Daily Table Tennis Chit Chat

[blahness]

Hi blahness, it sounds super outrageous, but if you wear SLIPPERS for an hour or two once a week for a year, you will do VERY WELL on such floors.

The slippers force you to have effective balance and first step... also good slide step... and forces you to finish on balance.
It takes a while, but you can actually play your level in sandals. I have a few wins over Sergey Scobbie Doo wearing sandals. I rarely win vs him, like single digit win percentage.

😂 Slide step?! What even is that lol...

 

[JeffM]

Lol it's like a safety hazard already - I saw quite a few people tumbling when trying to reach wide balls... I'll try the damp paper towel thing, but it seems like the entire university hall is slippery af. There's really a lot of unsafe crap out there tbh and very few venues actually invest in proper antislip TT flooring.

Yeah I didn't believe that it would work at the start, but once I tried it, I couldn't go back (until I received my new pair of tt shoes which then solved the issue).
Best to let the other guy know that there is a damp towel so if they don't just step and fall over lol

 

[JeffM]

So I had my second session of tt for this week.

I was initially a bit scared as I felt some discomfort / tired feeling at the front of my right shoulder, and despite it improving yesterday, it was still there. Today as I woke up, I didn't feel it, the sleep must have fixed it , so I went for the training session.

The coach (he recently won #1 in the top 16 of the state) told me it was that venue but instead he went to the other one... So I waited and he realised that I went to the wrong one so he called me. Apparently he didn't read my msg completely so he didn't realised that I confirmed with him the venue...

Anyway, we got there in the end.
It was a tough 2 hours.
He had a systematic approach.
We started with training forehand. Cross court first. He said the Chinese used to train 150 loops in a row before moving on, but that is impossible for me, so he said, do 30 consecutive loops. And that was still very hard for me. We kept going until I actually reached that target... 30 consecutive loops, if I fail at 28, we start all over again. I got there. Ok, then we now go fh down the line. Lol and this took even longer, we were almost at the point of giving up, but I got there.
In the process, my hand can barely hold the racket. The muscles in my hand were so sore and tired that I am scared that my racket is going to fly off. I was also sweating so much in the hand.
He also tried to change my fh form. He wanted me to have no backswing and just be moving forward with the body. He said that will conserve alot of energy for me and my fitness isn't like the pros so they could afford to do big swings but I cannot.
Then we moved on to bh. First to practice blocks. 30 consecutive blocks. This isn't too hard for me as my bh blocking against topspin is stable.
Then we just practiced bh looping. Topspin and backspin.
After changing the rubbers, I actually didn't have much difficulty opening up on the backspin pushes. But it was the follow up shot that gets me. I guess since I am not used to having my bh loop landing, I am not prepared for the next ball. So I often just block but I should still be attacking!

Finally we finish off with serve and attack, and I practiced some serve receive as well.
He actually said my short serves are quite good. He 'ate' a few of my backspin ones, and then my no spin ones get him a few times too so the deception is working to some degree.

It was a good session. I have more confidence that my bh loop off backspin ones are working. I asked the coach whether I should be doing more bh opening up in the comp. He said just see how I go, if opponent isn't forcing me to, then I could just push or pivot. I think that is an interesting concept, as I have been forcing myself to do more bh opening but in the comp, I should be doing what it takes to win. I am also happy that my serves are alright, but when we were doing the serves etc, it was at the end of the session and probably my hand is struggling with tiredness. I hope I can still do them when my hands aren't tired/warmed up.

 

[Der_Echte]

😂 Slide step?! What even is that lol...

Think of your two step footwork BH to FH where you step with left foot to right, then bring your right foot a step to the right... when you do that footwork, you are lifting the feet off the ground a little.

A slide step is a more explosive two step where you push off more and are dragging or SLIDING the left foot. The distance you are moving the left foot is more, like a couple feet.

