Do you need ‘perfect’ technique to be good at table tennis?

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Hi all

I just posted a new article on my website and I'd like to know what you think.

http://www.tabletenniscoach.me.uk/do-you-need-perfect-technique/

The article was inspired by the comments I get on my youtube channel, where my technique sometimes gets completely trashed (it can be a brutal experience!)


What Youtube comments imply is that there is a ‘right’ way and a ‘wrong’ way to play table tennis (mine is clearly the wrong way). Unless you can execute your shots like Ma Long, you suck!


But how true is this? Do you have to play like the best professionals in the world to be any good at table tennis? Is there such a thing as ‘perfect’ technique? Can you be good at table tennis, even if your technique isn't text-book?

Thoughts please...
 
Well, simply said a player with a perfect technique would be a perfect player.
To be a good player, you need a good technique.
I don't think that a perfect player will ever exist.
Better and Best technique, where better and best are comparitive descriptions, are more appropriate.
Besides that the individual technique variations depend on the individual physical and style peculiarities and considering what is "right" and "proper" may differ too.
Anyway effectiveness and winning do matter most.
 
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Hello Tom,
your article is a nice read. this is a topic i quite enjoy talking about. one point you make i think is really true:
"I don’t subscribe to the idea that there is one ‘true’ way to play table tennis. Actually there are different ways that you can play every shot in table tennis and still achieve a high level of consistency and effectiveness."

i would add efficiency
to consistency and effectiveness. efficieny and effectiveness are the two key points i hold the highest in my philosophy when it comes to training and improving in general.
And i think that most players and coaches dont think about the "perfect technique" when training but about the most efficient and effective way to go about something.

In pro Tabletennis a few trends established that arent considered perfect technique from an biomechanic standpoint.
For example keeping your foot in place and not taking it back for the backhand stroke. you lose potential power doing it that way but you can take the ball earlier and play a faster pace and you are prepared for a forehand stroke.
So this can be considered a more efficient way to play the game.

In amateur play you have to compensate alot more practica shortcomings. like how often can you practise, how long can you practise, how good are your practise partners, how often do you need to use what you practise.
For example if your playing level isnt so high it sometimes isnt necessary to learn a complicated stroke like the banana flip.
if your opponents push the ball long after a while it is maybe more efficient and more effective for that matter to just learn the backhand loop. if you can pull of that stroke consistently you raise your level of play just by that.

To sum it up. find out what benefits you the most in your game and think about how you can efficiently work on it. then it does not have to look perfect.



 
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I would say even Ma Long's technique is not perfect. Having a complete game doesn't necessarily mean having a textbook technique. To me, it means having a good answer for every kind of incoming ball in terms of speed/spin/recovery/shot percentage and being easy on the body at the same time.

I think Waldner is a great example. Even in the 90s European players had a better backhand loop but his backhand could withstand much more incoming pressure and the other strengths in his game made him the best. He could also beat opponents like Boll or Ma Lin in 2004 who were considered to be more complete.

In our respective levels, it's about how the technique copes with the quality of the incoming ball. So it's completely logical to have a complete technique up to a certain level.
 
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You don't need perfect technique, in fact there is not perfect technique to be honest. There are always variations of good technique, just look at Timo Boll's FH topspin shot and Ma Long's. Timo Boll has a much shorter and more compact stroke but this also has to do with the rubber he uses compared to the Chinese rubbers.

There's definitely better and worse technique but I don't there is only one correct technique.

At a seminar for coaches lately my association told me to keep the forehand topspin stroke short, that's the way they want us coaches to do it here. And then I watch ITTF TV and see many of the best pros with a long stroke like Ma Long, FZD, XX etc.
I has to do with the rubbers, with the speed someone can generate with his or her stroke and so on.

I teach the way the player is going to be successful, not what a book tells me which might be dated in 2 years.
 

NDH

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Hi Tom,

A few things to consider.....

