How to Play Ping Pong (Table Tennis)
To play table tennis, you need to master the basic stance, grip, serve, stroke and pace of movement, which are described below:
### Basic Stance
Stand with your feet parallel to each other, shoulder-width apart or slightly wider, knees slightly bent, stomach and chest tucked in, leaning slightly forward, with your center of gravity resting on your front foot. This keeps the body balanced and flexible, and facilitates quick starts and movements.
### Racket Grip
- **Straight Racket Grip**: The second knuckle of the index finger and the first knuckle of the thumb form a pincer in front of the racket, the distance between the two fingers is moderate, and the handle of the racket is attached to the tiger's mouth, while the other three fingers are naturally bending and diagonally overlapping, and the first knuckle of the middle finger is resting on the back of the racket, so as to make the racket remain stable. This grip is more flexible wrist, in the near table offense can play faster hitting speed.
- **Horizontal Racket Grip**: The middle finger, ring finger and little finger naturally hold the handle of the racket, the thumb on the front side of the racket lightly next to the middle finger, the index finger naturally straight and diagonally placed on the back of the racket, the muzzle of the tiger slightly close to the racket. The advantage of the cross-court grip is that the power of the forehand and backhand strokes is large, and there is little change in the grip when attacking and chipping.
### Serve
- **Forehand Flat Serve**: Standing on one side of the table, turn your body slightly to the right, throw the ball upward with your left hand, and at the same time guide your right arm to the right rear, when the ball drops from the high point to slightly above the net, then strike the ball with your right arm to the left front, hitting the middle and upper part of the ball, with the first point of landing in the middle of the table. This is the most basic serve and is used to familiarize yourself with the nature of the ball and as a foundation for other serves.
- **Backhand serve**: body close to the left side of the table, left foot slightly in front of the left hand upward throw the ball, at the same time, the right arm bent elbow to lead the racket to the back of the left side of the body, when the ball from the high point of the drop to slightly higher than the net, the right arm to the elbow joint as an axis, from the back to the front of the rapid swing, the beat face slightly forward, hit the middle of the upper part of the ball, the first landing point should be close to the table end of the line. This serve is fast and powerful, and can put more pressure on the opponent.
### Batting technique
- **Forehand Attack**: stand close to the table, right foot slightly back, body slightly to the right, arm naturally bent, lead the racket to the right side of the body, when the ball pops up to the rising period, the arm to the left in front of the rapid swing, hit the middle of the upper part of the ball, the center of gravity with the batting movement forward transfer. The forehand attack is the main technique of offense, with the characteristics of fast speed and great power.
- **Backhand Push Block**: stand with feet parallel, body close to the table, arms naturally bent, the racket to the chest, when the ball pops up to the rise, the forearm forward push, index finger pressure racket, thumb relaxation, so that the racket surface is slightly tilted forward, hitting the middle and upper part of the ball. The backhand push block is a common technique used by straight racket players, mainly for ball control and defense.
- **Rubbing**: It is divided into forehand and backhand rubbing. Take backhand rolling as an example, stand close to the table, body slightly to the left, arm to the upper left to lead the racket, when the ball pops up to the downward front, the forearm and wrist to the right in front of the lower force, the racket face slightly back, hit the lower part of the middle. Rolling the ball is a transitional technique that creates opportunities for offense through changes in spin.
### Step movement
- **Single Step**: Using one foot as the axis, the other foot moves one step in different directions: forward, backward, left or right. It is often used when the angle of the incoming ball is not big and the distance is close, such as hitting the ball from the forehand position in the near table.
- **Sliding Step**: When the incoming ball is a little far away from the body, move with a sliding step. For example, when moving to the right, the center of gravity of the body is first shifted to the left foot, then the right foot stomps on the ground, the left foot steps out to the right, and the right foot quickly follows. The sliding step is fast and has a large range, and is suitable for continuous hitting.
- **Cross Step**: Used when the incoming ball is away from the body. For example, to move to the right, the left foot crosses from in front of the right foot to take a step to the right, then the right foot moves another step to the right. The crossover step has a large range of movement and is mainly used for side attacking backward lunging forehand or forehand position with a large angle stroke.
For those who wish to play ping pong, check out this free Ping Pong game that is simple and fun.
