Daily Table Tennis Chit Chat

[NextLevel]

Is it healthy to play 18 matches in one day?

 

[NextLevel]

So today was a tournament day. I wanted to support the local tournament and entered 3 events. U2150, U1900 and the giant round robin. I wasn't sure whether it was smart to play with a bigger and more critical event a week away but I am an addicted TT nerd so who cares... peaking is for pros, I just spin the ball...

So u2150 is the first event. I am the B player in the 4 player group. I beat a young lefty kid 3-1, lost to the top seed in the event 0-3 (a former German pro in his 60s) and then played a fellow club member a tight 3-2. Probably my favorite match of the day, we made good shots and we had energy. I qualified as th #2 player and then played the winner of another group. A guy who was spending his second day in the country coming from Brazil. Lost 1-3. End of 2150. Match tally: 4.

U1900 is next and yours truly is the top seed. I have some experience playing events as top seeds in the past and it was something I have come to enjoy just because of the psychological pressure it can place on you if you care about your rating. I played a fellow clubmate in my first match and won 3-1. Then I played a kid who I hadn't seen play in a while and he was coached by a kid who has never lost to me lol. I went up 2-1 9-4 and then coached myself like I was Hugo's coach, lost 7 straight points to lose that game (and never used my timeout) and then lost the last game. WTF! I managed to recover and win the last match. So I was 2-1. The player that beat me went 3-0 and took my place on the draw. Then I went on to play the quarter finals against the lefty kid that I played in the U2150. I won the first game and then the lefty kid managed to win the next 2. So I has to dig into my bag of tactical tricks. I realized that the kid wasn't generating spin on his forehand openers as I was blocking them all into the net. Therefore, I started floating my pushes and he started missing his openers long. Some day he will be too good for me but it wasn't today. I won the next two games to get into the U1900 SF. But with scheduling issues, that wasn't played immediately. Match tally: 4+4 =8.

The giant round robin (GRR) starts and I am in a group of players trying to figure out which event to end up in based on our group position. 1ST position plays the A event, 2nd B and so on... I am in a group with three young boys. The highest rated one I had played before and was 1780. The other two were under !400. So I played the first one (one of the two lower rated) and won 3-0. Then the second match is A vs B - the 1780 kid - and I have played the kid before at states in April and won an easy 3-0 with my topspins. Let's just say that between his being coached by a 2500 youtuber and him countering and sometimes killing my spinny loops, this was a very different experience. The kid goes up 2-0 and just beats up my forehand with pushes. Lots of pushes. Serves long and fakes backspin and if I push, he confidently loop kills the high backspin ball. I fought to get it back to 2-2 and was even up 5-3 in the fifth but it just wasn't my match. My forehand took a beating because the kid brought my forehand back by stepping back to counter. I lose 11-7 in the fifth. I sadistically take it out on the lowest rated kid who used long pips but has only played for six months. He struggled to get my backspin serves over the net. The 1780 kid went 3-0 and was in the A division. I went 2-1 and was in the B division. Match tally: 8+3=11.

But wait, there`s more. It's back to U1900 and I have to play the same kid again in the U1900 semifinal and still deal with his youtuber coach. The main change in strategy was to try to loop the ball wider on third ball kills and to spin with the backhand into his backhand more . In general put more balls to the backhand to avoid the forehand counters. I went up 2-0 winning games by minimum margins. He won the third game 11-8 (by the way, the youtuber coach really cheers for his students so if you work with him, enjoy the cheering and support he will give you, it can drive your opponent insane if he is not winning). And I take some risks to deuce and win game 4 again by the minimum margin. Revenge is a dish best served cold! Match tally: 11+1 =12.

