Daily Table Tennis Chit Chat

This user has no status.
This user has no status.
Well-Known Member
Feb 2018
1,088
754
2,410
Read 2 reviews
Okey. He is good. But it is very strange that he is so high at the ranking? How is that possible?

He is good, But not that good. I think i would beat him in a match.

I think that he mainly plays weaker players to gain 2-3 points per win. Just my guess.

I does make the ranking system look a bit bad when he's got a higher ranking than the pros.
 
This user has no status.
This user has no status.
Well-Known Member
Oct 2016
1,883
1,583
3,807
Haha, yes i agree. Looks very odd.

He plays kinda strange also? Does he not?
 
This user has no status.
This user has no status.
Well-Known Member
Feb 2018
1,088
754
2,410
Read 2 reviews
Haha, yes i agree. Looks very odd.

He plays kinda strange also? Does he not?

I've only seen him play live once or twice but I find his playing style quite entertaining. Especially when he backs away from the table and starts fishing. You have to give him some credit for being able to play at that level even though he's well into his 50ies.

Edit: For example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DD7Qi4XKJ4Y
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Takkyu_wa_inochi
This user has no status.
This user has no status.
Well-Known Member
Jan 2016
4,021
4,580
19,083
I have an important team tournament this Sunday

I prepared myself well this week, Monday 45mns run, Tuesday 4 hours & Wednesday 2 hours at the club, Friday (today) 2 hours with coach (a lot of multiball)...
I feel exhausted tonight lol...

what I am focused most on training at the moment ?
- working on my biggest weakness: short balls to my FH.
- don't start moving when receiving BEFORE the opponent actually contacts the ball. I had the bad habit of moving before (so only GUESSING the spin instead of WATCHING it). I feel a big improvement in receiving recently just with remembering this.
- in and out footwork. Be able to block or loop after my flick or short receive (4th ball)
- FH opening loop (on receive or 3rd ball) play it more softly, with spin, and make SURE to finish the ball with the weight transfer on the left leg. I realized only recently the reason for missing a lot is for the opening loop (as opposed to a loop in a rally) i tend to do it only with the arm, and make a vertical swing while not being well balanced. thinking about finishing on the left leg is making a huge difference to my shot quality.

my happy TT moment this week:
when i practised with a div 1 team player (im only in div4), we played only half table and I was actually missing less than him and had actually the better BH ball !
 
  • Like
Reactions: Richie
This user has no status.
This user has no status.
Well-Known Member
Oct 2016
1,883
1,583
3,807
I've only seen him play live once or twice but I find his playing style quite entertaining. Especially when he backs away from the table and starts fishing. You have to give him some credit for being able to play at that level even though he's well into his 50ies.

Edit: For example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DD7Qi4XKJ4Y

He is playing pretty fun. Very strange still i think. Seems like he does not have so much idea how he wants to play but maybe i am wrong, he play very many different shots. Lobbing and chopping with inverted! But is very fun to watch and he seems to have a nice feeling.

But i do think both of them miss very much. Maybe they are very good at the two first balls and variation. Feel that the level should be higher if they play for a place in "superettan", but hard to tell from a video and i only watched the first part of the video.
 
This user has no status.
This user has no status.
Well-Known Member
Oct 2016
1,883
1,583
3,807
I have an important team tournament this Sunday

I prepared myself well this week, Monday 45mns run, Tuesday 4 hours & Wednesday 2 hours at the club, Friday (today) 2 hours with coach (a lot of multiball)...
I feel exhausted tonight lol...

what I am focused most on training at the moment ?
- working on my biggest weakness: short balls to my FH.
- don't start moving when receiving BEFORE the opponent actually contacts the ball. I had the bad habit of moving before (so only GUESSING the spin instead of WATCHING it). I feel a big improvement in receiving recently just with remembering this.
- in and out footwork. Be able to block or loop after my flick or short receive (4th ball)
- FH opening loop (on receive or 3rd ball) play it more softly, with spin, and make SURE to finish the ball with the weight transfer on the left leg. I realized only recently the reason for missing a lot is for the opening loop (as opposed to a loop in a rally) i tend to do it only with the arm, and make a vertical swing while not being well balanced. thinking about finishing on the left leg is making a huge difference to my shot quality.

my happy TT moment this week:
when i practised with a div 1 team player (im only in div4), we played only half table and I was actually missing less than him and had actually the better BH ball !

Sounds good! I like that you think about your game. In my opinion i think it is most important to train irregular exercises, your strengths and much serve and return before a tournament. Maybe you can consider some of that to :)

irregular exercises is more like matchplay, strenghts is what you primarly want to use in a match and serve and return you win alot of matches with, not the fancy looping play.

