Daily Table Tennis Chit Chat

[Archosaurus]

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention: Playing too hard these last days after a big break has made me break my ass; specifically my right glute and the very right lower back is pretty sore on the step and twist. 😅

It is getting better, but it's not exactly something I want to repeat. Doing some plank helps, and it's not really sensitive with load not on the leg.

I think it might be because my ready stance doesn't have bent enough knees; every time I try to bend the waist to look at the serve contact, this ends up happening in one way or another, be it now or 6 years ago. Being more upright with my back but bent in the knees isn't much more comfortable and puts too much stress on the legs. I don't think it has to do with my normal shot stance; it has always come when I try to adopt a lower ready stance.

Is this a common issue with a common fix? Should I be adopting a higher stance for now until I figure it out? Surely it is a form issue and not just complete lack of conditioning.

 

[Emin]

Really need to start being more conscious of my footwork and placement in a match. Are there any good videos out there to go over the basics for this?

I wouldnt suggest getting conscious of your footwork.
Practice it, but dont think about it in a match.
It should be automatic.
But conscious placement is a goal worth pursuing.
For placement and general tactics you first need to get your technique right.
So much so that you shouldnt think about how to place the ball and move your hand and arm but rather to place the ball using a "skill" that you can access.
Once you acquired a skill that you can utilize as a weapon without actively thinking about how to use it, you can go after using the skill for your intention.
Placing pushes is easier since you got more time and the movement isnt as sophisticated as placing a topspin ball.

Figure out the necessary technique, train your skill with an intention behind it, use it in practice matches and make it as automatic as possible.
Once you can place the ball well during training and practice matches and use it as a way of putting pressure on your opponent, you can focus on the more important things during a match e.g. how to beat your opponent instead of how to perform a certain move.

Try adding more weapons to your artillery that you can access at any time consistently.
The more consistent your current weapons are, the more you can add and improve.

 

[JeffM]

I just ordered quite a big order for myself from Hong Kong:

1x mizuno medal wave 8
1x mizuno medal drive 9
1x D09c
1x D05

sadly the store didn't have black for D09c, so I had to do red for D09c and then black for D05, which means the colour will be swapped for my FH and BH.

Excited though for the order to arrive. I will be changing my current D05 as the rubber itself is showing way too much wear and tear, especially near the tip of the blade where it contacts the ball the most.

 

[disaster3]

I would also order some shoes but for now as I’m sick and stay at home would like to tweak my bty lezoline rifones as I really like them. I went through many reviews of Mizunos and they seem to be wide and I have slim/narrow feet.
I’ve just ordered sports Yonex socks to avoid sweating and sport inserts maybe it will help. If not will try to find another shoes. I found stationary shop near my home with some mizunos maybe will go there and try before buying.

 

[OvrChkn]

I wouldnt suggest getting conscious of your footwork.
Practice it, but dont think about it in a match.
It should be automatic.
But conscious placement is a goal worth pursuing.
For placement and general tactics you first need to get your technique right.
So much so that you shouldnt think about how to place the ball and move your hand and arm but rather to place the ball using a "skill" that you can access.
Once you acquired a skill that you can utilize as a weapon without actively thinking about how to use it, you can go after using the skill for your intention.
Placing pushes is easier since you got more time and the movement isnt as sophisticated as placing a topspin ball.

Figure out the necessary technique, train your skill with an intention behind it, use it in practice matches and make it as automatic as possible.
Once you can place the ball well during training and practice matches and use it as a way of putting pressure on your opponent, you can focus on the more important things during a match e.g. how to beat your opponent instead of how to perform a certain move.

Try adding more weapons to your artillery that you can access at any time consistently.
The more consistent your current weapons are, the more you can add and improve.

One thing I'm having issues with is getting burned on my forehand and I'm not sure how to prevent that

 

[dingyibvs]

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention: Playing too hard these last days after a big break has made me break my ass; specifically my right glute and the very right lower back is pretty sore on the step and twist. 😅

It is getting better, but it's not exactly something I want to repeat. Doing some plank helps, and it's not really sensitive with load not on the leg.

I think it might be because my ready stance doesn't have bent enough knees; every time I try to bend the waist to look at the serve contact, this ends up happening in one way or another, be it now or 6 years ago. Being more upright with my back but bent in the knees isn't much more comfortable and puts too much stress on the legs. I don't think it has to do with my normal shot stance; it has always come when I try to adopt a lower ready stance.