So the schedule goes back to the giant RR B division. I am in the same group as the kid who beat me in the group stage of the U1900 and two players I am familiar with from club matches. As fate would have it, I and the kid are the B and C players. So our match is the last in the group stage. I win my first to match's amazingly with energy conserving play. For one, I was playing a guy who had beaten me in club matches since he returned from vacation in China. I just knew I wasn't going to be able to play him physically so I picked spots to attack and tried to stay consistent. It went 5 but thankfully the 5th game wasn't really close. The other player is extremely powerful but he often goes for too much when his spin would give him a lot of easy points. After a close first two games, the variation in serve and blocks and spins started bothering him and his attempts to shorten points made the 3rd game too easy. Then I get to play the kid. I was hoping I could default to him and split the U1900 prize because of my match count but I knew he wouldn't agree. So he beats me 3-1 (I won the first game pretty easily but couldn't maintain the energy and his energy picked up as well). So I go into the semifinals of the GRR B division. In the semis, I play the kid I have never beaten before who was coaching the kid who had now beaten me twice lol. He has been to India for vacation so wasn't training as much so this was a prime chance. I won Game 1 11-3 or something like that. He used the Olympic break maneuver and went to get water. I was winning the second game but lost 11-9. Then lost the 3rd game. Saved match points in the 4th game to get it to deuce but couldn't get a fifth. So I was in the 3rd place match for the GRR B division. I played a kid who had some nasty serves and new how to open on backhand pushes with very heavy slow spin. I won the first game, but then struggled with my forehand mightily in the second game. In fact as I got more tired, the loss of my forehand timing became a huge recurring theme. And to a lesser degree I was struggling to pick up the ball on some backhand loops as well. I think the biggest thing that saved the match for me was the third game where I saved the game from a large deficit and won 15-13. He won the 4th game 11-5 but the main message from my match coach was to just slow down and roll the ball, that my power wasn't consistent So I did that and put the ball on the table. Without my power to borrow on a lot of his blocks, my opponent fell apart and I managed to win going away 11-3. Match tally : 12+5 = 17.

Of course, the U1900 final hasn't been played yet! I hate Gatorade but there was nothing else to drink and I hadn't fueled myself in a while. So I got some. And the guy I asked to coach me got some more as well for me. My opponent waited until his coach was ready and we then lined up to play. I was determined to win the game by going with my backhand more often and playing down the lines much more. My Fan Zhendong mode. Amazingly it worked for the first two games. My play was really good, I took a step back and looped the hell put of the ball. By stepping back I made it much harder for them to hit my middle. I was up 2-0 , so the coach gave him a new strategy. The game plan was to serve all balls to my forehand since I didn't attack the serve if it was short, push to my forehand middle until I either floated the ball or opened and play from there to hit the middle and wide more and more. I think I went down like 8-3 and I am fairly sure the scores were missed up at some point but it is all good, I lost that game. And the next game. But I felt it was all largely in my grasp, my consistency just had to Come back again. So I started spinning the ball and again, without rhyme or reason, the misses started landing on the table again. The coach called a timeout at 7-4. I won the next three points and was up 10-4. Then I lost the next 3 points and it was 10-7. Did I do the Hugo coach thing? Everyone knows you are supposed to call a timeout in this situation, even the dead and the unborn. So I did it. Spoke to my match coach and we settled on serving to the short backhand with side backspin. And then I get to the table and I call an audible and serve with side backspin to the backhand. It goes long and hits the edge! Match tally: 17+1 = 18.

I am electrolye-depleted for sure. I hope the recovery will not be too terrible. The only two easy matches were the Group B round robin matches against the C and D players. Every other match required some investment of effort and physical exertion. Please pray I will have no trouble walking tomorrow when the endorphins wear off.

Might share some video later if I get a chance to do some editing later in the week. Didn't get all the best shots but I must have got some. And if you read this far, amazing, thanks for reading.

 

[dingyibvs]

Finished the tournament, lost my 3rd match Crazy that it went from 9-5 just for the group stage, playing 3 singles and 1 doubles for me. Our team simply wasn't good enough to advance, so no regrets there. If we didn't play all 5 players we might have made it to the next round, but that only would've because one of the teams in our group had to forfeit a game each match due to one of their players being injured.

My last opponent was a double inverted balanced attacker/chopper. He was just a bit more consistent than me, with a bit more service variations. Overall it was a fun experience, but definitely not a fan of all the waiting in between games lol. The teams environment places a bit extra pressure, I didn't feel confident enough to use my BH too much, though it didn't really matter much in the grand scheme of things.

 

[blahness]

Figured out how to do a more effective FH small stroke counter even at full stretch (typically happens when I'm doing fast BH countering and the other players make a quality down the line switch which is unexpected). The secret is in using the index finger middle joint (2nd out of 3) to close the blade angle and generate good topspin easily which works even if im not fully in position. When in position this can transition easily into a forehand 快带 which is the more advanced version. This would hopefully address the glaring weakness I had on the wide FH when doing close table fast BH countering. I think this is better than attempting a full FH counterloop which is quite a bit less reliable.

