Think of the "General Drawing His Sword" analogy. No general draws his sword from the center of his body; they always draw from the side for a powerful, sweeping motion. Today, let's talk about the backhand loop against backspin. Tell me, what feels awkward about your penhold backhand loop? When I swing, my wrist instinctively feels unstable and shaky. On your backhand? Why does it feel unstable? I feel like I can't lock it in place; it's probably related to my grip. Okay, let's see you loop a couple. The biggest feeling for me now is that I'm actually getting my center of gravity low. Getting low brings a pleasant surprise, doesn't it? Before, I thought I was getting low, but in reality, I was still too upright. So what's the difference you feel now that you're getting lower? The difference is huge. The angle and the feeling on the racket are completely different. Before, I felt like I was just lifting the ball. Once you get low, you naturally learn to control the arc and keep it down. For a ball at the same height, if you're standing tall, you might have to push it, but when you're low, you instinctively feel confident you can loop it up. So, do you feel like you were unable to get low before? You can't see the back of your own head. Many players have never seen what they look like when they play. I thought I was low, but I was actually still standing upright. For a backhand loop against backspin, your center of gravity must be low. If you can't get down, you can't generate power. It used to feel like just lifting with the arm. But once you get low, your quads support your body, creating a base for explosive power. If you rely only on your wrist, even with good friction, the quality of the shot will be low. By getting low, you reduce reliance on the forearm and fingers, and the power originates from your legs. Let me ask everyone: is your power generated from a static crouch, or is there up-and-down movement? Once your center of gravity starts moving up and down, from my perspective, the shot becomes inconsistent. Stay low, and as you initiate the stroke, instantly tense your core for stability. That power is controlled. If you're bobbing up and down, the ball will float. Many players think there's supposed to be vertical movement, right? Actually, for a backhand loop against backspin, you stay down. See? You hold that low position and wait for the ball. Your backhand is so much better than the last time I saw you before the training camp. Getting low really is a game-changer; the improvement is huge for me. And finally, you have to lock in that power. Players generally have three main problems: missing the ball, hitting the net, and hitting long. Let's first talk about why you miss the ball entirely. When looping on the backhand, the opponent's ball is low, but your backswing is too high, causing your timing to be too early. It's like agreeing to meet at 8:00 AM. You get to the spot at 7:00, and by the time 8:00 rolls around, you've already left. You've completely missed each other. That's exactly why you often miss the ball completely. A backspin ball may look fast in the air, but don't watch its flight path. Watch it after it bounces; its forward speed is actually very slow. The heavier the backspin, the more the ball slows down after the bounce, right? In this situation, you can't use topspin timing. With topspin, you hit right after the bounce. If you use that timing on a backspin ball, 80% of beginners will make a mistake. This is why lowering your center of gravity is so effective; it changes your perspective on the ball's timing and trajectory. You'll be in a position to wait for the ball properly. Because you're standing tall, your hand is high. The ball just bounces, and your swing is already finished. So, players who miss the ball are always swinging too early. The second reason is a high center of gravity. When you swing, a heavy backspin ball will drop sharply, much like a ball from pips-out rubber. Against this dropping ball, if you're too slow, you get jammed; if you're too fast, you miss. That's why you must lower your center of gravity; your footwork and body position determine the quality of your stroke. It's the same on the forehand. The mistakes are either swinging too early with topspin rhythm, or having too high a center of gravity. If you swing from a high position, you'll miss the dropping ball. If you meet the ball from underneath, you can synchronize your power correctly. Next, let's discuss the problem of looping the ball long. There are two reasons for hitting it long. The first reason is too much involvement from the upper arm, which creates too high of an arc. Some might say the forehand and backhand motions are the same, but they're not. The backhand is an outward motion, while the forehand wraps inward. You can't use the same follow-through height. You can lift your forehand high and it's fine, but if you lift your backhand to the same height, the ball will fly to the ceiling because the racket angle is different. You'll notice this: as you bring your backhand up, you can't keep the racket face closed. On the way out, it will inevitably open up. Unless you consciously force it closed, a natural upward swing will result in an open racket face. Unless you consciously force it closed, a natural upward swing will result in an open racket face. With an open racket face at a high point, the launch angle is too great, so of course it goes long. So, the first solution for hitting long is to control your upper arm. On loops against backspin, the upper arm moves forward, which allows the forearm to move upward. If they move upward together, the ball will fly out. The second reason for hitting long, for both topspin and backspin balls, is having a wrist that is too loose. In all backhand techniques, the stroke should fundamentally be executed with a stable wrist. Some players ask, "How can I rip or loop with a fixed wrist?" The friction comes from a small, controlled motion from a low, pressed racket position. We think it's a big wrist movement, but it's actually very subtle. The movement is extremely small; it's a controlled, pressing action. Your wrist shouldn't be loose and uncontrolled. It can snap slightly, but after that initial snap, it must be firm as you follow through. Let me show you. A small wrist snap gets the ball on the table; too much movement causes errors. So I advise amateur players, when you first start, to think of the wrist action as a short, sharp snap, not a large, sweeping motion for friction, because you can't control that. Practice that friction with a short snap, and after the snap, let the arm follow through naturally. Do any of you hit your topspin shots long? In practice, you might hit 100 backhand drives without an error, but why do they go long in a match? I believe there are three reasons. First, look at my backhand drive in practice; it's compact. But in a match, after the first loop, I feel I'm not controlling the forward power. Why do you want to hit so far forward? Because you're trying for a kill shot. But if you do that in practice, you can't maintain a rally. During practice, you're always playing with control. In a match, after your loop is blocked back, you see it as a chance to attack. To put it simply, your match stroke is much bigger than your practice stroke. Your practice