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Lula, you once said you did not enjoy mytt as much because the posters there were too aggressive. Was it really that? I suspect it is more because you have no connection to people there. Part of the reason I post more here is that we went out of our way to change that here and the moderating team and ownership encouraged us.
This coaching thing is a bit of a digression. "Verified Coach" is simply a TTD title. What we mean is that peop pl e should be willing to discuss and give evidence of the level they play at as well as how long they have played so we can all put their comments into perspective.
When I said I don't push short, we had a conversation about it. I could have posted video as well but everyone knows my channel. When DerEchte shares video vs. Scooby Doo, we can all see it. When NDH says his backhand is weak, we can see the video and judge. When you say you want to use Tenergy, it is very different from me saying the same or JeffM saying the same on some ways given experience, training hours, playing level etc.
In life in general, science and statistics try to provide rules. But complicated things like table tennis, the rules are grounded in experience and make assumptions that are not always shared.
No one is saying that people should not comment because they don't have good playing level. In fact, some of my favorite commenters are not high level players. I think of suds79 or Oldschoolpenholder. So why do I like them? They do not pretend to know things they do not. They let you know their level so you can put their statements in context. They share their frustrations and successes.
But when you tell someone they are wrong in table tennis, it is never really an objective statement. Wrong about what? There are so many assumptions. Should you deny the first attack? Or try to let the opponent attack and then counter? Should you pivot? Play backhands instead of pivoting? Loop like Timo Boll? Or Ma Long? Or Dima? Or Keinath? Or should you just have your own stroke and try to improve it but make sure it has the basics? Should you have many serves or just a few? Should you focus on tricky serving or just work on denying the attack and rally? Should you hit or loop? Many answers depending on many things.
Having a larger playing arm when you use your arm to play TT without doing other exercises to balance things is common. Now if someone says it isn't, there are two approaches. The first is to say they have never heard of it despite playing table tennis for 30 years. The other is to say they have seen people say it, think they are wrong and here is why.
If you take the approach of acting like your way is the only way, you had better be willing to man up when people ask about your background and level. Because too many people think they understand table tennis by watching it.
And I know good coaches who were not great players. But I do not know a good coach who didn't spend a lot of time trying to develop other players. Many players have good ideas but you only become a coach when you have tried to make other players better and see the sweat and tears. It will make anyone humble.
Part of the reason I like adult learners is that on some level they coach themselves. So I will NEVER dismiss anything an adult learner says if he provides his playing level. We can disagree and debate it but he is explaining how he sees it and while it might not help me, it might help someone else who thinks like him. And if you know how hard it is to train and improve in this sport at an older age, that is not trivial.
Sorry for the long rant again. But this topic of people telling me how to play or how well I play without knowing how long I have trained or played or my issues and not providing any evidence of their experience has a deep history with me.
