Honoka Hashimoto’s Basic Chop Swing [Back Chop & Transition] (Part 2)

THE CHOPPER. HASHIMOTO Honoka　Forehand Chop

Here, HASHIMOTO Honoka, who competes with the world through resilience and highly precise Chop technique, explains the “basic Chop swing.”

Following the forehand Chop in the first part, this second part introduces the backhand Chop and the switching between forehand and backhand Chop.
Let’s look at the basic Chop form, filmed in August 2025, explained by HASHIMOTO herself.

PHOTO Remy Gros / Manabu Nakagawa

Model / Commentary
Honoka Hashimoto

Born July 5, 1998, from Aichi Prefecture. She started playing Table tennis at age 5 at Takushin Club. Bronze medalist in the women’s doubles at the 2019 World Championships, and women’s doubles champion at the 2024 WTT Finals Fukuoka. She captured her first WTT Singles title at the WTT Contender Taiyuan. Right-handed shakehand, forehand reverse-penhold Chop, backhand short-pimple soft style. World ranking: 13th (June 2026)

Build a foundation through basic training in elementary and junior high school. Keep practicing simple drills to master the swing

To master the Chop swing, I believe it’s important to build it up through basic training. I started playing Table tennis at Takushin (Aichi), where my grandfather coaches, and in elementary school I was made to practice forehand Chop and backhand Chop over and over using a machine. Most of my training was basic drills, and I remember thinking, “Why am I always just doing Chop after Chop in one placement?”

But looking back, by not jumping into complicated drills at the beginning and instead continuing with simple ones, I feel I was able to learn the basic Chop swing.

Even during my Shitennoji junior high and high school days, I never skipped basic training because I wanted to make my Chop swing better. In addition, I was taught match-like movements such as switching between forehand and backhand Chop, footwork forward and back between Chop and Push, and Attack from Chop, and that helped me start producing results in tournaments as well.

Basic training is plain work, so it can feel boring at times. But by firmly learning the basics, you can raise your level afterward. Let’s do our basic training properly and build a solid Chop swing.

Backhand Chop against a Drive

"Swing with your arm from a half-turned stance" — Honoka Hashimoto’s backhand Chop

Just like with the forehand Chop, it’s important in the backhand Chop not to let your posture tilt during the swing. That’s why your body axis matters, and for a backhand Chop hit from the left side of the body, the axis is slightly left of center. Keep the axis in mind and swing so that your weight doesn’t lean too heavily onto either foot.

From a half-turned stance with your right foot forward, pull your arm back to take the backswing, then swing mainly from the arm, especially the shoulder and elbow. The ideal contact point is around chest height, and you should swing diagonally forward. A half-turned stance means turning your upper body sideways rather than facing straight ahead, creating space to make the swing.