Today, we'll focus on how to gain the upper hand during rallies. You usually have no problem with your forehand or backhand drives individually. Those shots are fine, but when switching between them, you tend to hit out. The first key point: always keep your racket angle closed during rallies. For example, watch me hit a few. During rallies, you must close the racket angle more aggressively on both sides. If I hit lightly, the ball still lands on the table. But when adding power, you must keep the racket closed to control the trajectory. Most players start with a closed angle, but open it during the follow-through, even if subtly. Watch: as soon as I apply force, the racket angle opens up. The key is to keep the angle closed throughout the entire stroke—from backswing to contact to finish. For both forehand and backhand, ensure a stable, closed angle at the finish. Do not open the bat mid-swing; that causes errors. Second point: Do you feel slow when switching between forehand and backhand? The reason you're slow is that you're rotating your whole arm, not just the racket angle. I change the racket angle upfront. Right after a backhand, I adjust the bat angle first, not my arm. I change the racket angle upfront. Right after a backhand, I adjust the bat angle first, not my arm. It's the same for blocking; adjust the racket angle first. You guys swing your arm to switch, which makes you slow. I transition directly. Don't move the arm then change the angle; change it during the movement. Otherwise, the ball arrives before you're ready. If you prep the angle early, you can effortlessly compress the ball. Third point: Let's talk about recovery. In a fixed forehand drill, you must recover after every shot. Not recovering is a bad habit. You should recover right back to your initial ready position. Watch: attack, then recover to the same spot. It makes the transition very smooth. Same for backhand—don't pause after contact. Actively recover after every single shot. See how smooth the rhythm and technique look when both players do this. But in a random rally, should you still recover to the exact same spot? Some say recover to the middle. Let me demonstrate that. I'll have Haige feed me randomly across the table. See? Recovering to the middle makes me slow. Now let's see what happens if I use fixed-point recovery in a random rally. That's fixed-point recovery. What if he plays to your backhand instead of your forehand? This is why amateur players always feel rushed during rallies. How do we fix this? For full-table random drills, what's the right approach? After a stroke, don't drop your racket or your eyes. Recovering to the middle or the same spot is wrong. Fixed recovery only works if the next ball goes to the exact same spot, but it kills your speed if you need to move to the forehand. Instead, keep your racket up right in front of you and anticipate the next ball. If it goes to the forehand, hit it; then pause up high. If the next is backhand, move your bat there directly. If it's forehand again, just take another backswing. In a rally, keep your preparation out front. Don't drop your hands to recover. After the stroke, make sure the racket doesn't block your vision. Many players blind themselves with their follow-through. Whether looping or driving, hold your finish briefly and anticipate whether the return is to your backhand, forehand, or the same spot. If it's to the same spot, then initiate your backswing again. Watch how we do it. Let's start slow with random full-table placement. See how smooth that is? You'll have time for any fast return. Even against extreme speed—let's do rapid-fire full table—if you follow this recovery rhythm, you'll never be late. If you're too used to fixed-point drills and drop your hands to recover, you'll simply freeze when the ball goes to the opposite side, because you've wasted your prep time. This has nothing to do with age or weight. As long as your racket preparation is high and out front, you can keep up with the rally pace effortlessly. Point four: timing and rhythm. Is the timing for backhand topspin the same as forehand topspin? For flat drives, yes. But what about loops? Look at a backhand rip versus a forehand loop—the timing is different. For looping, you stay close to the table on the backhand, but step back slightly for the forehand to allow a bigger swing. If you plan to play a forehand loop but stand too close to the table during your backhand, you'll get jammed. Pairing a forehand loop with a backhand punch creates an awkward stance conflict. A backhand punch requires you to be right on top of the table, unlike a loop. The forehand needs space, while the backhand punch needs proximity. Your techniques must match. During rallies, pair a backhand loop with a forehand loop, or a backhand punch with a forehand smash. You rarely see backhand flat attacks paired with forehand loops, unless playing with pips, which produce heavy sinking balls that give you more time. So, ensure your playing styles on both wings complement each other. If I backhand rip too close, I can only block or use the opponent's power. Stepping back slightly allows a proper swing to generate spin and quality. And from that distance, you are in the perfect position for a forehand loop. Many players stand too close just poking with the backhand, then try to take massive forehand swings. That positioning gets you jammed. If your backhand stance prevents an attack, launching a forehand attack from there becomes extremely difficult. If you are a forehand looper, playing passive backhand blocks at the table will ruin your forehand timing during rallies. You must step back slightly on the backhand to create the space needed for a powerful forehand loop. When switching back to the backhand, don't just passively block. Look to counter-attack. Only step in to block if you're forced to. Even if your backhand rip isn't great yet, stand a bit further back to develop an attacking mindset and posture. Truth is, most players stand way too close on the backhand. Standing too close drastically reduces your reaction time and forces you to scramble backward to make space for a forehand attack. By "stepping back," I mean staying within a meter. If you hug the table, a sudden forehand switch leaves you with zero time to react. You'd need impossibly fast hands to keep up from that close. That's why your table distance is crucial. To utilize a powerful forehand loop, your backhand stance cannot be too tight to the table. For a backhand-to-forehand drill, a slightly deeper stance allows a seamless forehand loop. Standing close gets you jammed on the forehand. If you're close to the table during a rally, keep your forehand stroke compact. But if the rally pushes you back, you must fully commit to a forehand loop. Your forehand stroke depends on your backhand positioning. If you're close, don't take a big backswing, or you'll get cramped. If you're already pushed back, blocking