Daily Table Tennis Chit Chat

[42andbackpains]

Didnt play for 2 weeks. Went to the club yesterday and played 2 players.

1900ish player penholder gave me some trouble with his shortpips backhand and his sidespin corkscrew serve. I kept trying to bh banana flick or bh loop his pendulum sidespin serves which pretty much lost me the match. I was too aggressive and should have just pushed his serves back. To be aggressive or to keep the ball in play? I have stronger strokes than him, but weaker receive tactics.....hhhmmm

1700ish player shaked hand and in his 50s, i can beat him pretty easily but i was trying to learn & use more serve tactics. I watched the US Nationals and Lily Zhang was serving short no spin to the players forehand side and i was trying to implement this. LZ would serve short no spin and the opponent was forced to fh flick and this would open up the LZ forehand or backhand attack. (Lily Zhangs opponent was my coach who came in 3rd place...LOL) Started to understand this serve more, it needs to be no spin, short with some pace. Trying to play more on my toes, i have been reading TWAs posts and felt i was too flat footed. Playing on my toes helps a lot, i can get to the balls a tad quicker. Even if i lose, i am learning more things.

My lower wrist on the back of my playing hand between the pinky finger and wrist area has been sore for 3 weeks. Maybe too much bh flicks and loops. Hope it doesn't develop into tendinitis.

Keep trying and slowly slowly getting better, health permitting.

 

[OldschoolPenholder]

Even if i lose, i am learning more things.

I commented that a loss is not a loss if you learnt something from it to you and our mutual friend "W" ages ago... you both LOL'd me

oh how the ball bounces now i see ....

LOL at me!

Feel better dai lo!

 

[OldschoolPenholder]

OSP,

Thank you very much.

A like for luck as well as a speedy and healthy recovery for your cold too!
I am also having a cold at the moment, and I'm coughing so much!

doh jeh si-hing!

 

[NextLevel]

Had a good hit session at club yesterday.


I'm really trying to focus on improving the techniques I might not be as strong at when I got to club vs trying the "just win at all costs" approach. Sure you could push that long backspin serve but does that really help you?.. That's the type of stuff I'm talking about.


Discovered a real nice whip mechanic with sort pips in the FH stroke. I know NL is big on whip mechanic with inverted so he might like this. Anyways, playing SPs and hitting into the ball I largely didn't try to execute the technique. I thought the whip was only for spin. I think looking back now that was a mistake. You still need to do it to generate that strong powerful snap IMO.


Anyways, on largely any ball that bounces say a little over net height and higher I was simply smashing or slapping at the ball with a good amount of consistency. I suppose any inverted player out there who can smash or slap shot a high kill ball would identify the two swings as being strkingly similar. I was picturing my arm swing going around my body completely flat with a pretty flat blade face. Not at the 45 degree angle from waist to opposite shoulder like an inverted player might do. Purely flat around my body. But the whip came into where it felt like my body and forarm were beginning to swing and my hand & blade were being left behind dragged to catch up just before contact. I told my friend it was like pretending I had a 10 lbs paddle and a loose wrist. Then swinging. It sways back & then forth like a snake.


The resulting power and speed was incredible (this is where the whip comes in). It was exciting. My training partner commented on whatever you're doing, keep doing that.


Now I don't know about you guys. But I've had nights at club where I one particular shot was simply on. Then the next week it isn't and/or you forget what you were doing that worked so well. So going forward I'm trying to remember key words or things to tell myself (like loose wrist or whip) to remember to use this technique. Perhaps I hit them in next week. Perhaps I don't. Improvement is rarely a steady climb upwards. But the technique appears right for short pips and I figure as long as I keep to that, the consistency will hopefully get better & better over time.

All sports where you need to accelerate rackets the arm or hand over a short distance rely on whip mechanics. If you watch any advanced TT player and don't feel toy are watching a master class in whip mechanics, then you either don't have the eyes or the player is not as advanced as you think. Yes, even long pips.