 

[dingyibvs]

Figured out how to do a more effective FH small stroke counter even at full stretch (typically happens when I'm doing fast BH countering and the other players make a quality down the line switch which is unexpected). The secret is in using the index finger middle joint (2nd out of 3) to close the blade angle and generate good topspin easily which works even if im not fully in position. When in position this can transition easily into a forehand 快带 which is the more advanced version. This would hopefully address the glaring weakness I had on the wide FH when doing close table fast BH countering. I think this is better than attempting a full FH counterloop which is quite a bit less reliable.

Where is your index finger when you do this? I see the pros often have their index finger very near the bottom of the blade, but I would think for more effective index finger use you would need it a little higher up the blade, no? I see some people move the index finger up for service returns, but I don't know if it's very doable in the middle of a rally.

 

[blahness]

Where is your index finger when you do this? I see the pros often have their index finger very near the bottom of the blade, but I would think for more effective index finger use you would need it a little higher up the blade, no? I see some people move the index finger up for service returns, but I don't know if it's very doable in the middle of a rally.

I use the standard grip - index finger tip is close to the bottom right edge of the BH rubber. But the key is that I don't use the tip of the index finger but the middle joint of the index finger to exert that pressure which I find to be more efficient. So because the thumb is below the middle joint of the index finger, this creates a very direct lever arm to generate topspin very easily.

Edit: because i have a bit longer fingers there is a slight curve for my index finger across the BH rubber.

So with the BH i press with the tips of my thumb and index finger - because the thumb tip is higher up the racket compared to the index finger tip, i generate a turning effect with the fingers which allow me to generate the BH topspin.

With FH, i press with 2nd joints - and because the index finger 2nd joint is placed higher up the racket compared with the thumb 2nd joint so it can produce the opposite direction turning effect.

 

[dingyibvs]

I use the standard grip - index finger tip is close to the bottom right edge of the BH rubber. But the key is that I don't use the tip of the index finger but the middle joint of the index finger to exert that pressure which I find to be more efficient. So because the thumb is below the middle joint of the index finger, this creates a very direct lever arm to generate topspin very easily.

Edit: because i have a bit longer fingers there is a slight curve for my index finger across the BH rubber.

I think in most attacking shots you can't use the finger tip. Pressing with the fingertip kind of lifts your PIP and DIP joints off the rubber, giving you less power. It's the same if you press with the thumb tip with your BH.

 

[Takkyu_wa_inochi]

So today was a tournament day. I wanted to support the local tournament and entered 3 events. U2150, U1900 and the giant round robin. I wasn't sure whether it was smart to play with a bigger and more critical event a week away but I am an addicted TT nerd so who cares... peaking is for pros, I just spin the ball...

So u2150 is the first event. I am the B player in the 4 player group. I beat a young lefty kid 3-1, lost to the top seed in the event 0-3 (a former German pro in his 60s) and then played a fellow club member a tight 3-2. Probably my favorite match of the day, we made good shots and we had energy. I qualified as th #2 player and then played the winner of another group. A guy who was spending his second day in the country coming from Brazil. Lost 1-3. End of 2150. Match tally: 4.

U1900 is next and yours truly is the top seed. I have some experience playing events as top seeds in the past and it was something I have come to enjoy just because of the psychological pressure it can place on you if you care about your rating. I played a fellow clubmate in my first match and won 3-1. Then I played a kid who I hadn't seen play in a while and he was coached by a kid who has never lost to me lol. I went up 2-1 9-4 and then coached myself like I was Hugo's coach, lost 7 straight points to lose that game (and never used my timeout) and then lost the last game. WTF! I managed to recover and win the last match. So I was 2-1. The player that beat me went 3-0 and took my place on the draw. Then I went on to play the quarter finals against the lefty kid that I played in the U2150. I won the first game and then the lefty kid managed to win the next 2. So I has to dig into my bag of tactical tricks. I realized that the kid wasn't generating spin on his forehand openers as I was blocking them all into the net. Therefore, I started floating my pushes and he started missing his openers long. Some day he will be too good for me but it wasn't today. I won the next two games to get into the U1900 SF. But with scheduling issues, that wasn't played immediately. Match tally: 4+4 =8.