on the forehand side is a fatal mistake—you'll lose the point. Most points start from the backhand side, so always be aware of your initial distance from the table. Many players start too close and are completely exposed when the ball goes wide to the forehand. A strong backhand attack requires swing space, so finding that optimal table distance is key. Point five: Do you struggle to reach forehand shots? You rally fine on the backhand, but feel jammed once it goes to the forehand. Why does this happen? Primarily because you lack the anticipation to protect your forehand corner. Watch my backhand counter carefully: my toes are slightly flared out, not pointing inwards, which would restrict my movement. With an inward stance, you literally have to jump to reach the forehand—you simply can't step. Flared toes naturally open the knees and right shoulder. Amateurs often jam their right shoulder forward during backhands, killing their forehand transition. Unless you punch everything on the table, you can engage your right shoulder, but do it without lunging out of position. Again, it's about not being ready for the forehand. Pay close attention to my footwork rhythm. If you play flat-footed, a sudden switch to your forehand will make you feel glued to the floor. Notice my movement: I do a small split-step after every shot. Your legs must act like springs. Your legs must act like springs. Ready to spring right, or spring forward instantly when needed. If you stand completely still, accelerating from a dead stop is incredibly slow. Maintain a subtle bouncing rhythm during backhand rallies. This keeps your footwork sharp and ready for any forehand switch. You don't need huge jumps. Just a slight pre-movement keeps your body active rather than frozen. Being flat-footed makes your footwork heavy and awkward. Always stay light on your toes. Maintain this slight bounce during both forehand and backhand rallies. Always prep yourself mentally to move. Your body should actively hunt for the ball. You can only react quickly if you maintain a state of constant readiness. Without that proactive readiness, you'll always be late to sudden changes in placement. Another issue on the forehand side: your hands are simply faster than your feet. When switching to the forehand, players often reach instead of stepping. Fix this with one-forehand-one-backhand drills to force your feet to move first. Otherwise, your muscle memory will naturally just tell you to reach for the ball. You must drill this out of your system. The biggest hurdle transitioning to forehand is your shoulder. If you don't open your shoulder, your arm gets trapped behind your body on forehand shots. Always remember: open your shoulder when transitioning to the forehand to generate power. Watch a backhand-to-forehand switch: push, push, switch—open the shoulder. Most players only move their arm while keeping their shoulder locked forward. Opening the shoulder means rotating the torso. You must transfer your weight and pivot to create hitting space. I might skip the backswing. For very fast balls, just pivoting the shoulder allows you to catch the timing. If you don't pivot your shoulder, any fast ball will jam you from the side or get past your body. You must open up your body to execute a full, proper stroke. When jammed, natural instinct makes you either block or lift the ball upward. You can almost never drive forward while cramped. The same applies when looping backspin. If you push a few times then struggle to loop, it's because your body is jammed. When cramped, you'll inevitably lift with your entire arm like Haige. Arm-lifters lack proper body rotation. If your body, knees, waist, and shoulder are all locked forward, you physically can't swing forward—you can only swing up. Even when blocking, never face the table squarely. Always pivot slightly to create space. I constantly make space for my forehand contact point. Without this pivot, you'll always feel jammed. This is the root cause of the issue. On the forehand, the golden rule is to pivot and create hitting space. Fast or slow, open your body, drop your shoulder back, and make space. You'll never get cramped again. Let me demonstrate: block a few, then switch to forehand. Watch the posture, close the racket, switch to forehand, and pivot. Exactly like that. If you just step sideways without pivoting, you get jammed, and it becomes an awkward, incomplete swing. Against high speed, still pivot the body, but skip the backswing and use the incoming pace to block. On slow balls, initiate the power, but you must make space to swing forward rather than lifting upward. Just a slight pivot is enough; don't over-rotate. Watch Ma Long closely: his body clearance on every forehand is flawless. We tend to just reach for fast balls, but he always pivots, allowing him to consistently counter with high quality instead of just surviving. Pivoting doesn't mean you have to attack. You can pivot to block. Facing squarely jams you; pivoting gives you options. Point six: forearm placement. For a forehand drive, your forearm shouldn't point sideways. Keep it level and parallel to your body. Drop it back for topspin loops, and lower for backspin loops. Why do many players hit the net switching from backhand to forehand? Because their elbow is locked, making the whole arm swing as a single unit. See? That’s incorrect. During the backswing, your forearm should look like this. By opening up your forearm this way, you'll be able to really power through your topspin shots. Locking your forearm like this will cause you to drive inverted rubber shots into the net, and makes playing against pips a nightmare. Pips give a sinking effect, leaving you with zero margin for error. The same applies to the backhand. Why net the ball after switching from the forehand? Because your backhand forearm didn't recover properly. You're striking without tucking your forearm back first. You must pull the forearm back to strike directly behind the ball. Watch: compress directly behind the incoming ball, and it easily lands on the table. If you flick your wrist to hit the ball when switching to the backhand, you'll constantly dump your backhand returns into the net. For the forehand, you must open up your forearm. If you want to smash a switch-up, level the forearm first so you have a solid hitting platform. So remember: on the forehand, keep the forearm level. Bring it straight back for power, but never angle it inward to the left. For the backhand, don't torque your wrist. Tuck the forearm straight back to your body. Even when transitioning from the forehand, retract the forearm fully. Don't just swipe up at the ball. Retract the racket to hit squarely through the back of the ball for power. Otherwise, you'll net the shot. Recover your full arm position properly. If you swing sideways on both wings, you can never generate true forward power. You'll lose all your power and drastically increase your unforced errors.