THE CHOP

Many players ask why, inasmuch as a block shot is both simple and accurate, it is necessary to learn any other shot. The answer is that, when a fast ball is hit to you, its speed often forces you back from the end of the table. It would be impossible to return these fast drives without retarding their speed. And the only way to retard their speed is to retreat behind the table and to make use of the scientific fact that the friction caused by a light celluloid ball passing a distance through the air makes it slow down tremendously. To handle fast drives efficiently you must learn a chop stroke, so called because the ball is returned with a downward motion similar to that used when chopping wood with an axe.

Although it may seem that you are being placed at a disadvantage by being forced to retreat behind the table to perform a chop stroke, the reverse is often the case. It is true that by so retreating you sometimes give up an opportunity to hit the ball really hard and earn an outright point, and that you thereby increase the amount of territory you must cover since, as you fall back, the angle of the shot becomes greater. However, the amount of time before the ball hit by your opponent reaches your racket is also in­creased, thus providing a much better opportunity for you to judge the speed, pace, and direction of the ball. And, most important, the prolonged flight of the ball reduces its initial speed.

THE IMPORTANCE OF FOOT POSITION
In executing a block shot, the position of your feet was unimportant. You were at the table and could reach for the ball instead of taking steps. In all other shots, foot position is extremely important because you have a large area to cover in retreating far behind the table and you may have to switch suddenly from backhand to forehand position. Those of you who play tennis or golf realize the value of a sidewise position in swinging at a ball. Study Figures 5 and 20 carefully, and observe the positions of the body during the execution of the forehand and backhand chops.

THE FOREHAND CHOP (Figures 5-12)
In executing a forehand chop, grip your racket firmly and turn your body until your left side faces the net. Keep your left foot about nine inches in advance of your right one. (Study body position in Figure 5).
Bend your elbow slightly and keep your wrist firm. The latter admoni­tion applies to every stroke in table tennis, with the exception of the wristed backhand (pages 48 and 57) and the backhand flick (pages 57 and 58), which are the only strokes requiring any wrist action. The firmness of the wrist determines the accuracy of the shot. This is one of the most difficult things for the beginner, or even the advanced player, to remember. Do not be misled by flashy players who bend the wrist, hit one tremendous shot on the table and then miss three or four. Be safe and accurate by keeping your wrist firm.

Start the racket high for a forehand chop, about at the level of your right shoulder. Stroke forward and downward with your racket, catching the ball squarely behind and not passing underneath. Your body turns sideways (Figure 6). Passing the racket underneath the ball will give a scooping action to your shot and will result in a high return. Hit the ball squarely, and keep the stroke smooth. Do not chop too heavily at first. Avoid a cramped swing by taking the ball well away from your body (Figures 7 and 8), and by bending your knees slightly At the point of contact, the bottom edge of your racket should be tilted forward at approximately a forty-five-degree angle with the floor (Figure 8). The ball goes back slowly across the net, with a fair amount of backspin to keep it low. But don't stop your stroke. Follow through completely, straight toward the net, in the direction you desire the ball to go. The racket will normally end above your left knee (Figure 12).

ERRORS IN MAKING THE FOREHAND CHOP
Errors commonly committed in making the forehand chop are the following:
1. Scooping under the ball too much and thus putting your returns too high in the air. This error, which usually results in the loss of the point, can be remedied by concentrating more on the forward motion of the racket.
The chop stroke consists of a combination of under spin and forward spin. The purpose of the under spin is to control the ball and keep it bouncing low; the purpose of the forward spin, naturally, is to give it sufficient speed and direction to send it over the net in a fairly straight line. Do not be afraid to bring your racket forward and hit the ball smartly, but do not jerk your swing. A sound, steady shot—forward as well as down—gives the best results
.
2. Making too timid a stroke, thus giving your opponent a "sitter" on the forward part of the table.  (By "sitter" we mean a return high enough and close enough to the net so that your opponent can normally return it to win the point.) This error, like the one described above, presents a setup. The remedy also involves a smart blow and a firm, steady stroking of the ball. Be bold, but not jerky. You do not have to hit up to make sure your shot clears the net, because a chop stroke has a tendency to rise a trifle any­ way. Aim straight for the top of the net and the underspin will affect the trajectory of flight sufficiently to put the shot over. Do not be afraid of over-hitting the opposite end of the table on a chop stroke. If your stroke is smooth and your wrist steady, friction will slow down the speed of your chop so effectively that only a very powerful blow will send the ball too far.