The giant round robin (GRR) starts and I am in a group of players trying to figure out which event to end up in based on our group position. 1ST position plays the A event, 2nd B and so on... I am in a group with three young boys. The highest rated one I had played before and was 1780. The other two were under !400. So I played the first one (one of the two lower rated) and won 3-0. Then the second match is A vs B - the 1780 kid - and I have played the kid before at states in April and won an easy 3-0 with my topspins. Let's just say that between his being coached by a 2500 youtuber and him countering and sometimes killing my spinny loops, this was a very different experience. The kid goes up 2-0 and just beats up my forehand with pushes. Lots of pushes. Serves long and fakes backspin and if I push, he confidently loop kills the high backspin ball. I fought to get it back to 2-2 and was even up 5-3 in the fifth but it just wasn't my match. My forehand took a beating because the kid brought my forehand back by stepping back to counter. I lose 11-7 in the fifth. I sadistically take it out on the lowest rated kid who used long pips but has only played for six months. He struggled to get my backspin serves over the net. The 1780 kid went 3-0 and was in the A division. I went 2-1 and was in the B division. Match tally: 8+3=11.

But wait, there`s more. It's back to U1900 and I have to play the same kid again in the U1900 semifinal and still deal with his youtuber coach. The main change in strategy was to try to loop the ball wider on third ball kills and to spin with the backhand into his backhand more . In general put more balls to the backhand to avoid the forehand counters. I went up 2-0 winning games by minimum margins. He won the third game 11-8 (by the way, the youtuber coach really cheers for his students so if you work with him, enjoy the cheering and support he will give you, it can drive your opponent insane if he is not winning). And I take some risks to deuce and win game 4 again by the minimum margin. Revenge is a dish best served cold! Match tally: 11+1 =12.

So the schedule goes back to the giant RR B division. I am in the same group as the kid who beat me in the group stage of the U1900 and two players I am familiar with from club matches. As fate would have it, I and the kid are the B and C players. So our match is the last in the group stage. I win my first to match's amazingly with energy conserving play. For one, I was playing a guy who had beaten me in club matches since he returned from vacation in China. I just knew I wasn't going to be able to play him physically so I picked spots to attack and tried to stay consistent. It went 5 but thankfully the 5th game wasn't really close. The other player is extremely powerful but he often goes for too much when his spin would give him a lot of easy points. After a close first two games, the variation in serve and blocks and spins started bothering him and his attempts to shorten points made the 3rd game too easy. Then I get to play the kid. I was hoping I could default to him and split the U1900 prize because of my match count but I knew he wouldn't agree. So he beats me 3-1 (I won the first game pretty easily but couldn't maintain the energy and his energy picked up as well). So I go into the semifinals of the GRR B division. In the semis, I play the kid I have never beaten before who was coaching the kid who had now beaten me twice lol. He has been to India for vacation so wasn't training as much so this was a prime chance. I won Game 1 11-3 or something like that. He used the Olympic break maneuver and went to get water. I was winning the second game but lost 11-9. Then lost the 3rd game. Saved match points in the 4th game to get it to deuce but couldn't get a fifth. So I was in the 3rd place match for the GRR B division. I played a kid who had some nasty serves and new how to open on backhand pushes with very heavy slow spin. I won the first game, but then struggled with my forehand mightily in the second game. In fact as I got more tired, the loss of my forehand timing became a huge recurring theme. And to a lesser degree I was struggling to pick up the ball on some backhand loops as well. I think the biggest thing that saved the match for me was the third game where I saved the game from a large deficit and won 15-13. He won the 4th game 11-5 but the main message from my match coach was to just slow down and roll the ball, that my power wasn't consistent So I did that and put the ball on the table. Without my power to borrow on a lot of his blocks, my opponent fell apart and I managed to win going away 11-3. Match tally : 12+5 = 17.