 

[blahness]

Think of your two step footwork BH to FH where you step with left foot to right, then bring your right foot a step to the right... when you do that footwork, you are lifting the feet off the ground a little.

A slide step is a more explosive two step where you push off more and are dragging or SLIDING the left foot. The distance you are moving the left foot is more, like a couple feet.

Ahh I get what you mean now, I thought it was like in tennis where you literally slide across the ground to get more reach ie taking advantage of the slippery ground 🤣

 

[JeffM]

3rd TT session of the week:

I played with the partner that I played with in my first session.
We trained fh crosscourt first, then fh down the line, then bh, then serve + push to bh for opening, and then serve + push to fh for opening.
Then we did games.
I am feeling confident with opening with bh, so I have been using it in games. I feel I have not been practicing my fh as much as I used to, so it isn't my best but it is still sufficient in games.
I won 8-2.
We played quite alot. So I felt pretty tired after.
Now it is about squeezing in 2 more sessions by the end of the week without injuring myself.

 

[OldschoolPenholder]

Helloo @NextLevel @JeffM and DTTCCers,

Since last summer when my regular club/location closed down for ~2 years renovation, I played in Columbus Park in NYC Chinatown. It is free, HOWEVER, it is windy at times, it is sunny at times, there are mosquitoes, People walking around as well as 4 to a table hitting cross court. Not to mention it is almost like a stone table as well as a slightly taller than regulation metal net. Less than ideal conditions, but it is free. I cannot afford to join a real club with 3 kids in college.

I played intermittently there until Fall when it got dark fast. They close the park early. Nearby is a Dept of Parks recreation center, Smith Center. I started playing there, but one room with 3 tables, and 2 of the tables are right on top of each other. Very cramped. Again less than ideal, however, as I am a member of the Dept of Parks ($100 for the year), I started going there.

Now spring has sprung, looking to go back to Columbus Park. However, it is more about exercise then it is about real TT training/drilling/gameplay. It is what it is. Do what I can, when I can, with what I have.

With the passing of sifu/coach/instructor, Alex Tam, a few years ago, and now with Dai Si-hing Richard's passing, that 1980's NYC Chinatown TT scene, slowly is shrinking. Have fond memories of my youth in that old firehouse club on Lafayette and White Street.... 21 point games, Same color rubbers (Cai Zhenhua anyone????). Wood was allowed. 38mm balls. The good old days.



Life is Life. Life is Death. Appreciate each the day to the fullest to the best of your ability. Treasure your Family, relatives, and friends.



Anyone want to spot me 9 points?

Very truly yours in TT,

~osph

 

[NextLevel]

Helloo @NextLevel @JeffM and DTTCCers,

Since last summer when my regular club/location closed down for ~2 years renovation, I played in Columbus Park in NYC Chinatown. It is free, HOWEVER, it is windy at times, it is sunny at times, there are mosquitoes, People walking around as well as 4 to a table hitting cross court. Not to mention it is almost like a stone table as well as a slightly taller than regulation metal net. Less than ideal conditions, but it is free. I cannot afford to join a real club with 3 kids in college.

I played intermittently there until Fall when it got dark fast. They close the park early. Nearby is a Dept of Parks recreation center, Smith Center. I started playing there, but one room with 3 tables, and 2 of the tables are right on top of each other. Very cramped. Again less than ideal, however, as I am a member of the Dept of Parks ($100 for the year), I started going there.

Now spring has sprung, looking to go back to Columbus Park. However, it is more about exercise then it is about real TT training/drilling/gameplay. It is what it is. Do what I can, when I can, with what I have.

With the passing of sifu/coach/instructor, Alex Tam, a few years ago, and now with Dai Si-hing Richard's passing, that 1980's NYC Chinatown TT scene, slowly is shrinking. Have fond memories of my youth in that old firehouse club on Lafayette and White Street.... 21 point games, Same color rubbers (Cai Zhenhua anyone????). Wood was allowed. 38mm balls. The good old days.



