I lost my spark for playing TT

[UpSideDownCarl]

Well, everyone is different. But it would not work either way for me.

I guess, one question here would be: how many of you guys would consider using the term "coaching" in reference to bonking a ball around casually in a social setting?

And would that version of "coaching", where you are purposely hitting the ball with no spin so your girlfriend can get the ball on the table and have a good time, as something that would cause you to rekindle your fading enthusiasm for the sport you love?

 

[Der_Echte]

If you see Ali or Arrush, ask them for a candid opinion on our area situation.

 

[NextLevel]

Duke, do you have any experience teaching ur gf or wife how to drive a car with a manual shift transmission?

The data on this is overwhelming. You may be one of the few to beat the very small percentage odds, but who knows?

This was the first analogy that came to mind, but I actually have experience doing what I should never have done lol. So I have a more informed opinion than most, though of course, just like anyone's opinion on whether murder should be legal or not, it is only an opinion.

 

[Der_Echte]

NL,

Did you require any reconstructive surgery after teaching stick shift driving?

 

[DukeGaGa]

Yeah well, I have beat the odds then. Also, you guys said coach, I said teach, so lol

Guess there was a reason I got the “excellence in teaching” award two years in a row when I was a TA during my grad school.

Anyways, these are still just opinions , and the murder analogy is wrong, but if that’s the way you think then I understand why you are bad at teaching your girlfriend stuff 😂

 

[Jslick89]

You did improve that much in a year and that is good.

You are a very young adult learning player and those will grow well initially.

The next 200 to 300 points will be easy as well, but a lot more work and time.

When you get to a 1700 to 1800 Cali level, then may hit a wall, many walls and improving will be very difficult, unless your coach can really show you what and how to do for that level and beyond. Arishei Lim was like that until he started with coach Avi... he had great looking strokes, but could not compete vs the 1800 plus crowd...after a year he was at my level or close.

There are some exceptions like Steven Tse, who was prolly 1400 Cali level in 2017 and he trained his fh and blocking so much that it got him to Cali 1900 by 2021and he did not get professional coaching he was prolly late 30s at the time.

I am ready to put in the word! If only i could play more....i know i would improve faster but you know....life gets in the way of table tennis. Avi is moving down to the bay area full time, so i'm worried about my development. Need to get a new coach....

my ultimate goal is to be on table 1 and to get some victories.

 

[Jslick89]

JSlick,

Yes, it would be good that you get another couple years to get more fundamentally sound, but you would need to really be aware of what makes things happen biomechanically, how spin and path work, footwork, opponent stance shots, tactical adjustments and a ton more.

You would have some success with the under 40 adults who are 400 to 800 level. They would respond to what you could show in a reasonable timeframe.

The 40 to 70 yr old crowd who has been 700 to 1500 forever will be a huge challenge and if you fail to raise their level you will ruin your reputation as a capable coach before your coaching career begins. It is a huge risk.

I took that risk with ldm7... I know the risks and I know what I can do. I saw ldm7 was willing to work, so I know it would work.

The older dude crowd who has been at their level for years and decades is a tough crowd... they want to improve, but either do not want to commit the time work and failure into it or do not want to spend money.

Der_Echte, i definitely plan to get more solid foundation before i try to really take a stab at coaching. I think it would be respectable to try once i'm around the 1900 level at the club....

and man the 700-1500 crowd....at least at our club...is funny. some of them make comments about how i'm improving so fast because i'm getting coaching. i'm not denying that. i always ask why they themselves don't get lessons if they really want to improve. I realize that many of them want to compete, but they don't have the same urge as I do to improve. Totally understandable. I just hate losing, so i do everything i can to fortify my weaknesses and improve my strengths. I am also confident that IF I put in the work, I WILL see the results. It's just a matter of time.

However, like i said, i'm worried about my improvement now that Avi is moving to the bay area full time. It's going to suck...i'm already feeling like a lost puppy kind of.

You have to message me who LDM7 is.....or at least tell me if i know him?

 

[Jslick89]

One of the 1500 level "coach" in jz club plays league about every damn time for decades, but never get appreciably better. He plays on non league days with the same 3 to 4 players his level, keeps doing the same ineffective stuff he is not skilled at... and does not improve...

... but that is his right as a free American - the right to choose.

He choose a way he is no good at, but obviously enjoys... he keeps doing it, so more power to him, but if I was an informed and observant player who wanted coaching, WHY would I learn from him?