Of course, the U1900 final hasn't been played yet! I hate Gatorade but there was nothing else to drink and I hadn't fueled myself in a while. So I got some. And the guy I asked to coach me got some more as well for me. My opponent waited until his coach was ready and we then lined up to play. I was determined to win the game by going with my backhand more often and playing down the lines much more. My Fan Zhendong mode. Amazingly it worked for the first two games. My play was really good, I took a step back and looped the hell put of the ball. By stepping back I made it much harder for them to hit my middle. I was up 2-0 , so the coach gave him a new strategy. The game plan was to serve all balls to my forehand since I didn't attack the serve if it was short, push to my forehand middle until I either floated the ball or opened and play from there to hit the middle and wide more and more. I think I went down like 8-3 and I am fairly sure the scores were missed up at some point but it is all good, I lost that game. And the next game. But I felt it was all largely in my grasp, my consistency just had to Come back again. So I started spinning the ball and again, without rhyme or reason, the misses started landing on the table again. The coach called a timeout at 7-4. I won the next three points and was up 10-4. Then I lost the next 3 points and it was 10-7. Did I do the Hugo coach thing? Everyone knows you are supposed to call a timeout in this situation, even the dead and the unborn. So I did it. Spoke to my match coach and we settled on serving to the short backhand with side backspin. And then I get to the table and I call an audible and serve with side backspin to the backhand. It goes long and hits the edge! Match tally: 17+1 = 18.

I am electrolye-depleted for sure. I hope the recovery will not be too terrible. The only two easy matches were the Group B round robin matches against the C and D players. Every other match required some investment of effort and physical exertion. Please pray I will have no trouble walking tomorrow when the endorphins wear off.

Might share some video later if I get a chance to do some editing later in the week. Didn't get all the best shots but I must have got some. And if you read this far, amazing, thanks for reading.

congrats for your performance. 18 matches in 1 day is an athletic feat for sure and very impressive.
It seems not only you played very well but managed well your energy levels by adapting your tactics depending on opponent style and level. Very mature play. You won your series and did very well in the others. I wish you a good recovery.

 

[blahness]

I think in most attacking shots you can't use the finger tip. Pressing with the fingertip kind of lifts your PIP and DIP joints off the rubber, giving you less power. It's the same if you press with the thumb tip with your BH.

How would pressing the fingertip have any effect on the other joints much less lift them up? I dont see any connection there.

 

[dingyibvs]

How would pressing the fingertip have any effect on the other joints much less lift them up? I dont see any connection there.

Put your hand flat on a table with all your joints touching the table. Now try pressing down hard with just your fingertips, can you keep your joints on the table?

 

[blahness]

Put your hand flat on a table with all your joints touching the table. Now try pressing down hard with just your fingertips, can you keep your joints on the table?

Ok now i understand the confusion. I guess my grip is a bit different after all. It is the left side of the index finger that touches the rubber, not the flat bottom surface. Also my index finger is resting on the rubber curved and not straight.

 

[dingyibvs]

congrats for your performance. 18 matches in 1 day is an athletic feat for sure and very impressive.
It seems not only you played very well but managed well your energy levels by adapting your tactics depending on opponent style and level. Very mature play. You won your series and did very well in the others. I wish you a good recovery.

Yeah, I wish I got to play half as many yesterday! Definitely don't have the stamina for 18 though lol.

 

[pgpg]

One of my friends (he also posts here, @Brs) said that when he went to a coaching camp in Europe to train, he was told by the instructors that they wouldn't work with him in volleyball shoes and that he needed to wear table tennis shoes to get the value out of the lessons. I thought initially that this might be overkill but with time, I have come to appreciate more and more what the coaches meant. The only advantage (maybe, I can't find table tennis shoes my size) of volleyball is that they might be more springy, but their soles don't bend and you can't really feel the ground. So they largely suck in executing some subtle footwork movements.

I have tried flexible sole sneakers with thin soles that are old school like Chick Taylor's but I used then when I first came back to TT after a 2 year break so whether because I was slower or because I didn't have the footwork, I noticed a benefit in speed when I switched to volleyball shoes again and have aruck with volleyball shoes for the past 2 years.

Recently, for an event, I bought white clipper canvases without laces and I accidentally hit with them and played with them without removing them. I really liked the feeling since I could bend the soles and feel the ground. I am really tempted to continue playing in them even though they might not withstand the stresses of TT competition. We will see how it goes.

Funny, I was thinking about the same just today, after I played in a tournament (Westchester) in a casual light summer shoes (no laces either) with pretty flexible gum sole. I happened to be in NYC while packed lightly for the trip, so left my heavier Asics volleyball shoes at home. It does make a difference, I think, I felt more lightfooted .

It also dawned on me that one of the main reasons I went with Asics for quite some time was that our club had wooden floor where they worked better for me, and the same is true when playing on concrete, which was the situation with every Thanksgiving Teams tournament I went to. Club went with proper sports floor recently, though, so I need to try proper lighter shoes...