Life is Life. Life is Death. Appreciate each the day to the fullest to the best of your ability. Treasure your Family, relatives, and friends.



Anyone want to spot me 9 points?

Very truly yours in TT,

~osph

I am becoming a sadomasochist so I will spot you 9 points any time you want it! So that it will make you happier!

 

[Gozo Aruna]

I am becoming a sadomasochist so I will spot you 9 points any time you want it! So that it will make you happier!

You've forgotten to say to use a 41 degree hardeness H3 unboosted too for the ultimate sadomaschism experience.

 

[JeffM]

Helloo @NextLevel @JeffM and DTTCCers,

Since last summer when my regular club/location closed down for ~2 years renovation, I played in Columbus Park in NYC Chinatown. It is free, HOWEVER, it is windy at times, it is sunny at times, there are mosquitoes, People walking around as well as 4 to a table hitting cross court. Not to mention it is almost like a stone table as well as a slightly taller than regulation metal net. Less than ideal conditions, but it is free. I cannot afford to join a real club with 3 kids in college.

I played intermittently there until Fall when it got dark fast. They close the park early. Nearby is a Dept of Parks recreation center, Smith Center. I started playing there, but one room with 3 tables, and 2 of the tables are right on top of each other. Very cramped. Again less than ideal, however, as I am a member of the Dept of Parks ($100 for the year), I started going there.

Now spring has sprung, looking to go back to Columbus Park. However, it is more about exercise then it is about real TT training/drilling/gameplay. It is what it is. Do what I can, when I can, with what I have.

With the passing of sifu/coach/instructor, Alex Tam, a few years ago, and now with Dai Si-hing Richard's passing, that 1980's NYC Chinatown TT scene, slowly is shrinking. Have fond memories of my youth in that old firehouse club on Lafayette and White Street.... 21 point games, Same color rubbers (Cai Zhenhua anyone????). Wood was allowed. 38mm balls. The good old days.



Life is Life. Life is Death. Appreciate each the day to the fullest to the best of your ability. Treasure your Family, relatives, and friends.



Anyone want to spot me 9 points?

Very truly yours in TT,

~osph

Thank you for your update OSPH.

Indeed. Such is life. Make do with what you have and what you can.

I will spot you 9 points too if we meet and play TT. Then after we can play a proper match after

 

[JeffM]

Today I played my 4th session in the week.
It was against 2 friends whom have not played since I left the city 4 months ago.
Meanwhile I have been playing regularly about once a week, and much more frequent this week, so I didn't have much issue beating them. We had some close matches though in the past, today it was much more in my favour.
I focused again on my backhands, and keeping my serves effective. Forehand was alright but nothing spectacular as I am not looking to pivot much at all.

I posted the videos in the safe video thread.

Tomorrow will be my final (5th) session of the week and also my last session before I head back to rural.

 

[Gozo Aruna]

Just got back from my coaching session just now. So, what did I learn today? What nugget of golden wisdom did my messiah, errr, I meant to say my coach imparted to me this session? Continue to read to find out folks!

1. I was breathing heavily after continuous stroking. Panting. I told my coach, I am not breathing right, my breathing is not in sync with my stroke. I felt I was holding my breath too much. So, his remedy is asking me to grunt when I impact the ball. This will force me to exhale when impacting the ball. It worked! I felt my breathing is much smoother and in-rhythm and hence less breathlessness. Now I shall grunt like Ovtcharov. BTW, after I grunt, my coach calls me 死 鬼 佬.

2. Come on Gozo! No more thinking! Just drive the ball. You think too much. Remember first timing, no wait. Don't aim the ball, just drive then come back and prepare for the next counter. Everything like robot, no need use brain! Just drive. I want you fast, faster and faster. Now you guys can imagine what sort of game style my coach is molding me into? The above is some clue.

