Daily Table Tennis Chit Chat

ttmonster · Jul 3, 2019

I would modify rules of the matches to keep you motivated if the level difference is that big. You should win the point if you are able to make 2-3 balls in a row with focus on the weakness you have , meaning he gets to serve short to your forehand you push / flick and make 2 balls in a row after that and it wins you the point ... the main difference with higher players is that they have a better quality shot making and they are able to make more balls on the table, that is going to come through time and practice .. for us we need to focus on small improvements otherwise its very demotivating if you keep track of overall results of the match etc.

Takkyu_wa_inochi said:
Today I was with coach Oya for 2 hours. We worked on what I think is one of the main weakness in my game:
When the opponent serves short to my FH, whether i receive with a push or a flick, I get back WAYYYY too slowly in position.
I think there is a mix of causes: my receive technique is not perfected yet, so I worry too much about my ball and not enough about getting back. I haven't trained enough during all those years this particular footwork. I'm getting old and don't have enough leg power.

Yet another reason for missing is when i get ready to play the next shot, i have the bad habit that the upper body tends to go up.

Well i can say that despite doing drills for more than 1 hour, (and having practiced that a lot in recent months), I still feel I suck at this, and can't see much progress from that session.

We finished by a match the first time we did one, he made a good show of what he's able of, and he won by a crushing -1 -3 -2.. and out of the 6, I can only remember one REAL point (a strong BH), i think the rest were receive misses or careless misses of him.

I asked him if these matches are really any use...I think his answer was polite... Anyway with my previous coaches, it all started like that and with time, I got better, even taking here and there a game or more from time to time. of course their level is several levels below Oya but from where I am , it is difficult to do worse, isn't it ? I hope to stay motivated !

Takkyu_wa_inochi · Jul 3, 2019

@ttmonster
actually I'm not demotivated, I'm realistic. I agree with you, the gap in level is huge. Its only the 1st time i made a full match with him in 6 or so coaching sessions. given the score it took only 10 minutes out of the 2 hours. We did drill a lot of matchplay situations: for example he serves short to FH, i stop he pushes long to FH or BH. or he serves short to FH , i flick he drives to FH or BH... if I can make the first block I'm like "good job" If I can make 2 or more, i'm like "yehhh !!!!" LOL...

It will get better but not next time, maybe in 3 or 6 months ! I can feel already some tiny progress in those drills from week to week.

My concern is more is there a more efficient use of my time (and money) with him than doing a 3 set match where I'm gonna get crushed ? the answer is probably yes

Btw its a pleasure to see a pro playing.

ttmonster · Jul 4, 2019

Takkyu_wa_inochi said:
@ttmonster
actually I'm not demotivated, I'm realistic. I agree with you, the gap in level is huge. Its only the 1st time i made a full match with him in 6 or so coaching sessions. given the score it took only 10 minutes out of the 2 hours. We did drill a lot of matchplay situations: for example he serves short to FH, i stop he pushes long to FH or BH. or he serves short to FH , i flick he drives to FH or BH... if I can make the first block I'm like "good job" If I can make 2 or more, i'm like "yehhh !!!!" LOL...

It will get better but not next time, maybe in 3 or 6 months ! I can feel already some tiny progress in those drills from week to week.

My concern is more is there a more efficient use of my time (and money) with him than doing a 3 set match where I'm gonna get crushed ? the answer is probably yes

Btw its a pleasure to see a pro playing.

I will be honest , I don't think it is. I would rather create game situations and play. like play 6-6 or 9-9 or make them give you handicap. In my experience playing with that much level difference helps only if they don't use their power against you and just keep the ball on the table and make you play.

Lula · Jul 4, 2019

I think it can be good to play against much better players sometimes.

They are much better at serve and return. So you get an understanding of what a "good" serve is. Or atleast how you should serve. It is also hard to learn to read spin well if you do not practice against guys with really good serves. Then at tournamnents you do not know what to do because you have not practiced to read serves with alot of spin.

The tempo is higher. So you need to be better to go from bh to fh and be better at recover faster.

I also have a hard time seeing that if you play a better player all the time that he will go full out because he will not become so much better from it. When in play much worse players i try to practice at stuff i am not so good at so i get practice aswell, when i do this the game also becomes closer.

I also think staring every game from maybe 8-8 will make the games closer aswelll. If you win two points you have almost won.

mart1nandersson · Jul 4, 2019

No summer league here in Stockholm but getting a lot of TT hours has not been a problem. I think that I have averaged something like 12-14h the last couple of weeks. A lot of these hours has been spent at the amazing club Spårvägen who is arranging open trainings for about 30€ for June-August (extremely cheap). These trainings are frequented by players from beginners up to division 1 so there's a pretty much limitless supply of training partners.

