You need a Racket and a TBB-Ball. The equipments are available at all trainer’s place or some special Online-Shops.
The Correct Grip
Notice that the handle of the racket has a broad side and a narrow side. Place the thumb on the broad side and wrap your four fingers around the handle. Depending on the length of your fingers, your fingertips will probably be touching the narrow side. The end of the handle should be pressing against the edge of your hand. Focus on using your fingers to control the racket, with the edge of your hand acting as a stabiliser. There should be a small hollow in the palm of your hand. In Soloplay the fingers and thumb sometimes release their grip to allow the racket to revolve in the hand.
Posture
Before practising with the racket, you should always warm up and stretch properly to avoid injury to your muscles, tendons and ligaments. In particular, you should aim to loosen up the shoulders, the waist and hips, the arms and indeed all of your joints. Nearly all of the movements in TBB should be executed with the arms gently extended. That means that the elbows should not be bent, but not locked straight either. Your weight should be evenly distributed between your feet, which should be roughly twice your shoulder-width apart.
U-Schwinging
U-swinging is the most basic movement in TBB. The arm should be gently extended to a constant degree. The swinging movement of the arm should be generated by shifting your weight from one foot to the other, while at the same time twisting your body from the waist and hips. The shoulder joint acts as the pivot. The racket should describe the lower half of a vertical circle in front of your body, with the surface of the racket always at a tangent to that semi-circle. Is the tip of the racket pointing straight forward all the time? Then you are doing it correctly.
Multiplay-Theory
In Taiji Bailong Ball the ball is NEVER hit!
The flight of the ball in a particular direction is the consequence of the following sequence of movements:
- Racket moves towards the approaching ball;
- Ball and racket make contact with each other and remain together as they accelerate along a circular trajectory;
- Racket slows down and stops, leaving the ball to continue on its trajectory.
Important: The ball leaves the racket sideways over the edge of the racket frame, not straight forwards at right angles to the surface of the racket!