 

[JeffM]

Just got back from my coaching session just now. So, what did I learn today? What nugget of golden wisdom did my messiah, errr, I meant to say my coach imparted to me this session? Continue to read to find out folks!

1. I was breathing heavily after continuous stroking. Panting. I told my coach, I am not breathing right, my breathing is not in sync with my stroke. I felt I was holding my breath too much. So, his remedy is asking me to grunt when I impact the ball. This will force me to exhale when impacting the ball. It worked! I felt my breathing is much smoother and in-rhythm and hence less breathlessness. Now I shall grunt like Ovtcharov. BTW, after I grunt, my coach calls me 死 鬼 佬.

2. Come on Gozo! No more thinking! Just drive the ball. You think too much. Remember first timing, no wait. Don't aim the ball, just drive then come back and prepare for the next counter. Everything like robot, no need use brain! Just drive. I want you fast, faster and faster. Now you guys can imagine what sort of game style my coach is molding me into? The above is some clue.

1. Panting after continuous strokes can also be a sign of lack of fitness..

I do agree with exhale while you are doing a stroke. It is very common in gym work / lifting. In TT, I do it too mostly on lifting backspin balls or strong loops. Don't necessarily have to go the extent of Ovtcharov haha unless you enjoy the attention.

2. 'No thinking just drive the ball' - I think works well in drills where every ball is predictable. But in games where the opponent tries to mess you up with different balls / spins - I don't think will work well.

He is your coach after all, but do you agree completely with what he says?

 

[Gozo Aruna]

2. 'No thinking just drive the ball' - I think works well in drills where every ball is predictable. But in games where the opponent tries to mess you up with different balls / spins - I don't think will work well.

He is your coach after all, but do you agree completely with what he

He is the master and I am his padawan. May the force be with us.

 

[NextLevel]

1. Panting after continuous strokes can also be a sign of lack of fitness..

I do agree with exhale while you are doing a stroke. It is very common in gym work / lifting. In TT, I do it too mostly on lifting backspin balls or strong loops. Don't necessarily have to go the extent of Ovtcharov haha unless you enjoy the attention.

2. 'No thinking just drive the ball' - I think works well in drills where every ball is predictable. But in games where the opponent tries to mess you up with different balls / spins - I don't think will work well.

He is your coach after all, but do you agree completely with what he says?

I love this post.

Everyone needs to realize that they need to take some responsibility for their own coaching. Coaches sometimes assume that you have knowledge that you don't have.

It took getting a coach who trained my psychological mindset in terms I could relate to for me to understand that missing is part of the learning process if you use it as feedback for the next stroke and not as evidence of your inherent imperfection. I learned over time that if you train anything and give yourself time, you will adjust. The issue is whether in a match with the opponent trying to frustrate you whether you can adjust quickly enough and whether you are willing to accept the results for what they are.

So if I want to hit the ball a certain way, it is my responsibility to give myself time to adjust. The coach might say that I am not relaxed or something is wrong etc. But what exactly is wrong with being imperfect when you are learning? It is better to focus on technical adjustment. And sometimes. It isn't so much about technical adjustment as it is about being patient enough for the body to make the right connections and build out the neural network.

There is a reason why it is best of 5. If you decide to play or train as if it is over after the first game, then you haven't learned why it is best of 5.

 

[JeffM]

Everyone needs to realize that they need to take some responsibility for their own coaching. Coaches sometimes assume that you have knowledge that you don't have.

This.

Gozo, this is why I asked whether you agree with what your coach is telling you, which I do not think you answered me.

Sometimes, we can also mistake what the coach is trying to teach us.

Not every coach understands the needs of their student or what the student desperately need in this instance. Sometimes there may be too many issues to be addressed that cannot be all addressed at once. For example, my gameplay has so many issues, but I have a competition that is going to occur in 10 days time. I cannot afford to make drastic changes to my form right now, but I need practice in my backhand for me to confidently open up. If I do not convey this to my coach, he is going to have a different agenda to me, which is contrary to what I need.

