The deadly KICKER serve ... in-depth tutorial with Craig Bryant

[@ramradhakrishnan9382]

This does explain the concept clearly, and one can almost see the action in slow motion, but I think you will need a faster frame rate camera, and a closer view of those crucial milliseconds when the ball contacts the paddle. Of course, one should be able to reproduce this service simply by carefully following your instructions - if I start now, I guess I'll make it in my early eighties 🙂 (which is less than 3 years away).

[@Brezinski1000]

I followed the instructions and in one week, I've been killing folks with it. That switch to backspin is easy and I enjoy the baffling looks in my opponents' eyes when their returns dive into the bottom of the net. It's my 2nd best serve now after the pendulum. Oh...I'm 71.

[@Foxatrot]

One day I hope to be as old as you gentlemen

[@jessam5]

our city sports event just ended yesterday, it has been 3 years of me not practicing, and results came when it was my turn to play, it took me a while to get used to the table because it was so low lol, but it was just the beginning, as soon as we started the match, i served a pretty high ball, it got to the point where i lost hope of winning because i was in a dis advantage, because the other player was used to the table and has been practicing way before the event started, and im here just waiting for everything to end, but i got the chance to play anyway lol im gonna start learning new serves now, for the next event next year thank you so much for this

[@subhabratadas8419]

There are so many levels to this game. Even after playing TT all my life I had difficulty picking up that serve even on slow motion.

[@IamMotionMedia]

I dont blame you, picking his serve from the rear camera angle is virtually impossible. The key is to ignore all his superfluous movements, actions and windups etc and just really focus on where the ball is making contact with the bat, as to whether you should close your bat angle or open it. Also differences in ball toss, serving position and stance can be dead give aways as to which serve he is doing.

[@jphb95]

Man Wow your channel has grown LOADS since I first saw ur tutorials. This is just premium content for FREE tom. Genius.

[@SharawyFit]

Thnx😍

[@joeythelemur2]

6:45 Love Craig's cheeky smile when he got you to curse. :-)

[@eyemallears2647]

Hey Tom. The quality of the video has really improved! The audio is great, the content is great…. Now all we need is a MUCH more detailed slow motion feature because even in slow mo I’m none the wiser trying to see what he’s doing at the contact point! This is a compliment to him, not a criticism of the video!!

[@mudzyop1533]

Just slo mo the bits of the vid that is already in solo mo

[@dwarfrom]

Tom just needs to ask Craig to omit the fake moves after contact.

[@Brezinski1000]

​@@dwarfromNO! The fake moves are the bomb. Awesome serve. I practice if often on my kitchen table.

[@chrisbrodroy1183]

These tutorials on your channel and especially the ones with Craig really help me a lot! Thanks for such top quality content!

[@erdling3132]

Every serve looks the same to me, even in slow motion

[@snowman1286]

Yes i think so too

[@randsp3c709]

it looks like he's putting underpin lol

[@TitaNiUm-NaZ]

if you look closely in top spin the ball hitting the top portion of the racket which gives a top spin then very quickly fakes an under spin motion which as a receiver will be hard to tell while the underspin hitting the lower portion of the racket which will give an under spin and by using the same motion it will make those variations confusing to the receiver i hope i didnt confuse you even more with this explanation LOL

[@anthonycecil7070]

Your basic I phone has super slow motion. Too high tech?

[@jamesmcallister2005]

Until u try to return it

[@Ichselbst6606]

Thanks so much, Tom and Craig for the in depth explanation of this serve and its variations. I don‘t think I‘ll ever be able to serve (or return, that matter …) such a „deadly“ ball but it sure looks great!

[@suavidemircioglu7985]

Thnx a lot. One of the best kicker serve demonstration with lot of explanation. And it is fun as well. All the best 🏓

[@nowthenad3286]

Even when I play the slow motion at a slower speed, I still can't spot his little topspin flick before he follows up with the appearance of backspin. You would have to get one of those incredible high speed cameras for this to be perceptible.

[@aerotus888]

This is one of the most deceptive serves out there. Amazing technique. Thank you for the detailed explanations!

[@melbonz41]

Wow..its great...I will try to practice this one.

