Video Footage Safe Thread

Brs

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Brs

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Any feedback on the two videos above would be welcome. Just please be gentle because I was training four hours a day for a week and my legs were kind of shot, especially in the second one.

Those two vids are the first exercises in an attempt to change the way I move. Since even before Covid I tried to change my strokes to go more forward and less up, my short pips backhand to be smaller, and my forehand more body-driven and not wild arm/shoulder. And I had some success with that. But a lot of times I am not swinging from a stable platform and it all goes to hell. So I knew I had to move better, but I wasn't sure exactly how.

Then at B75 last summer one of the coaches told some other players "Always two steps. Every ball. Two steps." She didn't say it to me, rather to the young kids in my group, the ones with potential to be kind of good one day. It stuck in my mind because I take one big step to the ball, and if I am late, or the ball doesn't quite go where I expected, ugly swings happen.

When I got home I asked two coaches I work with here about the two-steps thing. One didn't think it was too important "Just stay down and turn." The newer one said it's important, but he sort of gave me Nike coaching - Just do it. It was frustrating because I didn't really even know how the timing of the two steps went, not even to shadow practice. And my coaches couldn't help me to work on it.

Then last week I got to spend eight days training with David Diniz at my favorite club of them all, TTPor Setubal. When I asked David about the two steps thing he said, "Yes, that's important. Do you want to work on it now?" And then he called out these two multiball exercises, and later the same two steps idea with in and out footwork for receive and 4th ball. 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.

I think this two steps is something I can work on that might actually change my game for the better. Curious to hear what others think.
 
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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.
Like doctors a good coach is hard to find and can make all the difference.

 
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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.

 
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@MOG

Here are some comments:

(+) the general posture is good. knees bent, upper body leaning forward
(+) the general form of your strokes is good, but there are some adjustments to make (see below)
(+) i think the tactics were good, its more the bad execution which made you lose. it was a good idea to serve long with topspin you could get easily in the rally. The use of push in rallies was overall a good choice.

(-) i think you don't move enough, but you still look in good shape. look at good or pro players how they bounce continuously and make small adjustments all the time. I think to be a better player thats the number 1 thing you need to change

there are many unforced errors:

(-) BH pushes i think you take the ball too late and too much on the side; not in front of you thats why its more difficult to control. Personally i prefer to do pushes with the head of the racket forward, and take the ball earlier, i find it much easier to control
(-) FH drive i saw 2 mainly 2 mistakes
- he is a chopper, some balls are knuckle balls but your drive is going upwards too much and the ball goes out. play the ball more softly but the swing should go forward. Perhaps wait a bit more so the ball has a little speed.
- sometimes you take the ball too late, below the table while there is no reason

regarding FH drive i think you should use more the power of your legs and body, its mostly the arm

(-) BH drive is in the net many times. It does feel like you are brushing the ball, but most of the time you are not stable on your feet when it happens, so not able to use this power. it looks also like the timing is wrong: you swing too early. wait for the bounce to start swinging and look more at that ball bouncing.
 
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says 2023 Certified Organ Donor
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I looked at game one and it is enough to make comments.

- EVERY time you either bumped or attacked to dude's middle you won the point.

- You rushed the BH hit vs a lower ball (like a serve), made a LOT of errors doing that and it wasn't really needed to put pressure on him. Use that shot after he bumps it to your BH on 5th ball or later.

- You were playing very upright, on some attacks, it cost you points

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.
 
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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?
 
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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.
 
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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.

 
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MOG

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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.

 
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says 2023 Certified Organ Donor
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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.

This makes any misjudgement on incoming ball's spin, speed, arrival time and location, plus your error in bat angle... to result in ball going too much, whether that is long or high or both.
 
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After six pages of this thread, I feel safe enough to post my training video. You guys & gals have been playing nice so far:

First vid is a standard FH loop against backspin ( Multiball training )
Second video is BH opening up against backspin serve then random drive / smash whatever.
As for dedicated BH video, sorry, BH is still very much work-in-progress. Dare not show until better improvement.

Hope you all like it.
 

NDH

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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 😃

 
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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.

 
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NDH

says Spin to win!

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!

 
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says Rozena! You complete me.
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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.

 
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