You
must hit the ball forcefully with a full
swing of the hitting arm.
To
put forward or reverse spin on a ball:
Instead
of contacting the ball at the centerline, you must contact the ball
either on the far right or far left side of the ball. The contact
must be with the side of the hand. Basically, you must "judo
chop" the edge of the ball. (This takes a lot of practice!)
If
you are right handed, judo chop the right side of the ball to induce
reverse spin so the ball will drop slightly downward when it hits the
wall. To put forward spin on the ball, tuck your thumb in and chop
the left edge of the ball with the "pointer finger" side of
your hand.
If
you are hitting left handed, judo chop the left side of the ball to
induce forward spin so the ball will jump toward the back wall when it
hits the wall. To put reverse spin on the ball, tuck your thumb in
and chop the right edge of the ball with the "pointer finger"
side of your hand.
The
rules prohibit you from using a "paintbrush" hit to cause the
ball to spin. The paintbrush hit results in the ball rolling along
the palm and/or fingers of the hand. If the ball is rolling on the
hand or fingers, the contact with the ball cannot be said to be instantaneous, thus
you are considered to be holding or throwing the ball.
To
put back spin on the ball:
You
must use your knuckle, (this really takes a long time to
perfect!) or the heel of your hand. If you use the heel of your
hand, you must have your fingers curled. If not, you will be
called for using a paintbrush shot. With your fingers curled, the
ball cannot roll off the palm of your hand or your fingers.
You contact the lower portion of the ball at the
centerline with your knuckle or the heel of your hand. The ball will spin backward, and
when it contacts the wall it tends to drop toward the floor like a rock.
