How to PUSH Effectively - Professionals Explained

Welcome back to Rational Table Tennis Analysis. In this video, we'll focus on the push shot. The push is probably the most overused and underused shot in table tennis. Most players either push too much or too little. Many players push because they feel uncomfortable attacking the incoming ball. Others don't push because they feel they should attack every ball. Both of these are poor reasons to push or not push. Don't push because you have to, push because you choose to for tactical reasons. Today, we'll talk about how to push effectively to win points. There are two main purposes with the push. The first purpose is to force a mistake or a weak return from the opponent so you can attack in the next shot. You can do this with two ways. You can push heavy or with varied spin. You can also push quick and fast to wide angles, sometimes with last minute changes of direction. The second purpose is to make it difficult or impossible for the opponent to attack effectively. You can do that by keeping the ball to its weaker side or to push short. Forehand is another important element to an effective push. A push that lands inside the backhand corner is relatively easy to attack, forehand or backhand. However, if your push goes right over the corner and angling away, it is very difficult for the opponent to attack with his forehand, even if he has very good footwork. Even if he does, you can simply block down the line to his forehand side, forcing him out of position. Another option is to push to the wide forehand. If your racket is aiming towards the opponent's backhand and then you change in the last second and push to the forehand, your opponent is going to have a hard time reacting to this sudden change in direction. Let's talk about using the forehand push. To do this shot, you should step in with your right leg. You can do a wide variety of shots with your forehand push. You can touch short, push long or do a disguised placement shot. You can also do push flick, a mixture of both in the same shot. Therefore, pushing with your forehand can be very flexible. Here is a case study. The coach asks him to try a variety of shots with the push. After trying a few shots, the coach identifies that the problem with him is that his wrist is too stiff. He should use his core and fingers to feel and control the ball. The wrist should be relaxed. His back should also face inwards. To push long to the backhand, the feeling is basically the same as serving the pendulum serve, contacting the left side of the ball. The player tries again. This time, there's another problem. The push needs to be both low and spinny. The spin is what defines the quality of the push. The bat should grip the ball very well during the contact, making it spinny. Now let's move on to the backhand push. First of all, you need to adjust your bat angle based on the spin of the ball. If the ball is float, your bat angle should be slightly closed. However, if the ball is spinny, your bat angle should be more open, contacting the bottom half of the ball. For advanced players, try to push right off the bounce. Your push will be faster, making it harder for the opponent to attack. If you just want to get the receive on, you can slow down the rhythm, wait for the ball to drop. When you contact the ball, make sure you brush the ball well, no matter if the ball is float or backspin. If you do that, you are making your own spin, so you have a higher chance of getting the receive. If you just touch the ball without any brushing contact, you will find it hard to deal with any serves. Finally, we will talk about ways to beat a pusher. Serve backspin to the pusher's backhand, then take a step to your left with your left leg. As the pusher is about to push, step back into position. There is a high possibility that he will push to your forehand, as he saw your fake step around and change directions. But you were one step ahead of him, now you ready and waiting. Another way is to use sidespin pushes against him. In the next shot, if he still push, the ball will bounce high, so you have a chance to smash. This is the end of the video. Hopefully this video will give you more ideas on how to push effectively. If you enjoyed this video, please give a thumbs up, subscribe to the channel and share it amongst your friends. Also, if you have any suggestions on what videos to do next, please drop a comment below. I have lots of videos coming soon, so stay tuned. Bye bye.