What is the best way to improve table tennis?

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Hi guys! You know I starded late and I want to be a international player. I want to improve fast. What is the best way to improve? Working hard or working clever? I have 2 coaches in my club. They help me but I want to make something myself because I want to be best player of our club. Thanks! <3

A combination of both. If you take Harimoto for example, he has worked incredibly hard to be where he is now, but he wouldn’t have beaten half the players he has if he didn’t play cleverly. However, the most important thing is to put in the hours of practice.
 
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The two coaches at your club would probably be best to answer this given they're familiar with your play and what's a realistic goal for you to set, etc.

But to broadly answer your question.... Professional coaching, a lot of practice time, and traveling to play in tournaments.

There was a solid 10 year old kid at our club. Athletic, coordinated. Then he left club for about a 1/2 year or so, got professional coaching, was training like 20 hours a week. Basically a part-time job. Traveling all across the US to play in USATT tournaments (still does. Grandparents simply fund it). Comes back and he all of a sudden was the best player at our club and arguably in the state.

It all really boils down to time, money & opportunity. It's a skill based game. How much can you afford to put in?
 
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A combination of both. If you take Harimoto for example, he has worked incredibly hard to be where he is now, but he wouldn’t have beaten half the players he has if he didn’t play cleverly. However, the most important thing is to put in the hours of practice.

Harimoto is hardly an example for nearly anyone though.
His dad trains him most of the day and his training routine is like, 3 hours straight short pushes, 3 hours straight something else, etc.
It's mind numbing to most who don't have his motivation, and if it wasn't, life gets in the way. The kid is also kind of a genius when it comes to his normal schooling. One of the top in Japan in maths or something like that?
I forgot where I read it.


But yeah alplay, first you gotta learn topspin man. Since you like sharing your footage, I'd love to see that. Not to give you advice or criticism or anything like that though. I seriously just want to ENJOY watching you play with a good topspin stroke because it will make me happy seeing someone as dedicated as you getting better.
 
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Harimoto is hardly an example for nearly anyone though.
His dad trains him most of the day and his training routine is like, 3 hours straight short pushes, 3 hours straight something else, etc.
It's mind numbing to most who don't have his motivation, and if it wasn't, life gets in the way. The kid is also kind of a genius when it comes to his normal schooling. One of the top in Japan in maths or something like that?
I forgot where I read it.


But yeah alplay, first you gotta learn topspin man. Since you like sharing your footage, I'd love to see that. Not to give you advice or criticism or anything like that though. I seriously just want to ENJOY watching you play with a good topspin stroke because it will make me happy seeing someone as dedicated as you getting better.

I am not sure if straight 3 hours of one shot is effective. I would rather go for 10 minute x shot, 10 minute y, 10min z, 10 min x, 10 min y, 10 min z.
I will make quotes here (from wiki and other other articles which are using informations from scientific researches):
'Although varied practice may lead to poor performance throughout the acquisition phase, it is important for the development of the schemata, which is responsible for the assembly and improved retention and transfer of motor learning'
'varied practice creates conditions that are likely to encourage elaborative rehearsal (see Craik & Tulving, 1975). Elaborative rehearsal is a means by which the learner forms multiple associations with the to-be-learned material, so that it can be recalled using a variety of cues.'
But I have to highlight that:'The source of contextual interference is not well understood. At present, it is primarily an empirical phenomenon.'
Of course there is the well-known video about blocked practice vs random practice. If you don't know it, just open a thread about training, it infected the whole forum (that's our luck) .DD
 
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Yeah. Alpay, the more you train with coaches the faster you will get better. 3-6 hours a day 6 days a week with a coach.

At 15 years old playing for one year seriously and 4 years more not as serious, you would have to train a lot. But, it can be done. Didn't TableTennisTony say it would take a minimum of $500,000.00 USD investment in your game to get to top levels.
 
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Harimoto is hardly an example for nearly anyone though.
His dad trains him most of the day and his training routine is like, 3 hours straight short pushes, 3 hours straight something else, etc.
It's mind numbing to most who don't have his motivation, and if it wasn't, life gets in the way. The kid is also kind of a genius when it comes to his normal schooling. One of the top in Japan in maths or something like that?
I forgot where I read it.


