Ask Liam Pitchford a question!

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Hi Liam, I am really happy that a player of your qualities and such a world known person joined our forum.


My question is - those rubbers, those are not normal Tenergy 05 we can buy, are they?
I heared you get rubbers from sponsors, probably Butterfly, but those are better than normal, is that correct?
Or you just dont care?
How long does one rubber last you?
For matches - do you use always a brand new one?

Im not really sure of the difference in quality, I am sponsored by butterfly and get mine from the factory in Germany.
It depends on the amount of matches I have to how often I change them but yes I always use a new one for matches so it can be quite often!
 
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Hi Liam mi name is jorge ans I´m a chilean psychology student. I etner this forum for a reason, I hope that you can help me. I need to do a homework for sports psychology, it is about the decisions involved in the servoce´s receptions.

All I need to know is the fallowing information.
-How do you receive? specifically what are the stimuli that you put your focus on,? Please be the most
specific as you can.

Sorry for my english and congratulations for your victories this year. :)
Thanls !!!

Well I like to receive with the backhand flick to open the game so first I see if it is possible to do that with the serve..if not then I will check the type of spin and the position of my opponent to what receive I will make. Most of the time receiving is a split second decision so it's good to be able to improvise and try to do something the server is not expecting.

hope this is specific enough?
 
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Hi Liam,

We are all supporting you to win the competition :) . I am sure my fellow members will also vote for you and soon we will see you lead the voting from your current third place.
I have a few questions in general about table tennis and about some of the players you have played. I figured you would be best person to answer since you would have played them man-o-man-o :) .

1. How important do you think it is to have a coach during match play ? I have seen some of the top players like Samsonov play without coaches recently and do pretty well.
2. You have played Samsonov . What do you think makes him so special that he has been able to retain the high level and compete with the best till now.
3. A lot of us think that Fan Zhendong and Zhang Jike have very similar backhand techniques ? Is it true ?
and lastly , 4. Do you plan to play table tennis for a long duration or you plan to retire early like the Chinese players and take up an alternate career in your mid thirties ?

Thanks :)

1. I think most of the time it is important but sometimes it is good to just be able to think for yourself in the game and not rely on the coach to tell you the things.
2. He's got incredible feeling for the ball and amazing control..I think that's why he has played on such a high level for so long, he's so consistent and I think he will continue for more years to come!
3. Yes they are quite similar and both pretty good! haha
4. That's the plan at the moment, I will play as long as I feel I can and as long as I am enjoying it!
 
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Hi Liam,

I would like head off to china for coaching program, but can not find relevant info. Do you know something? or in other countries. Thanks you
 
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Thank you so much for the splendid answers !! Much enjoyed reading it !!! Good luck and all the best for the next year !!
Thanks :)

1. I think most of the time it is important but sometimes it is good to just be able to think for yourself in the game and not rely on the coach to tell you the things.
2. He's got incredible feeling for the ball and amazing control..I think that's why he has played on such a high level for so long, he's so consistent and I think he will continue for more years to come!
3. Yes they are quite similar and both pretty good! haha
4. That's the plan at the moment, I will play as long as I feel I can and as long as I am enjoying it!
 
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Well I like to receive with the backhand flick to open the game so first I see if it is possible to do that with the serve..if not then I will check the type of spin and the position of my opponent to what receive I will make. Most of the time receiving is a split second decision so it's good to be able to improvise and try to do something the server is not expecting.

hope this is specific enough?

Thanks for the answer Liam, but I think that you can be more specific, I will change the question:

when your opponent is about to serve:

when you start to look at him? when the ball is about to touch the paddle or before (for example) ? and why do you star looking in that time?

what are the things you look on your opponent and why?
 
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Liam, it is common (among amateurs) to tense up, swing too hard and not rotate into shots when excited/anxious. Would you say you keep your body relaxed and smooth even during big/important matches, and would you say that it is natural, or something you learned to do with training? How important is breathing to avoid this, and how do you do this (i.e. stay relaxed) in a rally? Cheers!
 
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Hi Liam. When are you going to bulk up a bit? Do your friends ever compare you to Peter Crouch? :D

No hard feelings, I hope.

Oh, one more thing. We have this thread in which we brainstorm about the ways to make table tennis more popular and appealing to the masses. What would you do to popularize it? Do you think the game needs to be slowed down, by perhaps raising the net or something else?
 
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One of those games where you ask someone below you a question and the other person has to answer it
In this one there are no question starters.

DONT EVER ANSWER I DONT KNOW. You have to give an actual answer.

Lets begin

Who would you bring if you could go to Middle Earth, but you could only bring THREE people with you?
 
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