3. Following through too  far across your  body. This  is a very bad habit because, carried to excess, it adds sidespin to every shot and causes lack of control. By "rolling" the racket far around the side of the ball you destroy your own accuracy. This fault usually leads to the worse one of using your wrist excessively, even of passing your wrist completely under the ball in an effort to follow through completely. The remedy is to concen­trate on following through in the correct manner, that is, straight on  in the direction you are playing the shot, and thus to prevent your wrist from wandering off the straight line.

4. Trying for too much backspin or chop. This is a fault only because of the difficulty in executing a heavily chopped stroke. Until you develop an expert defense, you will either use too much wrist or become too unsteady if you strive for excessive backspin. A medium amount of chop will make you steadiest. Because you are on the defense, technically speaking, play defensively. Avoid excessive spin and cut down on errors.

THE FOREHAND CHOP
Figure 5. Start of the forehand chop. The racket starts higher than the path of the ball. Figure 6. As the racket descends, the body turns sideways to meet the ball. Figure 7. The angle of the racket is such that a firm contact will be made in order to hit the ball "on the nose." Figure 8. The point of contact. Note that the stroke is not cramped because it is taken far enough from the body.

 

6. Standing too straight and stiff. This is almost invariably the fault of the tall player, just the one who can least afford it because his eye is too far above the line of flight of the ball. A slight crouch aids you to keep your balance and increases your ability to adjust any positional errors you have made in anticipating the flight of the ball. Most of all, the crouch places your eye closer to the level of the shot and helps you to judge the correct line of flight of your return.

 THE FOREHAND CHOP— continued
Figure 9. The stroke is finished and the ball is just coming off the racket. Figure 10. Note that the wrist is still firm and the follow-through is slightly for­ward. Figure 11. You can see that the eyes are still following the ball, proof that good players "watch" the ball until the last second. Figure 12. A full follow-through indicates a successful and well-controlled shot.

 

THE BACKHAND CHOP
A backhand chop is used to return balls hit to your left side, and is just the opposite of the forehand chop, which is used for balls hit to your right. This means that, in the backhand chop, your right foot should be slightly in advance of your left and that your right side should be facing the net. Keep your wrist firm, start your racket up near your left shoulder (Figure 15) and stroke the ball forward and downward, with the racket assuming a forty-five-degree angle to the table. In a backhand chop, you must bring your right shoulder around in front of your left shoulder, keeping your elbow bent and close to the body during the entire motion. At the con­clusion of the stroke, the follow-through naturally straightens out your arm completely (Figure 20). There is a greater tendency to jerk the backhand chop than the forehand chop, in attempting to gain backspin, so be very careful to keep the swing smooth.
Although the backhand and forehand chops are very similar in most points, for the sake of convenience in learning them let us point out a few minor differences.

1. Stance (position of feet and shoulders) should be farther sideways for the backhand chop. A forehand chop may be made quite effectively at times without attaining a sideways position. But, particularly on the deep backhand chop, this sideways posi­tion, with the arm well back across the shoulder to begin with, is essential.
   
   
2. In hitting the backhand  chop,  it is important to hold racket and wrist at the same angle before and after contact with the ball. This is not so important in the forehand chop; the shot will not necessarily be muffed if our wrist comes forward a fraction of a second too soon.
   
   
3. In the forehand chop you must keep your arm and elbow well away from your body to avoid cramping your stroke. In the backhand chop, because you must stroke across your body, the elbow and arm should be in as close as possible.

ERRORS IN MAKING THE BACKHAND CHOP
One common error in making a backhand chop is taking the ball too far in front of the body. This is the surest way to cultivate a jerky and unreliable stroke. Both your balance and timing are upset by reaching too far forward, and you tend to punch the ball rather than stroke it. If you find you are constantly off balance on the backhand side, this is probably the reason. The remedy, during the game, is an "on your toes" attitude. Try to develop a quicker reaction to your opponent's shots. This error can be eradicated in practice by chopping continually on your backhand (your opponent must co-operate) and waiting for the ball to come to you. Cultivate patience; you have more time than you think to make your returns.

