Daily Table Tennis Chit Chat

[Der_Echte]

Is that really true though - is using the wrist a stable looping stroke? I think focusing on putting the elbow in the right position helps a lot even if you intend to use the wrist. Experiment with it and let me know what happens.

I have come to realize that a good step to position with that elbow position lets me make those kind of BH confidently. Positon on ball and getting the elbow to the spot and relaxed start makes a difference in leverage.

 

[pingpongholic10]

For those of you who are really into watching other people take lessons:

I decided to despite my injuries and overworked body make a push for 2100-2200 level with training from a local coach. I haven't spent any money on organized coaching on a regular basis for almost 2 years now so this is very different for me.

The coach is a lady lefty penholder who was 2600 USATT around her peak. The way she coaches me and just about everything she tells me to do is 100% against how I think about the sport. She gives very specific technical instructions while I am more Zen and general in my TT approach. And of course, she is trying to fix my knees with exercises.

That said, having someone give me specific instructions to guide my approach to the game is probably a good thing as she will hold me accountable for how I play. And getting to practice against 2600 level consistency and ball quality is probably the biggest thing. I thought really hard about it and it is cheaper than travelling to play local leagues or getting similar coaching elsewhere. She lives pretty close to me. So as much as I hate to pay the extra money, let's see where it goes.

So without further ado, here is lesson 1 from last week:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-SpEUsk6Dy4

You definitely have the strokes to surpass your goal! By watching a piece of the video, I can tell that she wants to ingrain some strategic strokes into your game. I won't be betting chicken & beer against you anymore...

 

[ttmonster]

... which means don't take so much pressure ... a lot of table tennis is about having loose muscles and firming them just enough at impact to transmit the momentum ... if the mind is too anxious and the muscles get tensed up even before the stroke execution its very difficult to do optimal strokes ... looking at the practice I am guessing more of that is happening during the match ... it happens to all of us but the degree of it is what you can control and try to reduce by mentally relaxing ... part of which is already accepting I don't have a consistent backhand and I am working on it ... its a process that will reap results in time ... then do a check point in six months or an year and see if you are to land more balls or not , if there has been no improvement or it has plateued then you might want to think about rebuilding the stroke ...

I agree with Next Levels plan , his swing plan is too horizontal and will be susceptible to top edges the moment he plays matches and is not able to take the ball early enough ... timing will always be an issue because the sweet zone in the stroke is much less compared to what Next level is suggesting .... I also noticed the quality of the multiball that you have referenced here ... having considered all of that and after seeing the latest video I still feel, if he is not ready to rebuild the stroke from fundamentals as Next level has suggested , with the current technique it will really help him to be less tensed up and anxious. It might help just accepting that he is trying to improve his backhand and he will have to keep working on every little thing to keep improving it , in the mean time he might miss more than he expects to make but nevertheless keep the focus on the footwork, timing and keep reminding himself to whatever little thing he things went wrong the last time he missed ... don't know if I am able to get through with this ... but I feel this might help ..

 

[ttmonster]

... coupled with that the very fact that she is a left who has a great forehand and seems to be truly excited to have somebody who already has such good strokes as a student , NL's backhand is going to only become more and more strong ... can you even think what kind of nightmare that would be to the opponents ..

You definitely have the strokes to surpass your goal! By watching a piece of the video, I can tell that she wants to ingrain some strategic strokes into your game. I won't be betting chicken & beer against you anymore...

 

[ajtatosmano2]

Got my new weapon!
Same as the previous one, just 90 gr instead of 85.
Somehow the forum doesn't let me upload photos.
Btw I would recommend this blade to anyone who wants a stable, fast but not too fast, composit, but woody feel, stiff, but not very stiff OFF blade. It's one of the most popular blades in Hungary and very cheap, around 32 euro. I've seen it used by both loopers and more hitters (short pips BH)

 

[OhWell]

For those of you who are really into watching other people take lessons:

I decided to despite my injuries and overworked body make a push for 2100-2200 level with training from a local coach. I haven't spent any money on organized coaching on a regular basis for almost 2 years now so this is very different for me.

The coach is a lady lefty penholder who was 2600 USATT around her peak. The way she coaches me and just about everything she tells me to do is 100% against how I think about the sport. She gives very specific technical instructions while I am more Zen and general in my TT approach. And of course, she is trying to fix my knees with exercises.

