It's wrong to think that brushing is only up, and driving is only forward. The brushing feeling should be like this, not like this. Today, let's discuss how to improve the consistency of your forehand loop. I watched some amateur players today, and a common mistake is standing too upright after the serve. Your legs aren't engaged, so you're passively waiting for the ball instead of actively moving to it. A great coach once said: be a predator, not a pet. You must actively hunt for the ball, not wait for it to be fed to you. When you stand upright, your center of gravity is too high, which slows down your footwork. So, the first thing to fix is your ready position after the serve. Always keep your knees bent and your upper body leaning forward. Many players stand too straight, so when they move to their forehand, the shot is all arm and no body. Second, your footwork when moving from backhand to forehand is incorrect. You're stepping forward as if it's a short ball. When moving for a forehand attack after your serve, your feet must move sideways, not forward into the table. Whether you use a one-step or a shuffle, your left foot must follow to establish a solid stance, with your weight loaded onto your right leg. Let me show you. Personally, I'd use a one-step footwork for this. Third, you're straightening up too early. Your body rises before your arm is in position, which rushes your stroke. You need to stay down and load your weight, like coiling a spring. Don't come up too soon. Make sure you stay low through contact and only rise after you've hit the ball. Rising up during the swing is a major flaw. Fourth, let's analyze the swing path of the loop. Think of it in two phases. During your backswing, keep the racket close to your body. Phase one is the movement to the contact point. As the ball approaches, rotate your body and lower your center of gravity. The problem lies in phase two, which is the follow-through after making contact. A common mistake is that after contact, your swing immediately goes sideways or straight up, instead of forward. Contact is phase one. Phase two, the follow-through, must continue forward and then up, carrying the ball over the net. So after contact, your forearm must drive through the ball forward and up to complete the second phase of the stroke. If you learn to drive forward against backspin, you'll be able to loop any underspin ball in a match. Think of it this way: backswing to find the ball, use your arm to drive through it, and only then complete your follow-through. For instance, after you drive through the ball, your follow-through can finish in different ways, and that's fine. Fifth, your backswing. The mistake is a static backswing with no body rotation or weight transfer, which makes your entire stroke flawed. If you don't open your shoulders and set your weight properly, the angle of your backswing will be incorrect. This type of backswing forces you to get under the ball and brush it upward, rather than driving it forward. You must drop the racket head below the ball to get enough room to brush it effectively. During the backswing, you need to drop the racket behind your hip. This allows the racket head to point downwards naturally, which is essential for generating the outer arc in a loop. Watch: by dropping the racket behind your hip during the backswing, the resulting arc is much more stable. A key part of the backswing is to rotate your body first, keeping your elbow and arm close, allowing them to get behind you naturally. This is absolutely critical when looping against backspin. Let me ask you: when you loop, do you contact the very back of the ball, or slightly to the side? If you hit it dead-center, that's a drive, not a loop. You only hit the back of the ball on a simple block or drive. With a full backswing, hitting the back of the ball just turns it into a flat push. You must always contact the ball slightly off-center. This will create a much better and more reliable arc. It's the same for the backhand. Watch my stroke—I'm contacting the ball off-center to generate spin. Many players mistakenly believe you have to loop the direct back of the ball, even for a backhand loop against backspin. This is incorrect. You must learn to contact the ball off-center. By contacting it off-center, you create a curved trajectory. If I hit the back of the ball with a flat racket angle, the ball will travel in a straight line with no spin. Against topspin this isn't a huge issue, but against backspin, this concept is absolutely essential. For a loop down the line, you might contact the ball closer to the center, but focusing on an off-center contact for cross-court loops will help you 'wrap around' the ball and significantly improve your consistency. As a professional, I can loop the ball by contacting the right side, I can loop it from dead center, and I can even loop it from the left side. But for developing players, you must focus on what works consistently. Years ago, I coached elite