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

Summary

In this instructional video, Tom Lonziak introduces viewers to the 'kicker serve' secrets of service genius Craig Bryant. Craig demonstrates how to execute topspin and backspin serves with deceptive actions to confuse opponents. The video showcases the serve's effectiveness through footage of various players, including former professional Paul Whiting, struggling to return the serve. It concludes with an invitation to explore more about Craig's techniques and a thank you to Brybar Table Tennis for sponsoring the content.

Takeaways

• 🎾 The video features Tom Lonziak and Craig Bryant discussing the 'kicker serve' in table tennis.
• 🤓 Craig Bryant is a service genius who shares detailed insights into his serve techniques.
• 🔄 The video includes different variations of the serve, emphasizing the importance of having a diverse repertoire.
• 🏓 Creating topspin is a key aspect of the serve, involving a neutral grip and contact near the top of the racket.
• 🎱 After making contact for topspin, the racket comes down quickly to create the illusion of backspin.
• 🔄 Backspin serves are also discussed, with the challenge of making bounces appear similar to topspin serves.
• 👀 The importance of brushing contact on the backspin to avoid sending a 'bouncy nothing ball' is highlighted.
• 🤔 The video demonstrates a 'double bluff' serve, where the server creates topspin that looks like backspin.
• 👨‍🏫 Former professional player Paul Whiting is shown struggling with the serve, illustrating its difficulty.
• 📹 The video includes footage of various players attempting to return Craig's serves, showing the universal challenge.
• 📚 The video is sponsored by Brybar Table Tennis and also promotes Craig's website for more information.

Q & A

Who is the main instructor in the video discussing the service secrets?

The main instructor in the video is Craig Bryant, a service genius in table tennis.

What type of serve is being discussed in the video?

The video discusses the 'kicker serve', a difficult serve to return in table tennis.

What is the purpose of the video?

The purpose of the video is to teach viewers how to develop a difficult serve to return, focusing on the kicker serve and its variations.

Who is Tom Lonziak in the context of the video?

Tom Lonziak is the person introducing the video and the special treat of learning the service secrets from Craig Bryant.

What company is sponsoring the video?

Breibar Table Tennis is sponsoring the video, a company that sells a wide range of table tennis equipment.

How does Craig Bryant create topspin in his serve?

Craig Bryant creates topspin by contacting the ball near the top of his racket and using his wrist to flick the ball upwards after making contact.

What is the illusion that Craig Bryant tries to create after making contact with the ball for topspin?

After making contact with the ball for topspin, Craig Bryant quickly brings his racket down to create the illusion that he has created backspin.

Why is it important to have different variations of the serve according to the video?

Having different variations of the serve is important to confuse opponents and make it more difficult for them to predict the type of spin on the ball.

How does Craig Bryant create backspin in his serve?

Craig Bryant creates backspin by taking the backspin ball a little bit higher and pushing it into the table, ensuring a good brushing contact on the backspin.

What is the 'double bluff' technique mentioned in the video?

The 'double bluff' technique involves creating topspin that looks like backspin due to the downward action of the racket, followed by an upward movement to disguise the actual topspin.

How can viewers find out more about Craig Bryant?

Viewers can find out more about Craig Bryant by visiting his website at topedgetabletennis.co.uk.

Outlines

00:00

🏓 Introduction to the Kicker Serve

In this video, Tom Lonziak introduces a special treat for table tennis enthusiasts: learning the secrets of a service genius, Craig Bryant's kicker serve. The serve is known for its difficulty to return and is explained in detail, including its variations. Footage of various players, including Tom himself, struggling against the serve is shown to emphasize its effectiveness. The video is sponsored by Brybar Table Tennis, a company offering a wide range of table tennis equipment. Tom explains the initial steps to create topspin and the deceptive follow-through that gives the illusion of backspin.

05:01

🎾 Mastering Variations of the Kicker Serve

The video script delves into the importance of having different variations of the kicker serve, particularly focusing on creating both topspin and backspin. Craig Bryant demonstrates how to make the bounces appear similar, despite the extreme differences in spin, by adjusting the height at which the ball is served. He emphasizes the need for a good brushing contact to avoid sending a 'bouncy nothing ball' that opponents could easily hit through. The script also covers different finishing techniques to add to the deception and confusion for the opponents.

10:01

🤔 The Challenge of Reading the Serve

The final paragraph of the script highlights the challenge of reading the serve, especially when faced with subtle movements and false actions that can confuse the receiver. It includes footage of Paul Whiting, a former professional player and head coach, struggling to return Craig's serves. The script suggests that the key to reading the spin is to pay close attention to the racket movement. It concludes with a thank you to Craig Bryant for sharing his service secrets and to Brybar Table Tennis for sponsoring the video, with a promise of more videos to come.

