Daily Table Tennis Chit Chat

says 2023 Certified Organ Donor
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The guy on left in 1st pic hasn't won a lot in TT since he came to USA. HE was likely the happiest of our team, he FB posted that this was his first award in TT here. He had 100+ FB friends like his post the first HOUR.

This tourney is held every year and there are some rulse of how the teams are formed that makes it interesting.

The top three players rating cannot exceed 5500. This means you can get 2 quality 2000ish play level players (whether their rating is 2000 or not), but then you have to get player 3 at a 1500 level. Most 1500 level are not world beaters obviosly, some are solid, some are just very inconsistent. We got lucky and had solid players available at 1600ish level since my league rating went down alittle, we could afford a 1600s player for positions 3-5 on the squad. We played all our players and thyey all contributed. Our #4 and #5 players had singles matches vs much higher rated players and nearly won. One player was 500 points lower rated and nearly won vs the #2 player in the city. Our 3# player had a good singles win. We won nearly ALL of our doubles matches, I think we lost only one... and that one was close, so doubles performance really got us to the end line. You get that with solid players at the middle and lower end of your roster. When you get only 2 top players and no one else, you lose lots of doubles.

Some other teams were REALLY stacked as one team had 2100, 2000, 1900-2000 level players, but last 2 league ratings significantly lower to enable them to form the team.

Our city's top 2 players had teams also... and they were in OUR division. Another team (who we faced in semis) was stacked too with their top players having lower league ratings than their real play level. All in all, it was a level playing field as every team had players with a lower league rating that was used.

I NEVER saw so many stacked teams capable of going all the way. Usually, there is only 1-2 teams with enough talent to be counted upon to go all the way.

Plus, that gym has many areas where it is damn near impossible (at least for me) to see the ball once it leves the table. Plus, so many players can get support and really turn it on. ANYTHING, I mean ANY result is possible and one would lose major cash trying to bet on things.
 
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says Spin and more spin.
says Spin and more spin.
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Adding pics newly acquired of winner's presentation. Our team pic with many of us smiling makes us look a lot younger. We look like 5 tigers there.



Did I see a "Team TroubleMaker" shirt in there? Or is it just that the goon squad is after me again? :)

 
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The good ole days with Monster...

Der_Echte are you trying to stir up trouble or trying to make me cry :) ... I see you have completed your mission in Sacramento !

giphy.gif

 
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says Spin and more spin.
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Der_Echte are you trying to stir up trouble or trying to make me cry :) ... I see you have completed your mission in Sacramento !

200.gif

Der....trying to stir up trouble? What would ever cause you to think that? :)

hahahahahahaha.

I think the goon squad is coming to get him.

 
says 2023 Certified Organ Donor
says 2023 Certified Organ Donor
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Der....trying to stir up trouble? What would ever cause you to think that? :)

hahahahahahaha.

I think the goon squad is coming to get him.

Well, dat Goon Squad had better damn well hurry up and deal with me, I got sum Lasagne Style Pasta to bake and eat... and Monster KNOWS Der_Echte takes hiz eatin' real serious like.

 
says 2023 Certified Organ Donor
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Monster would be happy to know our squad "Bumped Off" all the squads that were obnoxious to him in the 2018 tourney. Most of them were certainly not easy, all teams were packed and loaded with players better than their ratings and in THAT gym could win vs anyone.
 
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says Spin and more spin.
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says 2023 Certified Organ Donor
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What is notable, Carl, is the last time tourney ran in 2019 (no tourney in 2020 due to Cobiddie) is that TTD member ERM won MVP.

That is two consecutive years that TTD members have received Tourney MVP.

If Sergey "Scoobie-Doo" "Tsos" gets off his tail and registers to bless TTD with his under-rated H3 expertise and his true depth of tactics/technique, then we might have 3 yrs running in the works.

He had better sign up, I wrote his name on all our team uniforms that tourney, now the pressure is all on him.

#Sign-Up Sergey
 
says Spin and more spin.
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What is notable, Carl, is the last time tourney ran in 2019 (no tourney in 2020 due to Cobiddie) is that TTD member ERM won MVP.

That is two consecutive years that TTD members have received Tourney MVP.

If Sergey "Scoobie-Doo" "Tsos" gets off his tail and registers to bless TTD with his under-rated H3 expertise and his true depth of tactics/technique, then we might have 3 yrs running in the works.

He had better sign up, I wrote his name on all our team uniforms that tourney, now the pressure is all on him.

#Sign-Up Sergey
But MTP means Most TroubleMaker Player. And you are definitely that. :)

 
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hi guys

haven't posted in a while.

still enjoying playing TT
here's a clip with my coach from yesterday's session

https://youtu.be/cE62zGPm7Mg

I like that you are still enjoying it and working hard! Only watched the first minutes. Your backhand seems very functional and effective and you move well! Your forehand would become much better I believe if you could try to get get some body in the stroke before the arm and then try to swing and snap the forearm a bit more. At the moment you seem to use mostly arm and push the ball a bit forward. Of course it is difficult in the first exercise and if they play to fast you will need to use only the arm.