Good luck with the tournament!
 
This user has no status.
This user has no status.
Well-Known Member
Jan 2016
4,021
4,580
19,083
i am not sure what you mean by irregular? random perhaps ?
I do some random drills.
For example today with multiball: coach serves short to FH. If topspin or knuckle I flick next comes fast topspin to my BH. If backspin, i receive short, next comes deep push to BH...

thats not matchplay but it starts to looks like matchplay isn't it ?

we do a bit of freestyle TT towards the end of session (last 15mns out of 2H, just because I'm tired and bored) but yeh, thats not the main part of a session
 
This user has no status.
This user has no status.
Well-Known Member
Oct 2016
1,883
1,583
3,807
i am not sure what you mean by irregular? random perhaps ?
I do some random drills.
For example today with multiball: coach serves short to FH. If topspin or knuckle I flick next comes fast topspin to my BH. If backspin, i receive short, next comes deep push to BH...

thats not matchplay but it starts to looks like matchplay isn't it ?

we do a bit of freestyle TT towards the end of session (last 15mns out of 2H, just because I'm tired and bored) but yeh, thats not the main part of a session

Maybe i use the wrong word, my english is somewhat limited.

With irregular i mean that you do not always know where the ball is coming.
In example: if you play 1 bh, 1 fh you know where the ball is coming.
But if you play 1 or 2 in your Bh and 1 or 2 in your fh, or even harder, you get the balls everywhere and you play everything to their backhand block. This is two examples of irregular exercises. these are good because they are more like matchplay, where you do not know where the ball is coming.
 
This user has no status.
This user has no status.
Well-Known Member
Jan 2016
4,021
4,580
19,083
ok
then my example was an irregular exercise because i don't know what spin is coming for example
yeh we do this kind of things. For another variation on the same exercise. instead of short to the FH, once in a while fast serve to BH...

another one we do a lot: one ball to the middle (play with FH) next one on either wing, then middle then wing....etc...
 
This user has no status.
This user has no status.
Well-Known Member
Oct 2014
12,271
17,732
44,271
Read 17 reviews
Maybe i use the wrong word, my english is somewhat limited.

With irregular i mean that you do not always know where the ball is coming.
In example: if you play 1 bh, 1 fh you know where the ball is coming.
But if you play 1 or 2 in your Bh and 1 or 2 in your fh, or even harder, you get the balls everywhere and you play everything to their backhand block. This is two examples of irregular exercises. these are good because they are more like matchplay, where you do not know where the ball is coming.

We usually use "random" (the sequence and placement is not fixed) or "anywhere" (the placement is never fixed) for such drills instead of "irregular".
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Lula
This user has no status.
This user has no status.
Well-Known Member
Oct 2014
12,271
17,732
44,271
Read 17 reviews
I would like a public explanation (good or bad) about Der_Echte sandbagging posts. I think I am telling it about as honest straight up as it is.

I think yoass said it best. But when I am nominally rated 1900 and I beat a 2200 player but the excuse was that he is using pips (well you never said that he lost to other players as well), and then you barely lost to a nemesis 2 + levels above you, and this is not a good day, I think the reality speaks for itself.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Der_Echte
says 2023 Certified Organ Donor
says 2023 Certified Organ Donor
Well-Known Member
Sep 2011
12,821
13,210
30,388
Read 27 reviews
OK NL.

The 2200 level player with pips... He defeated in 5 sets the former 1800s guy who now beats me like a drum... He defeated 2200 Scoobie Doo in 5. I got by him 3 to 0... because I got balls I like and Rambo spin looped away right at his pips.

The others who play him either use the same loop or try to use 6 Scoobie Doo loops to win the point. (And earn the Scoobie Snack) I have a style advantage vs him.

The mid level players are now really improving in Sacramento... the 1700 to 1900 crowd.

This RR was a Tuesday RR at a community center. I had a poor Monday RR. My Tuesday match performance was much better than Monday's but still disappointing.

I do not take much from my wins over this much better player. It isnt a tourney, he rarely plays vs me, and I tend to play vs 90% + of the Long Pips crowd at a much better level. He plays vs me for strategic development.

This guy is gunna so own me after probably 5 more matches.

I get it about NL saying Sandbagging and my screen name in the same sentence. By my disposition, I will praise my friends or opponts' strong points and belittle some of mine... but why not? In person in a match, sometimes I am more difficult to get along with than a bear with sore tooth.

Whenever I visit NYC or San Jose with a specific mission involving hours of travel and be around friends... almost every time I do that I get adrenaline boost big time and I play at a higher level... contrast to how it is on a weekly basis whe is e I am normally.

