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You're doing great for someone who has never had any coaching. Well done.

Hi Gourav Thanks for posting. Two obvious areas of improvement for me: 1. Your backhand Your game is quite unbalanced - very strong forehand and weaker backhand. If I was coaching the other player in the video, I would tell him to keep playing to your backhand. He does actually do this more...

A lot of good advice here already. As UpSideDownCarl has mentioned your shadow stroke looks good, but then you change your stroke when actually contacting the ball. The biggest thing for me is your bat angle. In your shadow play, your bat angle is more horizontal. When you start doing the...

Thanks Suga D. Appreciate the kind words!

Hi all Here is a new blog post I have written about Timo Boll. It’s basically a love-fest for Timo Boll with some tips on how you can play like the great man. http://www.tabletenniscoach.me.uk/play-like-timo-boll/ But I would be interested to hear from you all also. What do you think...

Thought I would bump this discussion back to the top. How have you been doing in your league matches over the past month? I played on Tuesday. I won 2 and lost 1, so fairly happy. In the match I lost, I won the first game 11-6, lost the second game 11-5. I was then 8-2 up in the third game and...

I completely agree with UpSideDownCarl. Without seeing any footage, we can only speculate at what the issue may be. When you post a video, we can then all give you some (hopefully) very useful advice. Whocarez - don't feel anxious about posting a video of yourself. It's the best thing you can...

I suppose this tactic may become less effective at higher levels. But should always work pretty well against a player who struggles to attack a heavy backspin ball with his forehand. I actually use this serves against left-handers, if they have weak backhand loops - serve long backspin from FH...

I do a lot of coaching with beginners. I keep things really simple to begin with. I show them how to hold to bat and how to stand. We then work on forehand drive and backhand drive. The aim is just to get them to play these shots with something which resembles good technique. As their...

I think this is fairly common. When you play a practice match you will be far more relaxed, you will be familiar with your opponent's style and the outcome of the match doesn't really count for anything. When you play a league or tournament match, you will have more nerves or tension, your...

Hi I have post a new article on my website "Topspin or flat hit?" (http://www.tabletenniscoach.me.uk/topspin-flat-hit/) In the article, I explain when you should topspin and when it is ok to flat hit. My question for you is: do you like to topspin, flat hit or both? When do you use topspins...

Hi Keenan Great that you have started to make videos on youtube. I have my own table tennis youtube channel too, so can share some of my experiences with you. At first it's a lonely experience, as you won't get too many video views. but over time, as you post more (and higher quality) videos...

Like the comment above, I haven’t done the ITTF Level 1 coaching course, but have done the equivalent level in UK. There’s nothing to be nervous about. You’ll get to learn loads and practice running coaching sessions. At the Level 1, the curriculum is quite basic, so I shouldn’t imagine you’ll...

This is a shot I like to play with my forehand, most of the time successfully, but not always. As others have said the stroke should be a bit more forwards, compared to a traditional loop vs backspin ball (where motion is more up). But you have to be quite precise. If you come too forwards and...

Thanks to everyone who has contributed to the discussion so far. I appreciate the thoughtful responses and different perspectives. It's a good reminder that there are different ways to play (and succeed) at table tennis. And that's what makes it so compelling to play. I have added a link to...

Yes, that's my experience too. Playing safe against a much stronger opponent has never worked for me. I just give them the chance to attack first and then the game slips by very quickly. As others have said in this thread, and I say in the blog post, I think a better approach is to take a few...

Hi all I just posted my new blog post - "Tactics to beat a much stronger player" You can read it here: http://www.tabletenniscoach.me.uk/tactics-beat-much-stronger-player/ So what I would like to ask you is: have you ever caused a major upset in a league match or tournament, by beating a much...

Hi! Firstly, well done on the win. It looked very comfortable for you. You dominated from the start and controlled throughout. The most obvious area of improvement you could make (from my perspective), is your backhand open up against a backspin ball. There were many times (I lost count)...

Ha! Yes I have come across plenty of grumpy old men in local league table tennis. They don't like losing to juniors for sure. And I have witnessed some very ungracious behaviour when they have lost to female players too. It is not pleasant to witness. I remember one time playing local league in...

You are definitely not alone! People are more inclined to comment on this thread when things have gone well. I had a bad night last night too. I did win one (only just), but lost two and got thumped in some of the games. Not a very good evening at all. But plenty of stuff to learn from and...