players and wouldn't have taught this. But after working with club players, I've adapted my coaching to be more practical for you. I used to teach advanced techniques like big cross-step footwork and jumping flicks, but those aren't practical for most players. So my goal now is to teach you fundamental techniques that you can actually use in a match. Another key point: your stroke is too short and stops abruptly, which is a major cause of inconsistency. There's a common misconception that creating spin is just about lifting the ball upwards. You must learn to "drive-brush." This means you drive forward while brushing the ball. This combination is the key to a consistent loop. Right now, your instinct is to lift up for spin and to hit forward for power. You need to combine them. You have to learn to "brush forward." Remember that phrase. Let me demonstrate the drive-brush looping technique for you. Don't separate the two. It's wrong to think that brushing is only up, and driving is only forward. The brushing feeling should be like this, not like this. I see my students always lifting straight up when they try to brush the ball. You must break this habit and focus on brushing forward. If you want a consistent loop, learn to brush the ball so quietly that you can barely hear the contact. That quiet sound comes from driving through the ball while brushing it forward. A loud 'thwack' means your racket angle was too open and you hit it flat, creating too much impact. For maximum consistency, use a more compact backswing and focus on brushing forward through the ball, not just hitting it. not just hitting it. This is crucial for a good loop. Most players have a big backswing but then a very short, jerky contact. You need a full follow-through that 'carries' the ball forward. Don't stop your swing at contact. You need to follow through and guide the ball over the net. Use your forearm, wrist, and body to accelerate through the ball. The real work of the loop begins at the moment of contact, not before. As we discussed, after contact, you need that second phase of the swing to drive forward, guiding the ball out before snapping your forearm. Let's talk about 'Phase 1 Speed' and 'Phase 2 Speed.' Phase 1 is your swing speed before contact, and Phase 2 is your acceleration through contact. In table tennis, your Phase 2 speed—your acceleration at contact—should be the fastest part. Most players get this wrong and decelerate into the ball. You must have a faster Phase 2. The reason you can't 'grip' the ball is because your initial swing is too fast. Save your acceleration for the instant of contact. Whether you're adding power or adding spin, the principle is the same: accelerate at contact. For simplicity, think of your backswing as Phase 1, because many amateur players have improper backswing mechanics. Just remember this feeling: slow backswing, fast acceleration at contact. You must time your explosion of power for the moment you are about to contact the ball. This applies to your pushes, too. You can have a backswing, but the sharp motion happens right at contact. If you use power from the start, you'll feel out of control. Just think about players who don't toss the ball or who like to hide their serves— their motion is always compact and close to the ball. Being close to the ball allows them to find that feeling of sharp acceleration. That's a perfect application of the 'fast Phase 2' principle. As you get close to the ball, that's when you have that burst of energy. You'll see players with a very compact loop. It doesn't look powerful, but it's incredibly difficult to block. Then you have players with huge, telegraphed swings that look powerful, but the ball has no real quality. Those are easy to block. Finally, you must control your rhythm. If you rush the shot, you'll never loop consistently. When faced with heavy spin, a fast ball, or you're out of position, slow down. Learn to wait and contact the ball as it's falling. When you contact the ball at this later timing point, it's much easier to lift, even with a simple motion. So when should you take the ball early, at the top of the bounce? Only when you have a clear opportunity, like when your opponent pops up your serve. Since your technique is developing, anytime you feel uncomfortable— the ball is too wide, too fast, or has tricky spin— your default should be to wait for it to drop. Don't panic and rush. As long as you stay calm and execute a full, smooth stroke, you can lift any backspin ball. Focus on making a full, complete motion. As you improve, you can add more acceleration at contact. For now, just completing the swing will make the ball land. Amateur matches are won and lost in the short game against backspin. You lose because your opponent is more consistent at looping underspin, and you are not. So, start by learning to loop the ball on its way down with a full stroke. Then, gradually add more acceleration at contact. This will take your loop to a whole new level.