[@KealEzlo]

I tried to learn this serve but didn't use it much because mine is very low quality. Still, by understand the mechanics of it, I don't have much problems reading Craig's spin here. If you struggle reading the spin in the video, maybe can try learning the serve yourself. The trick here is to notice the server's wrist just before they contact the ball. For the top spin, because server will need to "flick" the wrist a little bit, the wrist will point a little bit down. For back spin, the wrist will be fully pulled back for the strong downward brush. Still though, it is easier to read when seeing from behind Craig. It would be much more difficult when standing across the table, where the server can "hide" the serving hand behind body.

[@glenn7484]

Thanks, observing the starting angle of the wrist is such a good tip! It hadn’t occurred to me 👍

[@pablominnaro3502]

I already learned this serv from one of you previous video. It helped me a lot thanx !

[@pareshshah1443]

Tom - Can we have a video of different serves - with the server facing the camera - but showing it from the receivers perspective . Would be a great learning video - identifying the serves. Love your videos and have been following them for some time.

[@RandyDaGamer]

What a great video. You guys are awesome.

[@hyttennis]

Very nice. The only thing I would say is that that becomes so much harder to pull off with a vertical ball toss

[@michaelmichael2121]

And when he doesn't make contact behind his stomach. It's a very foul serve and almost impossible to return if you haven't practiced with the guy for weeks. This is why table tennis can never take off as a spectator sport on TV. Far too much trickery and not enough genuine sporting endeavour. Imagine Djokovic or Federer having to put up with shit like that. In tennis the authorities know that rallies means viewing. Table tennis will never ever take off and always be a joke with fewer viewers than darts, squash, badminton or any other comparable discipline. Remember when Barry Hearn took over the hard bat competition, rallies are guaranteed and people tuned in to it. If only the ITTF and ETTA as the guts to clean up serves so that they didn't give such an unfair advantage to otherwise shite players, there may be some hope.

[@kjhgaseiyufbef1604]

this one and the classic tomahawk serves are killing me. when I play against somebody who is serving them all day against me in a tournament, I feel like I have no chance. this serve is very good if you struggle to serve reverse pendulum close to the body.

[@abhishekdutta144]

Most underrated serve in tt. Wang hao used it to perfection.

[@rommario55]

Thank you for the video, very clear, will try it tomorrow.

[@amirznd1008]

I love this guy very good demo

[@pitzburgscotish]

Basically, if you serve your kickers with right forehand and there're mainly two types of spins----your right topspin and right backspin. As to a lefty player,if you serve a kicker to his left desktop area,he'll return you no matter a left topspin loop,a left topspin speedo or even his left side spin snake by his forehand.Then,he'll also start a series of forehand attacks for you in return as soon as you give back those returns higher than the net from his desktop.

[@tristancornelsen3017]

Thanks so much I’ve got three new serves may have took me 30 minutes but I got three

[@СергейДонченко-ъ7н]

Хоть и непонятен язык,но объясняет шикарно ,на пальцах,как говориться!

[@KrisBotha]

This is an amazing serve 🙂 so subtle, so effective

[@HikingScenery]

Great video, and lots of fun. I think I picked maybe one at the end there. Not a great percentage.

[@karlschonborn4700]

When i am watching your video you really make my day

[@blueheart9873]

My favourite variation of the reverse pendulum is side-topspin. Just because it is hard to follow with the eyes. It goes fast and in a zigzag motion. The opponent thinks the ball goes to the right after the bounce but it goes left instead. If you hit it completely on the side it does go to the right so it's really tricky to return

[@oppapingpong]

Nice sharing, coach. Thanks

[@scottpitner4298]

So much trickery the ball doesn’t know what is going on. ;) Awesome

[@DSKHo1968]

Love it@ got to try and develop this one and add it to my repertoire!

[@asriyapai]

craig bryant serves never let me down

[@zegson9809]

Awsome! Especially that old lady

[@gg80108]

yes think the spin is produced in only a few milliseconds of contact then the rest fluff. Same as the snake!

[@FedorMachida]

Awesome video! Thank you Sir. I would probably be very lucky just to get a few return serves back. Very difficult to recognize the top spin vs. the back spin serves.