Still, I can tell that even the difficult to improve normal weekly level has risen significantly... and tourney results are showing that. Both in my west coast tourneys and my last trip to nyisc.

Each half level I improve I see more of how deficient I was and still am... but this increased awareness will help drive me to improve. I know I have a few levels to improve before it gets too tough.


Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk
 
  • Like
Reactions: ttmonster
says 2023 Certified Organ Donor
says 2023 Certified Organ Donor
Well-Known Member
Sep 2011
12,821
13,210
30,388
Read 27 reviews
Sounds good! I like that you think about your game. In my opinion i think it is most important to train irregular exercises, your strengths and much serve and return before a tournament. Maybe you can consider some of that to :)

irregular exercises is more like matchplay, strenghts is what you primarly want to use in a match and serve and return you win alot of matches with, not the fancy looping play.

Good luck with the tournament!
Well, I got 6 weeks to mentally and physically sync up to be ready. My main goal will be to win the U4100 doubles event, but I will be fighting for what I can in my 2 singles divisions as well.

I think it will be another 3 to 6 months to show enough progress to come out and hopefully stay California 2000 level to shoot for 2100 level later.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk
 
  • Like
Reactions: Lula and ttmonster
says 2023 Certified Organ Donor
says 2023 Certified Organ Donor
Well-Known Member
Sep 2011
12,821
13,210
30,388
Read 27 reviews
Played at the Russian church where they have a local outreach using table tennis to attract people.

I usually try to play more doubles... and did... and did have a singles match vs Sergey Scoobie Doo.

The usual happened. I lost (2-3), yet in many ways played measurably better in many of the quantifiable things (named a few several posts ago) and subjective "eyeball test" things.

vs Sergey, I try to focus and play smart... but it isn't enough. He doesn't make many mistakes - very consistent and makes good decisions, rarely over-commits. vs Sergey, I have to have courage, because he will attack if I do not attack or if I do not give him a ball he doesn't like. I did a lot of that more than before.

We usually have the average short rallies. If I attack, he blocks and I win it on next ball or don't. I misread his dead short bump from my short underspin return on his serve... then he brings out the hammer to punish my mistake. That bodes for the typical short rally.

This time, I was much more consistent on follow up attacks. Wasn't killing him with the first one, but I could place it where all he can do is retrieve. Had 4-5 rallies that went 6-8 attacks with a final finish away wide. Had another 3-4 like that where my finish shot just missed.

My flipping was more confident. I imagined I stepped in for a flip on only 40-50 percent of the balls instead of the usual 60 percent plus. After all these matches, it still can be tough to tell what depth Scoobie is serving to.

When I was down, whether it was 2 points or 4 points, I played tougher, more focused, and much higher pressure/consistent.

The angles on my flips and BH drive or medium loop to his wide FH were more severe and troubling. Usually, he can get to every wide ball I give him on first or follow-up attack. Sergey covers a surprising amount of real estate like many lefties.

My serve decisions and execution improved, especially on the "pull the carpet" short heavy-light underspin (ball looks heavier than it is) that get me a small pop-up to my wide FH near net. These, if I see in time and actually step in, I can attack strongly over the table into his body or wide BH cross court. (he is lefty, I am righty)

I usually am 50/50 getting to these and attacking... Sergey usually gets back a few of those... so my overall success rate is usually around 40 percent... not good enough to even try that tactic in a real match vs him... but for strategic reasons, I have to develop that shot, because when I get to 2000-2100 level, I am not getting easy points from serve and short game is much more important. This time, I was closer to 70 percent in seeing and getting to those. I still IMAGINE that I stepped in enough to hit those. My hips are big time worn out and weak, difficult for me to stay squatted long enough consistent enough.

Trying to start a step while very upright position is asking for trouble. I seem to like this kind of trouble as I continue to roll this way, but I am slowly changing my trouble making ways.

All in all, a loss is a loss no matter how anyone spins it... but I do not play vs Sergey solely for the "win-now" (although I still try - it is a competitive match) I play vs him for strategic growth. It is an excellent situation to grow the skills, thinking, and courage to do what contributes to winning points, games, matches all in a safe setting.

I attribute my growth in playing level over the last year (improving from just below 1800 to mid 1900s California) to talks with ttd member erm, changes in equipment erm advised (gearing down slightly on blade and switching to dynamic FH rubber) and mostly, the kind of match training I do vs Sergey and erm. (I should say "with" as we are essentially working together)

What does Sergey get out of this deal? The kind of ways I attack or the kind of spin or the kind of flips I do vs him... not so many players he plays do that and it causes Sergey to improve and cope with it... and Sergey is doing quite well in that. He has also improved his level 1.5 levels over the last year... a tough thing to accomplish without doing much real structured drills.

