Daily Table Tennis Chit Chat

[Gozo Aruna]

Just realize why I felt so tired after play this afternoon. I used a golden hl5 the whole afternoon. It requires much more effort than my JM zlc.

Serves you right. All these heroes wannabees. Instead of using easy to use Spring Sponge / ESN Tensor, but no.... you are masochist, prefer those hard Chinese rubbers.

I have tried using Flextra ( very ol'skool classic Japanese rubber which is non-tensor and non-speed glued ) on my FH and after the sixth session, my shoulder became stiff and sore. It is then I realized I cannot live without tensor. It is like I am bounded in holy matrimony with Tensor.

Mac and Cheese is delicious, easy to make and fill your stomach quickly. But nooooooo... someone here wants to make ratatouille from scratch.

 

[kindof99]

Serves you right. All these heroes wannabees. Instead of using easy to use Spring Sponge / ESN Tensor, but no.... you are masochist, prefer those hard Chinese rubbers.

I have tried using Flextra ( very ol'skool classic Japanese rubber which is non-tensor and non-speed glued ) on my FH and after the sixth session, my shoulder became stiff and sore. It is then I realized I cannot live without tensor. It is like I am bounded in holy matrimony with Tensor.

I will go back to my old time favorite xiom vega Europe like you😀

 

[Gozo Aruna]

I will go back to my old time favorite xiom vega Europe like you😀

Once I am good with my FH, I will go back to my old flame, my beloved M1.
M1: Hitting winner since 2014.

 

[dingyibvs]

BTW, for you guys who boost, how quickly does the sponge absorb the booster? Is it normal to see no booster on the surface after about an hour?

 

[Tony's Table Tennis]

What amazes me in veteran tournaments in Japan is how fit competitors are. There are very few overweight not even talking about obese players. Most seem to also be either going to the gym or run long distances … or probably both…

A friend coming from Germany watching a female veteran competition said that in his country all participants would be twice as big ! 😂

Life advice
If you want to live a long healthy life , learn from Japan or even go live here

Taiwan is very similar to Japan in this regards.
Since tt venues are easily accessible, I know many veterans playing tt 6 days a week and easily 3 hours + a day. They are so fit

 

[dingyibvs]

Serves you right. All these heroes wannabees. Instead of using easy to use Spring Sponge / ESN Tensor, but no.... you are masochist, prefer those hard Chinese rubbers.

I have tried using Flextra ( very ol'skool classic Japanese rubber which is non-tensor and non-speed glued ) on my FH and after the sixth session, my shoulder became stiff and sore. It is then I realized I cannot live without tensor. It is like I am bounded in holy matrimony with Tensor.

Mac and Cheese is delicious, easy to make and fill your stomach quickly. But nooooooo... someone here wants to make ratatouille from scratch.

I think you might be onto something lol! When I flipped my racket to use the boosted D09c on my FH side, it harkened back to the days I used TB ALC with T05s, the ball just instantly sank into the sponge with my normal 70-80% swing and whooshed past my opponent. I mean, I'm not trying to win anything of consequence or anything like that, I'm just trying to hit some beautiful shots. I'm pretty tempted to just stay with boosted D09c's! I've boosted the H3 with another layer, and I might try a 39 degree one some day, but I'm seriously leaning toward just using an easier rubber now! The D09c even after boosting isn't terribly bouncy in the short game, but I might launch a few too long when I loop against block/topspin though, so I guess we'll see!

 

[NextLevel]

Hmmm... I really need to put my blue sponge H3 on a blade... but maybe not...

It's interesting, I just realized I haven't recorded myself since I started using H3 - maybe I am injuring myself lol - will look into it.

More seriously, H3 has restored my confidence in the connection between mind and effort on shots, have not felt this way about a rubber since I used Nexy Karis, I just wish I had enough time and money to test various sponge hardnesses and types to see which worked best.

