What in your mind is the hardest stroke in table tennis

[pingpongrob]

Ok, so we all have our strengths & weakness. Some times we overcome the weakness and turn it into a strength. What interests me is which stroke is the hardest stroke to learn, and which stroke is the execute.

[speedplay]

Hardest to learn has to be either the serve or the return of the serve. The serve because it is such a crucial shot that can really win or lose the game for you, and the return cause this is the shot were your opponent is in total control of the ball and you need to make a decision and react in a split second, with out possibilities to anticipate were it is coming, if it is coming fast or slow.

If you are looking for a more specific shot, I would probably say the fh-flick, not sure why, but I think this shot is pretty hard to execute.

[JKC]

It depends a lot at which level we are talking. Initially, the FH push and then the BH topspin. As we progress flicks are difficult, but once learned, other than speeding them up and placing them well there isn't much further work do do on them. Touchplay is always difficult, probably more so on the forehand side as the bat tends to be further away and then there is the endless improvement to the FH/BH loop/drive contunuum and the endless service tweeks.

All have their difficulties at various stages of development.

[Honey]

If we are talking about simply learning a stroke then it has to be a BH stroke against backspin.

I really think that if you start separating strokes up into all these flicks and drives etc then your just going to confuse people who are learning the game. You have a FH stroke, separated into different returns, at basic level open bat, flat bat and closed bat; and the same with BH. If you teach kids how to return balls with different degrees of spin (from heavy back to float to heavy top) then the rest of the game and other strokes (as we know them) get taught through movment. A FH stroke against backspin is always similar, expect if your footwork/weight transfer is different. If you teach kids how to move around the court well and hit against different spin (sidespin falls into shot placement), then these shots become easy.

I say this because then when the game gets more advanced, things become similar. I got fed up with myself saying ' I can't flick', it wasn't that I couldn't flick (what actually IS a flick). The real reason was I had bad footwork and my timing was out. I never say to myself now 'I can't flick', I say to myself 'Rob, get your feet right, time the ball and hit it cleanly'. It's a much clearer way to think, and it improves your overall game. Often if you can hit the ball against spin well and get your feet&weight in the right place, the shot just plays itself.

[Vinnie]

Backhand Topspin is definitely the one for me, as I am having trouble with it at the moment.
I am using a soft sponged Donic rubber as shown in my signature, which is really good for pushing, but I find it a bit harder to topspin it back with it.