[@7nachiket]

Amazing levels of complexity, couldn't even make the difference in all serves in slow motion before I had to watch for 3 times 😀

[@ltoyota]

How does contacting the top part of the racquet with an open face create top spin? I have a tennis background and I’m used to having a closed face at impact for top spin. 1:43

[@amitabhshakya8452]

Thanks for this amazing video, can you pls make video on how to receive this difficult kick serves?

[@washnery]

I'll practice this serve, thanks a lot for the tips!

[@suavidemircioglu7985]

Only remark would be about legality of the serve if after the toss the ball might go a little behind the body, therefore you might be hiding the ball with your body/shoulder. Off course, this is also question for all kind of pendulum serves. All the Best 🏓

[@paulbismuth10]

That's a problem rarely rectified by the umpires.

[@suavidemircioglu7985]

@@paulbismuth10 Yes, indeed 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@abhishekdutta144]

Legality of serve in tt is always debated. I wonder how Dima serves. He clearly dosent throw the ball perpendicular in his tomahawk serves but his serves are clearly visible though. Only have seen samsonov having the cleanest serve in the circuit.

[@pw7414]

even in the slow motion, i can't see Bryant brushes the ball upward 2:34, such a fantastic serve

[@idrivearttabletennis]

Simply wicked. I can actually see you (any of us) accidentially returning one from time to time. Stay safe and well.

[@modernninja7883]

A good video, as always. Keep up the good work!

[@SomeoneSmarter]

I'm new to Table Tennis but I've been addicted to the Eleven table tennis game on my VR headset. I understand the concept of creating different spins on the ball to keep the opponent guessing. This video shows how well you can disguise the direction of the spin by fakes and dummy paddle movements. What I simply can't understand is how Pros are able to read these spins so well and return a vast amount of the pro serves. With the ball being all white, how can they read the spin?

[@farahdanabyery8081]

Thank you for tutorial

[@tonydare7614]

Fascinating but so hard! IEven in slow motion it's hard to read other than looking at the point of contact. I can disguise tomahawk serves to an extent but changing direction completely after the contact when doing heavy spin is really challenging!

[@markusgut6154]

Another nice video. May I ask which bat the guy uses?

[@brian95331]

I love when Craig comes on your channel makes me laugh when u guys make funny sounds case of his service im the same lol

[@ihaveaboyfriendmeh1026]

The problem with service is, it borders on illegality. You are essentially hiding the contact behind your face. As a left handed player who stands down the line, I have called it out many many times in provincial tournaments.

[@gapfaction]

Amazing skills craig

[@s.patterson5698]

So this is what I use to do and didn't even know it. When I was young I use to nail this...was nearly possible for players to return.

[@marvinlinreb2842]

Hoping I have racket like that.

[@Dans_TableTennis]

He showed this one at a serving course and not 1 person got it back, never seen more confused faces 🤣

[@TomLodziak]

Yes, I have witnessed that too.

[@Brezinski1000]

I believe you 100%. I've been using and getting same baffling results against players at my level and below. 1750.

[@FUNKINETIK]

The double bluff is clever. Maybe it’s best to concentrate on the movement of the ball not the server, difficult I know. . just shut your eyes until you hear the sound of ball on bat, then open them super quick : ) P E A C E : )

[@debashishmitra]

See the person in the background stand totally still from 4:25 to 5:13

[@Brezinski1000]

It just looks the same, but try it. I followed everything until the double bluff. It murdered three of my opponents. Very effective serves and good placement makes it even more effective.

[@vladolokas9415]

Nice...one Question....I m see that ball before serving contact have litttle loop....In rules scrive that ball before serving contact must have vertical moving... I'm wrong ...or?

[@Mbmtravels]

thanks sir , please tell wats ur setup blade and rubber

[@TomLodziak]

This is Craig's equipment: Blade: JOOLA TPE Fight bribartt.co.uk/product/joola-tpe-fight-table-tennis-blade/?ref=8204 FH rubber: JOOLA Rhyzm Tech bribartt.co.uk/product/joola-rhyzm-tech-table-tennis-rubber/?ref=8204 BH rubber: JOOLA Rhyzm Tech bribartt.co.uk/product/joola-rhyzm-tech-table-tennis-rubber/?ref=8204

[@OlstiMusic]

Everytime when I think he does an undercut it turns out to be a topspin, crazy!

