Daily Table Tennis Chit Chat

[Jslick89]

I'm gonna assume this is an invitation for all TTD members.

You think I’m gonna have a ping pong paradise and not invite anyone else to enjoy it with me?! Haha

 

[Der_Echte]

close to west park. just a little north of baseline. I'll let you know once i'm all set up!

That is one of the areas that has been building homes for the last several years and is now taking shape a little... Baseline still undergoing reshaping, but they will get it done sometime. I live 3-4 miles north of you... I could ride the e-bike and get to your place is 10 min or so. I have a milk crate strapped to my cargo rack, so I am always ready to bring gear.

 

[Der_Echte]

I had trouble looping with power down the line, but at least I could make it if I just focused on spin.

Things are easier when one softens up, goes for less power... but going for power, the position, leverage, timing, setting and execution of the strike zone all need to be real good or it falls apart.

You may or may not yet have heard this from your adult coach, but next time I run into you I will show you several different ways to set the position and strike zone on BH for different balls.

One of them involves what blahness consistently advocates.

 

[ben1229]

Anyone feel like no energy in the morning? I fked up all my 5 matches last Sat. Feel like can't move. So tired. I believe I have enough sleep Friday night, about 7 hours. I can see the ball comes , but my movement just like a second delay. Have no ideas what happened . I think I m getting sick, but it's Tue now, I don't feel any illness. Anyone have same situation?

 

[dingyibvs]

Had a good day in the club today, played a few practice matches against 2 guys, both one of the top players at the PH club. First one is a tricky control player, a lot of tricky pushes with all sorts of weird spins, then punches or loops opportunity balls with either sudden power or deceptive direction. I did terribly against him, I felt all out of sorts the entire time. Out of the top players at that club, he used to be the one I had the easiest time with. I'd push anything that came to my BH, and loop everything else, and he simply stood too close to the table to effectively control my loops. Today though, I felt a step slow to react everything, too much thinking about whether to use BH or FH, if I'm using my body right, if I'm using my finger right, etc. Combined with his tricky play which also requires some thinking to deal with, my brain just wasn't processing things fast enough.

After that match, I decided that I should just focus on one thing, and one thing I've been working on and did absolutely none of in that match was keep my feet hopping so I'm always ready to move or at least adjust my stance. I did that against the next guy, probably the second best regular at the club. Man, did that strategy pay off. I felt so natural on the BH side. I was looping pretty much every long backspin, countering his topspins with power, punch countering Ma Long style when he loops high, re-looping with a vengeance when I get a block back even from below the table, and blocking when I'm out of position. I didn't have to think about how to perform each attack, all I had to think about is what spin he's giving me and that I had to move my feet.

Surprisingly, but maybe it shouldn't be surprising, I was doing better on the FH side too. Pivoting for opportunity balls, counter-looping with very high success rate. After the first set, I had basically zero hesitation regarding which side I should use.

I think going forward, the next few weeks will probably feel very much like when I first started learning the game. I probably will need a long time to get into form each day, because of how many new things I'm looking to incorporate into my game. Footwork, technique, and mindset. In game, I'll focus my attention on footwork first, as that appears to be an enabler of everything else. Technique and mindset I'll let it build naturally, let it seep into my game as I train and shadow train. Once I've got the foundation then I'll work on tactics more.

 

[dingyibvs]

Anyone feel like no energy in the morning? I fked up all my 5 matches last Sat. Feel like can't move. So tired. I believe I have enough sleep Friday night, about 7 hours. I can see the ball comes , but my movement just like a second delay. Have no ideas what happened . I think I m getting sick, but it's Tue now, I don't feel any illness. Anyone have same situation?

I'm a night person, I don't usually feel great in the morning anyway! Did you play a lot the day before? I find that I tend to play better after a day of rest. When I play consecutive days, if they're both intense sessions, I tend not to do as well the 2nd day.

 

[ben1229]

I'm a night person, I don't usually feel great in the morning anyway! Did you play a lot the day before? I find that I tend to play better after a day of rest. When I play consecutive days, if they're both intense sessions, I tend not to do as well the 2nd day.

I usually play around 10 hours a week, I think I know why, Sat morning the humidity is so high. And the club turn the heat temperature pretty high.

