@BRS - the above videos are private.
Sorry, should be fixed to unlisted now.
Like doctors a good coach is hard to find and can make all the difference.It's interesting to feel the difference between working with a very good player who took up coaching later, and a professional coach who made that his focus early on.
Here you go. Me against a very good modern defender!I am not playing very well at the moment, had a dip in form recently.
This guy is hard to play. You look like you are doing a lot of things well to me. Hopefully there are some guys who can give useful feedback. But your FH is looking more solid than last time I saw footage. And when the ball is high enough for you to smash, your FH smash has always been lights out.
I think you move well. Very common for us non asians to hit, stand still, hit. You seem to move all the time. Good! I notice in your text that you have tried to change your forehand. I think you can try to make the racket go more towards the nose. Seems like you stop very early now? But do not need to use the arm and shoulde so much like you said, just try to make the forarm and racket go forward. Or maybe it is that you come a bit upright with the body and/or hit upwards. I think you can try both, hit more forward and try to get the racket to the nose. Especially since you have short pimple on the backhand, you need to stand close, so will always be able to hit the forehand at the highest point, no need to loop upward then.
I am interested in your serves and what ball you want. Maybe you serve like this becuase he has long pimles. If your playing level is 8, then your serves are 2. If you want to win more games then i think you will benefit more from 1 hour serve practice than 1 hour regular training. Hard to have focus when doing serve practice so maybe easier 10-15 minutes everytime you practice. If you get better serves you will become atleast one level better. And what ball do you want after the serve?
I am also interested in some why you think you have been playing at a lower level lately? how come.
I served like that as he had pimples and I thought I could attack 3rd ball a lot. But he has a good fh if you serve loose.
Honestly, I have been playing with ABS balls recently. I find them slower, less spinny, easier for opponent to deal with my pimple hitting, which had been getting better. I seem to have got worse at returning serve again. i think ABS balls grip less, bounce off blade quicker and this makes them harder for me to control. Whilst I am not a big spinny player, I rely on grip, even with my mid pips to some extent I use the minimal grip they have to control ball. My game is always on a knife edge of high risk shots and when players return my strong shots so easy I just think what is the point.
I also hit spin much better than float or even weak nothing balls, most players I see (90%) can hit nothing balls better than me even 2 levels below me. So all my strengths have been diminished by ABS balls and all my weaknesses have been inflated.
6 months ago using Joola Flash I was playing the best in my life. Now I have gone backwards 5 years.
I am on the verge of giving up TBH as I no longer enjoy the game.
Thanks, good comments. It nearly always comes back to footwork with me. Someone commented on weekend that I take ball too late sometimes on fh when there is no need.
TBF he is a much much better player than me, so I was pleased to give him some problems, he is not at his best in this video either to be honest.
EDIT: your push on BOTH wings is using WAY too much arm motion like it is choo-choo train linked all the way to shoulder joint. Just take a step to the bounce and use a shorter motion that is very small and just lower arm and wrist... it doesn't take much, just a few cm. This affects your control of grip pressure at impact (touch) as you tend to be too tight before impact and during impact to control the ball and apply spin.
Could this explain why I often pop ball up when I try fh pushes particularly?
When you use too much arm motion on a low impact and are too tight, the ball will rebound more severely.
Yes Gozo!
Immediate internet points for the Timo headband! 😃
I’m sure you’ve posted before, but how long have you been playing and how often do you have coaching?
1 to 1 coaching is so so valuable, and far more
important than any upgrade to equipment!
Looks like you are getting some good quality on those forehand’s - The ball leaves the bat nicely with a good amount of spin.
With weekly coaching like this, you’ll get an invite to the TTD team in no time 😃
Yes Gozo!
Immediate internet points for the Timo headband! 😃
I’m sure you’ve posted before, but how long have you been playing and how often do you have coaching?
1 to 1 coaching is so so valuable, and far more
important than any upgrade to equipment!
Looks like you are getting some good quality on those forehand’s - The ball leaves the bat nicely with a good amount of spin.
With weekly coaching like this, you’ll get an invite to the TTD team in no time 😃
The headband is very functional. If I don't use it, my sweat will flow into my eyes and it messes up my visual.
I have played for eight years and my earliest teacher is Mr Youtube. I started taking private one-to-one coaching at the beginning of this year. It is once a week lesson, each lesson is around 60 - 75 mins. Yes, the coaching is money well spent and the coach cured me of my EJ disease ( which will save me tonnes of money in the long run )
Yeah! Getting good praise on my FH from a former national player ( my coach ) is a huge confidence boost.
TTD team... will I get a Dan & Tom signed TTD T-shirt? 😍
p/s On top of my coaching, I play three times a week, each session around 3 hours making it nine hours per week of play time plus one hour of one-on-one coaching. Ten hours in total per week dedicated to TT.
That’s a lot of table tennis there!
How have you found it getting coaching?
Do you feel you’ve improved more in the last year than you did in the previous 7?
I was fortunate to have coaching right from the start of my career (from when I was 12, through to 18).
I imagine TT is a little like Golf, where many people start without a coach, and then they have to break it all down, to re build it again!
That’s a lot of table tennis there!
How have you found it getting coaching?
Do you feel you’ve improved more in the last year than you did in the previous 7?
I was fortunate to have coaching right from the start of my career (from when I was 12, through to 18).
I imagine TT is a little like Golf, where many people start without a coach, and then they have to break it all down, to re build it again!
Yes, coaching definitely helped a tonne. I improved by leaps and bounds with coaching. There is only so much you can learn by watching YT coz YT no matter how detailed you cannot learn the minute nuances.
Let me try to describe it. You cannot learn how to apply the right pressure, the touch, the minute angle by watching YT. The lacking in tactile feedback is the main reason. A personal coach will guide your hand, let you feel the right amount of pressure, the right amount of power... all these are done by tactile feedback to build muscle memory.
I had never taken TT seriously nor had any formal coaching until now, coz I sucked big time at it and lose to a lot of people. I am tired of losing! 😂 I wanna try winning going forward.