I do not know if your coach agree but I would be surprised if he did not so maybe you could talk with him
about it. Or if he do not agree maybe ask a better player or another coach for their opinion. Difficult to give advice through a video and also hard for the poster to know what to listen too.

I believe you level would go so much higher if you could do this better. As a humble part time coach for over ten years I would have prioritize your forehand technique.

Good luck and keep up the good work!

 
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says 2023 Certified Organ Donor
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Hi Takkyu, I see on your BH you are NOT going overboard on length of lower arm in stroke (that is good), many fail at that. It looks like you are kind tight and use a lot of wrist and 180 degree kinda wrapping that isn't so needed. You would be more consistent with a little more direct path to ball and direct impact.

The footwork you are using close to the table to get to the ball down the FH line is more appropriate for use further away from the table. (You take a tiny step with right foot then cross over with left then plant right) That footwork takes a tiny bit more time and you might not have that playing fast and close to the table. You were late to the ball a lot using that footwork.

You have a few footworks available to get to this ball quicker. Your coach is demnstrating a simplified one step version of POWER CROSS STEP footwork before the session. You do a few BH with feep parellel, then take a diagonal step forward with right foot stepping close to the corner. This is a good technique as your body (hip) is already open, so a big backswing is not needed, you simply step to the target zone and hit. Very quick, very direct, very on balance at impact.

Another option is a power hop to the side. You push off with left leg powerfully and go along the endline. You can get there, plant and hit, or hit mid air if you get the a little late. You plant after the hit and bounce back to middle... or if you were already planted, you push off with right leg and recover.

You are pretty much out of it after you get to that ball down the line with the footwork you are using in this drill. Another option, if you want to hit with power and really try to finish it is what I call the close to the tabe power cross step. You do your BH hit, lean your upper body sideways with bat down and a little behind, push off very powerfully with left leg, go mid-air a tiny as you cross your left foot to land short of the corner, and hit. Your hips are already open and this is very direct like what coach is showing at beginning of your clip. no big backswing needed. You plant left foot, hit, pound floor with right foot, and bounce back to middle. You will be able to use near max power to finish a ball doing this.

What I described is the same cross step used in this vid (7) Table Tennis - Chinese Footwork Part 3 - Pivot And Cross Step - YouTube but here they are using it after stepping around FH corner, where in your drill, you are near the corner and not stepped around the corner. I am advocating a modified version of this with your left step not quite as large as the one in the vid (you would overstep the ball and need only 1/2-3/4 the length of step in the vid.

This is an explosive footwork that is quick, direct, and lets you be there on time and hit with power to finish. What you coach is showing you is a modified version of this footwork as you are close enough to the ball to skip the push off/step with left foot as you are closer to the ball arrival point (which is only 1,2 mters away from your FH at most. Players can cover 1-1.3 meters to their FH with just a push off (left) and one step (right) for right handers.
 
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@Der Echte

thanks for your comment
yes sometimes my legs cross each other. Its really "unwanted". i don't want to do that , i'm telling the coach at the pause, that I'm making that mistake unvoluntarily and clumsily as well. I've watched the Chinese video (again) and its a nice explanation of that cross-step footwork. not sure i'm able to do that.

Ideally in that drill/ situation, i need to make only one step, and make the effort of not losing my baseline and going back, and as you say, that means taking the ball earlier so there is no choice but take a shorter swing.

Tbh, i think even a few months ago, id catch only that FH ball 20-25% of the time. Now i manage to get it on the table much more often, but i need to lose my baseline and catch the ball later. I think i need more training to achieve the real goal of the exercise. Ive got a better balance, but reaction time is still a bit slow. the angle is not showing it necessarily but the ball is going quite wide and there is pace in the ball, and its a random drill (i don't know when he will play FH) as well, not easy for me !

@Lula
i think i don't use my body much because i don't have time for it !

in the same training session i practised multiball and I believe im using much more and better the whole body for the FH. I'm not satisfied with my FH/BH transition though. i believe i should open the wrist more to play the FH after a BH

 
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Everything looks good, everything can better.

I like parts of the backhand but I think too much of the spin comes from elbow and not much from the wrist. But maybe if you did a chiquita the technique would change. The use of the back and hips, the most important thing for power, is extremely good.

For the forehand the backswing looks right but the forward swing holds back the core very often or doesn't sync up with the arm swing. That said, you might be doing all the things I am describing in your head and they just don't show up on camera - such is the nature of adult learning in table tennis.

And your strokes look extremely high level in terms of rallying speed for close to the table play. Your technique has definitely improved quite a bit despite my criticism, especially on the backhand.
 
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