 

[Tony's Table Tennis]

Anyone feel like no energy in the morning? I fked up all my 5 matches last Sat. Feel like can't move. So tired. I believe I have enough sleep Friday night, about 7 hours. I can see the ball comes , but my movement just like a second delay. Have no ideas what happened . I think I m getting sick, but it's Tue now, I don't feel any illness. Anyone have same situation?

its called aging

 

[Takkyu_wa_inochi]

I tried then bought a new PREMIUM racket on Amazon, a Butterfly Zhang Jike T-5000 with 2 sheets of Dignics max (05 FH , 80 BH). Ive been playing 4 sessions already with it

its an absolute cheat, and ridiculous the amount of power and spin i have in hand compared to my previous setup [Tibhar MK Carbon, Hybrid MK, Hybrid K3]. Especially when im 2 meters away from the table, its become effortless to put the ball back on the table, and if I want to launch a missile its still possible rather easily.

I had many fears concerning receiving or the short game, but those were overdone. There is little than this is doing worse than Tibhar. I can see that anyone on the other side of the table is now struggling with the "enhanced" balls. The main drawback now is that I have less time to play because if Im getting blocked or countered the ball comes back fast too. a lot of training will be basic footwork, especially FH side.

on BH side, i don't see any major adjustment to do. On FH side, i need to try to learn how to play controlled with such a fast racket, and shorten the swing more, playing mostly with the arm and wrist without the forearm, keeping the elbow stable, like the basic BH shot. More control and power executing the shot this way.

it feels the flicks are quite easier with it. especially the FH flick where im not very good, i didn't miss any today !
Not surprisingly its only in chopping defense that I think its difficult to use as its difficult to control. I still could play a bit with this style, but even though i could put more backspin at times, my partner didn't seem to be suffering from it at all. Rather seemed easier than with the previous set.

However, when I asked the coach about how he felt i was doing with it, it said that for him it was easier to play against me holding such a fast racket because thats what he is used to, fast pace and ball accelerating at the bounce while the Tibhar trajectory is "sinking" faster.

I'll see in matchplay / tournaments soon how it goes.

 

[NextLevel]

I tried then bought a new PREMIUM racket on Amazon, a Butterfly Zhang Jike T-5000 with 2 sheets of Dignics max (05 FH , 80 BH). Ive been playing 4 sessions already with it

its an absolute cheat, and ridiculous the amount of power and spin i have in hand compared to my previous setup [Tibhar MK Carbon, Hybrid MK, Hybrid K3]. Especially when im 2 meters away from the table, its become effortless to put the ball back on the table, and if I want to launch a missile its still possible rather easily.

I had many fears concerning receiving or the short game, but those were overdone. There is little than this is doing worse than Tibhar. I can see that anyone on the other side of the table is now struggling with the "enhanced" balls. The main drawback now is that I have less time to play because if Im getting blocked or countered the ball comes back fast too. a lot of training will be basic footwork, especially FH side.

on BH side, i don't see any major adjustment to do. On FH side, i need to try to learn how to play controlled with such a fast racket, and shorten the swing more, playing mostly with the arm and wrist without the forearm, keeping the elbow stable, like the basic BH shot. More control and power executing the shot this way.

it feels the flicks are quite easier with it. especially the FH flick where im not very good, i didn't miss any today !
Not surprisingly its only in chopping defense that I think its difficult to use as its difficult to control. I still could play a bit with this style, but even though i could put more backspin at times, my partner didn't seem to be suffering from it at all. Rather seemed easier than with the previous set.

However, when I asked the coach about how he felt i was doing with it, it said that for him it was easier to play against me holding such a fast racket because thats what he is used to, fast pace and ball accelerating at the bounce while the Tibhar trajectory is "sinking" faster.

I'll see in matchplay / tournaments soon how it goes.

This will be interesting, I can't play with a T5000 racket with hard outer veneers like the ZJK. In fact, this was why I bought the Mizutani SZLC, which is better but still has its issues for my playing style. For me, I either need such a blade to be innerforce or have a dampening composite, and that is why I preferred the SZLC and the Cybershape. Let us know how the experiment goes, to be fair, I tried rubbers that might have been too hard on the Boll T5000 I had, maybe if I used a regular Butterfly rubber, it would have played better. It will also be most interesting how this works against unfamiliar opponents as that is when your touch is most challenged. I am currently trying my hardest to do more and more with the Cybershape Carbon and see how far I can take it.

 

[dingyibvs]

Thinking back of my experience yesterday, I find it interesting how confidence can be so finicky. I was, for the first time, making BH shots without thinking, yet at no point did I feel super confident with the shot. Thinking of the points I won and lost, I probably had a very similar success rate on the BH as on the FH side, and arguably against tougher shots as people generally attack my BH side.