Another common error in making a backhand chop is getting your wrist too far ahead of the racket in making your shot, thus bringing your racket into contact with the ball at the wrong angle, causing excessive sidespin and loss of control. The remedy is to check the position of racket and wrist carefully, making sure they are in a straight line and remain that way.

POINTERS ON DEFENSE
The fact that you possess a reliable forehand and backhand chop does not always mean that you have a good defense, although it usually means that you are on your way toward obtaining a good one. There are several cases of defense in general which we must briefly consider.
First: What is the correct answer to the center shot, hit down the center of the table by your opponent and going neither to your backhand nor forehand? The best answer is to eliminate this center shot by superior antici­pation—by realizing that it is coming and by leaping quickly into a forehand or backhand position (sideways) and dealing with it as a forehand or back­hand chop shot.

Many times you will be unable to anticipate quickly enough. In this case you must use a backhand return because of the time element involved. Your backhand stroke is made across your body—your forehand is not. Caught with your hand across your body and pressed for time, you simply have to bring the racket forward and contact the ball with a regular chopping motion. This would be impossible to do on the forehand, but on the back­hand it works fairly well.
Second: How can you anticipate your opponent's shots? One common error that you must guard against is that of watching the result of your own shot rather than hastening back into position to be ready to deal with your opponent's next return. Be sure you have recovered your balance and have taken up as favorable a position as possible (usually in back of the center of the table) to deal with your opponent's next shot before stopping to watch the devastating effect of your last return.
Real anticipation is developed through practice and experience. Two artificial means of developing anticipation on the defense are:

 THE BACKHAND CHOP

Figure 13. Start of the backhand chop. Note extreme sideways position of the body. Figure 14. As the ball comes over, the racket starts back to gain a position higher than the ball. Figure 15.The backswing is almost completed and the eyes are watching the mov­ing ball intently. Figure 16. The ball has reached the height of its bounce. The racket is ready to come forward slowly.

THE BACKHAND CHOP - continued
Figure 17. Point of contact. Note that the wrist is firm and the eyes are watch­ing the ball Figure 18. Beginning of the follow-through. An effort is made to keep the ball on the racket as long as possible. Figure 19. Follow-through is almost complete here but eyes are still on the ball and the wrist is firm. Figure 20. Finish of the follow-through. Note how the arm is extended until it is almost straight.

1. By watching your opponent's racket. He may disguise his stance, but if he is going to send the ball in a certain direction he must swing his racket in  a  certain  way. And  since your opponent is on the offense and must hit the ball with speed, it is particularly difficult for him to feint and change the direction of his racket at the last moment without making a weak shot.
2. By learning to take a number of small steps, rather than one or two large ones, to reach a shot. This habit permits you to make instantaneous correction of any errors in judgment as regards balance and foot position. Small steps serve to keep you on balance anyway, and you are much less likely to be far off your correct position if you make an error in taking a small step rather than a larger one.

We cannot call attention too strongly to the matter of steadiness in making your chop strokes. The whole purpose of defense is to play a steady, accurate stroke which forces your opponent to take chances. To most players the chop stroke is not nearly so natural as the drive. But once it is thoroughly learned you can perform it without conscious attention to it because the motion is so simple. Furthermore, it is a downward motion and is not so tiring as the more energetic and longer upward-sweeping motion of the drive. In an extended match in which neither the driver nor the chopper will take chances, the chopper almost always can outlast his opponent because his defensive play is less tiring.

GRADING OF CHOP
After you have learned to play consistent chops you may experiment in varying the amount of backspin on your strokes. How do you put a great deal of backspin on a ball? By having the ball pass over the greatest possible surface of the rubber face. By keeping the ball in contact with your racket as long as possible. And by changing the angle of your racket face to a slight degree. If you chopped straight down at an angle of ninety degrees and kept continuous contact with the ball, you would gain the maximum amount of chop. Of course, your stroke would not go over the net because it would have no forward motion, only downward motion. You need a certain amount of forward motion to get your return over the net, but the more downward motion, the heavier the chop.