Sergey's basic approach to equipment selection is pretty close to my attitude. Select equipment that makes it easy to do the majority of shots you do with ease of control. Sergey likes to spin and play touch, so a blade and rubber that are more Offensive control oriented that make it real essy to spin up the ball and feel the ball are the middle zone. Not so surprisingly, Sergey can pick up any of the 4-5 bats erm and I have focused on and use any of them the same way achieving the same results with slightly different pros and cons.

I really wish we could get Sergey on TTD to discuss the more important aspects of TT, he would have a lot of things to say to cause people to grow and he would be very supportive people.
 
  • Like
Reactions: ttmonster
says 2023 Certified Organ Donor
says 2023 Certified Organ Donor
Well-Known Member
Sep 2011
12,821
13,210
30,388
Read 27 reviews
The club i had adulttraining for liked what they saw so i will start being a coach for adults now. Next training is this monday.

What do you guys think about this? Maybe a little difficult but they do not need to play so fast.

The letter(brevet, maybe my fellow swedes can help me with an translation). Edit: as a warm up. Only counter.

2 bh 2 fh. Show bh loop fh loop before. focus on the technique. Edit: i have changed my mind. I proably will se here what they need to work on and just then do fh loop against block or bh loop against block for alot of the players.

short serve, long push to bh or fh and opening loop. two serves each. Explain technique fast. Try to read the spin and get the first loop on the table the majority of times.

Loop from the middle to 1 or 2 bh and to 1 or 2 fh. Blocking exercise. Good to do since alot of them push long on serves.. Explain what is important when you block.

they choose a strength. Explain the importance of a playingstyle, knowing your strengths and try to use them in a match.

Matches: win two balls in a row, and try to keep the serve. I scream stop.

There are so many ways to structure and execute a training program.

Obviously, Lula has a lot of good experience. It takes experience and judgment to size up a situation and take effective actions based on the situation. It takes a lot of sincerity and communication to deal with adult learners.

I think Lula is gunna do just fine. I believe he is very well-equipped to handle this.
 
This user has no status.
This user has no status.
Well-Known Member
Oct 2016
1,883
1,583
3,807
Thanks echte! It is very fun to coach adults! They listen well and are very interested! I also get feedback from them What they liked or Did not like about the training. That is very good. It helps me make the training better. This time i Will try to focus on less things, make the exercises longer and Do not give them to many tips.

It would be fun if you could post a video of your game. I think We could help you with the tactics against scoobey.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Takkyu_wa_inochi
says 2023 Certified Organ Donor
says 2023 Certified Organ Donor
Well-Known Member
Sep 2011
12,821
13,210
30,388
Read 27 reviews
Thanks echte! It is very fun to coach adults! They listen well and are very interested! I also get feedback from them What they liked or Did not like about the training. That is very good. It helps me make the training better. This time i Will try to focus on less things, make the exercises longer and Do not give them to many tips.

It would be fun if you could post a video of your game. I think We could help you with the tactics against scoobey.

Well Lula, every now and then, a vid of me playing pops up on the forum, but yeah, it has been a while since that happened and definitely no vid of me getting drummed by Scoobie Doo (after I make him sweat some).

I would need to remember to toss in a backup tripod in the car, but no biggie, I'll make that happen one day.

erm just called me informing me he is gunna bring a slightly more firmer FH rubber... haha, I need to play a few months with this setup to verify I get more consistency... but the performance I had last match vs Sergey Scoobie Doo Friday is encouraging. I was able to link together many more attacking pressure shots in a row in the same rally. The "Down" side of that (if you can call it a down - shots never are any good unless they land on table) with the softer sponged FH, is that my FH power shots are not as devastating or really win points as much... but they are enough to pressure a player of Scoobie's level and give me a chance on next shot or 4 later to finish.

This is a syndrome of gearing down equipment which forces me to play a more continuous style of TT. It forces me to think better on how I construct my points, how I setup my opportunities, how I place the ball in depth and direction and pace, how I connect shots in a rally to get a better advantage...

These are things that I would do with slightly faster gear, but would do less of, since my attacks are destructive with that.
It seems that EVERY TIME I gear down on equipment and play the slower gear for a few months then go back to faster stuff my level improves.

I think it is obvious, when "Gearing Down", I was better focusing on fundamentals that contribute to skill and success. That has always raised my level.

Of course, until a year or so ago, I never had Scoobie Doo to help me and him sharpen each other... so the progress is even better.

I have made threads in the past about this or talked at length about it in various threads.

At TTD, we SOMETIMES or RARELY discuss these kind of important things to grow level and tend to talk all day about this gear or that, which has its place, but that stuff doesn't deserve the majority of discussion.
 
Top