Is this a common issue with a common fix? Should I be adopting a higher stance for now until I figure it out? Surely it is a form issue and not just complete lack of conditioning.

It's probably not the same issue, but I hurt my leg in Apr and got back in Sept and promptly hurt my right butt. It's a piriformis injury, so it'd compress on my sciatic nerve as well. Very uncomfortable. Recently I started getting some massages there, every other day, and it's helped a ton. I think some stretching and strengthening going forward should help prevent future injuries.

I actually had this injury last year as well, right when I started practicing my FH. I was trying to incorporate more hip swing and weight transfer, and my body was not used to doing that. I think that's how I got the injury this time as well.

 

[Archosaurus]

It's probably not the same issue, but I hurt my leg in Apr and got back in Sept and promptly hurt my right butt. It's a piriformis injury, so it'd compress on my sciatic nerve as well. Very uncomfortable. Recently I started getting some massages there, every other day, and it's helped a ton. I think some stretching and strengthening going forward should help prevent future injuries.

I actually had this injury last year as well, right when I started practicing my FH. I was trying to incorporate more hip swing and weight transfer, and my body was not used to doing that. I think that's how I got the injury this time as well.

My quads were still a bit stiff from the last session. Not injured or painful, just like when you start going to the gym again. Maybe that shifted more load to the back and glute. Did yours happen as a result of the leg injury, or because the leg injury made you compensate with other muscles?

It's basically only on the right side, so I suspect it also does have something to do with the forehand.

 

[Emin]

One thing I'm having issues with is getting burned on my forehand and I'm not sure how to prevent that

What exactly do you mean by burned on forehand?
If you explain where you struggle we can help Set you up for improvement!

 

[NextLevel]

Really need to start being more conscious of my footwork and placement in a match. Are there any good videos out there to go over the basics for this?

Do you record yourself when you play or practice?

Usually, my first place to refer players at your level for tips is Tom Lodziak. You can search for just about any topic and get an informed take on it.

 

[NextLevel]

One thing I'm having issues with is getting burned on my forehand and I'm not sure how to prevent that

So many things cause problems in table tennis that require different diagnoses at different times. I know as adults logicians, we are used to speaking in general terms, but most table tennis solutions can be very different depending on many things, and even the specific day you are playing. There are so many things that could be causing your problems and many reasonable solutions. A common mistake is to have sweeping judgments about our game, when what we need can be very specific tactical or strategic or ball quality solutions.

I am going to post a match soon where I missed a lot of forehands. It will be interesting to hear your diagnosis of what happened.

 

[Emin]

Im keen to diagnose you with all sorts of TT deseases @NextLevel .
Be ready!

 

[UpSideDownCarl]

Yeah. Really hard to understand what is actually happening without seeing footage of the issue.

 

[Archosaurus]

It's a tough game this one. It's difficult enough that you can't even just go slower and still always keep the ball in play; even at turtle pace right over the table there will come something that will be 5% different and make you miss! Maybe not in 10 balls, or 100, but it will.

Life would be tough if every 10 steps you fell down, or every 10 turns you crashed your car.

 

[OvrChkn]

What exactly do you mean by burned on forehand?
If you explain where you struggle we can help Set you up for improvement!

Tagging @NextLevel as well. It'll be something that I will point out to my coach next session.

The best way I can describe it is that, after serve, I set up around my backhand side. Typically, I do a pendulum serve. If the rally goes longer, I still stay on my backhand with my arm in neutral to be ready for either forehand or backhand, but if the next ball goes wide on my forehand, I can't get there in time and my hips end up facing away from the table to try to get to the ball.

There's issues with my reverse pendulum where I know I'm setting the serve up for my forehand, but I can't properly get myself to move to the forehand side if it's sent wide or long.

I need to record a match again one day. Haven't had the opportunity with the past few competitions.

 

[Archosaurus]

Tagging @NextLevel as well. It'll be something that I will point out to my coach next session.

The best way I can describe it is that, after serve, I set up around my backhand side. Typically, I do a pendulum serve. If the rally goes longer, I still stay on my backhand with my arm in neutral to be ready for either forehand or backhand, but if the next ball goes wide on my forehand, I can't get there in time and my hips end up facing away from the table to try to get to the ball.

There's issues with my reverse pendulum where I know I'm setting the serve up for my forehand, but I can't properly get myself to move to the forehand side if it's sent wide or long.

