Right now I'm just trying with one of my practice partners who wants to practice his serves to the short FH corner. So pretty much he serves, I flick and we play out the point. Is that a good way to learn?

Even after you learn how to do the shot, you'll struggle executing it in the game because you need to anticipate in advance that you need to do the FH flick. 

Yeah definitely the hardest shot to learn in the game imo. The chiquita is so easy comparatively. 

The most difficult part of the flip is getting there in time and having the right distance from the ball.

Start with soft flipping and then gradually go fast.

Don't know about flipping spinny serves but pros never really seem to flip serves with forehand, it's either a bh flick or fh stop push.

Think it's more about attacking loose balls on the FH short area. My go to is the chop smash now but would love to have a more solid FH flick to punish these kind of balls. 

Agree that directly flipping spinny serves is really difficult! 

People struggling with the flick often know how to loop because the flick is an intermediate to advanced stroke. So by considering the flick from the perspective of another stroke they know well, they can connect to it with less frustrations, they don't start from scratch.

Hmm interesting perspective, I'll definitely keep this in mind when I practice!

-Larry Hodges

I think power comes from extension and then flexion of the wrist, swinging the paddle parallel to the table prior to contact, or both. Spin comes from pronation or supination followed by pronation ---  pivoting or wiping the paddle on a curved path similar to windshield wipers; hitting above the equator of the ball, or both. Practice these movements separately and then combine then. Then it's all about anticipation, footwork into the table, and timing through loads of practice.

I suppose you can also just hit the ball too, but that's more risky and relies on good touch in adjusting the racket face, depending on the incoming spin and its intensity. 

Great video, never seen that before! I think Ma Long probably has the best FH flick in the world and it shows in his textbook technique. 

Some takeaways looking at the video. His elbow is usually quite close to the body during the start of the stroke. Sometimes I feel I probably start with too straight an arm. The other thing is that he seems to actively brush the ball - his flip ends up in the salute position similar to a loop - if it was just directly forward his end position would be quite different. 

Several from Li Ping playing practice points later in video:

I see him hitting the ball at least 2 ways. For the parallel shot, he's kinda hit-spinning/carrying/lifting the ball with an open face and a relatively straight arm. For the diagonal shot, he snaps his forearm and "rolls over the ball."

Always happy to share.

I also came across a video of Calderano FH flipping absolute bullets in practice. I'll see if I can locate it.

The parallel shot is more like a sideswipe like the one that Waldner loves to use. I use it all the time but it's much more effective if you can combine it with a true flick....people get used to it and just loop it hard.

I know the sideswipe you're talking about, but I don't think that's what ML is executing there in the video. Look at how long the stroke path is, starting well behind the table, and the weight transfer. It's a lot more aggressive than the sideswipe. Check out the Li Ping video. He hits the same aggressive shot several times.

Great videos. Many thanks 👍👍

Lots of good advice here.  I will add that you should focus on adding a little spin and placement.  Even if not very powerful, a flip is very effective when well placed. Power will come with practice.

ILya

Excellent point. Though ML is just drilling, both player's early recognition of the length and height of the incoming ball and their preparation quickness are impressive. Their execution is so fast, it's almost as though they're waiting for the ball.

Thanks racketforsale. When we were away training recently picked up alot about preperation, precision and a fair bit about flicks. Kinda stuck straightaway. Getting it into the match at a quality level mind under pressure is another thing. 

Cheers 

You're right, it's quite a bit more aggressive than the sideswipe, I think it's almost like a combination of the sideswipe and the flick. 

I am not sure what most people call "using the wrist" is really using the *wrist* in any real sense of the word and as I got more advanced, I concluded that people were looking at the wrist and usually meant something else (more fingers, more pronation, more supination, more whip, more relaxation of the elbow to let the hand/fingers move in a plane different from the lower arm etc.).   It is mostly a slight increase of the speed in swing plane.

In this case of the flick, when they say use the wrist, I think what they really mean for the flick is to reduce the usage of the upper arm and the elbow in the swing and to pronate /supinate the arm back and forth slightly.  I think the plastic ball is one of the reasons why this flick is less prominent - pure spin doesn't get you the same mileage and is easier to counter.  So speed is the focus of the flick - better to push short and get an attacking chance than to spin flick and get the ball countered past you.  This requires more elbow and possibly more upper arm, hence the broad swing focus.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6MauV2tM00" rel="nofollow - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6MauV2tM00

What do you think his rating is, he seems like a really good player....