Slowing down your play

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Todays practice at Saint Hill was "interesting'. When I do slow myself down, avoid quick reaction slaps" I play a reasonable game (even in my eyes) and consequentially I did beat a very good league player whom I've never beaten before. Unfortunately, a lot of the tirme I forgot to do this, don't give myself time to play a slower controlled loop. I would never have believed it would be this difficult to slow down and play a slow heavy spin loop rather than a horrible desperate slap shot. I think half of my brain is saying 'if you don't hit it hard they'll get it back' and that then turns into that quick reaction slap shot. Is it really this difficult to slow down and give yourself time?
Has everyone gone through this mental agony?
When im practising against the rubot, or even now during lessons, playing giving myself time to play slower topspins is much better
Its clearly a mental process that happens during matches, even unimportant practise ones.
Also it's the above combined with being very easily drawn into someone else's game. especially continuous shot push shots from which I find it extremely difficult to take control of the rally and put myself in a position to topspin the ball.
I know I'm my harshest critic and general consensus from others is I'm doing well for eight months play but I need to see it and understand it for myself.
Constructive comments welcome
 
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Has everyone gone through this mental agony?

I do think so. For me it was like that. First I tried to play "slap shots" with horrible results. Then I tried to play controlled shots but used placement to win the points. It worked against local league players, but then I went to a tournament and played a lot of Chinese kids that counterlooped all my slow openings. Now I kind of returned back to square one, trying to build a bit of more power over shots that I have.
 
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And, honestly, the tradeoff between consistency and power is a very very complex thing. When you're playing someone, you have to decide: how much power should I put in my shots? Not enough power, but very consistent -- everything goes back, you lose. Too much power, not consistent enough -- too many unforced errors, you lose. It can be hard to find this balance for each particular opponent.
 
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I think you're on the right path. Stick to the consistency and to the spin.
The speed comes on it's own, if you feel secure and confident enough with your shots.

Placement is the key.

If opponents keep counterlooping your open-up loops, then you're placement is obviously not good enough.

We have a guy in our team who never smashes and only drives very, very seldom. But he can place his spins exactly where he wants to have them and can chase you from one corner of the table to the other. Such a table can appear bigger than it actually is...

BTW his spins can be faster than my drives.

But of course, if you think you can put the ball away, then go for it. But you also can do it in a spinful manner.

Some opponents are wondering how could i block their fast powerloops. But that's mainly cause their more loopdrives than slow spinners.
Personally i find it mucho easier to block a fast loop with little spin than a well placed rather slow Monsterspin.

But that might just be me...

Hope you can find this useful.
 
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I think you're on the right path. Stick to the consistency and to the spin.
Personally i find it mucho easier to block a fast loop with little spin than a well placed rather slow Monsterspin.

I completely agree, as I play with long pimples on backhand I rather prefer by far fast loops than slow
 
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Todays practice at Saint Hill was "interesting'. When I do slow myself down, avoid quick reaction slaps" I play a reasonable game (even in my eyes) and consequentially I did beat a very good league player whom I've never beaten before. Unfortunately, a lot of the tirme I forgot to do this, don't give myself time to play a slower controlled loop. I would never have believed it would be this difficult to slow down and play a slow heavy spin loop rather than a horrible desperate slap shot. I think half of my brain is saying 'if you don't hit it hard they'll get it back' and that then turns into that quick reaction slap shot. Is it really this difficult to slow down and give yourself time?
Has everyone gone through this mental agony?
When im practising against the rubot, or even now during lessons, playing giving myself time to play slower topspins is much better
Its clearly a mental process that happens during matches, even unimportant practise ones.
Also it's the above combined with being very easily drawn into someone else's game. especially continuous shot push shots from which I find it extremely difficult to take control of the rally and put myself in a position to topspin the ball.
I know I'm my harshest critic and general consensus from others is I'm doing well for eight months play but I need to see it and understand it for myself.
Constructive comments welcome


Andy,

You asked me whether I thought you could become a ranked player in the time frame that you set for yourself and I didn't say yes because I thought you would do so as a powerlooping junior. I Said yes because with the right mindset and approach to technique and competing, intermediate/expert level table tennis is accessible to adults (there are some limitations on how far you can go because of reading spin etc.

I play like you do with the slapshot issue at a higher level, just that instead of a slapshot, which is wildly inconsistent, I do a spin drive, and there are higher level players who just block my spin drive shots and leave me out of position.

