Advice to improve my game.

[NextLevel]

Here is another video of my match today against Mark, the same person in my first video more than 2 months ago. I still lost but I felt I did better this time. Please let me know what you think. (Sorry that the camera angle is not good)

Thank you!

Phil,

Well done. Like I said this takes time and patience. Someone like Mark, he uses a very fast blade and blocks the ball very well. He has played and practiced with really good players so he knows how to block quality loops. When I tried to use a Rambo approach to beating him, I would inevitably lose the game and then get back to an approach where I had to set him up and take advantage of his blocking limitations but put the ball to precise places that would make him move and force him to recover to move again to play the next ball. I would not try to drive the ball past him but since he only blocked or smashed, I would spin the ball heavy and build up the spin before going for a put away shot so I rarely attacked hard early in the rally. I would loop one to the middle or to the backhand, get the block and then put the next one on the wide forehand and if he got to that, then go back to the backhand. Sometimes I would keep the ball shorter and go for wider angles. You might not have the control and precision to do these things yet and who knows you may get so good that you don't need to against him. Going into the elbow also helps a lot.

My main point though is that trying to blast the ball past a blocker is a hard way to win because unless you are smashing really flat or with backspin, their blocks will use your spin to move you around unless your spin/power levels exceed their thresholds. And when you go for speed with a topspin, the spin almost never exceeds their thresholds, they just block and you are out of position when the ball comes back. It is better to spin the ball slowly and then whatever they do, if your first ball is heavy, you can use the existing spin on the ball, which will usually also bounce higher with his block to spin/drive the ball harder to an easier spot on the table. Trying to break through on the first shot often will take you off balance and leave you open to being blocked out of position.

So keep up the good work, be patient, try to realize that table tennis is as much judo and boxing as it is rock-breaking and don't think that power is everything. Placement and spin (including spin variation) sometimes count for as much if not more. Mark is really experienced with good touch so he knows how to get you to play into his blocks on his terms. If you gain experience and work with the right strategic mindset, you will find ways to beat him based on how it is best to beat blockers. But it might be longer than you would like, especially if you are trying to blast through him all the time. Learn to play shots that get good quality but keep you ready to play 3 or 4 shots to precise spots on the table in order to win the point. Trying to go for one shot when the ball isn't going to hit the precise spot on the table that Mark cannot touch is a losing approach until you get to a level of spin that it won't matter (but this level is much harder to get to with the new ball).

Good luck and well done!

 

[PhilT]

Thank @blahness and @NextLevel . Your comments are spot on!

@blahness My backhand is much weaker side. I often avoid it by staying too close to the left corner and got punished when they put the ball to my right wide open corner.

@NextLevel What you said are exactly what I experienced during the match. There were countless number of times I got out of possition after my fast attacks were blocked. My slow spinny loops had much better success rate but my technique is not good enough to vary the loop speed and spin at will yet, as you correctly mentioned.

And my loops always go cross table. Even though I kept reminding myself to go down the line but I just couldn't do it during points. It is probably because of both, my technique and habit.

I will focus on my backhand and ball placement next.

Thank you!

 

[NextLevel]

Phil, at every level, it is very hard for a one sided forehand player to beat a consistent blocker, especially one who knows how to move the forehand player around. Especially with this new ball, blocking is much easier so you need to be able to hit more shots to win points.

For forehand players like you, the most common mistake that is made with the backhand is that they want their backhand to be as powerful and spinny as their forehand from day 1. This is a huge mistake. It is not impossible as a goal but it is a huge mistake to want it on day one or even in year one. What you need to focus on is making the backhand either spinny or consistent or both spinny and consistent as possible. Then use it in footwork drills to keep the rally going in transition. When you get good spin, the power will come with more practice. But if you don't get the spin, and go for power , you will get frustrated and never trust the backhand under pressure. But if you develop the spin and consistency, then you can figure out when the power opportunities are available. And there are many good players who start out as forehand players but sometimes with good coaching develop backhands that are technically more advanced than their forehands.

Thank @blahness and @NextLevel . Your comments are spot on!

@blahness My backhand is much weaker side. I often avoid it by staying too close to the left corner and got punished when they put the ball to my right wide open corner.

@NextLevel What you said are exactly what I experienced during the match. There were countless number of times I got out of possition after my fast attacks were blocked. My slow spinny loops had much better success rate but my technique is not good enough to vary the loop speed and spin at will yet, as you correctly mentioned.

And my loops always go cross table. Even though I kept reminding myself to go down the line but I just couldn't do it during points. It is probably because of both, my technique and habit.

I will focus on my backhand and ball placement next.

Thank you!

 

[blahness]

Thank @blahness and @NextLevel . Your comments are spot on!

@blahness My backhand is much weaker side. I often avoid it by staying too close to the left corner and got punished when they put the ball to my right wide open corner.

@NextLevel What you said are exactly what I experienced during the match. There were countless number of times I got out of possition after my fast attacks were blocked. My slow spinny loops had much better success rate but my technique is not good enough to vary the loop speed and spin at will yet, as you correctly mentioned.

And my loops always go cross table. Even though I kept reminding myself to go down the line but I just couldn't do it during points. It is probably because of both, my technique and habit.

I will focus on my backhand and ball placement next.

Thank you!

Yes, in this era BH is equally important or even more important to develop. I think playing this blocker, you probably realised that if you pivot he's gonna burn you on the wide FH (which he did many times). Unless you have shot quality on the FH that opponents cannot control, pivoting is usually not ideal.

For BH I think your arm stroke structure is fine (from what I see at 38 sec), what is really lacking is the power from the hips with the leg drive. You may need to experiment a bit to unlock it. But you have a robot so I think you can figure it out quite quickly.

 

[pingpongpaddy]

Hi phil
you have definitely improved quite a bit.
The essence of your tactical problem with Mark, is that he is able to move you around while remaining flat footed himself. You move well, but you need to learn to make him move.
Serving
serve from bh corner short backspin to his fh then push or punch his return either breaking his bh sideline or deep to his middle.
Practice bh to bh punch and block concentrating on breaking his bh sideline. Once this is working you should step. around and play fh again wide into his bh. This will be uncomfortable for you but you need to find ways of establishing this direction of play.
There are quite a few examples of pushing long from both side where you could put opponent under pressure by playing your push short, off the bounce, pulling mark in to then punching him back.
if you can learn to bh block anywhere on the table alternating soft and short with sharp and punchy your tactical play will improve.
conclusion
good things with your fh
but
pushing and blocking still too passive. Learn to put those shots anywhere on the table as a priority.
If you can find some one who wants to develop his footwork while you learn to acquire Mark's skills it would be ideal
good luck