They also have an Indian coach who constantly walks around and switches around who plays/trains with who so I've quite often ended up playing with waaaaay better players. He also quite often steps in and gives the odd tip which has helped my greatly (especially when it comes to the timing of my chopping).

Playing better players (>1700 Swedish TTA ranking) for me as a chopper is extremely entertaining even though I loose most of the time. I really feel that I get better by the hour.

Living the dream.

RidTheKid · Jul 4, 2019

Go to the gym and do squats and other leg excercises. Strengthen your hips, legs and buttocks. I do leg workout twice a week and it slows down aging

Takkyu_wa_inochi said:
Today I was with coach Oya for 2 hours. We worked on what I think is one of the main weakness in my game:
When the opponent serves short to my FH, whether i receive with a push or a flick, I get back WAYYYY too slowly in position.
I think there is a mix of causes: my receive technique is not perfected yet, so I worry too much about my ball and not enough about getting back. I haven't trained enough during all those years this particular footwork. I'm getting old and don't have enough leg power.

Yet another reason for missing is when i get ready to play the next shot, i have the bad habit that the upper body tends to go up.

Well i can say that despite doing drills for more than 1 hour, (and having practiced that a lot in recent months), I still feel I suck at this, and can't see much progress from that session.

We finished by a match the first time we did one, he made a good show of what he's able of, and he won by a crushing -1 -3 -2.. and out of the 6, I can only remember one REAL point (a strong BH), i think the rest were receive misses or careless misses of him.

I asked him if these matches are really any use...I think his answer was polite... Anyway with my previous coaches, it all started like that and with time, I got better, even taking here and there a game or more from time to time. of course their level is several levels below Oya but from where I am , it is difficult to do worse, isn't it ? I hope to stay motivated !

mart1nandersson · Jul 6, 2019

Here's something for the retro lovers:
https://www.filmarkivet.se/movies/pingis-allas-idrott/

This is a promotional film for TT from 1972 produced by the Swedish TTA and an insurance company. If you're into Stellan Bengtsson, Hans Alsér or Kjell Johansson this is for you.

yoass · Jul 6, 2019

I had never seen footage of Bengtsson and Johanson playing.

Tak så mykett!

darucla · Jul 6, 2019

Nice film. Stellan always reminds me of Davy Jones of the Monkees.
Shame about the Translation software "A film about the history, practice and significance of the penguin in Sweden."

mart1nandersson said:
Here's something for the retro lovers:
https://www.filmarkivet.se/movies/pingis-allas-idrott/

This is a promotional film for TT from 1972 produced by the Swedish TTA and an insurance company. If you're into Stellan Bengtsson, Hans Alsér or Kjell Johansson this is for you.

mart1nandersson · Jul 6, 2019

yoass said:
I had never seen footage of Bengtsson and Johanson playing.

Tak så mykett!

Ingen orsak

I was more surprised at Stellan playing matches against Alsér. Mentally I have them 20 years apart.

yoass · Jul 6, 2019

mart1nandersson said:
Ingen orsak

I was more surprised at Stellan playing matches against Alsér. Mentally I have them 20 years apart.

Looks like they were. Then again, even now a Harimoto encounters a Samsonov, both acting at the top with 30 or so years separating them.

The more I see of Bengtsson the more I admire him. But that footage, it shows strong TT roots. It must be more than just mountainous runs through the trees, but these images are powerful to me.

mart1nandersson · Jul 12, 2019

I had my first session with Fastarc C-1 today. Super boring rubber but a lot of shots actually landed on the right side of the table. I love boring rubbers (Rozena is the prime example) so this may be my life companion for some months to come.

yoass · Jul 13, 2019

mart1nandersson said:
I had my first session with Fastarc C-1 today. Super boring rubber but a lot of shots actually landed on the right side of the table. I love boring rubbers (Rozena is the prime example) so this may be my life companion for some months to come.

Interesting. I glued Fastarc-G1/1.8mm on my BH yesterday, replacing Rozena/2.1. G1 is less boring than Rozena, it's surprisingly zesty and at 1.8mm it adds an amount of directness that I find pleasant. I didn't have to change much, it felt right at home, with my BH flicks and passive play feeling a bit safer even. Probably a bit less powerful away from the table. This I can cope with.