1. You should absolutely be applauded for taking the time and effort to write about, and video Table Tennis as much as you do - People can criticise all they want, but until they get off their arse and do it themselves..... It's meaningless.

2. Your videos and tutorials are going to be very helpful to many many players over the world, who are beginning to learn the sport, and don't have access to a coach - We forget how lucky we are in some countries, where there is a dedicated centre nearby, or an array of coaches/very good players to help.

3. Brutality aside..... Sure, some of the commenters have a point - Your technique isn't perfect (whose is?), and there are certainly some things that you show in your videos, which won't take someone from a good player, to a great player - I feel like your videos are aimed at the player looking to learn more than the basics, and they are brilliant for doing that.

4. To actually answer your questions...... I don't think we will ever see a very very unorthodox player challenge for the top spot in the sport (this is where people shout random names who have been great at playing with a unique style!).

However - In local league, and even county standard (UK), I do think an unorthodox "self taught" style can win you a lot of matches - Especially when combined with "funny" rubbers.

At the end of the day, you should be proud of the work you are doing for the sport, and for helping develop lower level players.

I'm almost 100% sure it would be impossible, for a player to receive "online" coaching, and achieve a very very high level - Nothing can replace that 1-1, in person coaching, and if people think you are trying to do that..... They are mad!

Keep up the good work.
 
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Hi all

I just posted a new article on my website and I'd like to know what you think.

http://www.tabletenniscoach.me.uk/do-you-need-perfect-technique/

The article was inspired by the comments I get on my youtube channel, where my technique sometimes gets completely trashed (it can be a brutal experience!)


What Youtube comments imply is that there is a ‘right’ way and a ‘wrong’ way to play table tennis (mine is clearly the wrong way). Unless you can execute your shots like Ma Long, you suck!


But how true is this? Do you have to play like the best professionals in the world to be any good at table tennis? Is there such a thing as ‘perfect’ technique? Can you be good at table tennis, even if your technique isn't text-book?

Thoughts please...

In the world of the internet, there will always be criticism, although it is not a bad idea to tackle it head on. I can see where those comments come from, after seeing your seemingly unimpressive(probably the cause of the nasty comments) forehand loop in the looping backspin video.

But ignore those comments: your videos are meant for beginners, who should be focusing on how to get their shot on the table, rather than making high quality shots.

****************

As for technique:

what I consider good technique has multiple criteria.

I can stuff it into one question though: Can it consistently produce a high quality shot given a variety of scenarios?

Basically, that question is loaded.

What is high quality? My definition is 'hard to return', which can mean spinny, fast, deep.
What is considered consistent? I would say consistent enough that you can trust it to happen.
Given any scenario? Basically, the stroke has to be adjustable. It should be able to handle various amounts/kinds of spin, speed, heights, angles, etc.
 
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You should absolutely be applauded for taking the time and effort to write about, and video Table Tennis as much as you do - People can criticise all they want, but until they get off their arse and do it themselves..... It's meaningless.

This cheered me up no end! Thanks! It is really appreciated.

Brutality aside..... Sure, some of the commenters have a point - Your technique isn't perfect (whose is?), and there are certainly some things that you show in your videos, which won't take someone from a good player, to a great player - I feel like your videos are aimed at the player looking to learn more than the basics, and they are brilliant for doing that.

I completely agree. I actually find many of the comments really useful! I like to think I have something to teach the big bulk of players learning to play, e.g. social players, beginner club players, intermediate players, lower division local league players. I think I need to improve a fair bit to teach the higher level players. But I'm thinking of teaming up with a Pro player to do some coaching videos together, with the pro demonstrating (obviously).

Thanks again for feedback.
 
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In the world of the internet, there will always be criticism, although it is not a bad idea to tackle it head on. I can see where those comments come from, after seeing your seemingly unimpressive(probably the cause of the nasty comments) forehand loop in the looping backspin video. But ignore those comments: your videos are meant for beginners, who should be focusing on how to get their shot on the table, rather than making high quality shots.

