Daily Table Tennis Chit Chat

[suds79]

Thanks for the tips. I've also often wondered if really playing 5 hours of TT is really good practice at all after say hour 3 is complete.

Those last two hours is probably overkill and my form probably starts to die off as I tucker out. I do notice that my loop consistency begins to drop off after that.

But dang it club is only open once a week from 5-10 pm so you want to get in as much play as you can. Sigh. Such is life.

 

[Der_Echte]

You could get fat and fifty like me. That could really suck. I am 220 lb for a 5ft 8 dude, I get some pounding on my body and my desk job isn't helping things.

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[OldschoolPenholder]

I've also often wondered if really playing 5 hours of TT is really good practice at all after say hour 3 is complete.

Those last two hours is probably overkill and my form probably starts to die off as I tucker out. I do notice that my loop consistency begins to drop off after that.

If you notice skills deterioriation after 3 hours, stop then. Use that 2 hours to chat with friends, observe clubmates, skip rope, ride a bike, jog, shadow strokes, serves, etc. Don't want to mess up 'muscle memory' and groove in strokes you are compensating for the misses due to fatigue setting in and your form is less than ideal. Know what I mean?

But dang it club is only open once a week from 5-10 pm so you want to get in as much play as you can. Sigh. Such is life.

1x/week!?!?! dayum, double dayum ... in that case, pace yourself for 5 hrs of play vs go hard/90-100% for the first 2 or 3 hours ... go 70-80% ... you may lose games to players you normally beat but at least you maximize your playing time and your club's schedule.

My regular club is open from 4:30 or 5:30 until 9:30pm 4 nights a week and i think 1pm-5pm on Sat. Due to achy body, I have only been going 2x a week to my regular clue. No matter what time I get there, generally 5:30, I stay until 8:15pm maximum, want to get home before 9 and eat dinner before it's way too late. Takes me ~25 mins to walk home.

I go 1x a week to my new club, get there about 6pm. Hit until 7 or 7:30 and leave. As it's further from home and i need to take a train, i have to leave earlier. It's not as crowded as my regular club though, i generally get good practice for 60-90 mins.

But yeah, either pace yourself for 5 hours or stop after 3 hours of hard play and work on something else like physical conditioning. Or work a variation, pace for 4 hours and physical conditioning for 1 hour, etc.

Good luck in your training!

 

[OldschoolPenholder]

Last night, i wanted to practice with the new setup.

Despite many members having showed up, it seemed some of the members stayed on certain tables... I didn't hit with my regular partner, and I blocked for friends/members. A member I've seen a few times, may have come back from a long break, called next on the table i was on. I can see he is a little rusty, he should be definitely 1 level above me and probably 2. Played 2 matches because no one called next, lost both 3-0, mostly at 6-8, but score is misleading, he missed many of his serves.

Not used to my 'new' old blade, the Butterfly Taksim carbon blade with Tenergy 25, for serves, I lost a few myself as well as serving too long. He would smoke my FH pendulum serve down the line. For a big guy, he moves fast! I had a good smash, one loop drive inside out and 2 slow down the line loops. Surprised myself with the slow loops, but it looked to be heavy downspin and i slowed down and slow looped it back for winners. I pushed side to side at times and not quite used to the touch needed with the rubber and balls were close but flew out.

It was getting late, I should've left, i was tired. i stayed a bit longer than usual only because my former regular partner that helped me get back into TT after a 30+ yrs break showed up last night and I didn't see him in 6 months or so.

A member I never saw before called next and my partner said he wanted a break and asked me to hit with the gentleman. During warmup, he seemed to be an experienced beginner... made some shots, just wasn't steady.

Thought my partner who took a break wanted to hit more, so i asked the gentleman if he wanted to play a match. i barely won 3-2... one game at deuce. He had a wicked tomahawk serve that gave me problems LOL he only had 3 serves though, tomahawk to my bh long, tomahawk to my fh long and from his fh side, a fh stroke serve - long topspin i guess it's called.

Ultimately the key to my gameplay is my longstanding weakness - serve receive ... couldn't read his serves ... weakness plus new blade plus 90% of the time I just hit/practice with no gameplay.