Keywords

💡Service Secrets

Service Secrets in the context of this video refers to the special techniques and strategies used by players to serve the ball in table tennis in a way that is difficult for the opponent to predict or return. The video focuses on the 'kicker serve' as a specific example of such a secret, with Craig Bryant sharing his expertise on how to execute it effectively.

💡Kicker Serve

The Kicker Serve is a type of table tennis serve that involves imparting a high degree of spin on the ball, causing it to 'kick' or bounce in an unpredictable manner. This serve is highlighted in the video as particularly challenging for opponents to return and is demonstrated by Craig Bryant with various techniques to enhance its deceptive nature.

💡Topspin

Topspin is a term used in table tennis to describe the spin applied to the ball in a direction opposite to the direction of the racket's movement, causing the ball to dip and bounce forward after hitting the table. In the video, creating topspin is one of the key elements of the kicker serve, which is used to confuse the opponent about the ball's trajectory.

💡Backspin

Backspin is the opposite of topspin and is used to make the ball bounce back towards the net after it hits the table. In the context of the kicker serve, Craig Bryant discusses how to create backspin that looks similar to topspin, adding to the deceptive nature of the serve and making it harder for the opponent to anticipate the bounce.

💡Racket Movement

Racket movement is the way a player swings their racket to hit the ball, which can impart different types of spin. In the video, the importance of racket movement is emphasized for creating both topspin and backspin serves, as well as for disguising the actual spin on the ball to confuse opponents.

💡Breibar Table Tennis

Breibar Table Tennis is mentioned in the video as a sponsor and a supplier of a wide range of table tennis equipment. The company's support for the video helps to provide the content, and their products are likely used in the demonstration of the kicker serve techniques.

💡Double Bluff

In the context of the video, a 'double bluff' refers to a serving technique where the player initially appears to create one type of spin (e.g., backspin) but actually imparts the opposite spin (e.g., topspin). This is done to deceive the opponent into making a wrong预判, leading to an easier point for the server.

💡Variations

Variations in the video refer to the different ways of executing the kicker serve to create different spins and bounces. Having multiple variations is crucial for keeping the opponent guessing and making the serve more difficult to return.

💡Contact Point

The contact point is the exact location on the racket where the ball is hit during a serve or stroke. In the video, the contact point is discussed in relation to creating topspin and backspin, with the player adjusting where on the racket they hit the ball to achieve the desired spin.

💡Disguise

Disguise in table tennis is the act of making the spin or type of serve appear different from what it actually is. In the video, Craig Bryant talks about using false actions and finishes to disguise the spin on the kicker serve, making it harder for the opponent to read the serve.

💡Bounce

Bounce refers to the way the ball behaves after it hits the table. In the video, the bounce is a critical aspect of the kicker serve, with the player aiming to make the bounce unpredictable by using different spins and racket movements.

Highlights

Tom Lonziak introduces a special treat in the form of a video tutorial on the service secrets of a service genius.

Craig Bryant returns to demonstrate his kicker serve in more detail, including variations that are difficult to play against.

Footage is provided showing various players, including Tom, struggling with Craig's serve.

The video is sponsored by Brybar Table Tennis, offering a wide range of table tennis equipment.

Craig explains the technique for creating topspin with a neutral grip and how to produce the kick.

The importance of having different serve variations is emphasized for confusing opponents.

Craig demonstrates how to create backspin with a similar bounce to the topspin serve for deception.

The technique for brushing the ball with backspin and the importance of a good contact point are discussed.

Different finishes are shown to create various effects and further confuse opponents.

Craig introduces the concept of a 'double bluff' serve, where topspin is disguised as backspin.

Footage of Paul Whiting, a former professional player and head coach, struggling with Craig's serve is shown.

The difficulty of reading the spin due to Craig's subtle movements and false actions is highlighted.

Participants at the Plymouth training camp are shown attempting to return Craig's serves, emphasizing the challenge.

The video concludes with a reminder to watch for more videos and a thank you to Craig Bryant and Brybar Table Tennis.