The truth is that when you are a looper/spinner, you have much more time than you think you do - non-spinners need to take the ball early or at the top of the bounce, but loopers can take the ball after the top of the bounce to devastating effect at the lower levels even up to the lower expert levels or lower elite levels. LEarning to play slowly is not just about spin - it helps you appreciate the gap between your hitting and the ball and the ball bouncing on your opponent's side and your opponent hitting the ball etc. You need to learn to make use of that time for decision making and if you are always trying to jump on the ball hard, you will reveal your intentions early all the time. Pros want to rob their opponents of as much of that time as possible, but this after years of practice. Taking time to hit the ball sometimes causes indecision in the opponent or forces them to commit to one position which lets you put the ball at another with devastating effect. But you will never get to this point if you pay fast and hard all the time.

Some players never learn this lesson, even moderately good ones. I am teaching a friend to see it now and he is making good progress. I tell people who need to learn this lesson that sometimes you need to embrace the rally. There is nothing wrong with your opponent bringing the ball back - you need the confidence to believe you can make more shots than he can. That is what playing slower does for you.

One of my first major leaps came when a friend who as rated 2100 (I was about USATT 1000 at this time) said that I should focus on prolonging my practice rallies rather than hitting the ball hard. I hit with a 1300 guy and we hit a 50 shot FH - FH rally. I really believe that raised my level like 200 pts in one day.
 
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Andy,

You asked me whether I thought you could become a ranked player in the time frame that you set for yourself and I didn't say yes because I thought you would do so as a powerlooping junior. I Said yes because with the right mindset and approach to technique and competing, intermediate/expert level table tennis is accessible to adults (there are some limitations on how far you can go because of reading spin etc.

I play like you do with the slapshot issue at a higher level, just that instead of a slapshot, which is wildly inconsistent, I do a spin drive, and there are higher level players who just block my spin drive shots and leave me out of position.

The truth is that when you are a looper/spinner, you have much more time than you think you do - non-spinners need to take the ball early or at the top of the bounce, but loopers can take the ball after the top of the bounce to devastating effect at the lower levels even up to the lower expert levels or lower elite levels. LEarning to play slowly is not just about spin - it helps you appreciate the gap between your hitting and the ball and the ball bouncing on your opponent's side and your opponent hitting the ball etc. You need to learn to make use of that time for decision making and if you are always trying to jump on the ball hard, you will reveal your intentions early all the time. Pros want to rob their opponents of as much of that time as possible, but this after years of practice. Taking time to hit the ball sometimes causes indecision in the opponent or forces them to commit to one position which lets you put the ball at another with devastating effect. But you will never get to this point if you pay fast and hard all the time.

Some players never learn this lesson, even moderately good ones. I am teaching a friend to see it now and he is making good progress. I tell people who need to learn this lesson that sometimes you need to embrace the rally. There is nothing wrong with your opponent bringing the ball back - you need the confidence to believe you can make more shots than he can. That is what playing slower does for you.

One of my first major leaps came when a friend who as rated 2100 (I was about USATT 1000 at this time) said that I should focus on prolonging my practice rallies rather than hitting the ball hard. I hit with a 1300 guy and we hit a 50 shot FH - FH rally. I really believe that raised my level like 200 pts in one day.

Next Level,
Thanks for posting this. It's a great lesson; I know I need to learn this. I need to go into each playing session w/ the your phrase about 'embracing the rally' in the back of my mind.
 
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Placement is the key.

If opponents keep counterlooping your open-up loops, then you're placement is obviously not good enough.

That is true. But for the slow open-up a small placement error can cause big troubles. Too shallow on the table -- even a basement player will smash it though the table. So it has to be deep. And even if you play it to backhand down the line, it will give enough time for the opponent to step around and counterattack. So it should be either elbow or wide angle, which is not quite easy to do, at least for me. But I'm working on it.

At the same time if the shot is fast enough (it is different for different opponents), it can cause trouble even if the placement is not perfect, unless it lands right into their hitting zone. However, a fast open-up against a low heavy backspin ball is not easy to do, at least for me. But I'm working on it.

So the life is difficult and there is no free lunch.
 
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Next Level,
Thanks for posting this. It's a great lesson; I know I need to learn this. I need to go into each playing session w/ the your phrase about 'embracing the rally' in the back of my mind.