stroke is compact, but your match stroke is huge, especially when you're moving or pushed back from the table, as you reach for the ball. The second reason is that your power level increases. You're trying to hit harder, right? A soft touch won't result in an error. In practice, you use 40-50% power; in a match, it's 80-90%. You're hitting harder, but it's impossible for your stroke mechanics to remain the same as when you were hitting softer. You can use power, but you must focus on using your forearm to press down on the ball and control the trajectory. The problem now is that at contact, your arc is still rising. This is because your forearm path is incorrect. When we learn the backhand, coaches tell us to swing "up," but when you add power while swinging up, the ball goes long. So, when you want to add power, your forearm should follow a flatter trajectory, not a high, looping arc. When I'm driving the ball, the arc is a parabola. But when I want to hit with power, I use a much flatter arc. When I'm driving the ball, the arc is a parabola. But when I want to hit with power, I use a much flatter arc. I'll also direct the force sideways, and if I'm hitting really hard, I might even drive forward and slightly downward, like a smash. The third reason is racket angle. Many players are confused because they feel they've closed the racket angle, but the ball still goes long. This is because your racket is closed on the backswing, but it opens up by the time you make contact. Plus, in a match, the more you rally, the further you step back from the table. Even if you start with a closed angle, it's open at contact. You must learn to keep that racket angle closed right up until the moment of contact. No matter where you are, keep the racket closed. You won't hit it long. Only after contact should the racket angle follow the natural path of your forearm. As a principle, you must always aim to contact the upper-middle part of the ball. This is especially true in a rally. When your opponent blocks your shot, the ball comes back with some spin. Beginners often start leaning back and sticking their butt out, which makes the problem worse. So, your racket angle can open naturally after contact, but it must be closed before. Otherwise, you won't be able to hit your backhand with power and will have to resort to just reducing speed to get the ball on, which leaves you vulnerable to attack. Remember, to avoid hitting long, control your arc at the moment of contact. The key is to hit the upper-middle part of the ball, not the back. Now let's talk about why you hit the net. Why do your loops against backspin go into the net? I finally understand why amateurs love to serve with heavy backspin— because their opponents really can't lift the ball. The first reason for hitting the net is that the moment you lift the ball, you press down with your wrist and arm. So, you should avoid making this kind of motion with your wrist and forearm. The second problem is using a straight forward-and-back motion. The backhand loop is actually a side-to-side, rotational motion. It's not as obvious as the forehand, but it still starts from your left hip and finishes at your right shoulder. That is rotation. You hit the net because you're always just pushing straight forward. Watch me: from my left hip, to my right shoulder. You have to rotate. So the reason for hitting the net is that you're moving in a straight line, either forward or up. All you need to do is create an arc. Some players can't create that backhand arc; they say they keep hitting their hand. That's because your backswing is in the center of your body. You need to start your backswing slightly to your left. From there, the arc happens naturally. Who told you to wrap around from the center? That's the wrong way to create the arc. Your backswing position is incorrect. Don't start your backswing in the middle. Shift it slightly to the left. That's why I can be so accurate; starting from the side naturally creates the proper outside arc. Think of the "General Drawing His Sword" analogy. No general draws his sword from the center of his body; they always draw from the side for a powerful, sweeping motion. So, start your backswing slightly to the left, but don't go outside the line of your body. The third reason for hitting the net, in my opinion, is not using the upper arm when lifting a backspin ball. This is very common among female players. Your stroke is just a slightly modified backhand drive; you're just dropping it a little and lifting a little. That's it. The basic drive is for balls above the net. But a backspin ball is below the table. For that, your entire arm—upper arm and forearm— must drop down together to get under the ball before you can loop it up. Then, your entire arm drives forward and up. The entire motion has to be bigger. Many female players can't get their arm to drop because their center of gravity is too high, which makes the motion feel awkward. When looping, your center of gravity must be dynamic. You have to learn to follow the ball down, then forward, and finally up. Second, as your center of gravity drops, your entire arm must also drop with your body, then drive forward and lift. It can't stay in one fixed position. Many people can't loop well because their body and arm don't follow the ball's trajectory— down, forward, and through. You must learn to synchronize your body and arm with the ball. In my opinion, the three core elements of a loop are: first, friction; second, the body; and third, rhythm. A player who can control their rhythm for both topspin and backspin balls will have very high match-play ability. Many players have flawed technical form, but they succeed because their friction, spacing, and rhythm are correct. Good form leads to good fundamentals. Good rhythm and spacing lead to high-level match play. If you can combine both, you'll be a top amateur player. Let's consider the friction of the loop as a top priority. Why do so many players struggle with getting good friction? It's because your swing speed before contact is too fast. If your initial acceleration is too quick, you'll never find the feeling of friction because you're essentially just smacking the ball away. There's no time to apply that short snap for friction. So, to loop well, your touch must first become soft. "Soft" means using a soft touch to overcome a powerful force. No matter how much spin the opponent puts on the ball, I won't make a mistake. When looping and receiving serves, you must adopt the principle of redirecting force, not meeting it head-on. It's not boxing. From that soft foundation, as you get close to the ball, then you accelerate. That's the basis of a power loop. Its foundation is absolutely a soft touch and redirecting energy. You must first be slow and soft. From a relaxed, soft base, you apply a bit of force just as you're about to contact the ball. That's all there is to it. If you treat it like a boxing match, hitting hard against hard, even I can't loop the ball with all my ability to create friction. The contact time is too short. In that kind of collision, how can you talk about friction? Friction requires you to "graze" the ball, not repel it. If your racket and the ball are repelling each other like fire and water, even the best wrist snap will be too late to have any effect.