 

[Gozo Aruna]

leave those booster / unboosted H3 to the pros. Pros here means they train daily like how we do 9-5 daily work at the office. Pros here means they have access to coach, physiotherapist, dietitans, nutritionist, etc to guide them and to prolong their useful playing life.

We amateurs who play got fun, unless you are masochist, stick with tensors / regular spring sponge, not even the X version.

Pros have access to coaches, physiotherapists, dietitians and nutritionists.

However, don't feel jealous coz we have access to Excel, Words, Personal Assistance and Secretaries. Its just different kind of job we are doing.

 

[Tyce]

Hey, scouring AliExpress from 9 to 5 for new materials counts as training too, right?

 

[Takkyu_wa_inochi]

Taiwan is very similar to Japan in this regards.
Since tt venues or easily accessible, I know many veterans playing tt 6 days a week and easily 3 hours + a day. They are so fit

Yep. That’s the kind of guys I compete against and tbh I am myself quite fit. Used to practice 4-5 times a week plus a bit of running or other stuff on the side.

I’ve had to cut on that because of injury recently

My buddy who’s been playing TT since very young lost 3-0 yesterday to a lady who was a total adult beginner in her 40s 10 years ago. He used to play with her then for fun. Ofc she’s training seriously all the time. He’s depressed now and wants to quit he says. He’s not fit at all, doesn’t train much and has a growing belly 😂.

 

[Tyce]

I have the facilities to play like 4-5 nights a week... But then again I'm married, 2 kids. How do people even combine that stuff?

 

[Emin]

I have the facilities to play like 4-5 nights a week... But then again I'm married, 2 kids. How do people even combine that stuff?

Bring them to the Club.

Raise the next 2 harimoto siblings.

Let your wife Feed you multiball while the Kids Drill each other.

And voila, the netherlands are challenging China in the next WTTTC final!

 

[Emin]

I just found a Video of me training from 9 months ago.

Wow, just Wow.

My technique has drastically improved and now I can understand and see some of the Issues I was facing back then more clearly.

While the difference is big, It only becomes visible after seeing it after such a long time.

The compounding of small improvements every Werk and month really add up.

Only once some time has passed and you can Look at it from a different Perspective, youre able to really appreciate the changes that you made.

Makes me excited for the future.

 

[Tony's Table Tennis]

Yep. That’s the kind of guys I compete against and tbh I am myself quite fit. Used to practice 4-5 times a week plus a bit of running or other stuff on the side.

I’ve had to cut on that because of injury recently

My buddy who’s been playing TT since very young lost 3-0 yesterday to a lady who was a total adult beginner in her 40s 10 years ago. He used to play with her then for fun. Ofc she’s training seriously all the time. He’s depressed now and wants to quit he says. He’s not fit at all, doesn’t train much and has a growing belly 😂.

well, i'm not quiting just as yet,
my goal is to burn some kals and to sweat/exercise.
spent too many hours coaching, training others, or filming in the past year.
not enough of my own hours
and testing equipment doesn't count, haha

btw, I notice a problem, since being a trainer. I tend to set the ball up for rallies, than oppose to go for winners.
ie, that dude on saturday, I easily caught him out when he (right handed) served into my backhand, I would rpb down the line and he would be late or open the table for me.
I can do that every time, but I choose to keep the ball alive for rallies. haha

When I get tired, and need easy points, I would do that, but then, I feel bad, and then next ball, just gave him an easier ball.

I think there is called practice partner syndrome, because you can't kill your practice partners with 1 ball, or maybe you can? lol

 

[Tony's Table Tennis]

I just found a Video of me training from 9 months ago.

Wow, just Wow.

My technique has drastically improved and now I can understand and see some of the Issues I was facing back then more clearly.

While the difference is big, It only becomes visible after seeing it after such a long time.

The compounding of small improvements every Werk and month really add up.

Only once some time has passed and you can Look at it from a different Perspective, youre able to really appreciate the changes that you made.

Makes me excited for the future.