"Before the rally, the Gods have placed the serve and the receive."
~NextLevel

LOL at me ... I got no game LOL

Having fun 'learning' the new setup though.

May all the net and edge balls go your way DTT CCers!

 

[pgpg]

pgpg,

Found my earlier post.

My regular club is a NYC Dept of Parks recreation center. It's members only - no visitor's fee.

RC's club is walking distance from #7 train. My new club is walking distance, but a bit further than RC's. Although there is a free transfer to Q17 or Q27 buses... get off Cherry Ave. and walk 1.5 blocks.

And if you want to follow in the footsteps of Der_Echte and NextLevel and a few other TTDers, NYSIC is the club to visit for the history of previous GoonSquad Missions.

I neglected to post below, two other clubs in Queens I know of:

http://www.pingpongny.com/

The Korean club of a previous GoonSquad Mission... Der had the members in stitches speaking Korean to them and entertaining them!

Coach Li's club (I've never been here, only heard of this) - walking distance from #7 train - tad further out:

http://www.nyittc.com/

---------

If you can make it earlier in the day, I will do my best to get time off from Family to meet you and request 9 points And if i can go, i may be able to pick you up at the last stop in Flushing. I would offer to pick you up in Manhattan, however, please know that the traffic from Queens to Manhattan and then back to Queens would be up to 2 hours, depending on where in Manhattan you are.

Hope this helps!

So, April 1st is almost here (and I also did not realize that it's actually Easter Sunday!) and I was a bit busy at work, so forgot to post this earlier... I still plan to be in Manhattan around 1 pm this Sunday and so far I think I'm going to make a trip to Flushing some time after 4 pm at the earliest, if all goes well.

I'm trying to see whether I can get a lesson at Robert Chen's club around that time, but if not, well, I'll simply show up and see what happens. Looks like there is a small tournament that day at Coach Li's club nearby, but unfortunately I can't make it there in time, bummer.

Not particularly tied to Robert Chen's club, but it looks like it's the closest one to a subway stop (although I'm sure I can grab an Uber to other places too). Shoot me a PM if you happen to be in the neighborhood and want to have a hit that day.

 

[Der_Echte]

You gotta win one of his RR events and get your pic taking with him waving the prize money...

 

[JeffM]

Last night, i wanted to practice with the new setup.

Despite many members having showed up, it seemed some of the members stayed on certain tables... I didn't hit with my regular partner, and I blocked for friends/members. A member I've seen a few times, may have come back from a long break, called next on the table i was on. I can see he is a little rusty, he should be definitely 1 level above me and probably 2. Played 2 matches because no one called next, lost both 3-0, mostly at 6-8, but score is misleading, he missed many of his serves.

Not used to my 'new' old blade, the Butterfly Taksim carbon blade with Tenergy 25, for serves, I lost a few myself as well as serving too long. He would smoke my FH pendulum serve down the line. For a big guy, he moves fast! I had a good smash, one loop drive inside out and 2 slow down the line loops. Surprised myself with the slow loops, but it looked to be heavy downspin and i slowed down and slow looped it back for winners. I pushed side to side at times and not quite used to the touch needed with the rubber and balls were close but flew out.

It was getting late, I should've left, i was tired. i stayed a bit longer than usual only because my former regular partner that helped me get back into TT after a 30+ yrs break showed up last night and I didn't see him in 6 months or so.

A member I never saw before called next and my partner said he wanted a break and asked me to hit with the gentleman. During warmup, he seemed to be an experienced beginner... made some shots, just wasn't steady.

Thought my partner who took a break wanted to hit more, so i asked the gentleman if he wanted to play a match. i barely won 3-2... one game at deuce. He had a wicked tomahawk serve that gave me problems LOL he only had 3 serves though, tomahawk to my bh long, tomahawk to my fh long and from his fh side, a fh stroke serve - long topspin i guess it's called.

Ultimately the key to my gameplay is my longstanding weakness - serve receive ... couldn't read his serves ... weakness plus new blade plus 90% of the time I just hit/practice with no gameplay.

"Before the rally, the Gods have placed the serve and the receive."
~NextLevel

LOL at me ... I got no game LOL

Having fun 'learning' the new setup though.

May all the net and edge balls go your way DTT CCers!