[@tuancao35]

We are here because we want to humiliate our friend at table tennis

[@mevinwachiramuriithi8289]

Hello and thanks for the tips 💯. I've just started my training and I would like to know which is the recommendable type of bat 🏓 to play with.

[@mamuajageorgenorman9985]

Hi Tom What i may choose for the spoon... Soft, Medium, or Hard spoon

[@andreaseriksson8803]

I don't recognise Pär Gerell any longer... He has change his looks and also switched hand 😁

[@jaredpreston8658]

Lol love this video!! Everyone’s faces are like they just saw a magician.

[@DragonWarrior976]

Hi Tom, thank you for sharing this video. I was actually looking for a good kicker serve tutorial and who better to learn it from other than the man himself? Craig Bryant. I have one request though. Every player has his or her playing preference. By which I mean, some players like to do underspin serve more and some like to do topspin serve more. So, for both the variations, if you can also explain where to position yourself after doing an underspin or topspin serve then it would be really useful (as a part of getting into stance after serve). I have noticed that players who do more underspin tend to stay close to the table after serve. Now, this works against them if they do a topspin serve since the returns kicks back to the server. I hope you get the idea. Thank you once again for your help!

[@abhishekdutta144]

You need to be ready immediately with backhand topspin if you are underspinning more often also if you can just get the serve a bit more short then it will give an added security of a push return. The best use of the serve was done by Wang hao. Watch how he positions himself after each serve more often backspin and no spin with the kick serve always ready to suprise. He used this serve to great perfection. Also it suited him as he had a great backhand to come with the third ball attack.

[@CT-nc9ku]

Yep,I really can’t see how he’s doing it. Just too good and I’m no closer to doing it myself.

[@pablominnaro3502]

It is not as hard as it can look like. But it require some practice but he you have enough time it's worth it. Just do it step by step. First just try to be able to generate the up spin by brushing like Craigs. Once you can do that, just add some fake motion. Finaly you just have to make it really fast to confuse your opponent. Craig(s serv are way better than mine but it is still working great !

[@inquistive]

#TomLodzaik - what TT club was this filmed at please?

[@TomLodziak]

Plymouth Table Tennis Club

[@MaxOng-y2y]

At 1:58, u mean like contact on top of the ball?

[@tonyvsa96able]

You can tell by looking at the point of contact with the blade. If its high its topspin and if its low its backspin.

[@box.10]

How would Paul Drinkhall fare with Craigs kicker serve?

[@craigyb22]

I’ve played against Paul and with Paul many times. Paul might miss 1 in a 100. Paul and I played in the same team in Belgium one season and he would often misread my serve, on purpose when our opposition were watching to try and intimidate them more. That was always good fun! 😂😃

[@AndyK665]

@@craigyb22 Love it!

[@dd-solutions1537]

@@craigyb22 Hi Craig, still nice to watch your serves, still impressed. Greets. Danny (You played in the team with my son Jules 2 years ago In Berlaar)

[@craigyb22]

@@dd-solutions1537 Hey Danny, has it been 2 years already? Time is going too quickly! I hope you are all well?

[@dd-solutions1537]

@@craigyb22 Yeah, already 2 years, time flies. All ok here. Good luck to all of you!

[@DcDONC]

How tightly is the racquet held for each serve

[@Niki_Parvanov]

What rubber is that made with?! My $50 racket can't accomplish this eve so if I attach it to a drill

[@noobstergaming116]

Nice video

[@forrestorange]

I think the problem with receiving this serve is that the opponent can't see half of it. Compare this to a backhand or a tomahawk serve, where the whole service action is visible. If the opponent could see the whole action it would a) be a lot easier to return and b) a lot fairer.

[@z0uLess]

Is there a way of doing reverse pendulum effectively with this base movement?

[@marvin9499]

feels like he is throwing a ball not directly up but more like towards own body, is it allowed by rules? I guess it might help to create more momento and spin

[@pablominnaro3502]

Not really allowed but a lot of player are doing that without any problem with the ref so... Also very cummon for reverse pendullum serv

[@gg80108]

I play doubles and be nice to see some serves from the right side of the table.

[@richardj6593]

Tom, how do I contact Craig for remote serve lessons?

