Daily Table Tennis Chit Chat

Played in the San Antonio summer round robin and under 1800 events. Watched Kewei Lei 2635 beat Jim Butler 2489. Kewei is an attacking chopper and Jimmy was the U.S champ back in like 1996 and 2015 but is now 54. Jimmy did a lot of hard pick hits with his backhand that looked impossible but Kewei Lei varied his chop and blasted anything a micron over the net with monster loops. During this period in an area of the facility reserved for the scrubs I gave away 2 different matches where I had my opponents down 2 games and then lost focus and momentum and then the match.... I once again went into attack everything mode rather than attacking high percentage and being patient. It is like I lose my mind.. I need to have an emotional support dog who will bark at me when I start to do this...I tend to play well against people who are 200-400 points over me and poorly against people 100 to 200 under me...Last tournament while rated mid 1200's I beat a 1810 and a 1602 player but now that my rating went up to 1506 I lost to a 1035 senior (used to be 1750) and a 1433 chopper.. I Wish I had some people above 900 to practice against and some discipline in my games.but it is what it is...work with the 900's to get them better and on my mental game.

ROBBO1967 said:

Any tips on chopping? I was an attacker but discovered I was really good at hard bat. I'm trying short pips but am discovering it has less effect than long, long just doesn't seem to suit my stroke tho. Maybe I should try an inverted defensive rubber? I want to still attack the F/H. Any advice from good choppers would be brilliant!

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Ask our CEO Bogeyhunter on OOAK forum, that place is FULL of choppers.

Hello TTDers:

First time on this thread ...

Last week, off for vacation ... helping eldest daughter move into dorm

Tonight, first time TT since 2 weeks ago Saturday with Der_Echte, PingPongHolic and UpsideDownCarl

Hit with F., a woman chopper, for 30 mins or so, she wanted to work on her FH looping and BH blocking ... so I blocked her loops and she blocked mine

After 30 yrs layoff, my friend 42&BackPains telling that the new style of looping is shorter stroke. I have not seem to get the timing and stroke for that yet. Plus generally as an oldschool penholder, I play close to the table and should be looping that way any way ... however, I didn't want to waste her time, so I looped my under-the-table-behind-the-back-windup loops ... I hit with her a few weeks ago, she liked my loop which was challenging enough for her ... she also liked my blocking

Then maybe 15 mins or 30 mins wait, played R., a SH who is steady lobber as well as good looper, in the past I asked if he had a rating he said he didn't but estimated he was 1600 or ... excellent "coach eyes", steady counter-looper, many hit with him ... felt honored to be able to hit and play hum ... game time, lost 3 straight, with the week off, I ate most of his serves and funny thing, he served as a SH, the pendulum serve ... my main serve ... lol at me ... lost about 7 or 8 each game ... perhaps it was a week off, although service return is one of my weak points.

Sat and watched for 15 mins or so in another table, one player L., got tired and let me hit. .. M1., the other guy, is 2000 easy, honored to hit with him, last time I got killed in 2 games. .. we just hit for maybe 15 mins ... as I was cooled off, when I got onto the table, I was spastic and couldn't control my shots ... rather than waste his time, I blocked and he started looping ... later he asked me to loop, and again I resorted to my longer stroke loop to be steadier and not waste his time, dude plays mainly modern ph, but played sh for a spell tonight

Hit with my friend M2. next... he's 2000 easy, he told me he maxed out at 2300 one time ... didn't see him in 30 yrs, but we went to college together back in da day and played a few times in school ... he recognized me when I joined the club a few months ago ... felt honored to be able to hit with him, he's a sh. Has strong bh smash, tricky serves, smart player ... no way to beat him in a game, hit with him 2 or 3x in the past few months ... tonight was the first time, we played games, he spotted me 4 pts and said no way I can get get 5 pts from him ... he says I have good fndamentals, good blocking, good pendulum serve, and good fast no spin serve to bh as well as down-the-line to fh ... EDIT: during practice, he bh looped around the net on my fast pendulum side down serve ... 1 st time ever, or perhaps 2nd time (a 2200 kid, lefty sh, may have done it to me) ... we both just laughed ... good timing, great shot

Played two others after, but was kind of wiped out physically, got to club and started hitting at 5:30, left at 9:30 ... the first of the 2, I played mostly defense after inserved, I thought I would probably win, didn't want overpower him, despite it being game situations, played defense to help out his offensive games

Next player is my regular training partner since last June when I unretired ... too spent but regardless I generally try t help his fh looping, he's a sh, by just blocking ... he seems to open his racket too much and I point it out to him ... something we usually work on

That was my workout tonight ... going back to the club weds and thurs ... I have martial arts class tues nights

EDIT: I think I'm getting used to my backup racket, Avalox P700. My old Double Happiness 08 7ply died

Thank you for reading all that if you did!

