How to return serve short - Ma Lin Forehand Soft Touch

Welcome back to PingSunday, table tennis tutorial every Sunday. I hope you are doing well. Today, we will learn a very important skill in table tennis. Touch short at the forehand to return the serve shortly. We will learn the technique of Ma Lin. He is one of the best players with amazing forehand skills. His main advantage is his serve, his forehand, and service return as he is the best penholder Why is returning short very important? At the high level of table tennis, you have only 2 options. Attack first, or return short. If you can return the ball short, then the opponent can attack the ball easily. Like this, or like this. But if you can return it short, then it's much better. Like this. And attack first, if the serve is long. Ma Lin forehand short serve return, and how to return serve with a touch short. If you like to spin up the ball, then you will prefer using the backhand, or the forehand, backhand flick. Like this. Lin Yunju moves to the forehand side, and uses his backhand flick. However, moving around, and using the backhand flick requires good footwork, and a lot of practice. If you are not comfortable with this technique, then you can use the forehand touch short to return the ball short. Like this. 3 tips to receive the serve with your forehand 1. You need to move forward to the table. Watch my video about the footwork pattern. Use the small step pattern to move, and put your right leg under the table. Footwork small step pattern to move toward the table. Put the right leg under the table. Tip number 2. Put your elbow above the table. And you need to be as close to the ball as possible. If you are too far, then you cannot return the ball short. Because to make it short, you need the feeling. You will guide the ball just over the net. If you are too far, then you can't guide the ball over the net. The elbow above the table. Tip number 3. The moment of contact is very important. You should hit the ball right after the first bounce. And you should hit the ball lower than the net height. Hit just after the bounce. And lower than the net height. How to practice? Even the top players like Ma Long, Wang Chuqin practice the soft touch before the tournament. They want to get used to the feeling in the new environment. So you should also practice the soft touch. It will boost your level very fast. Find a partner. Try the soft touch, and keep the ball as short as possible. Try to play a simple game with your partner. If the ball bounces off the table, then you will lose. Practice this technique 20 minutes every day. Conclusion. Practice is the only way that you can get this feeling. And remember please my 3 best tips. Number 1. Move toward with your right leg under the table. Number 2. Put your elbow above the table, and close to the ball. And number 3. Hit the ball right after the first bounce. Hit the ball lower than the net height. This is a small detail but very important. Because if you hit when the ball bounces higher than the net height, it's very difficult to return it short and low. That's it for this week. If you find this tutorial helpful, then please share to your friends. Support me on Patreon if you like. Cheers. See you.