That said, having someone give me specific instructions to guide my approach to the game is probably a good thing as she will hold me accountable for how I play. And getting to practice against 2600 level consistency and ball quality is probably the biggest thing. I thought really hard about it and it is cheaper than travelling to play local leagues or getting similar coaching elsewhere. She lives pretty close to me. So as much as I hate to pay the extra money, let's see where it goes.

So without further ado, here is lesson 1 from last week:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-SpEUsk6Dy4

Super interesting to watch the lesson!

 

[OldschoolPenholder]

Merry Christmas

 

[ttmonster]

Merry Christmas OSPH !

Merry Christmas

 

[NextLevel]

Sir thanks for your reply. I am little bit confused. Is my racket angle is close? Do you mean, it should be more open? Second thing is, if I contact the ball to the left, isn't it generate more sidespin? Here is another video from different angle after taking your suggestions. Please take a look.

Thanks
https://youtu.be/WI9dPVpiwbs

https://youtu.be/TDtxRDnGpPM?t=215
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_yifhqHl5o

 

[ttmonster]

to add to what NL has shared ... I felt this might help you as well ..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4w0J-8xzEU

https://youtu.be/TDtxRDnGpPM?t=215
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_yifhqHl5o

 

[OldschoolPenholder]

Rewatching Brett Clark's tickmark / whip mechanics / checkmark video

due to old man memory perhaps, i see i'm overexaggerating the start of the motion of point #1 - i thought I saw NL's motions before he hits the ball and as I am in front of the table, i've been doing that.

 

[NextLevel]

to add to what NL has shared ... I felt this might help you as well .. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4w0J-8xzEU

The guy hasn't responded but the simplest way to put it is that Hridoy is trying to avoid and brush the ball with a thin racket angle to generate spin. He needs to learn to hit the ball with a turning motion to generate spin or he will continue to whiff the ball.

 

[Giangt]

For those of you who are really into watching other people take lessons:

I decided to despite my injuries and overworked body make a push for 2100-2200 level with training from a local coach. I haven't spent any money on organized coaching on a regular basis for almost 2 years now so this is very different for me.

The coach is a lady lefty penholder who was 2600 USATT around her peak. The way she coaches me and just about everything she tells me to do is 100% against how I think about the sport. She gives very specific technical instructions while I am more Zen and general in my TT approach. And of course, she is trying to fix my knees with exercises.

That said, having someone give me specific instructions to guide my approach to the game is probably a good thing as she will hold me accountable for how I play. And getting to practice against 2600 level consistency and ball quality is probably the biggest thing. I thought really hard about it and it is cheaper than travelling to play local leagues or getting similar coaching elsewhere. She lives pretty close to me. So as much as I hate to pay the extra money, let's see where it goes.

So without further ado, here is lesson 1 from last week:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-SpEUsk6Dy4

Good luck with your journey NL!

 

[ttmonster]

Very nicely put NL ...

@OSPH : the reason I did not put Brett Clarke's video is because in the beginning of the video Brett shortens the tick motion and from the side angle it looks like he his swinging purely horizontally but actually the tick motion is still there and its subtle because there is not enough time to exaggerate the ticking motion with the wrist and the forearm especially if the incoming spin is topspin and you are close to the table . some of the ticking motion is not required if you are taking the ball off the bounce and using its momentum to grab the ball using the sponge, the ticking motion is required as you start taking th eball after the top of the bounce and need to impart your own power to create spin ...

It is the same reason why I was trying to understand what NL's coach was telling him regarding serve receive earlier on a different topic , essentially whether the forearm leading the backhand loop from close to the table is possible , and I agreed with him that the positioning of the elbow is critical ...

I have taken in person lessons from the coach's video I posted and their philosophy on the backhand is that you don't really need a backhand loop from close to the table , 99% of the balls can be handled with an off the bounce backhand drive . They don't really want you to fall back from the table and thats why they don't even teach you the backhand loop video that I posted. In fact if you search they don't even have a backhand loop against backspin video, my guess is that they consider it as a non-essential stroke given that most likely you would have already opened using backhand loop drive against backspin from close to the table and only when you have fallen back you would need to use the backhand loop the ball already has topspin because the rally has already started ...

The guy hasn't responded but the simplest way to put it is that Hridoy is trying to avoid and brush the ball with a thin racket angle to generate spin. He needs to learn to hit the ball with a turning motion to generate spin or he will continue to whiff the ball.

