So I have gone through a rough patch at work and school (as well as dealing with my kids' sleep issues) so while there is outstanding school work and work work, I finally got my priorities straight and decided to play TT on Friday, Saturday and today
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I went with my new Joola setup on Friday to our mobile club (meets at a few different locations every week) about 40 mins away. I was just happy to get out to hit the ball again. I played a 2100 guy with long pips on his backhand and lost 3‐1. All the games were close but his serve and forehand were really nasty. That said, I think I will do better against him over time but the one thing I noted was that my backhand wasn't where I felt it should be.
Saturday, I went to the DTTC in Carollton where the D stands for Dallas. I hit with a guy for about an hour and I started trying to hit low arc, high speed high spin forehands. I was surprised that they were reasonably good and the guy asked me why I don't loop like that in matches. I gave some excuse about that pace wearing me out, but honestly the two real issues are recovery against blocks and just having the confidence to go for it. But what I also noticed was that if I take the ball low, I can almost always hit a good shot with spin that goes through the table and that part of what causes me problems is being inpatient and trying to drive the high ball the same way through the table which is tougher when the high ball has spin. That said it is a project I I have to work on.
Them I played a guy who is like 2100 but has precisely the kind of game I struggle against. Last time he beat me 3‐2 but this time, we played 4 matches and he won a couple 3‐0 and a couple 3‐1. The problem is that he is really precise and patient so if you let anything float, he looks at where you are and hits the ball exactly where you hate to see it. So you have to be used to having your stuff attacked especially if it is high spin stuff. On the flip side I started to get a better idea of what I needed my backhand to do. Using tacky rubber on your backhand has pluses and minuses. But I think the biggest minus is that you dont get good speed when you brush thinly.
I got back home on Saturday, woke up on Sunday and felt my arthritic thumb was sore. I had tried my new blade without grip tape and it was causing pressure in my thumb. While most modern tutorials talk about the thumb and the forefinger, I am actually a guy who when playing my best depends on what my friend Dan calls "pinky power" - my lower three fingers around the handle are a huge part of my game as ii like to sling shots that rely on them.
So I put some grip tape on the blade and my pinky power came back. One of the benefits of pinky power for me is smash topspins and flicks become easier. Yes you aren't supposed to use your wrist on a forehand smash. Depends on what you mean by wrist usage ( do you use your wrist when you hammer a nail?).
Today, I went to the club meeting on Sunday at Texas Wesleyan and pinky power helped me play some great table tennis. I opened my backhand a bit more and start spinning the ball with more solid contact using my supination motion. Played some very good blocks, attacked a lot of long serves and went undefeated. All in all, a lot of good stuff for me to build on (or just a great day that happens when the moon is aligned with Jupiter and Saturn in the sky or something....) . My block is definitely better with the harder Golden Tango. And with the grip tape, my lower fingers can do much more and put less strain on my thumb, which frees up my backhand to be really whippy. The room to supinate and use the fingers for extra effect helped me a lot when blocking heavy topspin. I suspect it will help my forehand flick as well.
Can't wait to get out of the rough patch and play more in the summer. My company is having an after social to a major event at a SPIN club so that will be interesting. Some coworkers know about my skills but I suspect they will all be surprised lol. It's hard to really understand TT until you play it.