[@TomLodziak]

This is Craig's website with his contact details: www.topedgetabletennis.co.uk/

[@richardj6593]

@@TomLodziak thank you sir

[@MidhunDasAM]

Is this server illegal? The ball should not be tossed backward right?

[@gerardocallaghan423]

Hi Tom, have started using this jab like serve with some success. However, recently had an opponent who refused to receive the serve as he said he couldn’t see the ball at point of contact. I believe there was a ‘line of sight’ available but he refused to move from ‘his ready position’ to see better. Not sure what visibility was like with Craig’s services but whose right in these situations? Can an opponent decide to refuse to receive the serve and simply turn away from it or is it the ref’s decision? I know there are a couple of different issues here! Thanks again for all your great training videos. Gerard.

[@TomLodziak]

So when I return Craig's serves, I can always see the point of contact. I just can't read the spin! It should be the umpire who decides if a serve is legal or not. You could film yourself doing the serve. Put the camera where the opponent would stand and then play back the footage to see if the contact is visible. If yes, then you have a legal serve and your opponent was probably complaining because the serve was hard to return. If the contact is not visible on the footage, then you will have to change your action slightly.

[@emilyjames3110]

@@TomLodziak I have tried so many different servers and I have found the right one that works for me as table tennis beginner 🏓

[@georgitsvetkov3928]

I've played with some people using this serve and i can confirm as a reviver you can't really see the contract and 2nd the ball is tossed a bit backwards not vertical so for me this serve is not clean "legal"

[@kailashjai2307]

Hey Tom, I am your fan thank you for providing TT tricks na information...it helped me a lot Now I need good standard rubber to improve my game...How to purchase TT racket, Good spin rubbers people stay in India...Let me know how to buy the items.

[@nareshhg427]

Coach sir Kindly advise in table tennis if ball hits blade/ frame of t.t racket (any wooden part of racket not covered by rubbers) ball will be still in play or will I loose one point as per ITTF rules. Thanks

[@TomLodziak]

If the ball strikes any part of the bat, or your fingers / hand (below wrist), then this is a valid shot and the rally must continue.

[@nareshhg427]

@@TomLodziak thanks a lot sir for your reply...

[@solomanmania]

Awesome!, but most of the time with skills you need really nice paddles to both serve and counter. Even if we read the serve right the quality of the paddle can let you down.

[@markfawcett5106]

How much glue have you put on it!?😊

[@jameskinsella598]

Great serving - but thought you had to throw the ball in a upright position? Not backwards

[@main___name___main___name]

It's possible with the double bluff, the action indicating a certain spin while imparting another and so on, that you could deceive yourself in addition to deceiving your opponents.

[@georgitsvetkov3928]

The serve look amazing, the key point is hiding the contract with your arm or shoulder wich is considered as illegal, I've played with people using this serve and you can't see the contract so you just blindly guessing

[@johnnyh6416]

Did he explain how to get the "kick" to happen?

[@andifineproject]

Akhirnya semua bisa ngadapin serpis ini...

[@amadeusbm]

Isn't that way of throwing the ball when serving against the rules?

[@elias3026]

I always look at where the ball makes contact (top or bottom). 90% of the time I read this kind of serves.

[@LucaMatteis]

Nice video. Now how do I return these kind of serves :) ?

[@TomLodziak]

If you can read the spin, then the serves are straight forward to return. It will either be backspin, which you can return with a push, flick or loop. Or if the serve is topspin, you can return with a block, drive or topspin. The difficulty is reading the spin in the first place. This is what makes it so hard.

[@ramenandvitamins]

I mean this in the nicest way possible...PLEASE invest in a modest high-speed camera, OR investigate the slow-motion recording features offered by your smartphone! Please and thanks! Love your content!

[@rprb1957]

Oh, but how do we return it? Can you show a tutorial on that?

[@hehe295]

is it legal? throw is not vertical also hiding the ball with arm and body

[@mxbxx]

i reviewing super slow and again i can't recognize backspin or topspin 😵

[@dalemiller2160]

Are these serves legal? It look like his body shields the receiver from clearly seeing the ball.

[@emergingliongaming695]

Nice!!

[@ornatepictorialcalligraphy6896]

Magic Thank you

[@markfawcett5106]

Can you do that with a cheap racket ¿