Missing is part of developing any advanced stroke, your body needs the misses to calibrate the stroke and learn to adapt it. Unfortunately people take the missing the wrong way. That is what I tell people to start as slow as possible with any stroke so they can master their timing and racket angles at a speed the brain can easily follow. It is a common mistake to swing for power before you learn how often direct the ball. I get paid more than I wish and less than I deserve for getting people out of this bad habit.

Snake is the word I most commonly used to tell people to whip more from the wrist.

 

[NextLevel]

Been in Rome for the past few days so no table tennis. It will be interesting when I return because I think my technique was becoming more physical before I left. In any case, life is going to be interesting.

 

[OldschoolPenholder]

My martial arts instructor has a saying: "Slow down to the speed of what you don't know." Meaning, when learning something new, slow down, no need to perform at full speed/full power if you DON'T know what you are doing. Take as much time as one needs in the Technique Acquisition stage in slow-motion technique/moves.

A common martial arts saying, "Slow is smooth, smooth is fast." When the 'muscle memory' is installed from the slow and conscious moves, in time, one can slowly amp up the speed/power.

Gotta learn how to walk before one can run.

 

[ttmonster]

Blast from the past !!

The moment NextLevel thought , "Shite I should not have taught Carl how to do the salute forehand ! " ... waiting eagerly for the sequel ...

 

[UpSideDownCarl]

Blast from the past !!

The moment NextLevel thought , "Shite I should not have taught Carl how to do the salute forehand ! " ... waiting eagerly for the sequel ...

Gentleman point of the match at 10:40. NL serves, I give him a soft, high topspin push, he hits it into next week, but if you watch closely he puts his hand on the table during the kill shot. And while Der_Ecthe from the table behind me, is telling NL to flex his bicep, he is telling me he lost the point because he put his left hand on the table during the shot. I never would have known. Even watching the video, I would not realize without stopping the footage while he contacts the ball and then, you can see the hand is on the table.

But like a true sportsman, NL says, "your point, I put my hand on the table."

 

[ttmonster]

... and I thought cricket was a "gentleman's game" ...

Gentleman point of the match at 10:40. NL serves, I give him a soft, high topspin push, he hits it into next week, but if you watch closely he puts his hand on the table during the kill shot. And while Der_Ecthe from the table behind me, is telling NL to flex his bicep, he is telling me he lost the point because he put his left hand on the table during the shot. I never would have known. Even watching the video, I would not realize without stopping the footage while he contacts the ball and then, you can see the hand is on the table.

But like a true sportsman, NL says, "your point, I put my hand on the table."

 

[42andbackpains]

Took my 2 hours lesson on Saturday. Still cannot get the bh banana flick incorporated into my game, this will take many many moons. Decided to drop the Tibhar EL-S, it just doesn't feel right, i can get a lot of spin but the sinking of the ball into the rubber and sponge is not to my liking. There is nothing out there like the Butterfly spring sponge, back to Tenergy 05 for my bh in a couple of weeks. (Butterfly Tenergy is like crack for my bh)

My wrist soreness is going away bit by bit after i decided to break out the TENS portable unit for therapy. These things do work if you know how to apply it.

Played my male coach(US rated 2550) and won 3-1 when he gave me seven points. He was trying out his just learned shovel serves and he missed at least 4 or 5 points in crunch time.

My back is feeling ok to play about up to 4 hours with some rest in between . May play in a tournament soon. Talked to my pain Doctor, he also plays in our club. Asked him if he offer stem cell therapy and he said he does. May have to save some money and do a stem cell therapy for my herniated discs. Love to play more, hopefully this will help. No more eating out for a while.

DE is in the Northeast this coming week, loads of fun!!!

 

[OldschoolPenholder]

My wrist soreness is going away bit by bit after i decided to break out the TENS portable unit for therapy. These things do work if you know how to apply it.