OSP, getting a shorter more compact stroke when close to teh table has a lot of benefits for you.

To make it short, you learn how to more quickly and efficiently transfer a small movement of your body into energy at impact. You gotta start loose, use a leg, hip, shoulder turn, upper/lower arm forward, stop upper arm, lower arm snap and wrist snap to maximize the whip. Korean pro Kim Jung Hoon describes his source of power when close to table with a "Short" hip turn, very short, but a litle explosive, and being loose, it converts into energy along his path all the way to his bat.

Sometimes the source of energy is a step, when in position, often it is raising the legs and uncoiling the waist to start it out.

Stay loose and figure out how you can make your whip to engage more of your leg/waist. You can also whip like Next Level, who doesn't how much lower body joints functioning like normal. He uses the movement of the whole arm itself, sometimes with a little help from waist, he is well anchored, once his elbow is getting close to impact zone, he slows down upper arm movement and explodes his lower arm through the zone. You will need to use your abs to decelerate and recover.

What you describe is troublesome for many players. Even if I know how to be compact close to the table, I am often tempted to go for more power and a longer movement to explode. Just try to explode being loose with a shorter lower body movement, but be anchored in position for leverage.

Most frustrating loss. Comments welcome.

NextLevel said:

Most frustrating loss. Comments welcome.

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The video is private

Sakumi said:

The video is private

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Fixed - thx.

NextLevel said:

Fixed - thx.

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I think that the start position of your bat when doing a forehand is too low (less of a straight arm) which, sometimes, resulted in the ball going off the table - start your swing from your waist. Also, I think your body needs to be more square to the table, maybe widening your stance because I think you will be able to get more power. I would like to see more FH drives in your game. Another thing is that once your feet are separated you can bend your legs and lean forwards. It will stop the ball from going into the net often as well as making your shots more direct and powerful. On your FH you should use the rotation of your shoulders to create power instead of it just being your arm. Your BH looks like it is very consistent.

Sakumi said:

I think that the start position of your bat when doing a forehand is too low (less of a straight arm) which, sometimes, resulted in the ball going off the table - start your swing from your waist. Also, I think your body needs to be more square to the table, maybe widening your stance because I think you will be able to get more power. I would like to see more FH drives in your game. Another thing is that once your feet are separated you can bend your legs and lean forwards. It will stop the ball from going into the net often as well as making your shots more direct and powerful. On your FH you should use the rotation of your shoulders to create power instead of it just being your arm. Your BH looks like it is very consistent.

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Not sure you have been debriefed. It looks like you may be relatively new here. NextLevel has a joint disease called Rheumatoid Arthritis. He can't bend his knees. His technique is different than most standard technique because he is very tall and can't bend or use his hips too much. These things aggravate his joint condition.

In spite of the physical limitations imposed by his condition, he is still a USATT 2000 rated player. Worth knowing.

UpSideDownCarl said:

Not sure you have been debriefed. It looks like you may be relatively new here. NextLevel has a joint disease called Rheumatoid Arthritis. He can't bend his knees. His technique is different than most standard technique because he is very tall and can't bend or use his hips too much. These things aggravate his joint condition.

In spite of the physical limitations imposed by his condition, he is still a USATT 2000 rated player. Worth knowing.

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Oh...I didn't realise. I am new here. That is a good ranking.

Sakumi said:

Oh...I didn't realise. I am new here. That is a good ranking.

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Yep. I figured it out. And, of course, what you say is true for most people. But if NextLevel did the bending knees and too much hip rotation it would mean pain that would cause him not to be able to play.

Another thing worth knowing about NextLevel is that he posts more real and honest footage of himself than anyone else I have seen. He is not trying to hide his mistakes. In fact he learns from them and that is part of how he got to a pretty high playing standard while starting as an adult and with such a nasty joint disease.

NextLevel, can you post one of those matches against someone where it is easier to see your actual level. Just for comparison.

Also, in the match, I notice, in the first game you have no problem with him. But then he adjusted to how much spin you have, started getting the ball on the table and mixing dead and heavy a lot better. And often it looks like you are driving balls that were loaded and needed to be spun. And often you were spinning the dead balls as though they were loaded. His deception was very good. That is, for sure, a frustrating loss. But I have a feeling you will get him next time.