Then again, how many who want coaching know the deal about everyone?

Oh man. I have to know who this is. lol. I mean, I know a handful of guys who have been stagnant at 1500 for a while. I am ready to advance past all of them this year. I actually just reached a new all time high on sunday. My forehand is getting better and better everyday, and i can actually keep the backhand on the table and open up a good amount of the time. It's still a big weakness though. I'm beginning to be able to actually do a few things with my serve return. And i've been practicing my services for at least 30 minutes a day. Been getting a lot of free points just off the variation and now knowing what type of returns to expect from each of my serves.

I'm still having the problem of possibly being without a high quality coach soon though. this worries me.

 

[Der_Echte]

I am ready to put in the word! If only i could play more....i know i would improve faster but you know....life gets in the way of table tennis. Avi is moving down to the bay area full time, so i'm worried about my development. Need to get a new coach....

my ultimate goal is to be on table 1 and to get some victories.

Even Ali get on table 1 sometimes... he had 2 wins on table one defeating Dean and Arrusch... it can happen. Prolly gunna be some more time longer for you.

Ali has like 1/3 the in club time as you, so it can happen

 

[Der_Echte]

Yes Jslick89, I say for the record that many local players got coached by local coaches, advanced to a level, then never went anywhere past that until Avi coached them.

Of course I wasn't professionally coaching at the time, but Avi fixes up other coaches' messes. The knock on him is he cares only if you care... but that isn't an unreasonable attitude.

My problem is the opposite... I care no matter what... and I hate accepting failure if it isnt in the process of improvement... and if the player doesn't care, given my background as a 30 year hard-core military sergeant, then it can get to be a lot of sparks, because that old school will make you care.

 

[Der_Echte]

You know more than a handful who are stagnant... must be like 50 players locally who are very stagnant...

You can blames local coaches or who run tt here... but there is also a lot of blame on the players themselves.

Why? When I usually say coaches are accountable? These players do not seek professional coaches. Some are millionaires and wear the same 3 dollar Goodwill tshirt day after day, never change their rubber in 2 or 3 years and complained about paying a discounted 40 usd a month for club membership when sitta ttc was in operation.

This kind of player is nearly everyone... who wants to improve, but is unwilling to work... unwilling to listen... unwilling to pay for professional assistance... unwilling to listen to reason... continues to do everything their way and get the same result... NOWHERE City.

You can also look who has been running tt here locally in a metro are of 3 MILLION... and the city fails to produce anyone advanced... until Avi shows up. Plenty of blame there too, but not all of it. They have to deal with the market... but ask why there are 5x more rec players in the Vietnamese community...

So 3 million people and not much happening for organized tt, but 1 to 2 times a week free borrowed space at community center where you can pretty much just play matches... that goes no where.

5 Muslim players got together to do something about it and actually are growing... ask Ali.

 

[Der_Echte]

Jslick89,

Ask yourself WHY that YOU have been advancing past many players who have WAY more time for tt than you and who are way more moneyed... even if they never heard of Thomas Sowell or Walt Williams.

 

[songdavid98]

I can confirm, coaching makes table tennis fun again. You troubleshoot tt problems and you get to live vicariously through your student.

If you don't coach, the other option is to search for areas to improve and experiment in. You will enjoy a sense of progression through that.

 

[Der_Echte]

DDDDA!AAAAAA!:VVVVVVIIIIIDDDD!!!

 

[Jslick89]

Even Ali get on table 1 sometimes... he had 2 wins on table one defeating Dean and Arrusch... it can happen. Prolly gunna be some more time longer for you.

Ali has like 1/3 the in club time as you, so it can happen

You know more than a handful who are stagnant... must be like 50 players locally who are very stagnant...

You can blames local coaches or who run tt here... but there is also a lot of blame on the players themselves.

Why? When I usually say coaches are accountable? These players do not seek professional coaches. Some are millionaires and wear the same 3 dollar Goodwill tshirt day after day, never change their rubber in 2 or 3 years and complained about paying a discounted 40 usd a month for club membership when sitta ttc was in operation.

This kind of player is nearly everyone... who wants to improve, but is unwilling to work... unwilling to listen... unwilling to pay for professional assistance... unwilling to listen to reason... continues to do everything their way and get the same result... NOWHERE City.

You can also look who has been running tt here locally in a metro are of 3 MILLION... and the city fails to produce anyone advanced... until Avi shows up. Plenty of blame there too, but not all of it. They have to deal with the market... but ask why there are 5x more rec players in the Vietnamese community...