 

[NextLevel]

The human body is a weird machine. My body is full of aches and pains but when I want to go play TT, I push out something into my bloodstream that makes feel no pain. Not good.

I went to hit with my coach who is back in school. He said that compared to last year, he sees a jump in my athleticism even vs what I was doing doing prior to the break. That was encouraging and i suspect the collagen supplements are a part of that as well. Now I just have to figure out how to keep it and maybe translate it into some good wins.

 

[dingyibvs]

So I was debating whether to play TT today. I usually go to the Alameda club on Sundays to get some match play in, while focus on practicing the rest of the days. Since I already played some matches in the tournament yesterday, I didn't really want to play more matches. I thought I'd just stay home and practice in my garage. After some debating, I decided to go to the Pleasanton club, where on Sundays I typically just have some fun playing doubles and socialize, and my wife wanted to go to some stores nearby as well.

To my surprise, I met an elderly Cpen LP player there. I mentioned him on here before. He only started playing in this area a few months ago, first at the Concord club where he immediately rose to the top of the club and has an undefeated record in RRs there (admittedly he never played against the 2100+ rated coach who occasionally visits there). I played against him once, lost to him 3-2. Turns out he really loves to practice, so after a few doubles matches I spent the rest of my time there practicing against him.

I don't know if you guys recall, but when I played against him the first time a few weeks ago, I had a TON of trouble returning his no spin floaty long serves to my BH and that's what prompted me to do practices against no spin shots to the BH. So today we practiced returning his services, and then re-loop his LP chop blocks. First the easy side on FH, then the hard side on the BH, then alternate. He could block my BH loops fairly easily, but he had a ton of trouble against my FH loops, so he's getting some practice out of it too. I was able to experience a solid increase in consistency and quality of my BH loops against backspin, which results in heavier backspins coming back.

I'm really glad I went, really unexpected to get some solid practice time in. We exchanged numbers and I'll be doing some more practices against him.

 

[Der_Echte]

So I was debating whether to play TT today. I usually go to the Alameda club on Sundays to get some match play in, while focus on practicing the rest of the days. Since I already played some matches in the tournament yesterday, I didn't really want to play more matches. I thought I'd just stay home and practice in my garage. After some debating, I decided to go to the Pleasanton club, where on Sundays I typically just have some fun playing doubles and socialize, and my wife wanted to go to some stores nearby as well.

To my surprise, I met an elderly Cpen LP player there. I mentioned him on here before. He only started playing in this area a few months ago, first at the Concord club where he immediately rose to the top of the club and has an undefeated record in RRs there (admittedly he never played against the 2100+ rated coach who occasionally visits there). I played against him once, lost to him 3-2. Turns out he really loves to practice, so after a few doubles matches I spent the rest of my time there practicing against him.

I don't know if you guys recall, but when I played against him the first time a few weeks ago, I had a TON of trouble returning his no spin floaty long serves to my BH and that's what prompted me to do practices against no spin shots to the BH. So today we practiced returning his services, and then re-loop his LP chop blocks. First the easy side on FH, then the hard side on the BH, then alternate. He could block my BH loops fairly easily, but he had a ton of trouble against my FH loops, so he's getting some practice out of it too. I was able to experience a solid increase in consistency and quality of my BH loops against backspin, which results in heavier backspins coming back.

I'm really glad I went, really unexpected to get some solid practice time in. We exchanged numbers and I'll be doing some more practices against him.

TROUBLE !!!

Good trouble.

 

[Jslick89]

One of my friends (he also posts here, @Brs) said that when he went to a coaching camp in Europe to train, he was told by the instructors that they wouldn't work with him in volleyball shoes and that he needed to wear table tennis shoes to get the value out of the lessons. I thought initially that this might be overkill but with time, I have come to appreciate more and more what the coaches meant. The only advantage (maybe, I can't find table tennis shoes my size) of volleyball is that they might be more springy, but their soles don't bend and you can't really feel the ground. So they largely suck in executing some subtle footwork movements.

I have tried flexible sole sneakers with thin soles that are old school like Chick Taylor's but I used then when I first came back to TT after a 2 year break so whether because I was slower or because I didn't have the footwork, I noticed a benefit in speed when I switched to volleyball shoes again and have aruck with volleyball shoes for the past 2 years.

