Thanks tons Zeke, this shot has always been my nemises in defense as well as trying to execute. My Pull is very decent but i've never been able to add a push to my repertoire. I have been trying to square to deadman like my pull, now I dont feel so bad at not being able to do that.
Lifer open handed, square is the key whether straight or middle. Need enough lateral speed to beat the race defense. To quote my foos sensei 'you gotta wait out the straights' :)
Since this is my primary shot but I shoot it open handed and in my case how I finish the shot mainly determines either I spray square or cut it back in all cases the take off is key lateral speed is really important also but for the most part everything he is saying if you can put it all together you can make people sweat the shot
Great tutorial Zeke. Push Shot was the first shot I've learned when starting to play foosball. I'm confused if it's really viable as a primary shot because it seems there's no pro player playing the Push Shot on tournaments (correct me if I'm wrong). Within the last year I've experimented with different kind of shooting techniques (snake, euro front pin, pull shot). Your videos helped a lot, so kudos! But now I'm really undecided which shot to master. Should I stick with push shot (8 years experience) or should I master another shot like snake which seems to be the most popular shot nowadays. Any advice? Thanks! PS: I would love to see a video from you focusing on tips for different tables (e.g. which shot works best on which table), since in Germany Tornado is not that popular. I'm playing on Garlando most of the time and it seems some thinks are way harder on that table than on the Tornado, e.g. setting up the ball for push or pull shots.
Great questions Benjamin. On the Tornado table the push can be an effective series, but it does have its limitations. In general shooting long squared shots is more difficult in a push shot. In general is easier to block push shots because the main options on the shot are spray shots. There are some players that use the push shot but not too many. The best shot to try to master is probably the front pin because it's the most universal shot and can be done on pretty much every table.
I main push shot for more or less 7 years now. It requires much more energy for squaring, especially in the dead bar. After more or less mastering it, it is deadly - you have a gap almost at all times in one position - straight, middle or dead bar. Main problem is the amount of effort it requires once you reach its full potential speed. Imo, a pull shot would be easier to learn in the same situation. However, there’s just so much more “oomph” to it when you shoot as well as much more surprise for the defender and the viewers. The craziest version of it is doing dead bar in the goalie 2man. That’s crazy effort but looks insane. Must have the table properly lubed though. Furthermore, your hand has to be completely relaxed to actually do it. It has too much speed and applying strenght completely ruins it.
What is the primary difference between a "spray" as shown around 1:15 in the video and the dink shot? Off of that, what do the terms "spray," "slice," and "square" mean exactly? I'm new to foosball terminology.
A dink is when the ball is stopped and the trajectory is angled; the ball is struck with only a fraction of the foot which causes the ball to move at an angle. (There is an Unreal Foos Tutorial for the dink, check it out.) A spray is when you are moving the ball (pushing or pulling) and you strike the ball while continuing to move in the same direction. Per 9th grade physics, "An object in motion will stay in motion unless acted on by an outside force." Regardless of when you strike the ball it will continue to use the lateral momentum to travel toward whatever direction you were shooting causing the ball to "spray" or move at a diagonal trajectory. That is unless you "square the ball" which means that right before you strike the ball you start moving the man in the opposite direction. In the case of a push, right before you hit the ball you lift the man and then hit the ball while moving back in a pulling back motion. If done correctly the ball will travel straight instead of at an angle because you corrected the trajectory or became the outside force moving in the opposite direction. I believe there is an Unreal Foos tutorial for squaring the ball off as well, look it up. I hope that helped. Oh yeah, slicing the ball means that you spray the ball between two sets of defenders, a front guy and a back guy.