As mentioned before, I'm pretty out of practice with my FH. Only recently have I started incorporating some FHs into my practices, and that's only to keep me honest instead of just waiting for balls to my BH side. The only FH practice I really get is in warm ups, so mid distance FH loops against block. As such, my FH really isn't that great right now. Mid distance vs topspins, pretty good, close to the table or against backspin, pretty trash by my standards. Yet, when a ball comes to my FH side, I loop it with confidence.

 

[blahness]

I tried then bought a new PREMIUM racket on Amazon, a Butterfly Zhang Jike T-5000 with 2 sheets of Dignics max (05 FH , 80 BH). Ive been playing 4 sessions already with it

its an absolute cheat, and ridiculous the amount of power and spin i have in hand compared to my previous setup [Tibhar MK Carbon, Hybrid MK, Hybrid K3]. Especially when im 2 meters away from the table, its become effortless to put the ball back on the table, and if I want to launch a missile its still possible rather easily.

I had many fears concerning receiving or the short game, but those were overdone. There is little than this is doing worse than Tibhar. I can see that anyone on the other side of the table is now struggling with the "enhanced" balls. The main drawback now is that I have less time to play because if Im getting blocked or countered the ball comes back fast too. a lot of training will be basic footwork, especially FH side.

on BH side, i don't see any major adjustment to do. On FH side, i need to try to learn how to play controlled with such a fast racket, and shorten the swing more, playing mostly with the arm and wrist without the forearm, keeping the elbow stable, like the basic BH shot. More control and power executing the shot this way.

it feels the flicks are quite easier with it. especially the FH flick where im not very good, i didn't miss any today !
Not surprisingly its only in chopping defense that I think its difficult to use as its difficult to control. I still could play a bit with this style, but even though i could put more backspin at times, my partner didn't seem to be suffering from it at all. Rather seemed easier than with the previous set.

However, when I asked the coach about how he felt i was doing with it, it said that for him it was easier to play against me holding such a fast racket because thats what he is used to, fast pace and ball accelerating at the bounce while the Tibhar trajectory is "sinking" faster.

I'll see in matchplay / tournaments soon how it goes.

I use quite a fast setup too and have the same feeling as you do. It is an absolute cheat code lol. The only problem is the short push which really takes a lot of technique to keep it short - I binged Fang Bo's short push tutorial and practiced it a lot of sessions. It's not bad now, I can double to triple bounce even against short topspin serves. But the spin is much less than tacky rubbers so it's not good if you pop it up. But I only use short push as a variation in maybe like 10% of the time. What this setup really excels at is chiquita, flicking, sideswipes, sudden long fast pushes. The lack of tackiness makes all these aggressive receives easier because it's just less spin sensitive. I also try to aim for all the spots that are uncomfortable for my opponent to get a decisive advantage after the receive.

You're right about needing to shorten the FH swing. If your BH and chiquita game is good, you end up with a lot of fast topspin rally exchanges. I used to have a larger FH stroke with straighter arm but it was just incompatible with the rest of my game, as I was always jammed on the FH side unless I withdrew to mid distance which then opened up my wide BH - it was a point losing pattern for me. So recently I adopted a FH backswing where I don't even straighten my arm during the backswing (only during forward swing and only if I have time to spare) and keep my racket high and I found out that even though I lost a bit of spin, I was defending my close table position way better and putting a lot more pressure to the opponent, because I could take balls as early and fast as I was on the BH. But it's a very recent change for me too!

So the general gameplay plan is a bit like Harimoto or even the women's game (for eg Sun Yingsha) - go for the flick/chiquita as much as possible then establish close table topspin rally dominance through speed and placement. No need to ever retreat to mid distance unless you're forced too. The main thing to really defend against is fast long pushes and serves where you really need small stroke opening loops that don't compromise your positions, and get you safely into the rally where you can then dominate. The other thing that I really learnt was how to loop heavy backspin early by contacting ever so slightly on the bottom of the ball (for eg if perpendicular to table is 90 deg, this would be 95-100 deg).

 

[dingyibvs]

I use quite a fast setup too and have the same feeling as you do. It is an absolute cheat code lol. The only problem is the short push which really takes a lot of technique to keep it short - I binged Fang Bo's short push tutorial and practiced it a lot of sessions. It's not bad now, I can double to triple bounce even against short topspin serves. But the spin is much less than tacky rubbers so it's not good if you pop it up. But I only use short push as a variation in maybe like 10% of the time. What this setup really excels at is chiquita, flicking, sideswipes, sudden long fast pushes. The lack of tackiness makes all these aggressive receives easier because it's just less spin sensitive. I also try to aim for all the spots that are uncomfortable for my opponent to get a decisive advantage after the receive.

