So you think you could just turn up and instantly be an Air Hockey Hero?
Maybe you are the Luke Skywalker of Hockey and were born with The Puck, I mean the Force.
Holding The Mallet
There are several ways to hold the mallet.
This is ok, but is not optimal if you want to play with speed and accuracy.
The thumb and small finger do not touch the mallet or the table.
Personally, I place all four fingers in the mallet rim behind and to the side of the mallet.
Not holding the mallet with your palm allows for greater wrist action, control and faster shots.
You have 7 seconds to take your shot.
Use this space and time to line up your shots.
This is a fairly simple shot to pull off after a bit of practice.
The puck is in the centre of the table.
In arcades you will often see the puck hit both sides of the table before reaching the goal.
Do not do this.
Always aim to hit the bank once.
There are two common types of bank shot, the over or under.
The most common is the under back shot.
This is where the puck hits the side wall and goes behind your opponents mallet and into the goal.
This happens when your opponent is defending higher up the table.
To pull off the shot you will want to use wrist power rather than arm power.
A video on some fantastic trick shots can be foundhere.
