Yu Di Tip of the Week: The Pivot
(By Brian Pace and Yu Di)

Introduction
Welcome to Butterfly’s Training Tip, my name is Yu Di. In this video article I will cover a special skill in table tennis, and that is the pivot. What make the pivot a special skill is it is made up of two combined movements, and that is side to side movement, as well as rotating.

This footwork movement will allow you to be able to expand the range of your forehand attack. If you use the pivot at the right time, you can control the point or win it outright. Throughout this post you will see how the pivot is the essential skill that is responsible for winning the point. There are a couple of ways you will use this in competition, and you want to train it as well.

Footwork Fine-Tuning
The most common training drill to improve your pivot is to play 2 backhands, pivot then 1 forehand loop. In this video clip you get to see the footwork mechanics to achieve the proper position using the pivot to get to the forehand loop.

This is the drill that will help you understand how to create the proper spacing for the forehand loop. It will also help you understand how much effort you should put into your forehand loop so you can return to the neutral position.

Teaching developing juniors the pivot early is important as they will master it to a level that it is done effortlessly, especially in competition.

1^st Approach
The first approach to the pivot is using it directly after the serve.

This has the best benefit because your opponent will be more comfortable watching you play backhands, and you can surprise them with a forehand attack.

2^nd Approach

The second approach to the pivot is using it after making a backhand attack. If your opponent is prepared to play multiple backhand, you can catch them off guard with the pivot.

Ball Placement
Now that you are using the pivot one thing you should think about is where to play your forehand attack. The three major places to play the pivot is the wide backhand, the middle, and down the line. All of these positions will require your opponent to have to move to the ball first, which will slow them down.  In this clip you see the pivot being used to take advantage of the forehand court that is open.

Your ball placement decision will be based on where your opponent is when you make the pivot, so it is important to be able to watch your opponent at the same time. In this video clip you see the approach to the pivot, as well as an attack to the forehand. In these next clips you see how pivot used to attack the wide backhand.

I hope this video gets you on your way to implementing the perfect forehand pivot.

My name is Yu Di at Butterfly’s Training Tips, and good luck with your training and improvement.