I found videos of me 10 years ago.
I was so thin

 

[Tony's Table Tennis]

I have the facilities to play like 4-5 nights a week... But then again I'm married, 2 kids. How do people even combine that stuff?

i go out to play when the kids are doing afternoon nap

 

[Gozo Aruna]

I found videos of me 10 years ago.
I was so thin

If you are married, it is just as mother nature intended...

 

[NextLevel]

leave those booster / unboosted H3 to the pros. Pros here means they train daily like how we do 9-5 daily work at the office. Pros here means they have access to coach, physiotherapist, dietitans, nutritionist, etc to guide them and to prolong their useful playing life.

We amateurs who play got fun, unless you are masochist, stick with tensors / regular spring sponge, not even the X version.

Pros has access to coach, physiotherapist, dietitians and nutritionists. Don't feel jealous coz,

We have access to Excel, Words, Personal Assistance and Secretaries. Its just different kind of job we are doing.

A part of me agrees with the attitude behind this.

But for me, the reason I disagree with you Gozo is that you are too obsessed with speed for your playing level. Flextra I hoped would help you kick the habit as well as good coaching but all that has happened is that you want your speed back, rather than you working on more ways to win points other than just speed. You still don't try to serve short. You don't try to move your opponent around with soft blocks. You don't work on your pushing game so that it can be more varied.

These are the things that I struggled with that kept me using fast rubber on slower blades. Now with thr plastic ball, I have gone to sticky rubber on faster blades. But the goal is to be able to do more than just whack the ball. Bring able to whack the ball doesn't mean much if you can't generate opportunities to whack the ball or expand the difficulty of thr balls you can whack. And that is where you still have a lot to learn.

 

[NextLevel]

well, i'm not quiting just as yet,
my goal is to burn some kals and to sweat/exercise.
spent too many hours coaching, training others, or filming in the past year.
not enough of my own hours
and testing equipment doesn't count, haha

btw, I notice a problem, since being a trainer. I tend to set the ball up for rallies, than oppose to go for winners.
ie, that dude on saturday, I easily caught him out when he (right handed) served into my backhand, I would rpb down the line and he would be late or open the table for me.
I can do that every time, but I choose to keep the ball alive for rallies. haha

When I get tired, and need easy points, I would do that, but then, I feel bad, and then next ball, just gave him an easier ball.

I think there is called practice partner syndrome, because you can't kill your practice partners with 1 ball, or maybe you can? lol

My late coach told me that I started coaching too early and that it would depress my playing level because I would get too used to giving people balls they could hit rather than looking for balls thar cused damage. I get what he meant just as you described. I suspect though that the bigger problem eas that I didn't have enough time or energy to improve my self because of my knee issues. I now have a path so I am working on it. We will see how it goes.

The main idea is to eat enough of the protein that is used in joint and cartilage formation and do exercises that strengthen muscles and tendons and see whether any repair occurs if I keep my inflammation low. Will give it at least 6 months and see whether there is any progress. So far the gains have been respectable, I compare how I felt after a tournament in February with only one event to how I have felt after my recent events and it has been very different.

 

[Gozo Aruna]

1. I conducted an experiment today.
2. I brought two of my blade to the practice hall today, almost similar, one being my regular 10.5 while the other being the 10.0 version ( which is my spare ).
3. I caught two players and I told them I will play with them two rounds each of best of five format, each round using a different set up.
4. When I use my regular 10.5, I won Player A & B both.
5. When I use the 10.0 spare, I lost to both A & B.
6. 10.5 set-up consist of FH Vega Europe ( ESN 42.5 hardness ) and Flextra ( ESN 42 guestimate sans tensor )
7. 10.0 set-up consist of FH Bluefire M1 ( 47.5 ESN hardness ) while BH is Vega Europe DF ( ESN Hardness 37.5 ).
8. This experiment proves that my Godilock zone is 42 degree hardness.
9. I can now short-list a lot of rubbers from my wish list.
10. My go to rubber is soft with Tensor variants.
11. I am a happy man.
12. My magic number is 42.