Interesting! I have heard great things about the Taksim, but how does the tenergy 25 feel to you?
Don't worry about the loses with the new setup! You will improve as you get use to it.
I am also terrible at reading the spins of serves.. but practice leads to improvement, I'll continue to misread them until i can read them someday haha.

 

[JeffM]

Last saturday, our gym centre got used for an exam, so I couldn't play TT.
Tomorrow the center will be available for TT, so I am keen to get back into it.

I did something I've never done before today. I acted as a 'coach' for a beginner, as he asked if he can come over to my house and learn how to hit the balls more consistently.
He has made the first step of getting a bat, as I stressed to him that he needs to have a bat so that he can build on it every time he plays, and not have to adjust to a new bat every week. It's not an ideal bat (premade one), but it'll do for now.

The setup of the table and the net at my place really makes teaching so much easier, along with the use of a robot. It seems like the combination of theory explanation + demonstration works very well together, as it is very difficult to understand someone without seeing the concept in action.
I would ask him how he feels, then tell him how I feel as i observe him, and then i would demonstrate a little bit in between. He would then tell me what he finds as he observes me playing, sometimes there are things that I don't even notice myself, e.g. that he thinks i use my left hand to keep track of the ball, a bit similar to badminton, but I don't really do it for the purpose, but more that i keep my hand 'fix' to my body, so when my body rotates, it seems like im using my left hand for tracking.

In the end, I can see definite improvement in his general hitting of the balls, and he is so much more consistent than before. He still has a long way to go before he can play games with others, but at least this session have helped him gained confidence as well as the essential in getting the ball over the net, which may motivate him to keep playing the sport in the future. He states to me, that he cannot understand how people can play games, when getting the ball over the net consistently is so difficult already, let alone trying to be competitive in games. And it is true, sometimes I do take these things as granted, but everyone will have a steep learning curve at the beginning, and in the end, they will be able to get to the stage where they can enjoy playing a game and not worrying about not able to satisfy the opponent due to inability to return the shots in a game.

I feel tired after the session, but I think it is worthwhile and satisfying.

 

[Takkyu_wa_inochi]

Today another encounter with a forumer TT guru from New Zealand here in Tokyo.

This forum is amazing !

 

[JeffM]

Went to play at my uni club today. There were less than 10 people there, surprisingly low number, despite long weekend, and Thursday there were so many people ~20.
But that is good for the players there, as we have so much room to move around, and more balls for ourselves haha.

I played with uncle whom i havent played against for few months. He plays penhold with no rpb. His traditional backhand is excellent. I feel my loops were going fine today, and I am comfortable with my bat.

Then I played with my friend who is still learning the form of forehand / backhand. He seems to realize that he needs a better bat in order to progress, as his current bat is $20 premade, and the rubbers are dead. I didn't want to break the news to him yesterday as he just bought the bat for a few days, but luckily the uncle i mentioned above also told him so i get to re-enforce the idea to him.

I then played with my friend whom i havent played with him for the last 2 months. He has been visiting a club 30 min driving distance, and very frequently also, as he is not employed atm, (4-5 times per week). He states the players there all play very fast. As I hit with him, i noticed the difference, it is surprising how just by going there for a month, he has improved alot. Initially I was quite happy with my loops against backspin, as I put in alot of spin on the ball. But playing with my friend made me realize that his way of 'hitting' the ball is very efficient, and will be a good edition to my shot selection. He basically go 70% hit, 30% 'rub/friction'. He then let me practice doing that, I was quite amazed by the result, the shot is very fast and difficult to return as the time for the opponent to react is dramatically shortened. Of course I still need alot more practice to fully use it in game situation, but this practice session certainly enlightened me.

I played for 2.5 hours today, which is the longest i have played this year. Good workout also, now I feel exhausted, but at least there is an objective for my next tt session, which will be in a week's time.

 

[pgpg]

So, since my planning and coordination skills are apparently crap, visit to NYC TT clubs turned into a 'solo mission', as Der_Echte would say. I hopped on a 7 train from Manhattan into Queens and made my way to Robert Chen's club in Flushing, Queens NY :

http://aacct.org/ny/index.php

It's only ~7 minutes walk from the last stop of 7 subway line, approximately 30 min ride from Grand Central station in Manhattan, which is really close, as far as I am concerned. Club has ~8 tables, and while pictures on the website imply that there are wooden floors, they actually have green sports floors. Tables are a bit too close to each other, but everyone was a good sport with all balls getting from one court to another.