But yeah alplay, first you gotta learn topspin man. Since you like sharing your footage, I'd love to see that. Not to give you advice or criticism or anything like that though. I seriously just want to ENJOY watching you play with a good topspin stroke because it will make me happy seeing someone as dedicated as you getting better.

I only used harimoto as an example of hard work. From his training routine it’s pretty clear that to get where he is today, he has to have put in so many hours. I guess I was just trying to use an example that would show without having put in the hours of work, the tactics he brings to a game would be pretty worthless. However, without the tactics in a game, his hard work (to an extent) would also be useless
 
There is no substitute for professional coaching and training. If you are aiming for a world ranking then to tell you frankly you will not be able to reach it with all the hindrances that you have. You may become a good player but if you want to be a wr player it takes time, money and sacrifice.
 
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good advice, but have a vision of where you aim to be and play like and work towards that goal...vision will help in the way you train, compete, and develop a certain style that matches your vision and your talents and ability...not everyone will be a chopper like Joo...and not everyone will have Kreanga's like backhand...so assess where you are and have a high realistic vision of where you can be...hard work, smart work and great coaches help and will like for you to be in a position where you can explain a high yet realistic vision of what you are trying to achieve
 
As said above the most important thing is listening to coaches and playing with coaches. If you do it clever, you will get everything they are able to give you.
The second import thing is to train a lot and hard with partners who are ready to assist you in proper way, not just to play with you.
Third is to participate in as much tournaments as you can afford. Don't get upset when you lose, but analyze with a coach every match.
If you do the above, its just maybe that you would get everything possible from where you are.
And here comes the question - is that all enough to reach your aim? Even if you become the best player of your club, what would that mean in national range? How many of the club players are or have been national champions or near to that? Do you have in the club players, regularly participating in international tournaments, how you compare to them and what you need to reach them?
Again - for now its most important to spend a year of hard, clever and concentrated training, after that to analyze what you have acheived for this year and then to start answering the above queations. Other questions will arise, but be patient.
 
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I only used harimoto as an example of hard work. From his training routine it’s pretty clear that to get where he is today, he has to have put in so many hours. I guess I was just trying to use an example that would show without having put in the hours of work, the tactics he brings to a game would be pretty worthless. However, without the tactics in a game, his hard work (to an extent) would also be useless

Oh no I agree with you completely, I was just adding to show how utterly extreme Harimoto is. It is indeed no wonder he is where he is at 14
 
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I only used harimoto as an example of hard work. From his training routine it’s pretty clear that to get where he is today, he has to have put in so many hours. I guess I was just trying to use an example that would show without having put in the hours of work, the tactics he brings to a game would be pretty worthless. However, without the tactics in a game, his hard work (to an extent) would also be useless

Actually I think he trained less in the measure of hours than many of the players out there. He isn't a full time player as he has a normal school life besides that. It's a miracle that with only that much training he became that good. Quality training and talent together!
However, Dima is well known for training hard. Hugo Calderano is a good example of hard training as well. And there is the whole CNT...
 
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Yeah. Alpay, the more you train with coaches the faster you will get better. 3-6 hours a day 6 days a week with a coach.

At 15 years old playing for one year seriously and 4 years more not as serious, you would have to train a lot. But, it can be done. Didn't TableTennisTony say it would take a minimum of $500,000.00 USD investment in your game to get to top levels.
To be honest. Our head coach is playing/coaching table tennis for 40 years. And I think he is bored. We are not doing dedicated training. But another coach (national one) comes 2 days a week and he is doing his job well. I want to improve much when I don't play with national coach.
 
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To be honest. Our head coach is playing/coaching table tennis for 40 years. And I think he is bored. We are not doing dedicated training. But another coach (national one) comes 2 days a week and he is doing his job well. I want to improve much when I don't play with national coach.
Sad to hear that someone is bored by TT. If he see someone with motivation to be a pro player, then he should work hard as well. It might be annoying to train guys, who are lower level than you and lack the real motivation to be better, just hanging around.
 
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