Your post reminded me, my mom has one. May try it out.

My back is feeling ok to play about up to 4 hours with some rest in between . May play in a tournament soon. Talked to my pain Doctor, he also plays in our club. Asked him if he offer stem cell therapy and he said he does. May have to save some money and do a stem cell therapy for my herniated discs. Love to play more, hopefully this will help. No more eating out for a while.

Always pains me (no pun intended) to hear you have health issues, given you are younger than me. Good luck dai lo!

 

[ttmonster]

And you had to bring up age in response to this wonderful post ! .. aren't we all part of the same crowd, the getting older crowd ... I think the relative velocity is the only thing that matters ... not the absolute value ...

Your post reminded me, my mom has one. May try it out.



Always pains me (no pun intended) to hear you have health issues, given you are younger than me. Good luck dai lo!

 

[OldschoolPenholder]

And you had to bring up age in response to this wonderful post ! .. aren't we all part of the same crowd, the getting older crowd ... I think the relative velocity is the only thing that matters ... not the absolute value ...

ttmonster, I only bring up age with 42&bp, cos we were in the same TT crew and cut our teeth together ages ago. Truly pains me to read about his injuries ... and my deepest apologies for being a downer, i'm usually focusing on the positive.

42&bp, congrats on beating your coach with a 7 pts handicap and your back feeling stronger going on 4 hours play!

 

[ttmonster]

don't worry I was just nitpicking to pull your leg, has been a while .... yes I am especially looking forward to getting more details on the TENS and the stem cell therapy , I might need them for my knees soon ! .. and this part is serious , I am not kidding ... haven't played much in the last week because of plantar fasscitis and knee pain ... so I might have to change my handle to 37 and knee pains soon !

ttmonster, I only bring up age with 42&bp, cos we were in the same TT crew and cut our teeth together ages ago. Truly pains me to read about his injuries ... and my deepest apologies for being a downer, i'm usually focusing on the positive.

42&bp, congrats on beating your coach with a 7 pts handicap and your back feeling stronger going on 4 hours play!

 

[OldschoolPenholder]

don't worry I was just nitpicking to pull your leg, has been a while ....

No, no, you were right in calling me out on the post. 90% of the time i focus on the positive.

yes I am especially looking forward to getting more details on the TENS and the stem cell therapy , I might need them for my knees soon ! .. and this part is serious , I am not kidding ... haven't played much in the last week because of plantar fasscitis and knee pain ... so I might have to change my handle to 37 and knee pains soon !

ack! sorry to hear, a Like for Luck and pain relief!

 

[ttmonster]

Thanks for the wishes OSPH !

No, no, you were right in calling me out on the post. 90% of the time i focus on the positive.



ack! sorry to hear, a Like for Luck and pain relief!

 

[Takkyu_wa_inochi]

today played with another TTDer , Vrael, coming from Poland to Tokyo !!!! the third person from this forum

 

[UpSideDownCarl]

today played with another TTDer , Vrael, coming from Poland to Tokyo !!!! the third person from this forum

I want to hear about his reverse pendulum serve. Glad you guys had fun.


Sent from The Subterranean Workshop by Telepathy

 

[Takkyu_wa_inochi]

I want to hear about his reverse pendulum serve. Glad you guys had fun.


Sent from The Subterranean Workshop by Telepathy

yes his reverse pendulum serve is very good, deceptive, and a lot of backspin. When he served it short to my FH i made a lot of mistakes and it gave him huge advantage on me. in other parts of the game, i felt rather competitive despite the age difference

Vrael is a very good player and it was very fun playing with him

 

[Vrael]

and how about that long reverse pendelum serve from the middle of the table to bh ? I am prouder of it than the short ones ^^

I was really surprised with those counter from close distance when I thought that I was hitting finishers. Blocking and countering from close distance was really a problem, because I was not ready for the ball to return