Transcripts

it's gone

it's gone

hello my name is tom lonziak in this

video i've got a special treat for you

you're going to be learning the service

secrets of a service genius yes craig

bryant is back and he is once again

going to be telling us

about his kicker serve this is one of

the serves that craig has

talked about before but he's going to go

into a lot more detail about the serve

and all the different variations that he

does

and it is horrible to play against we've

got footage of me dealing with it but

footage of much better players with me

trying to deal with it as well and you

can see how much we all struggle so if

you want to develop a

really really difficult

serve to return then this is the video

for you

this video is supported by breibar table

tennis the best table tennis company

they sell a wide range of

bats balls rubbers blades tables and all

kinds of table tennis equipment go to

the brybar website at bribertt.co.uk

okay so we're going to go into the

detail around

the kicker serve

look at how you produce topspin how you

eventually produce the kick

[Applause]

so first of all when i'm trying to

create topspin

um i try and have a neutral grip

uh kind of like a playing grip i might

turn it in slightly so it turns into a

bit of a backhand grip

my back's open

and i'm trying to contact the ball uh

near the top of my racket and all i'm

trying to do is just push around the top

of the ball when i try and move that on

and try and create a little bit more top

spin but then my wrist is just going to

flick the ball upwards that creates a

little bit more top spin

once i've made that contact then my

racket comes down quickly to try and

give the illusion that i've created

backspin so here

small action to create topspin

big false action afterwards to give the

illusion that backspin has happened

okay so we'll have a little look at that

[Applause]

[Applause]

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[Music]

so

[Applause]

[Music]

um

so really important that you have

different variations of the serve

for me the complete opposite is being

able to create backspin

and the difficulty is to try and make

the bounces look as similar as possible

when i'm serving the kick serve

because there's quite extreme topspin it

tends to bounce quite high

and typically when you're serving with

backspin the bounce will stay quite low

so for me to try and create a similar

bounce

i will take the backspin ball

a little bit higher

so that i'm pushing the ball into the

table it goes a little bit higher

but it can create the effect

of a kick and that's where people can

sometimes

make a mistake

again important to make sure that you're

making a good brushing contact on the

backspin otherwise you're sending in a

bouncy nothing ball and that's dangerous

that someone might be able to hit

through it so

technically what we're trying to do

is brush here through the bottom of the

racket slightly underneath

okay and as soon as i've made contact i

can either replicate the finish before

and just stay down

or i can try and make contact here and

as soon as i've created the backspin

then my racket can move up in a topspin

fashion

okay so i've got a couple of different

finishes

again just to try and create some

some different effects and to confuse

opponents as to as to what's happening

let's have a little look at a couple of

backspin serves

[Applause]

[Applause]

you

[Applause]

[Applause]

[Music]

uh why

[Applause]

okay if i want to take it one step

further then i'll sometimes try and

double bluff i'll sometimes create

topspin that hopefully they won't be

able to see too much of it

and they'll see this action that i

create downward

so hopefully it looks to them like i'm

trying to create backspin

once i've done that i'll again move the

racket upwards to make it look like i'm

trying to disguise the backspin

[Applause]

so often they think they're one step

ahead and because i'm double bluffing

you know i still get the same reaction

they come in with the push ball and the

ball pops up so i'll be creating topspin

moving down quickly and then afterwards

look like i'm disguising the ball quite

badly and again that's that double bluff

effect on the serve so quite complex but

again if you're able to do it and to

take it to that sort of level then can

be yeah huge benefits to doing that

let's have a little look at that

[Applause]

[Music]

[Applause]

so

[Applause]

[Music]

[Applause]

[Music]

number three

[Applause]

[Music]

[Applause]

so here's paul whiting former

professional player and uh head coach at

plymouth table tennis club you can see

paul's finding it really hard too

[Applause]

yeah that was just the obvious one

[Applause]

[Applause]

he's gone there he is gone there

[Applause]

[Applause]

and now it's my turn

and as you would expect i'm finding this

really quite difficult there's so much

subtlety to craig's movements

and so it's really hard to pick out when

it's top spinning when it's backspin and

then he has all these false movements

which confuses you even more and when

you start doubting yourself

then your shots become even worse and it

goes downhill pretty quickly

and here's some of the participants at

the plymouth training camp trying to

return craig serves as well

see if you can read the spin of any

craig serves really pay close attention

to craig's racket movement and see if

you can pick it out

[Applause]

how

[Applause]

wow

[Applause]

[Music]

[Applause]

[Music]

[Applause]

[Applause]

ugh

[Applause]

[Applause]

oh it's a dodgy ball that one

[Applause]

thank you very much for watching and a

big thank you to craig bryant for

sharing his service secrets if you want

to find out more about craig go to

craig's website at top edge table tennis

dot co

dot uk and also a big thank you to

brybar table tennis for sponsoring this

video i'll have plenty more videos

coming soon so i'll see you then bye bye