There are also coaches that are just simply passing time by feeding multi-balls.

If you can understand or convince yourself why your coach is telling you to do something in a specific way, it will help you work harder to achieve that goal and improve your training. If you don't agree or don't understand why something is done in a certain way, you can ask your coach directly and have a discussion. After all, you are paying him to be your coach (I presume) and you can take a more active role in your training.

 

[Gozo Aruna]

This evening I has a great TT experience. Was at my usual coaching session and I had the great opportunity to ask my coach some pertinent questions, that I'm sure all of you are dying to know. Without much ado, here, I present to you a Q&A session:

Q1: Hey coach, why do I have to play close to the table? I wanna be like Aruna or Jang Woojin, running around hitting awesome FH and looking good in-front of the camera.
A1: You fat & heavy. You too slow cannot run like Aruna nor Jang. You play close to table, no run so much. You still have hope to win and go home happy knee no pain.

Q2: Some people I know told me I am using an overly fast blade 10.5mm is just too fast and my ultra fast rubber is too fast. What do you say?
A2:No need listen to other people. They not your coach. I like your 500PSI feel. Continue this.

Q3: How come you never teach me cool stuff like chiquita or strawberry. Hey, I wanna look cool on YT.
A3: You come coaching once a week, sometimes once every two weeks. You busy man. No need to learn so much, you concentrate the basic. You good in basic like FH & BH duraibo / drive, BH & FH open up, cut balls, serve & receive, you already better 110% of amateur players. Do more basic, no think about fruits.

So, there you are! Some pertinent questions answered.

p/s:

The above is a match btw Miwa H vs Sofia P. I looked at Miwa play-style and I say to myself, OMG! This is exactly the type of drill my coach and I do a lot of during our session, albeit at a much slower pace. This certainly brought a smile to my face. I mean for me, it is so fascinating to see how what I do in coaching session can look like in a high international level.

JeffM,

Read this. Hope this post will help you understand my TT journey slightly more.

 

[JeffM]

JeffM,

Read this. Hope this post will help you understand my TT journey slightly more.

Gozo.

I have seen this post already before.

You have presented your coach's responses to your questions. But you have not answered whether you agree to what he is saying. (despite me asking you 2nd time.)
I think we are well aware of what your coach is trying to get you to do as you have presented that to us every time, but you rarely express whether you agree with him or not. What NextLevel and I are trying to hint at is that you can also take a more active role in your training/learning. Your coach isn't paying you so you can train with him. It is the other way around.

 

[NextLevel]

Gozo.

I have seen this post already before.

You have presented your coach's responses to your questions. But you have not answered whether you agree to what he is saying. (despite me asking you 2nd time.)
I think we are well aware of what your coach is trying to get you to do as you have presented that to us every time, but you rarely express whether you agree with him or not. What NextLevel and I are trying to hint at is that you can also take a more active role in your training/learning. Your coach isn't paying you so you can train with him. It is the other way around.

To this, I would add that there is nothing wrong with trusting your coach as a chosen approach. But you can't 100% pretend you have no role in your self development, especially as an adult learner.

 

[Gozo Aruna]

Gozo.

I have seen this post already before.

You have presented your coach's responses to your questions. But you have not answered whether you agree to what he is saying. (despite me asking you 2nd time.)
I think we are well aware of what your coach is trying to get you to do as you have presented that to us every time, but you rarely express whether you agree with him or not. What NextLevel and I are trying to hint at is that you can also take a more active role in your training/learning. Your coach isn't paying you so you can train with him. It is the other way around.

Short answer is yes or else I would not have continue to engage his sevice.

Strange it may be why I do not take a more active role in TT. TT to me is a hobby, something I do outside my professional and family life. I make decision all the time in my professional and family life, so this hobby life I do not want to use this mind of mind so much. I prefer to be just a passenger in the TT journey. Happy I am.