I changed my FH from Rozena to DHS Goldarc 8-50/2.1mm, and that does require some adaptation. It immediately improved my short game. Counterspins work well, but the ball contact required for looping (heavy) underspin or over deadish floaters is very different. Once engaging properly, it reveals high gears I've never met before. I'm giving it a couple of months, and if I can adapt/improve my FH technique, footwork, power, fine; and if not, the path is quite obvious.

mart1nandersson · Jul 13, 2019

yoass said:
Interesting. I glued Fastarc-G1/1.8mm on my BH yesterday, replacing Rozena/2.1. G1 is less boring than Rozena, it's surprisingly zesty and at 1.8mm it adds an amount of directness that I find pleasant. I didn't have to change much, it felt right at home, with my BH flicks and passive play feeling a bit safer even. Probably a bit less powerful away from the table. This I can cope with.

I changed my FH from Rozena to DHS Goldarc 8-50/2.1mm, and that does require some adaptation. It immediately improved my short game. Counterspins work well, but the ball contact required for looping (heavy) underspin or over deadish floaters is very different. Once engaging properly, it reveals high gears I've never met before. I'm giving it a couple of months, and if I can adapt/improve my FH technique, footwork, power, fine; and if not, the path is quite obvious.

Myself and a training partner opted for the “4 for 3” offering from TT11. Great value for money. I also bought a sheet of G-1 but I’m fearing that it will be a bit too hard. I’ve been fiddling around with T05 and I suspect that G-1 will feel similar especially on the backhand (I try to twiddle so the inverted BH needs to be secure).

yoass · Jul 13, 2019

mart1nandersson said:
I’ve been fiddling around with T05 and I suspect that G-1 will feel similar especially on the backhand (I try to twiddle so the inverted BH needs to be secure).

Yes, I concur with that. G-1 reminded me immediately of T05. A bit harder, a bit duller in passive play, a bit more zesty in the fast & furious hits, maybe a tad less of a bite when spinning it — but these are nuances, it really feels akin.

I like the firmness of G-1 so far. Then again, I also carry fond memories of Vega Pro and hold Nanoflex FT48 in very high esteem, all in that hardness ballpark.

mart1nandersson · Jul 13, 2019

yoass said:
Yes, I concur with that. G-1 reminded me immediately of T05. A bit harder, a bit duller in passive play, a bit more zesty in the fast & furious hits, maybe a tad less of a bite when spinning it — but these are nuances, it really feels akin.

I like the firmness of G-1 so far. Then again, I also carry fond memories of Vega Pro and hold Nanoflex FT48 in very high esteem, all in that hardness ballpark.

How does G-1 play when smashing/flat hitting? I’ve been trying to tell my friend to use SP on her FH as she’s playing a typical womens TT where she smashes through incoming topspin. She uses Rakza PO on her backhand due to a ligament injury in her hand (maybe dual sided SP is too extreme).

yoass · Jul 13, 2019

mart1nandersson said:
How does G-1 play when smashing/flat hitting?

Moving in to pace it up by going direct off the bounce is one of the main things in my weaponry. I seems to be working well, although in the few hours I've played with it on my BH I haven't dealt with heavy spinners so far. It seems to suiting Mima Ito quite well for exactly this, so I'd give it a pass.

JeffM · Jul 14, 2019

Update on my recent TT activities:
Since my defeat at the competition 2 weeks ago, Ive been getting more coaching. I've also trialed different coaches, and found that each has a different approach, and that this may be a good thing for me, as one may be from an older generation, and the other have a more contemporary style. I've also received a lesson from a coach who came here for one month from China, and again, different style, but made me realize what I was doing wrong.

My main issue is still the movement, which I think has definitely improved with the coaching as well as my persistence in exercising daily. The other issue is the match thinking, i.e. the understanding of ways to obtain points in a match, which I think comes with how often I play and can be lost if I don't play matches for a long time.

Tuesday I filled in for a pennant match, and had to play against 3 shakehanders (2 anti-spinners and 1 inverted). To my surprise, I was able to win all of them, but not without difficulty. I recorded the matches and there were some great points. I was glad I have the opportunity to practice against this style, as well as to put the strategies that my coach taught me in practice.

I have been able to put much more time into TT this rotation as my roster is relatively stable, and I think the coaching is definitely a motivation for me to get better!

Takkyu_wa_inochi · Jul 14, 2019

what is a pennant match ?

JeffM · Jul 14, 2019

Takkyu_wa_inochi said:
what is a pennant match ?

It's a weekly league match between different teams.

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