Recently, for an event, I bought white clipper canvases without laces and I accidentally hit with them and played with them without removing them. I really liked the feeling since I could bend the soles and feel the ground. I am really tempted to continue playing in them even though they might not withstand the stresses of TT competition. We will see how it goes.

I'm a flexible sole nut, and I play in Xero shoes HFS. My previous pair was Merrell Vapor Glove 3.
Gotta say the Xero feels more stable, but the flexibility is still enormous.

I would highly advise a transition period for this type of shoe though

hmmmm unfortunately i would have had to walk out of that coaching camp if they would let me wear my VIVO Primus Trail FG. After wearing barefoot shoes for over 3+ years, I simply cannot wear regular shoes anymore. It would be like trying to play table tennis using a wrist brace lol.

But like Tyce said, you can't just pick up a pair of barefoot shoes and play table tennis in them. you will seriously injure yourself. You need to walk in barefoot shoes for over a month before you even attempt to run in them. Once you do start running, you need to start with a very short distance - maybe 200-400m. You gait needs to be near perfect or you can injure your heel from striking first with your heel on your run. Then after maybe a year and once you can comfortably run a couple miles in your barefoot shoes, you can try some lateral movements .but still ease into it.

If you've managed to make it this far, congrats, your feet and ankles are now stronger than any support a shoe can provide. Again, not recommended for anyone with any sort of feet problems. but if you have otherwise healthy feet, i recommend barefoot shoes as a general lifestyle improvement.

 

[Jslick89]

So I was debating whether to play TT today. I usually go to the Alameda club on Sundays to get some match play in, while focus on practicing the rest of the days. Since I already played some matches in the tournament yesterday, I didn't really want to play more matches. I thought I'd just stay home and practice in my garage. After some debating, I decided to go to the Pleasanton club, where on Sundays I typically just have some fun playing doubles and socialize, and my wife wanted to go to some stores nearby as well.

To my surprise, I met an elderly Cpen LP player there. I mentioned him on here before. He only started playing in this area a few months ago, first at the Concord club where he immediately rose to the top of the club and has an undefeated record in RRs there (admittedly he never played against the 2100+ rated coach who occasionally visits there). I played against him once, lost to him 3-2. Turns out he really loves to practice, so after a few doubles matches I spent the rest of my time there practicing against him.

I don't know if you guys recall, but when I played against him the first time a few weeks ago, I had a TON of trouble returning his no spin floaty long serves to my BH and that's what prompted me to do practices against no spin shots to the BH. So today we practiced returning his services, and then re-loop his LP chop blocks. First the easy side on FH, then the hard side on the BH, then alternate. He could block my BH loops fairly easily, but he had a ton of trouble against my FH loops, so he's getting some practice out of it too. I was able to experience a solid increase in consistency and quality of my BH loops against backspin, which results in heavier backspins coming back.

I'm really glad I went, really unexpected to get some solid practice time in. We exchanged numbers and I'll be doing some more practices against him.

Did you play in the ICC tournament? I almost went last minute but i decided i better keep saving for my new robot. plus wife said I have to finish the nursery before I can get my robot lol.

 

[Jslick89]

The human body is a weird machine. My body is full of aches and pains but when I want to go play TT, I push out something into my bloodstream that makes feel no pain. Not good.

I went to hit with my coach who is back in school. He said that compared to last year, he sees a jump in my athleticism even vs what I was doing doing prior to the break. That was encouraging and i suspect the collagen supplements are a part of that as well. Now I just have to figure out how to keep it and maybe translate it into some good wins.

That's adrenaline baby! Same thing happens to me. I've been nursing a serious back injury since 2017. Of course, I've done major rehab and for the most part i'm great, but some days I am dealing with the pain ( especially when i slack on my core exercises) but I swear as soon as i get warmed up in TT, i feel nothing but excitement. Of course, how I feel that evening of the next day is a different story.

congrats on 18 matches in a day! I did that 2 times. At local tournaments. i was sloshed by the end of the day and took a couple days to recover.

 

[dingyibvs]

Did you play in the ICC tournament? I almost went last minute but i decided i better keep saving for my new robot. plus wife said I have to finish the nursery before I can get my robot lol.

No, I went to the Oakland Chinatown one. I actually requested this weekend off intending to play in the ICC one, but then I got invited to this one by my teammates so I went to this instead.