 

[NextLevel]

Very nicely put NL ...

@OSPH : the reason I did not put Brett Clarke's video is because in the beginning of the video Brett shortens the tick motion and from the side angle it looks like he his swinging purely horizontally but actually the tick motion is still there and its subtle because there is not enough time to exaggerate the ticking motion with the wrist and the forearm especially if the incoming spin is topspin and you are close to the table . some of the ticking motion is not required if you are taking the ball off the bounce and using its momentum to grab the ball using the sponge, the ticking motion is required as you start taking th eball after the top of the bounce and need to impart your own power to create spin ...

It is the same reason why I was trying to understand what NL's coach was telling him regarding serve receive earlier on a different topic , essentially whether the forearm leading the backhand loop from close to the table is possible , and I agreed with him that the positioning of the elbow is critical ...

I have taken in person lessons from the coach's video I posted and their philosophy on the backhand is that you don't really need a backhand loop from close to the table , 99% of the balls can be handled with an off the bounce backhand drive . They don't really want you to fall back from the table and thats why they don't even teach you the backhand loop video that I posted. In fact if you search they don't even have a backhand loop against backspin video, my guess is that they consider it as a non-essential stroke given that most likely you would have already opened using backhand loop drive against backspin from close to the table and only when you have fallen back you would need to use the backhand loop the ball already has topspin because the rally has already started ...

They probably just skipped the video, the series is old. Everyone needs a backhand loop, especially vs backspin, in modern play to reduce the footwork demands unless their countering game is ridiculously high level. I agree one can play well without a backhand loop close to the table but it limits your options severely even third ball. If someone pops up a sidespin serve and you don't want to pivot, your only reliable option is a backhand loop of some sort as a punch will risk going into the net if the spin is not aligned with the contact of your punch. Then again how people define drive and loop is all over the place, but flat strokes are very limited in table tennis.

 

[Flatstyk]

For those of you who are really into watching other people take lessons:



So without further ado, here is lesson 1 from last week:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-SpEUsk6Dy4

Next Level, I think your posting of this entire lesson is a great gift to the followers of this discussion! Thank you. Your coach is impressive in the relaxed quickness of her play!

Incidentally, and I may be off base, it felt to me that in her asking you to use more "shoulder" that she might be suggesting more upper rotation. It might be your RA, but your shoulders remain mostly square on, whereas her demo showed lots of turn.

 

[ttmonster]

Completely agree with you ... especially true for adults since its difficult to have a ridiculously high level of footwork that is demanded if you have to play the loop drive counter game ... hence I also try to keep learning the backhand loop and trying to find a common thread between my loop drive and looping technique so that the transition is smooth and natural depending on the incoming ball , instead of me having to think I am going to do a drive on this ball and a loop on this one ...

They probably just skipped the video, the series is old. Everyone needs a backhand loop, especially vs backspin, in modern play to reduce the footwork demands unless their countering game is ridiculously high level. I agree one can play well without a backhand loop close to the table but it limits your options severely even third ball. If someone pops up a sidespin serve and you don't want to pivot, your only reliable option is a backhand loop of some sort as a punch will risk going into the net if the spin is not aligned with the contact of your punch. Then again how people define drive and loop is all over the place, but flat strokes are very limited in table tennis.

 

[NextLevel]

Next Level, I think your posting of this entire lesson is a great gift to the followers of this discussion! Thank you. Your coach is impressive in the relaxed quickness of her play!

Incidentally, and I may be off base, it felt to me that in her asking you to use more "shoulder" that she might be suggesting more upper rotation. It might be your RA, but your shoulders remain mostly square on, whereas her demo showed lots of turn.

Possible but I think she wanted me to release the upper arm. My stroke was highly forearm snap oriented. The turns have more to do with bad knees not allowing the rotation. But I do the best I can.

 

[OldschoolPenholder]

ah ok, thx ttmonster!

 

[ajtatosmano2]

Got my new weapon!
Same as the previous one, just 90 gr instead of 85.
Somehow the forum doesn't let me upload photos.
Btw I would recommend this blade to anyone who wants a stable, fast but not too fast, composit, but woody feel, stiff, but not very stiff OFF blade. It's one of the most popular blades in Hungary and very cheap, around 32 euro. I've seen it used by both loopers and more hitters (short pips BH)