UpSideDownCarl said:

Another thing worth knowing about NextLevel is that he posts more real and honest footage of himself than anyone else I have seen. He is not trying to hide his mistakes. In fact he learns from them and that is part of how he got to a pretty high playing standard while starting as an adult and with such a nasty joint disease.

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Throughout this thread he has been the most consistent at posting his matches and looking for help to get better. Great Job! I should focus on the more tactical aspects of your matches. I think that you should play more aggressive shots on service returns or try to keep the ball very short when pushing.

Does Rheumatoid Arthritis make it harder to move quickly due to pain?

I noticed your opponent twiddled his paddle quite a bit between the two sides. Did he have two different surfaces that swapped to vary his spin to you? That would explain you getting out of synch with the loaded then dead/heavy balls.

Gene Tuttle said:

I noticed your opponent twiddled his paddle quite a bit between the two sides. Did he have two different surfaces that swapped to vary his spin to you? That would explain you getting out of synch with the loaded then dead/heavy balls.

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I suspected as much. This is the third time this had happened to me and I didn't adapt. I have to be more observant and adapt much faster next time.

I beat him very very easily earlier on the day and I think that hurt me in this one.

Sakumi said:

Throughout this thread he has been the most consistent at posting his matches and looking for help to get better. Great Job! I should focus on the more tactical aspects of your matches. I think that you should play more aggressive shots on service returns or try to keep the ball very short when pushing.

Does Rheumatoid Arthritis make it harder to move quickly due to pain?

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It just makes it harder to play properly or train to play properly for more than a day. After the pain sets in like I am feeling right now, I just wonder what through point of playing is sometimes if I can't sustain my play. I go through periods where I try to bend my knees and give up.

For having Rheumatoid Arthritis I think a 2k rating is super. I suppose all of us have to decide at what point we will not get any better due to our age and physical limitations. It is the same for most sports. For most sports,your max heart rate and O2 uptake decline as you get older and you just cannot match your performance from your younger days with better technique. At least in Table Tennis you can improve technique in serve and touch to improve even as our knees and shoulders wear out. I say again that a 2k rating is super and I only wish I could get that good. I still enjoy the play and feel much better after the workout than if I had done nothing even when I get destroyed. Stick to your guns and work on technique and I am sure you can still squeeze out more wins and more rating.

NextLevel said:

I beat him very very easily earlier on the day and I think that hurt me in this one.

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I actually suspected this might be the case. Even the way you ripped through him in the first game could mess with your head with the adjustments he made. It is hard when a first game is so easy and then you get the rug pulled out from under you. But then if you add having already taken care of him once, well, that stuff happens. You are one of the few people who really work on trying to fix those things that are so hard to fix.

And in the last game you did start adjusting. But it was not quite soon enough. Next time you will be ready though.



Sent from Inside The Chamber of Secrets by Patronus

Looks like the red side is very spinny, with the black side virtually having none - Any pimples involved?

Do you tend to check the bat before you play?

I'd probably put a comment on your videos of "Any advice on tactics/gameplay - Rather than technique), just so people don't try and advise in areas which are going to end up being irrelevant.

NDH said:

Looks like the red side is very spinny, with the black side virtually having none - Any pimples involved?

Do you tend to check the bat before you play?

I'd probably put a comment on your videos of "Any advice on tactics/gameplay - Rather than technique), just so people don't try and advise in areas which are going to end up being irrelevant.

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He does have sponged LP (FL3 or Curl P4, don't remember), IIRC. Played him in July, lost 1:3 but all games were at 9, I think. I'm in general 50:50 against other choppers, that time being sloppy in pips-vs_pips and being too aggressive on FH.

Need to watch the match carefully, but don't remember him twiddling a lot a month ago, perhaps I should try the same, seeing how NextLevel is vulnerable here .

NDH said:

Looks like the red side is very spinny, with the black side virtually having none - Any pimples involved?

Do you tend to check the bat before you play?

I'd probably put a comment on your videos of "Any advice on tactics/gameplay - Rather than technique), just so people don't try and advise in areas which are going to end up being irrelevant.

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Some technical advice can be helpful because no one understands technique 100%. In the end I just take what I can and ignore what I can't just as we all do. What gets annoying is the technical know it all who will never post video of their play.

I check the bat and you can see the first game shows I know what I am doing. What is clearly happening is that if I don't consciously look for the twiddle, my subconscious gets confused.