A common problem for players at all levels is being too backhand oriented. Backhand orientation (BO for short) means that you favor your backhand too much over your forehand and try to cover too much of the table with the backhand.

Some players are better on the backhand, and so should cover at least half the table with their backhands. But since the forehand is generally more powerful and easier to end the point with, except perhaps in fast rallies, you generally want to cover half or more of the table with the forehand. But many players cover more of the table with their backhand as a way to cover for not developing their forehand - and that's Bad BO.

Bad BO is a disease. It infiltrates your game, multiplies and divides, and takes over your entire playing style. Left untreated, you may find yourself blocking lobs with your backhand. But treated properly, there is hope.

Bad BO is highly contagious and can be caught simply by watching or copying (consciously or subconsciously) someone else in the throes of Bad BO. It generally strikes during the formative years, so you must take precautions against this occurring. Once caught, it takes a lot of practice to undo.

Let's examine the causes of Bad BO. We'll start with foot placement, as that's the root cause of the problem. A player with Bad BO tends to play with his playing foot (the right one for a righty) a bit in front. This makes backhands easy, but to play a forehand from this position you have to twist like a pretzel. It also puts you in a trap whereby you find backhands easier since you are in a backhand position, and are used to this, and will likely lose if you try playing more forehands. But that's only because you haven't given the forehand a chance. Giving the forehand an opportunity to develop may mean a few temporary embarrassments, but in the long run, it's the right thing to do.

So, try playing with your feet parallel to the table, or even with the playing foot slightly back, especially when playing forehands. (Ideally, play backhands with feet parallel, forehands with playing foot slightly back. If you train a lot, you can even learn to play forehands with feet parallel, which gives you a quicker stroke that allows you to stay at the table, but it does take physical training to be limber enough to do this.) With a better proper stance, and a lot of forehand practice, you can get rid of Bad BO.

Don't take the easy way out; stick with the new foot positioning. Your uncomfortableness will pass, you'll lose that Bad BO, and you'll be a better player because of the change. And you won't need a shower or deodorant!

It never ceases to amaze me at how many players push serves back safely, essentially patting it back, perhaps with good backspin, and then mentally pat themselves on the back for making this excellent return. And this works . . . at lower levels.

But why put good backspin on the ball when you can put great backspin on the ball? Guess which is harder to handle?

It's all a matter of wrist snap and grazing. And it's one of the easiest things to practice. Just find a practice partner and practice pushing where you focus on vigorously rotating the wrist into the ball as you graze it, which maximizes the backspin on the ball. The goal isn't good backspin, or even great backspin, but maximal backspin. (There are perhaps two exceptions to this. One is if you fake heavy spin and give lighter spin, to force a mistake. The other is against a player who habitually lifts against backspin with a very consistent, spinny loop, but often lifts off the end if there's less spin.)

I've always thought this is one of the most underused techniques in table tennis. Most players simply do whatever it seems they are going to do. And opponents see what they are doing and have little trouble reacting to it. How boringly simple that is! Instead, why not fake one thing, then do something else? And watch your poor opponent's jaw (and game) drop?

How do you do this? Simply aim one way, and change directions at the last instant. With backhand pushes and blocks it's especially easy to aim crosscourt, and at the last second go down the line. But you can do it both ways. With the forehand, if you rotate your shoulders all the way back, it looks like you are going off to the right (for a righty), but at the last instant you can whip your shoulders around and go the other way. Or you can set up to go to the left, and at the last instant rotate the shoulders back and go to the right. You can do last-second changes of direction with loops, drives, blocks, and pushes. They are often especially effective when receiving. You can do the same thing with serves, where you aim the racket in one direction right up to contact, and at the last instant change directions.

There are other fake-outs. Some players fake out opponents by looking one way while hitting the other way. You can also fake a spinny serve or push with a big motion but just pat the ball with little or no spin. One of my favorites is to serve and then start to step around my backhand corner to play forehand. Opponents sees this and reflexively go to my wide forehand - except, just before they hit the ball (but after they can change directions), I change directions and move to the wide forehand, where I get an easy forehand attack, which is my strength.

If you always do what you seem to be doing, you might as well be signaling your opponent, practically pointing and yelling out, "Hey, I'm hitting the ball over there!" Now imagine the opponent's consternation when you seem to do this, but instead go the other way. Free points!!!

I once read an article that compared the tactical approach of Roger Federer and Pete Sampras, two of the greatest tennis players of all time. Federer tended to adjust his game against different opponents, while Sampras tended to forced opponents to adjust to his. Both approaches work, in both tennis and table tennis, and you should learn both. (Note that I used the word "tended" for both as both players used both methods.) But how do you do this, and which should you emphasize?

Examples for forcing your game on an opponent:

• Serve a short backspin or no-spin serve, which often forces a deep push return which you can loop.
• Looking to loop any ball you can with tremendous topspin to force the opponent to block.
• Playing quick, aggressive shots to wide angles and middle to force mistakes.
• Serving topspin to get right into a fast topspin rally.
• Serving backspin or pushing serves back to get into a pushing rally, if you are good at pushing and defense.

Examples of adjusting your game to an opponent:

• Playing his weaker side.
• Pushing heavy if he has trouble lifting heavy backspin.
• Serving deep, spinny serves that the opponent is unable to return consistently or effectively.
• Attacking the middle of a tall player who plays the corners well but has trouble covering the middle.
• Attacking the wide angles of a short player who has trouble covering the corners.

So, what should you do? Ideally, do both. Force your game on them while adjusting your game to them as well. Serve that short no-spin ball that sets up your attack, then attack to their weaker side. If you are good at pushing heavy and defending against opening attacks, and the opponent has trouble with heavy backspin on one side, push quick and heavy to that side. And so on.

With experience, you learn how much to force your game on the other, and how and when to adjust to theirs. And the more you do this, the easier it becomes - and you'll be playing your strengths into their weaknesses. Guess who wins?

Most players who play the crosscourt corners do exactly that - they play the crosscourt corners. And that's where many or most of your attacks should go, as they give the most table when hitting crosscourt. However, when looping (where the topspin pulls the ball down so you need less table), against shorter balls (where you have more angle), or when attacking from a wide corner (also giving more angle), you should be doing more than just going to a wide corner - whenever possible, you should go outside the corner. This can add an extra foot for the opponent to cover - and allows you to run him ragged.

The key here is that you can't learn to do this unless you actually spend time (drum roll please) practicing it. That means challenging your instincts and going for wider and wider angles on your shots, pushing the limit, and often missing as you gradually gain an instinct for just how wide you can safely go. You also have to gain an instinct for how to follow it up against various opponents. Once you go to a wide angle, the seemingly logical thing to do is go the opposite way on the next shot, and that usually works. But many players expect that, and after going wide, immediately move to cover the other wide angle. And so it's often best to go wide to the same spot twice in a row. Experiment and you'll gain an instinct for this.

It's not just in rallies. If an opponent serves short, why not take it off the bounce and make a wide-angled return that goes outside the corner?

During my peak years, one of my primary weaknesses was anyone who could attack my wide backhand outside the corner. I was a wall up to the corner, from many years of training. But since I rarely drilled against balls outside the corner, I tended to lunge for them even though I had time to move into position. And like me, many players are so used to covering the area from corner to corner, so when you make them go outside that, they often fall apart. And that's what you want!