2015.07.17

Coach George here with a ‘special lesson: forehand and backhand consistency’ in English for our members @ APF Academies. Majority of our lessons are in Japanese, but today we spiced up the lesson by adding a bonus feature teaching ALL in English.

[Forehand (Basic-swing) Groundstroke]

The main component with the forehand was first the correct grip. Important points such as which bevel the base knuckle of the index finger is holding the racket, how relaxed the hand should be, and using the trigger finger. Second, we focused on elbow and non dominant hand position. 45 degree angle space between the racket elbow and non dominant hand out to the side parallel to the baseline. The final point to the forehand is where to impact the ball in reference to the body. For instance, dropping the ball in front of the left foot and slightly off to the side, hitting the ball as the ball is slightly coming down after the initial bounce, and getting good racket head extension before coming into follow through near the waist.
I had noticed that many beginners and intermediate beginner players when self bounce hitting the ball are dropping the ball not in the most efficient areas therefore maximum efficiency of the swing can not be achieved. Having focusing on the self hit exercise, we moved into the coach tossing the ball out in front and finally into racket feeding from across the net.

[Backhand (Face-up) Groundstroke]

The backhand we instruct at APF Academies is known as the ‘Face-up’. For a right handed player, the right hand is continental (volley or serve grip) with the left hand being eastern (shake-hand). The modern backhand has become much more shorter and compact. The important points taught today was the advantages of utilising this grip compared to a closed racket face. Again, we started with a self bounce hit exercise where the students learn where to drop and hit the ball in reference to the body. The distance and space between the body and ball is very critical for executing an efficient backhand. As the students progressed we moved into hand feeding and racket fed exercises.

[Backhand (Face-up Groundstroke] Cont’d

One of the major advantages of hitting the backhand using the face-up grip is the efficiency in shoulder rotation. We have taught our students to imagine a WALL directly behind their backs when starting and finishing the swing. The photo above illustrates the racket face finish. Being able to hit cross court consistently in a ‘square position’ allow less stress on the overall body. The trick is learning how to ‘pull and push’ with the right and left hand.

Thank you for the wonderful turn-out. Stay tuned for the next session in the near future!

Below is the link for the rest of the photo’s!

https://www.flickr.com/photos/50203743@N08/sets/72157655566206130

APF Academies Staff: Shinichi George Kidera