strike. You can think that the one with a stronger forehand is a smash.
If the ball is high, take a high backswing and change the direction of the swing downwards. Change the “backswing height” and “swing direction” while keeping the racket angle unchanged.
Keep in mind that it is necessary to adjust the angle according to the opponent’s ball.
If you have a downward rotation, turn the angle a little. On the other hand, if the ball is a knuckle, lower the angle.
Determine the opponent’s rotation. This is an inevitable way of playing table tennis. Not only smash but also receive, rally, or any occasion this will be needed.
If you have a lot of smash over-miss, it’s important to do repeated exercises to get the knack for racket angles.
At first, smash a non-rotating ball on a certain course.
When you get used to it, we recommend that you change the course to raise the lobbing, change the rotation to raise the lobbing, and gradually raise the stage to repeat smash practice.
The best smash has a high score but also a high mistake rate.
Another cause of over-miss is “too much power”. players are overwhelmed by the chance ball, so too much force is applied and resulting in over-missing.
The ball is not stable because you try to punch it with one shot and smash as much as you can. Actually, people also have the concept of “smash = do my best”.
One of the reasons why the smash misses is “excessive force”. If you put too much effort, the swing will not be stable and you will miss the swing.
This is also a wrong way to smash. It can be said that the racket control is underestimated because the player is trying to finish with one blow.
The swing of the racket will be stable by releasing the power with control.
Hitting a smash with 70% of your power gives you more room for your body and thoughts. You can calmly aim at the course and the reaction when the smash is returned will be quick.
If you hit it with all your energy, your posture tends to collapse. The reaction is delayed with respect to the returning ball, and on the contrary, the point is lost.
The ideal smash hitting point is the top. The higher you hit, the easier it is to aim the table.
However, depending on the ball, the top may be too high. The hit point at that time is “the place where you can hit easily”. Try to hit the smash in your strike zone.
The strike zone is different for each person (generally just before the body). If you hit the ball at the position you are good at, you will make fewer mistakes. Footwork is important for putting the ball into the strike zone.
A big backswing is the key to boosting smash power. By taking a large backswing, the power of smash increases and you can hit a fast ball.
However, as the power increases, so does the risk of mistakes.
If you make a lot of mistakes by swinging, please be careful to shake the racket compactly. The compact swing provides stable racket control.
Not only smash, but also other ways of hitting, it is possible to suppress mistakes due to missed swings by being aware of “do not hit with only arms”.
If the body is too far away from the ball, the swing will not be stable. First, use footwork to quickly move to the hit point. So, you are going to hit the smash with plenty of time.
The ball will not be stable if you hit it only with your hands without moving your legs. Keeping in mind that “first move your foot, then move your hand” will stabilize the swing and the ball.
Even if you feel like you are having the correct form, it doesn’t make sense unless you swing the racket in the correct form.
Over time, the form will collapse due to your bad habits and beliefs. Therefore, regular form check is important.
The recommended form check method is to take a video with a smartphone and check it yourself.
Sometimes it is necessary to check with a third person, such as a coach, for advice, but it is also important to check by yourself.
Check your own form from a neutral point of view. By doing so, you can see more “where is it need to be fixed?”
Wrapping up to the article we can say that to stabilize your smash you need to remember the following tips…
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