The Block Shot from Sam Ainsworth on Vimeo.
As a follow up to the previous week’s session, we were gathered around a table and shown how to perform a block shot. Block shot in table tennis, is commonly known a more defensive shot. The idea of the shot is to take all the pace out of the ball once your opponent has played an attacking shot, so that it will land just over the net to try and force your opponent into rushing the shot, then you will be able to counter from there. As so many inexperienced players would play this shot as a way of trying to get the ball back over the net. They just didn’t know that they were playing a block shot. Again, our teacher for the lesson gave us a live demonstration on how to perform this shot and gave us a run down on what our movement should be before we play the shot, whilst we’re playing the shot and after. He told us to:
1.Stand a short distance away from the table with your shoulders squared toward your opponent. Balance your weight so that you are slightly on the balls of your feet. This will allow you to move quicker and easier. Shift your weight in the direction that the ball is coming from.
2. Wait for the ball to bounce and reach at least the height of the net before you make contact. The ball should come to you more than you going to the ball. Don’t reach for the ball, or you may hit it too hard, giving your opponent a good shot and leaving you vulnerable. Exercise patience.
3. Angle your paddle forward slightly. This will help the ball hit close to the net on the opponent’s side of the table. Don’t angle too much, or you can hit the net. Practice to get your paddle angle right
4.Make contact with the ball with hardly any back-swing and little force going forward. Remove any spin on the ball and primarily use the speed of the ball to return it. Keep your paddle still as you strike the ball. Practice placing the paddle in the way of the ball without applying any force to gauge the minimum force you need to get the ball just barely over the net.
Because the modern table tennis game has developed with people trying to dominate the opposition, one way of counteracting the opposition’s shot would be learning how to master the block shot. The purpose of the shot is to catch your opponent out of position and reduce the time to play their next shot.
Tactics Tactics for the block shot are fairly simple as well, the block shot is more of a defensive shot in comparisons to a forehand drive. The aim of the shot is to get it over the net, and wait for the next shot to come at you, from there you can choose whether to play the same shot or a more attacking shot
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