Thanks, sspark80. The corollary of this is that with practice, your rally shots get better and become more consistent with about 60-80% of the power of your kills over time. So you will often simply play a rally shot and win points with it as well. Then as you learn to play faster, your muscle memory will still hold on to what it is like to play slower so your timing will not get thrown off when playing slower players. Anyone who plays at one pace all the time, especially the fast pace, is exposing themselves to lots of timing errors.

Timothy Wang likes to say that his coach told him to always play as if he intended to win the point on the next shot - some argue that Wang takes this to an extreme, but it is a point similar to what I am making - always expect the ball to come back, don't think anything is wrong with it and play like it and your level will be better.
 
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Todays practice at Saint Hill was "interesting'. When I do slow myself down, avoid quick reaction slaps" I play a reasonable game (even in my eyes) and consequentially I did beat a very good league player whom I've never beaten before. Unfortunately, a lot of the tirme I forgot to do this, don't give myself time to play a slower controlled loop. I would never have believed it would be this difficult to slow down and play a slow heavy spin loop rather than a horrible desperate slap shot. I think half of my brain is saying 'if you don't hit it hard they'll get it back' and that then turns into that quick reaction slap shot. Is it really this difficult to slow down and give yourself time?
Has everyone gone through this mental agony?
When im practising against the rubot, or even now during lessons, playing giving myself time to play slower topspins is much better
Its clearly a mental process that happens during matches, even unimportant practise ones.
Also it's the above combined with being very easily drawn into someone else's game. especially continuous shot push shots from which I find it extremely difficult to take control of the rally and put myself in a position to topspin the ball.
I know I'm my harshest critic and general consensus from others is I'm doing well for eight months play but I need to see it and understand it for myself.
Constructive comments welcome

Slowing down and not rushing yourself puts more pressure on your opponent. There will be times when you need to go faster, but it all depends on who you are playing. I played a guy a couple of weeks ago, he called me a defensive player, in all my years of playing, I never was called a defensive player...lol But I beat him with my backspin in the short game. There was no reason for me to do quick loops. I was doing great playing a safe game against him. Now I certainly do not play like that against everyone, especially those who play the power game.

There is another thing too, do not be too harsh on yourself, have fun playing the game, the more relaxed you are, the better you will play and the more enjoyable the experience will be, win or loose. Table Tennis is like going to school, you are always learning something! :)
 
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In support of NextLevel's post about keeping the ball in play and "embracing the rally":

I think it may have been the 1993 WTTC. In an interview after losing to Jean-Michel Saive, Waldner said that he probably should have been more patient, trying to keep the ball in play more and waiting for better openings to end the point and that he was rushing too much.

That is game strategy from a legend.

As far as opening loops, one thing I notice, if I am playing against someone my level and I get to open with my FH, even if I hit it right to my opponent, the ball rarely comes back. It has too much spin for someone my level or even a half level up. That being said, the ability to place the balls to either wing or the switching point is very useful. And my openings are returned much more easily by higher level players once they realize the amount of spin on the first few.

Michael Landers has actually told me that on certain shots my ball quality is way higher than my level.

So, what am I saying with the information about openings with lots of spin. Focusing on the touch and feel to get more spin helps your level improve more than most other things. Certainly more than working on pace without thinking of spin if you are a lower or mid-level player.

If you can put so much spin on the ball that, when your opponent gets his racket on the ball, his shot is a few feet too high for the table, your shots are improving. And that is a worthwhile goal to strive for.


Sent from the Oracle of Delphi by the Pythia
 
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UpSideDownCarl hangin' with the Goon Squad downstairs on Day 7 of captivity said:
If you can put so much spin on the ball that, when your opponent gets his racket on the ball, his shot is a few feet too high for the table, your shots are improving. And that is a worthwhile goal to strive for.


Sent from the Oracle of Delphi by the Pythia

I have always advocated developing an ability to spin heavy first if you get the chance, it is easy to build a game around this. There are many ways to play, but at lower and mid levels, this is a very good thing to be able to do - spin the ball first and spin it heavy. Even some elite players will have some troubles with heavy spin, but they quickly learn how to take away your chances or make them much higher risk.
 
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I have found that as I read spin better and understand position, mechanics, and shot selection better, I play faster with less errors.

This is the key. Playing faster is about reading the game faster, not about about hitting the ball harder. But you don't get to read the game if you are always hitting the ball as hard as you can. One way to work on reading the game is to actually play mostly flat shots/blocks and just watch the opponent. You will be surprised how often you can read them if you take the time to do so.
 
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