Daily Table Tennis Chit Chat

[OldschoolPenholder]

I'm making the switch to shakehand.

Congratulations on finding yourself! I'm happy for you that SH is working out great for you!! Excellent!

I'm sad that the dying breed known as Penholder has lost an enthusiastic supporter. LOL at me.

Seriously though, it's not about SH or PH, it's about you having Fun and enjoying the Game! Don't force yourself into the PH mold, never ever force yourself into any mode... know thyself ... see what works best for you to honestly express yourself.

Looking forward to videos of your SH play!

 

[Boogar]

https://tv.ittf.com/livestream/qatar-open-table-3/764913

Liang Jingkun playing! very interesting to see him against not chinese players!

 

[Boogar]

Fuuuu.... That was incredible the last ball... I could swear it was a point for Kenta. And how he got every ball.. damn thats just really sad ((

 

[NextLevel]

Something kinda radical going on I suppose in my game recently.

I'm making the switch to shakehand.

Yep. Felt like I had plateaued some time ago playing penhold. As a little background, I started out shakehand and switched oh about 7 years ago to penhold. But after hitting this wall (which wasn't that high) and never seemingly progressing past that, just ready for a switch. I was playing Cpen short pips & long pips twiddle game. Primarily a TBH penholder. But you can only "trick" your club mates for so long. Sooner or later, you have to out play them and I just got tired of feeling like they're the hammer & i'm the nail. Problem was, every time I tried switching back to inverted on my penhold, my FH just felt off. So if I'm making a switch, might as well do it with no disadvantages.

I know this varies from player to player but for me?... Man shakehand just makes the game easier.

First & probably most importantly of all, I can simply feel the ball better with the natural handle grip. So all of a sudden looping backspin is easier. Push game is easier. Honestly blocking is easier. Basically everything.

My training partner came over last night and we were simply having some great points. I've always had a backhand. Being a penhold TPB guy, that was kinda lost. Nice to have that weapon back in my game. Now it's all about developing that forehand. So far so good. It doesn't feel so awkward which I consider a huge success at this point.

I will continue to practice and hopefully bring some video club play soon for feedback.

Learning in table tennis is never wasted. You have neurons and experiences stored in your hand as a Penh older that will help you as a shake hander and vice versa. Grip is not a static thing. So please continue to share your eternal evolution.

 

[UpSideDownCarl]

BTW: I should say, I got to play over the weekend for the first time in about 3 weeks. Played Saturday for an hour, Sunday for an hour and a half and Monday I actually got to play for 4.5 hours as a result of a big break in my work schedule that was related to the holiday.

I played well. Better than expected. But man my body got weaker fast in those 3 weeks. Need to be in better shape.


Sent from The Subterranean Workshop by Telepathy

 

[Archosaurus]

I only really play penhold against worse players, and I've gotten half decent at it. It's helped me to understand things related to stroke trajectory and form. My short push is a lot better with traditional penhold, and it's helped me develop my short push on shakehand.

I enjoy playing penhold more, but shakehand just feels easier if you haven't got the right training to play penhold.

Also, I will have a chance to play tomorrow for the first time in a week. I'll probably be there for 5 - 7 hours.

 

[Boogar]

Today I played with the Nexy Karis M for the first time!

So far I really like it, I am using it on my forehand and it feels great for serving.
Also a good thing is that you have to make a complete stroke with it to generate real spin. Playing with the MX-P made me develop a shorter stroke wich isnt always good. Needing to do a full stroke is a good reminder of how the stroke has to be.

In addition i like the weight of it, my backhand feels more fluid somehow

Next Wednesday I will have my rematch against those guys:

Making sure to record it

 

[NextLevel]

Today I played with the Nexy Karis M for the first time!
So far I really like it, I am using it on my forehand and it feels great for serving. Also a good thing is that you have to make a complete stroke with it to generate real spin. Playing with the MX-P made me develop a shorter stroke wich isnt always good. Needing to do a full stroke is a good reminder of how the stroke has to be.

Not just that, but when you do a full stroke, the ball still stays on the table!

 

[Boogar]

Not just that, but when you do a full stroke, the ball still stays on the table!

I still have problems with getting the timing right on strokes near the table with the bigger stroke.
But jea the ball dips beautifully if hit the right way.
Far away from the table it is ridiculously easy to hit the sickest shots.

 

[OldschoolPenholder]

1:39-1:45 !!!
2:42 - 2:57 - sweetness!

 

[Boogar]

1:39-1:45 !!!
2:42 - 2:57 - sweetness!

Here is my newest one!

You may like 0:36 - 0:55

 

[NextLevel]

I still have problems with getting the timing right on strokes near the table with the bigger stroke.
But jea the ball dips beautifully if hit the right way.
Far away from the table it is ridiculously easy to hit the sickest shots.

You are still hitting the back of the ball my friend. Stop this nonsense as soon as possible - it will only hold you back from getting better for much longer than necessary.

 

[Boogar]

You are still hitting the back of the ball my friend. Stop this nonsense as soon as possible - it will only hold you back from getting better for much longer than necessary.

