11/06/2020
How to play table tennis in 10 days
This is only the beginning. True mastery of the game of table tennis takes many years but youโve got to start somewhere and I believe How to Play Table Tennis in 10 Days is the best start you can have.
Contents
Introduction
Day 1 โ Grip
Day 2 โ Stance
Day 3 โ Footwork
Day 4 โ Forehand Drive
Day 5 โ Backhand Drive
Day 6 โ Backhand Push
Day 7 โ Forehand Push
Day 8 โ Serve
Day 9 โ Return of Serve
Day 10 โ Match Play
What Next?
Introduction
What are the fundamentals of table tennis?
Answering that question can be tricky, and Iโm sure different coaches have different ideas on this, but I like to include the following (and ignore everything else, for now);
Grip
Stance
Footwork
Forehand Drive
Backhand Drive
Backhand Push
Forehand Push
Serve
Return of serve
Match Play
Thatโs ten skills youโll need to master and I recommend you tackle them in that order.
The first three (grip, stance and footwork) are the foundations you need to lay at the beginning. Many players (and even coaches) skip over these and jump straight into hitting balls. Do so at your peril! Weak foundations can cause your whole game to fall down or prevent you from being able to continue building and improving later on. I like to think of this as the Mr Miyagi phase of learning.
The middle four (forehand drive, backhand drive, backhand push and forehand push) are the four basic table tennis strokes and will make up the bulk of your game. Mastering the correct technique is really important here if you are to develop consistency and accuracy with your shots.
The final three (serve, return of serve and match play) are the finishing touches that will allow you to convert your newly learnt skills into points in a match. It is no good being excellent at rallying if your abilities donโt transition into a competitive situation.
When I say 10 daysโฆ I mean 10 days!
If you think an hour-long practice is going to be enough to master each of these skil