Turns out Robert trained as a chopper himself, so that was awesome right there. He also apparently believes in multi-ball as a main training tool, so I am quite sore right now We spent most of the time with him 'torturing' me with 'side-to-side' and 'in and out' footwork (I suck at both...) and a bit of time devoted to both BH/FH pushing and FH loop/attack.

To be honest I was pretty wiped after the lesson (Robert also asked one of the guys from the club to practice loop against chop with me during the lesson, so it was not all him), so did not stick around to play more, but would definitely be back the next time I'm in NYC. Saw and chatted with one of the guys (MB) I ran into at Westchester tournaments before.

Being wiped out and disorganized as usual - I totally forgot to take any pictures while at the club.

After 2+ hours of TT, before heading back to Manhattan, I stopped at the local Chinese restaurant (Joe's Shanghai) for some delicious food.

 

[Der_Echte]

I thanked Robert on his FB page.

 

[pgpg]

I thanked Robert on his FB page.

Yep, saw that. Interestingly, when I went on FB and tried to add him as a friend, I was told that he already has 5000 friends and can't have more . Really?

 

[Der_Echte]

He can still add you, but he would need to search and find you, then initiate the friend request.

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[Der_Echte]

I could send him your FB link in a message and ask him to friend you on FB if you wish...

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[songdavid98]

So, since my planning and coordination skills are apparently crap, visit to NYC TT clubs turned into a 'solo mission', as Der_Echte would say. I hopped on a 7 train from Manhattan into Queens and made my way to Robert Chen's club in Flushing, Queens NY :

http://aacct.org/ny/index.php

It's only ~7 minutes walk from the last stop of 7 subway line, approximately 30 min ride from Grand Central station in Manhattan, which is really close, as far as I am concerned. Club has ~8 tables, and while pictures on the website imply that there are wooden floors, they actually have green sports floors. Tables are a bit too close to each other, but everyone was a good sport with all balls getting from one court to another.


Turns out Robert trained as a chopper himself, so that was awesome right there. He also apparently believes in multi-ball as a main training tool, so I am quite sore right now We spent most of the time with him 'torturing' me with 'side-to-side' and 'in and out' footwork (I suck at both...) and a bit of time devoted to both BH/FH pushing and FH loop/attack.

To be honest I was pretty wiped after the lesson (Robert also asked one of the guys from the club to practice loop against chop with me during the lesson, so it was not all him), so did not stick around to play more, but would definitely be back the next time I'm in NYC. Saw and chatted with one of the guys (MB) I ran into at Westchester tournaments before.

Being wiped out and disorganized as usual - I totally forgot to take any pictures while at the club.

After 2+ hours of TT, before heading back to Manhattan, I stopped at the local Chinese restaurant (Joe's Shanghai) for some delicious food.

Oh you missed me. I am usually in the city on weekends, but I play at NYISC, which is a short bus ride from the Flushing train station. You'll probably get to see 42andBackPains as well

 

[42andbackpains]

Oh you missed me. I am usually in the city on weekends, but I play at NYISC, which is a short bus ride from the Flushing train station. You'll probably get to see 42andBackPains as well

As a new fellow club member David has been wreaking havoc on our older club members. Davids level is about 2200 to 2300 and he killed me when he gave me 6 points. Glad to have David around and he brings some youthful attitude to our old mens club.

 

[Shifu]

On Friday I will watch the Champions League match between Düsseldorf and Ochsenhausen with Boll, Calderano, Gauzy, Karlsson and Källberg!

 

[Archosaurus]

Gonna go play a bit, maybe get some video too. I bought some Stiga Cup 40+ balls: time to see what big-brand plastic balls are like nowadays...

 

[pgpg]

I could send him your FB link in a message and ask him to friend you on FB if you wish...

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That's OK - I'm trying to move away from FB as much as possible lately. Huge time sink and distraction, and that's before we get into all this wonderful data stuff.