You mean i should hit or graze the ball more over the top or on the side? or a combination of it?

I can feel that i hit the ball too flat lots times, it can be great to get some good counter loops in near the table. But jea without much actual control over the ball.

 

[Archosaurus]

You mean i should hit or graze the ball more over the top or on the side? or a combination of it?

I can feel that i hit the ball too flat lots times, it can be great to get some good counter loops in near the table. But jea without much actual control over the ball.

I believe NL is talking about hitting past the spin axis. Hitting where the ball is not "spinning as fast", instead of smashing directly into the spin.

Is this right, NL?

 

[NextLevel]

You mean i should hit or graze the ball more over the top or on the side? or a combination of it?

I can feel that i hit the ball too flat lots times, it can be great to get some good counter loops in near the table. But jea without much actual control over the ball.

Yes, all of the above that you mentioned depending on the incoming spin. You may have missed when I tried to explain to SchemeSC.

Do not graze though - hit the ball.

 

[ttmonster]

Boogar counter loops cannot be hit flat, counter hits or smashes can be. I think and correct me if I am wrong NL, what he is saying that you are not making enough spin , you are not grazing the ball enough , you are kind of cupping the ball but more flat in the direction of the incoming spin to ensure it lands but eventually reducing the spin ....
point is your opponent was even not looping long balls and you were getting into push push rallies with him , especially when you have a spinny backhand loop which you have demonstrated elsewhere in the video towards the end ...

You mean i should hit or graze the ball more over the top or on the side? or a combination of it?

I can feel that i hit the ball too flat lots times, it can be great to get some good counter loops in near the table. But jea without much actual control over the ball.

 

[OldschoolPenholder]

Here is my newest one!

You may like 0:36 - 0:55

LOL -- nooooo! you too steady lobbing back !!!! my smashes would not break through your 'wall' !!

Seriously, thank you for sharing Boogar!

 

[Boogar]

Boogar counter loops cannot be hit flat, counter hits or smashes can be. I think and correct me if I am wrong NL, what he is saying that you are not making enough spin , you are not grazing the ball enough , you are kind of cupping the ball but more flat in the direction of the incoming spin to ensure it lands but eventually reducing the spin ....
point is your opponent was even not looping long balls and you were getting into push push rallies with him , especially when you have a spinny backhand loop which you have demonstrated elsewhere in the video towards the end ...

Makes sense... so are the last two shots i hit in the video counter loops or counter hits? I guess counter hits then.

Jea in matches i somehow have no confidence in my spiny forehand stroke. In training i can hit them, but that might be because i know the ball of my trainings partner very well.
But like everything so far, i am confident that in like half a year i am going to do them in matches as well!
A year ago i could only lift backspin balls on the forehand side, and was thinking that I was looping

 

[NextLevel]

Today I spent almost the entire session working on my FH loop against block, trying to make the stroke more effortless. For the first time, I was able to loop 50+ balls in a row without missing. My previous high was somewhere in the 20's.

I haven't gotten too much into counterlooping yet, but I know that contacting the ball on the side is better based on my experiences looping against push. When I loop against the weak pushes of the local 1600 players, the consistency of my BH loop is quite good. But when I have to play my 2000 level buddy who has a nasty, heavy push (like you!), I start spraying balls all over the place. I can't deal with the heavier spin.

I just did these FH loops against easy balls on the robot about 15 minutes ago. What do you think? I tried aiming more at the side of the ball and keeping the tip of the rubber facing the floor on the backswing.

I feel like this stroke looks quite a bit different than what I was doing in the "53 loops video", but I'm still not completely sure I am doing what you are asking me to do.

Compare the two videos above. The first loop looks harder and faster, but will get you into trouble once you need to hit the ball harder and once the incoming ball is spinny.

The second loop is slightly riskier because it is coming round the side of the ball to shape it. But for slightly increased risk in missing the ball (not a lot if you know how to approach the ball), you can swing much harder and handle heavy incoming spin much better.

 

[NextLevel]

Boogar counter loops cannot be hit flat, counter hits or smashes can be. I think and correct me if I am wrong NL, what he is saying that you are not making enough spin , you are not grazing the ball enough , you are kind of cupping the ball but more flat in the direction of the incoming spin to ensure it lands but eventually reducing the spin ....
point is your opponent was even not looping long balls and you were getting into push push rallies with him , especially when you have a spinny backhand loop which you have demonstrated elsewhere in the video towards the end ...

Some of that is right and some of that is a bit confusing so let me clarify. Boogar was saying that he didn't know how to keep the ball on the table when close to the table with a powerful stroke. I was trying to tell Boogar that if you hit the back of the ball, you may even spin it but you cannot spin it hard because the ball will be going forward before you can even make it rotate.

To get power and spin at the same time, you need to contact the ball somewhere closer to the axis. If you know how to do it, you can hit the ball as hard as you want to and it won't matter, it will still spin. Brushing is overrated if you know what to do. The most important thing is to hit the ball with an arced stroke of sorts. You will get some sidespin but try to reduce it as much as possible.

Here is me telling a student to hit the ball that way on both sides. Just the first two minutes: