An adaptive inverse control algorithm is proposed for shock testing an arbitrary specimen using an electrodynamic actuator. The purpose is to ascertain whether the specimen can survive and continue to function under severe shock conditions. The main difficulty in shock control is that the specimen dynamics vary significantly and a control algorithm is required that adapts to the characteristics of a new specimen. The control algorithm used is the adaptive inverse control method, which approximates an inverse model of the loaded shaker with a finite impulse response adaptive filter, such that the reference input is reproduced at the shaker output. The standard filtered-x least mean square control structure used in the adaptive inverse control algorithm is modified to a block-processing structure, with the frequency-domain adaptive filter as the adaptation algorithm. Practical results show that the filtered-x frequency-domain adaptive filter control algorithm allows convergence of the shaker output to the assigned reference shock pulse.