Completely agree. My FH topspin in the video is nothing more than a very basic technique. I coach a lot of beginners and from much experience I have learnt that you need to keep things really simple to begin with. This is what I was trying to get across in the video. I actually quite like the feedback I get (even if it is a bit brutal). Sometimes it's very helpful. All part of the learning process as both player and coach!
 
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If you want to be the number 1 player in the world, your technique is going to have to be pretty damn amazing and faultless.

Well, people criticize Dima's technique all the time, especially forehand. Yet he is going to be the number one in January!
 
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No. Simple answer to simple question.

In fact, trying to change certain things to conform to arbitrary considerations of stroke esthetics can make you worse. Especially for adults.
 
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Do a Youtube search for Eric Boggan. Granted he played quite a long time ago. He is a little older than Jorgen Persson.
 
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Timo Boll and Dima are the best players in Europe. Do they have the best technique in Europe?

Mizutani is the best player in Japan. Does he have the best technique in Japan?

Good technique has to check the boxes. But what makes great players great is rarely about their checking the boxes , it is more about how consistent and problem-inducing they are with their weapons.

It is common to say that players are not good for technical reasons. But after Boll and Mizutani I tend to be skeptical of such claims. People use CNT to support those claims but I still think the CNT is more about Darwinian competitions in a large population. The technical part of it is overestimated.
 
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Going back a generation, nobody had better or smoother technique than Peter Karlsson. And he was a very good player but never a world top 10 (if I remember correctly, and if so, not for very much of his career).

One thing I am convinced of, at all levels of play, everyone needs at least one serious weapon that (relative to the level they play at), their opponents have to worry about and try to avoid or neutralize. One thing that is a bit unusual and effective. Obviously more than one would be better. But everybody needs one thing that is their hallmark. And for amateur players it is not unusual for that thing to look a bit strange.

There are two guys that I used to encounter a lot in my area, one from Houston, one from Austin. Both lefties. Both had very effective serves. Both had very very very good (extreme lefty-style) forehand third ball attacks, which were far above their overall level (both had ratings in the 2200 range). You had to find a way to get past that third ball and escape the bazooka that was coming if you screwed up. If you could do that, the dynamics changed a lot because they both had really weak backhands, and everything else they did was at a considerably lower level. I only beat the guy from Austin once. The other guy I had more success with because I played him more. But when he was really on, I had no chance.
 
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Going back a generation, nobody had better or smoother technique than Peter Karlsson. And he was a very good player but never a world top 10 (if I remember correctly, and if so, not for very much of his career).

I think great technique may get bad press because of selection pressure at the highest level where talent and work ethic trump almost everything except really bad technique. Often players with the best technique are "only" very good because they're more limited athletes who needed every technical advantage to get to a high level.
 
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I think great technique may get bad press because of selection pressure at the highest level where talent and work ethic trump almost everything except really bad technique. Often players with the best technique are "only" very good because they're more limited athletes who needed every technical advantage to get to a high level.

No, great technique doesn't get bad press. The points made by "opponents" of good technique just reminds you that perfect technique may not be that much better than good technique in its output, and that other things likely play a larger role in world class success than technique despite the obsession of some with it.

Sometimes the ability to implement a technique reflects athletic aptitude. Yet some people don't realize this and are stuck on technique.
 
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No, great technique doesn't get bad press. The points made by "opponents" of good technique just reminds you that perfect technique may not be that much better than good technique in its output, and that other things likely play a larger role in world class success than technique despite the obsession of some with it.

Sometimes the ability to implement a technique reflects athletic aptitude. Yet some people don't realize this and are stuck on technique.

Being stuck on technique sounds like a bad thing, so I'll just say I'm glad my coach focuses on it because he's helped me correct a lot of subtle mistakes. I think my shoulder would be out of commission without some of his fixes.

Technique does get bad press from time to time, or I never would have heard a stubborn junior refuse to work on topspin because "Jimmy Connors doesn't use topspin."
 
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