Daily Table Tennis Chit Chat

Der_Echte said:

Hey, I pounded the like button (I think)... it is worth something.

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thanks very much appreciated lol. I even edited the message and added a 2nd video after you pressed the "like" button

@JeffM Very good exercise, you seem very at ease. Your robot seems to be an excellent model.
I think you should continue with this drill but increase the difficulty level by level: make the push to your BH faster and with more backspin. Here at this speed it's a bit too easy for you now.

I do often this drill (with multiball) but at a faster pace and more backspin because thats what i get in matches and thats the balls i struggle a lot with

For any exercise with the robot that you do well, just make it more difficult until you find a setting where its not TOO difficult so as you miss everything but you should miss some, to push you to do your best on each and everyball.

then you can work with the same exercise with FH drive instead of BH drive

then with the ball coming randomly to FH or BH then coming randomly FH middle or BH...

just a few ideas

On the negative side to your preference to stepping back to that depth after a nice short push is that smarter players will see you do this, see their fast deep push still get attacked softly, and not gain advantage or win the point (unless they are just simply better)... such a smarter player would only give you 1-3 deep pushes before discovering it doesn't profit them as they expected...

... so the smart player would suddenly push back short... and then see you hurry up to get to the ball, then attack your loose return...

... or if they were truly evil, they would give you a HALF LONG ball, so you would be baited into attacking what you think is a longer ball, but are now reaching for it... you not gunna land too many of those opening balls that far out of position...

If I was coaching them, i would see that and let him know to quit making your life easy by giving balls to where you want with time... I would have him disrupt that, have you miss too many shots, and make you want to break your bat.

... and I would also tell him that when you do start positioning yourself closer to the table, that is may be a good idea to go deep fast suddenly at your or with change of direction... until you show you could handle that.

I say all this to say that OK, taking a step back gives you time to exploit opponent (or avoid a rushed error from a fast deep ball you are not yet ready to attack with consistency)... but it also gives opponents things they may now use against you when you do that.

Eventually, as an attacking player, you will need the close to teh table skils, so it is not a capital crime to start training them.

Still, like many mention, so many things in TT are level and opponent dependant... so it also isn't a capital crime for you to adjust like this a short time if opponents are not making you pay for it in matches.

zyu81 said:

In my experience it is still ideal to get your body and head as close to the ball as possible, i.e. not having to extend the arm and torso to the degree that Jeff is currently doing. If he starts from closer up he has more distance he can close out, but as I predicted and he has said, most players of his level probably won't make this as relevant. It is something that becomes more relevant at a higher level when the milliseconds really matter more on short services etc. That said I don't think what he is doing right now is drastically wrong and I am talking about minor not major changes.

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My point is that it would probably be better for Jeff to make the serve longer for his training if he can because while the distance seems to make it difficult, the shortness actually makes the short touch easier if the serve has backspin.

As for the technique, maybe if we have video on top players returning serves that short we can compare.

SkySowers said:

Hi everyone! I'm sharing a short compilation of my backhand. I used to not have a backhand (except for a block) so I taught myself to do BH open-ups and counter-hitting. I'm now more comfortable in using it and don't mind when my opponent puts the ball on that side. If you guys have any suggestions on what drills to do to improve my BH even more, please let me know. It still needs a lot of work but I'm glad I can use it now as a weapon.

View this content on Instagram

View this content on Instagram

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The technique is arm oriented and requires time. It would be interesting to see what happens if you play someone who pins you on the backhand with fast topspins in an exchange.

NextLevel said:

The technique is arm oriented and requires time. It would be interesting to see what happens if you play someone who pins you on the backhand with fast topspins in an exchange.

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Agreed, this is why I'd be curious to see how it looks in training. My initial thought was it looks like it can do well when there is sufficient time to prepare, but not sure how consistent it would be in ongoing backhand play especially given the randomness of the elbow positioning at times.

Takkyu_wa_inochi said:

Same for everyone, got 0 this time...

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I think the guy who is coaching you might have more useful input than the fine people of TableTennisDaily.

Just a hunch.

mart1nandersson said:

I just stumbled upon a real gem. Fast forward to the 12 minute mark and you’ll get to witness a pre teen Waldner.

https://youtu.be/9dO8xAyVM4Y

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Stellan always makes my day.

yoass said:

Stellan always makes my day.

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I really like the clip. Lots of heroes from my childhood but I find it most fascinating to see a young Waldner as he’s very mortal. Media here has kind of painted the picture that he was born with the talent/touch/skill but it’s very evident that he must’ve trained extremely hard to become what he became considering how “normal” he was in his early teens. I know of several present players in that age span here that look way better.