I need to record a match again one day. Haven't had the opportunity with the past few competitions.

It sounds to me like people are noticing you stay in the backhand zone and play wide to the forehand on purpose.

I can't give you advice due to my extremely low level as of current, but I can say I have a similar issue, and I've personally began to fix it by just standing a bit more central and pivoting to the backhand, or just playing a backhand if it's wide. This lets me at least have a chance to move in time for a wide forehand ball. Mind you this is a "day 2 fix" and probably not ideal.

Needs video if you want someone who can actually help you to give an opinion, though.

 

[OvrChkn]

It sounds to me like people are noticing you stay in the backhand zone and play wide to the forehand on purpose.

I can't give you advice due to my extremely low level as of current, but I can say I have a similar issue, and I've personally began to fix it by just standing a bit more central and pivoting to the backhand, or just playing a backhand if it's wide. This lets me at least have a chance to move in time for a wide forehand ball. Mind you this is a "day 2 fix" and probably not ideal.

Needs video if you want someone who can actually help you to give an opinion, though.

That's definitely something I'll have to be more cognizant of when playing to see if it's occurring when I serve vs my opponent's serve.

 

[Archosaurus]

That's definitely something I'll have to be more cognizant of when playing to see if it's occurring when I serve vs my opponent's serve.

If you catch it on tape, you have a much more objective indicator of what is happening and why. You can take note of what happens and count the times the opponent does a wide forehand ball and correlate it to serve and serve receive and get a concrete % to work off.

Of course, you'd need many videos to really know, but it's better than guesstimating it.

On that note, I need to start filming fairly soon, once I get my game back a little bit. Right now I am so bad and improving so fast there is not much point to even worry about it.

 

[OvrChkn]

If you catch it on tape, you have a much more objective indicator of what is happening and why. You can take note of what happens and count the times the opponent does a wide forehand ball and correlate it to serve and serve receive and get a concrete % to work off.

Of course, you'd need many videos to really know, but it's better than guesstimating it.

On that note, I need to start filming fairly soon, once I get my game back a little bit. Right now I am so bad and improving so fast there is not much point to even worry about it.

For sure, I'll try recording later this week with one of my practice partners.

 

[dingyibvs]

My quads were still a bit stiff from the last session. Not injured or painful, just like when you start going to the gym again. Maybe that shifted more load to the back and glute. Did yours happen as a result of the leg injury, or because the leg injury made you compensate with other muscles?

It's basically only on the right side, so I suspect it also does have something to do with the forehand.

I think it's probably a combination of things. Both compensating for the lower leg injury and the fact that the lower leg injury caused me to not use my right leg for months resulting it becoming weak and stiff.

 

[blahness]

My footwork kinda sucks too but I've been practising a lot of it away from the table. It's something that you have to consciously practice in order to get good at it, and a lot of stuff isn't all that apparent at the first go.

The fastest way to cover wide FH is the crossover step. The basics is that you lunge towards the right, and then simultaneously rotate and do the weight shift to your left leg in the air, and land with your left foot significantly to the right of your right foot. The important part is to land with weight on your left foot (otherwise you'll land like an elephant and there's no next shot). Immediately after landing your left foot, the next step will be the right foot - it needs to find a place to push off from so that you can do the normal 2 step to go quickly back to the left to cover the gaps in your BH. I practice this a lot just for fun lol because it feels like flying.

When you're good at it and crossover step feels natural you can always use it when you feel like you need some extra reach on the FH. It's very easy to transition into it because you always start with loading weight on your right foot - if the ball is close just do your normal stroke and if the ball is far just go into the crossover step.


BH to FH transition - if you use the left to right foot weight transfer you'll end up with your weight on the right foot. However you'll need to step with your right foot again to find the ideal position to push off from for the FH. 2 consecutive right foot steps is very clumsy. So what actually needs to happen is that after the weight is on the right foot you need to have a very quick left foot step (which is the key "single foot split step" - if ball is to your BH you simply lunge with the left foot to where it needs to be - 1 step, but if ball is to your FH you still step with your left foot and use that to lunge to the right foot to prepare for the FH. This way there is no confusion on which leg to use for stepping (crucial especially against opponents who feint)

There's a lot of similar patterns which I'm working on...

Moving to the left is the hardest part because the reverse crossover step to the left is not as stable as the crossover step to the right. So it's always good to place a bit more attention on covering the BH because you can usually reach most balls with the crossover step even if you get caught.