So 3 million people and not much happening for organized tt, but 1 to 2 times a week free borrowed space at community center where you can pretty much just play matches... that goes no where.

5 Muslim players got together to do something about it and actually are growing... ask Ali.

Man....I gotta know what is happening with Ali. Is this why i don't see Suhir as much anymore either? I'm texting Ali and Aarush right now.

I would have loved to been around during the days of SITTA TTC. Too bad it didn't make it. and really sad that Avi is leaving back to the bay. too bad i'm not a millionaire or i would be taking trips to the bay every weekend to train lol.

I think it's definitely the culture up here. many players are content with what they have. No drive. That's fine. they have fun with what they have. I have bigger goals...even if they just mean winning at the club level haha.

 

[NextLevel]

Yeah well, I have beat the odds then. Also, you guys said coach, I said teach, so lol

Guess there was a reason I got the “excellence in teaching” award two years in a row when I was a TA during my grad school.

Anyways, these are still just opinions , and the murder analogy is wrong, but if that’s the way you think then I understand why you are bad at teaching your girlfriend stuff 😂

Since you are so convinced the murder analogy is wrong, can you explain what is wrong with it? Science is agnostic to ends - "good" and "bad" require evaluation vs rules or goals. Therefore, science has nothing to say on morality other than whether ends are achievable or not achievable - it does not judge the quality of the ends. If you have said, "provide some evidence that teaching your girlfriend table tennis makes it harder for you to date her", that is very different from saying "provide some evidence that teaching your girlfriend table tennis is bad" - the former is fairly easy to answer - the latter depends on what you consider bad. Science cannot tell you what is good or bad. It can at best tell you whether something is likely or unlikely to happen.

 

[Der_Echte]

Ali is often out on business trips, he plays when he can, that is why you see him only occasionally.

Suhir is usually present every Tuesday, he plays league only occasionally he wants to keep his public rating low and conceal his real level, but the cat is already out of the bag.

He went in with Andy and some others on a couple tables they planted in a gym near hwy50... he trains there 2x a week I think.

 

[DukeGaGa]

Since you are so convinced the murder analogy is wrong, can you explain what is wrong with it? Science is agnostic to ends - "good" and "bad" require evaluation vs rules or goals. Therefore, science has nothing to say on morality other than whether ends are achievable or not achievable - it does not judge the quality of the ends. If you have said, "provide some evidence that teaching your girlfriend table tennis makes it harder for you to date her", that is very different from saying "provide some evidence that teaching your girlfriend table tennis is bad" - the former is fairly easy to answer - the latter depends on what you consider bad. Science cannot tell you what is good or bad. It can at best tell you whether something is likely or unlikely to happen.

Ahh, so we’re back to this now, good. Like I’ve already said before, which you also realized yourself, you can’t prove it is bad. And I meant to say bad, because anything that makes you feel worse can be considered bad, thus you saying “making it harder to date” is part of being bad, unless you like it to be harder. But since you started this how debate, it’s obvious you don’t like it harder, so we can just apply common sense here. This means what you said there just don’t make sense, because they’re really the same thing, just different words, meaning you thinking one is easily answered while the other can’t be, is wrong. Also the murder analogy is wrong analogy because even though it is an opinion, it is also a commonly agreed upon that taking life away from living things, is bad, and it’s especially true when that living thing is a human. While what we’re discussing is whether it’s a good idea to “teach your significant other stuff they don’t know”. I say it can be done that benefits both entities, and have been done. You are saying it shouldn’t be done, and no one should try.

 

[Jslick89]

Ali is often out on business trips, he plays when he can, that is why you see him only occasionally.

Suhir is usually present every Tuesday, he plays league only occasionally he wants to keep his public rating low and conceal his real level, but the cat is already out of the bag.

He went in with Andy and some others on a couple tables they planted in a gym near hwy50... he trains there 2x a week I think.

Suhir is going to be sand bagging it at my u1650 event at james tournament. not happy about it. LOL!

 

[kingkimchi]

You know what you are missing?

I know you want it, you crave for it, it speaks to you in your ears, in your dream...

You want these:

FZD Super ZLC
Dignics 09C
Dignics 64

the most badazz combo on the planet.

actually considering this setup 🤣, but pondering d05, d80, or d64, mind if you could help me recommend? very quick bevcause I don't want to interrupt this thread