I don't think I have posted training video in a while in the era of COVID19. My club has almost officially re-opened. Here is my practice today. It is long, but basically, I open with my forehand looping to my partner's block, then my partner does his looping to my block, and then we switch to backhands and do the same thing. About 40 minutes in total since we do this primarily for exercise.

Since I have transitioned to a mostly meat-based diet, I have lost some weight. My knees and joints in general on the other hand have been all over the place. The lighter weight has helped though.

Comments are welcome.

https://youtu.be/R-JGlvUS810?t=83

You are doing well! I should start training...

Sent from my SM-G975U1 using Tapatalk

Without even LOOKING at the vid, it I would say it is gunna turn heads and make jokers see a little about what NL is about...

Der_Echte said:

Without even LOOKING at the vid, it I would say it is gunna turn heads and make jokers see a little about what NL is about...

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One of the benefits of using faster and more expensive equipment is that at least in practice, I let the equipment do the work. So I don't have to swing quite as hard as I used to (which I hope on the whole is a good thing for my game). In matches though I do get carried away and this plastic ball doesn't reward my efforts - the ball often comes back lol.

Does anyone have any pointers when it comes to setting the pace yourself? I've spent most of the summer playing against players who are 500+ (Swedish) ranking points better than me so I've become quite comfortable at countering or chopping whatever they throw at me. What really destroys me is when they start to play extremely slow and I have to set the pace (usually quite close to the table). I overshoot a lot.

Any drills that would improve this? The typical error I make is trying to loop a quite low and slow ball (by overshooting).

mart1nandersson said:

Does anyone have any pointers when it comes to setting the pace yourself? I've spent most of the summer playing against players who are 500+ (Swedish) ranking points better than me so I've become quite comfortable at countering or chopping whatever they throw at me. What really destroys me is when they start to play extremely slow and I have to set the pace (usually quite close to the table). I overshoot a lot.

Any drills that would improve this? The typical error I make is trying to loop a quite low and slow ball (by overshooting).

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Third ball loop vs low heavy backspin? I find that the higher the level of the player, the lower they usually keep the ball all things equal and that trying to loop the ball without arc creates risk. Especially against pushes. Having the confidence to put spin on the ball just to make it stay on the table and force the opponent to play a well timed counter or block might be what the doctor ordered.

If the balls are over the table then flick practice might be the key. Looping hard is hard to control over the table.

NextLevel said:

Third ball loop vs low heavy backspin? I find that the higher the level of the player, the lower they usually keep the ball all things equal and that trying to loop the ball without arc creates risk. Especially against pushes. Having the confidence to put spin on the ball just to make it stay on the table and force the opponent to play a well timed counter or block might be what the doctor ordered.

If the balls are over the table then flick practice might be the key. Looping hard is hard to control over the table.

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It’s quite silly really as it’s more like low balls with slight back spin or no spin that’s destroying me. Lifting heavy backspin is something I practice quite a bit and have no major issues with but face very rarely as I have pips.

Martin, this is not super high quality, but it is better than missing for now.

LOOSEN wrist, and SLOW DOWN your power, like go 50% on everything... lift the ball a little bit and just land it, hopefully somewhere they wont cream it, like middle. I think the key for your situation is wrist grip pressure... then maybe amount of power next.

mart1nandersson said:

It’s quite silly really as it’s more like low balls with slight back spin or no spin that’s destroying me. Lifting heavy backspin is something I practice quite a bit and have no major issues with but face very rarely as I have pips.

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Yes, but the mindset is the same. The ball is low so you have to spin the ball on the table. If you can get low no spin or light backspin feeds, that works as well. You don't have as much weight to work with so you need to add spin and get the ball to dip - trying to hit the ball hard is 90% of the problem in my experience. Taking it late enough to read it improves your odds. Paradoxically, the higher the ball, the less hard you have to hit as hard hits tend to send the ball long if not well directed. The lower the ball though, the more spin you need to put the ball on the table.

In NL's vid, he is using equipment Korean old school coaches give beginning players (FAST STUFF) and it is SO DAMN EASY to play fast close to the table without much spin with this stuff... however, NL knows how to spell spin too.

People should notive his partner blocked a lot of balls long and out in the combo drill halfway through the vid.

My blade is very stiff (on the forehand side - great for looping from distance).

But what about actual drills how do you practice this stuff? It right not only comes at me during matches.