You're right about needing to shorten the FH swing. If your BH and chiquita game is good, you end up with a lot of fast topspin rally exchanges. I used to have a larger FH stroke with straighter arm but it was just incompatible with the rest of my game, as I was always jammed on the FH side unless I withdrew to mid distance which then opened up my wide BH - it was a point losing pattern for me. So recently I adopted a FH backswing where I don't even straighten my arm during the backswing (only during forward swing and only if I have time to spare) and keep my racket high and I found out that even though I lost a bit of spin, I was defending my close table position way better and putting a lot more pressure to the opponent, because I could take balls as early and fast as I was on the BH. But it's a very recent change for me too!

So the general gameplay plan is a bit like Harimoto or even the women's game (for eg Sun Yingsha) - go for the flick/chiquita as much as possible then establish close table topspin rally dominance through speed and placement. No need to ever retreat to mid distance unless you're forced too. The main thing to really defend against is fast long pushes and serves where you really need small stroke opening loops that don't compromise your positions, and get you safely into the rally where you can then dominate. The other thing that I really learnt was how to loop heavy backspin early by contacting ever so slightly on the bottom of the ball (for eg if perpendicular to table is 90 deg, this would be 95-100 deg).

I need to try that out as the transition shot. I like to back up to mid distance, but need something to handle the transition shot in between the 1st 3 balls and the mid distance.

 

[ben1229]

its called aging

That's true.

 

[Der_Echte]

Der_Echte calls it oldazzitis.

 

[Takkyu_wa_inochi]

This will be interesting, I can't play with a T5000 racket with hard outer veneers like the ZJK. In fact, this was why I bought the Mizutani SZLC, which is better but still has its issues for my playing style. For me, I either need such a blade to be innerforce or have a dampening composite, and that is why I preferred the SZLC and the Cybershape. Let us know how the experiment goes, to be fair, I tried rubbers that might have been too hard on the Boll T5000 I had, maybe if I used a regular Butterfly rubber, it would have played better. It will also be most interesting how this works against unfamiliar opponents as that is when your touch is most challenged. I am currently trying my hardest to do more and more with the Cybershape Carbon and see how far I can take it.

I agree that playing against unfamiliar opponents such like LP choppers or LP pushers would be the most difficult challenge with this racket. i haven't done that yet.

I use quite a fast setup too and have the same feeling as you do. It is an absolute cheat code lol. The only problem is the short push which really takes a lot of technique to keep it short - I binged Fang Bo's short push tutorial and practiced it a lot of sessions. It's not bad now, I can double to triple bounce even against short topspin serves. But the spin is much less than tacky rubbers so it's not good if you pop it up. But I only use short push as a variation in maybe like 10% of the time. What this setup really excels at is chiquita, flicking, sideswipes, sudden long fast pushes. The lack of tackiness makes all these aggressive receives easier because it's just less spin sensitive. I also try to aim for all the spots that are uncomfortable for my opponent to get a decisive advantage after the receive.

You're right about needing to shorten the FH swing. If your BH and chiquita game is good, you end up with a lot of fast topspin rally exchanges. I used to have a larger FH stroke with straighter arm but it was just incompatible with the rest of my game, as I was always jammed on the FH side unless I withdrew to mid distance which then opened up my wide BH - it was a point losing pattern for me. So recently I adopted a FH backswing where I don't even straighten my arm during the backswing (only during forward swing and only if I have time to spare) and keep my racket high and I found out that even though I lost a bit of spin, I was defending my close table position way better and putting a lot more pressure to the opponent, because I could take balls as early and fast as I was on the BH. But it's a very recent change for me too!

So the general gameplay plan is a bit like Harimoto or even the women's game (for eg Sun Yingsha) - go for the flick/chiquita as much as possible then establish close table topspin rally dominance through speed and placement. No need to ever retreat to mid distance unless you're forced too. The main thing to really defend against is fast long pushes and serves where you really need small stroke opening loops that don't compromise your positions, and get you safely into the rally where you can then dominate. The other thing that I really learnt was how to loop heavy backspin early by contacting ever so slightly on the bottom of the ball (for eg if perpendicular to table is 90 deg, this would be 95-100 deg).

i tried a bit short game with the coach yday, and it wasn't bad.

but i agree that it feels like chiquita (or reverse-chiquita) are easier to execute than short receive so the game pattern will change. Game plan sounds good to me

The balls against which im most uncomfortable is the (fast) long knuckle ball where a mistouch puts the ball out of the court. I have to be active with spin for it. im slow with sloppy footwork when the ball is coming to my middle / middle FH on a serve or long push.

