how to use robot to improve

[jamesmith]

I am using newgy 1050 for almost two months, I play well with the robot but can not do the same at real game. I found out robot feeds the balls on the table bounce different with real game, it bounce a bit stronger and higher.
Can anybody please give me advise to use the robot ?

[Suga D]

There isn't much to say.
The Term is a bit misleading. That so-called "Robot" is not much else, like a ball-serving machine in Badminton or Tennis.
It doesn't simulate a human being in terms of tactics, placement etc.
It is mainly to practice different techniques and footwork.

So practicing certain aspects of the game is the main goal if you practice with a robot. But i's not intended to replace a human being.

Do you have someone coaching you?

[Ilia Minkin]

Robot can be a great complement for the ordinary practice. If you play well with it, you can change settings to make it more challenging:

1) Try footwork patterns where you have to cover larger distances
2) Adjust settings so that the time between shots is smaller or make shots faster
3) Make the robot place the ball randomly

But as Suga D said, you need to practice with humans as well.

[NextLevel]

The one thing I try to tell my students who use robots is that they have to record themselves. Even if just for a minute with their cellphone, they need to look at what they are doing and make corrections. Unfortunately, it is hard to get them to listen. It is easy to continue to make mistakes with a robot because you can adjust to the ball quality with a bad stroke and keep getting the ball on the table with that bad stroke.

[Kelpo]

Maybe you could lower the robot so that the bounce is more forward

[UpSideDownCarl]

Even if you were playing with a coach, the question of: "Why do I play so well with my coach and then I can't transfer that good play to a match?" comes up as a regular subject.

With a robot you work on specific techniques which may or may not come up in match play or playing with a human. It is worth using one. But it is also worth knowing that it is not how real play in table tennis occurs.

You have to play a lot of different people and adjust to how each different person plays. Because it is not just that the robot doesn't hit like a person. No two people hit quite the same.

NextLevel's point about seeing some of what you are doing is really worth while. With a tool like a robot you could be getting the ball on the table over and over and yet still be making the same mistake over and over.

Anyway, here is a video that I think helps understand the subject. I have posted this many times for various reasons. So has NextLevel. It is worth watching the whole thing. Maybe even more than once.




Sent from Inside The Chamber of Secrets by Patronus

[jamesmith]

thank you

[bobpuls]

My coach told me to use robot in mid speed and no rotation and just drill drive shots. But i use it with drills on spot shoot. I make a spot on table with paper and im trying to fit the ball into the spot. Two times forehand and two times backhand. Then im also practcing hard reply on very spin shots like spinny push or underspin serves.

[MasterMyself]

I am training with the combination of coaching and robot practice. Basically I met my coach on a bi-weekly basis for 2hrs and he tells me what I am doing wrong and show me drills/stroke/sequence. Then I repeat that training with the robot at home whenever I have time. I have also video myself during robot practice so I can track my improvement over time. I have only started about 1 week ago so only time will tell if this setup works in the long run. For me, the coach is a key to this plan because it would be difficult to correct my own mistakes when I practice with robot, as pointed out by others.

If you have other creative way to utilise the robot then please share :-)

[jamesmith]

THANK YOU i WILL TRY

[jamesmith]

i really don,t know how to improve my skill with the robot, I am playing not bad table tennis but I moved out of town and now not playing as much so I bought a robot , unfortunately I feel that the robot is not helping much.
I have tried all angle , put the robot lower , higher, further....etc but it still does not have the same feeling of the real game.

[bobpuls]

i think you have no experience, but trust me each player plays different so i do not understand why you are not satisfied ... just go for no spin with the robot .... and you will see.

[UpSideDownCarl]

Robot can be good for timing, for grooving your strokes and for exercise. But it does not replace real play because IT IS A ROBOT.

Watch the video I posted. Hopefully you will understand the difference between block training and random training.

A robot like the expensive Butterfly robot where you can program a whole sequence of shots is pretty good. But it is still a machine. A machine will never be a human.


Sent from the Subterranean Workshop by Telepathy

[jamesmith]

can robot be set with no spin ??????????
I did not say I am not satisfied , I just want someone who has experience with robot training to solve my problem, if it can not, I will just use it for stroke or footwork...etc.
it is true I don,t have experience with robot. If I do I won,t ask

[Jirrex]

Unfortunately that robot (and also the more expensive 2050 model) can't be set for no spin balls because of the one wheel system.

[Suga D]

a good "robot" (just don´t like that term) should be capable to feed you any kind of ball. Little spin, massive spin, unnatural spin, no spin at all.
At least ours does that.

[Jirrex]

a good "robot" (just don´t like that term) should be capable to feed you any kind of ball. Little spin, massive spin, unnatural spin, no spin at all.
At least ours does that.

It seems these robots are really expensive. The cheaper ones all have a one wheel design (as far as I know) which makes it impossible to set spin independently from speed and practice on no spin balls. My friend has a Newgy 2050 and on fastest settings the amount of spin is massive. At least I haven't seen a human player even come close to that amount of spin.