--
without any regards to my bat, another theme i'm currently working on is to be more agressive after my own long push. I noticed that if i push too mechanically im getting too passive, and if that happens, ive got a good chance to miss a block against a slow spinny loop or too slow to react after a long push, which usually comes fast with no/little spin.

OTOH, if i try to make that long push with my own rhythm, deciding at the last moment to push, giving good quality on it, and commit myself to attack hard if a push is coming back, then even if the opponent is attacking first, or tries to surprise me, i find out that i react quicker that way, and if indeed a push is coming, my chances of killing it are much higher this way.

I'm working hard on this pattern because thats often what my opponents do to me in match, and its frustrating ! so i want to reverse the roles now...

 

[IB66]

I tried then bought a new PREMIUM racket on Amazon, a Butterfly Zhang Jike T-5000 with 2 sheets of Dignics max (05 FH , 80 BH). Ive been playing 4 sessions already with it

its an absolute cheat, and ridiculous the amount of power and spin i have in hand compared to my previous setup [Tibhar MK Carbon, Hybrid MK, Hybrid K3]. Especially when im 2 meters away from the table, its become effortless to put the ball back on the table, and if I want to launch a missile its still possible rather easily.

I had many fears concerning receiving or the short game, but those were overdone. There is little than this is doing worse than Tibhar. I can see that anyone on the other side of the table is now struggling with the "enhanced" balls. The main drawback now is that I have less time to play because if Im getting blocked or countered the ball comes back fast too. a lot of training will be basic footwork, especially FH side.

on BH side, i don't see any major adjustment to do. On FH side, i need to try to learn how to play controlled with such a fast racket, and shorten the swing more, playing mostly with the arm and wrist without the forearm, keeping the elbow stable, like the basic BH shot. More control and power executing the shot this way.

it feels the flicks are quite easier with it. especially the FH flick where im not very good, i didn't miss any today !
Not surprisingly its only in chopping defense that I think its difficult to use as its difficult to control. I still could play a bit with this style, but even though i could put more backspin at times, my partner didn't seem to be suffering from it at all. Rather seemed easier than with the previous set.

However, when I asked the coach about how he felt i was doing with it, it said that for him it was easier to play against me holding such a fast racket because thats what he is used to, fast pace and ball accelerating at the bounce while the Tibhar trajectory is "sinking" faster.

I'll see in matchplay / tournaments soon how it goes.

I’ve been dabbling with faster blades recently!! The Zhang Jike ALC has K3 FH and Dynaryz ZGX Bh, I’ll have to up date my profile. This blade has more speed than the Def rated SDC blades I have been using, I gave the profile set up a try on a coaching session with TL in the summer and played well with it. A week or so ago I put the K3 and ZGX on it and have played a couple of times with it when I’m coaching. Again played well with it.
For the last hour of the Tuesday session I played games against one of my team mates, he was playing a league match the following night and wanted to sharpen up!! I think we finished with a small advantage in games to myself, but fairly even. My general attacking game was faster paced and I didn’t suffer much loss of control short game wise, a few pushed balls floated long, but that’s down to forgetfulness on my part!!
I also put 2 new sheets of Jekyll & Hyde H 52 on my TAMCA 5000 blade, it’s gotta be 40 something years old that blade!! This is set up is faster again, played with it last Friday, I sort of judge speed by how far the ball flies for a ‘normal’ topspin stroke, this must be 300mm or so longer. BH topspins with the ZJ ALC were landing close to the end of the table, with the TAMCA, the first 4 or 5 flew off the end!! Whoa boy!! Adjustments were made!! At the end of the session, I had got more accustomed to the speed, but consistency wasn’t as high!! The J&H H52 is a Hybrid with similar tack like K3, If I had put your rubbers on it, the set up would be even faster!!!
I’m going to stick with the ZJ ALC for the 2nd half of the season and see how I fare!!

 

[dingyibvs]

Heh, if I didn't spend so much on the W968 and so averse to changing my setup I'd be tempted to move back down to a slower one!

 

[ben1229]

Heh, if I didn't spend so much on the W968 and so averse to changing my setup I'd be tempted to move back down to a slower one!

W968 not too fast tho, stable and winning forehand.

 

[dingyibvs]

W968 not too fast tho, stable and winning forehand.

It's pretty damn fast when you hit it hard, and I want to loop hard all the time. Feels great for the BH now, but I'm having some trouble controlling it on the FH side due to the increased power on that side. Could also be because I'm out of practice on that side.

I think I'm gonna focus on combined FH/BH practice for the next 2 weeks, set my BH motion so I don't have to think about it. Then I'll focus on the FH next month and see if I can tame this beast.