Daily Table Tennis Chit Chat

[SleepyMaster]

For many players, SPIN is a four letter word that starts with an S.

It MUST be an obscene word, I do not see majority of players do much spin in their shots. Still, on can get to top ten percent of players without having to spell that word much, there is that.

There is A LOT of amateurs, that plays mostly flat, but doing it for decades, and playing pretty well (2000+) by smashes and fast drives, and mostly under spin/no spin serves.

Spin is good, but it not an guaranteed win, especially if you not very experienced at it. But it gives you potential to grow in more advanced player in future

 

[Gozo Zyreruna]

For many players, SPIN is a four letter word that starts with an S.

It MUST be an obscene word, I do not see majority of players do much spin in their shots. Still, on can get to top ten percent of players without having to spell that word much, there is that.

If I can get to 11% of the top; already surpass my objective.

 

[JJ Ng]

There is A LOT of amateurs, that plays mostly flat, but doing it for decades, and playing pretty well (2000+) by smashes and fast drives, and mostly under spin/no spin serves.

Spin is good, but it not an guaranteed win, especially if you not very experienced at it. But it gives you potential to grow in more advanced player in future

Agree. Only players trained classically by a coach understand spin well.

But many people who self learn know what their strengths and weaknesses are and they can be very good (they are just talented). One guy at the club serves either slight back spin or floating no spin, long, to various parts of the table. Once the other play opens up, he just smashes all over the table, fast, with some back spin in his smashes. He has invreted rubber on both sides and play very very well. There you go.

 

[blahness]

For many players, SPIN is a four letter word that starts with an S.

It MUST be an obscene word, I do not see majority of players do much spin in their shots. Still, on can get to top ten percent of players without having to spell that word much, there is that.

Although that is generally true, I'm pretty sure pushblocker on mytt managed to become a state champion while only pushing and blocking 😂

I myself am quite spin oriented but I still lose plenty to players who don't spin the ball anywhere close to my levels especially the combination LP/inverted penholders.

There's a lot more in TT than spin which is only one of the 5 main pillars, the others being placement, variation, power and speed.

 

[NextLevel]

The players who beat me hit the ball with higher levels of power and spin than I do and are usually much more mobile as well. I am fairly confident that if my lower body was fixed so I could play without risk of snapping my knees, I would be 2200+. That's how good my ball quality is. I just can't move well enough to consistently take advantage of it and play better defense against power players.

 

[Gozo Zyreruna]

The players who beat me hit the ball with higher levels of power and spin than I do and are usually much more mobile as well. I am fairly confident that if my lower body was fixed so I could play without risk of snapping my knees, I would be 2200+. That's how good my ball quality is. I just can't move well enough to consistently take advantage of it and play better defense against power players.

The dark side is a pathway to many abilities many considered to be unnatural... Dark side = pips / antis

 

[NextLevel]

View attachment 25618
The dark side is a pathway to many abilities many considered to be unnatural... Dark side = pips / antis

Yes, it is an option for sure, but I loop at a high level on both sides and I also can do unnatural things with inverted rubber when I put my mind to it. I also see 60 year old players playing all out offense with inverted so I will just stick with what I enjoy.

 

[SleepyMaster]

The players who beat me hit the ball with higher levels of power and spin than I do and are usually much more mobile as well. I am fairly confident that if my lower body was fixed so I could play without risk of snapping my knees, I would be 2200+. That's how good my ball quality is. I just can't move well enough to consistently take advantage of it and play better defense against power players.

What injury you have? sorry, if it bothered you by that question. I have completely tear mcl in the left knee, and partly in my right knee by wrestling. Right shoulder ligament partly teared too. And also two herniated discs in my lower back. Sport is health, yeah 🙂

 

[NextLevel]

There is A LOT of amateurs, that plays mostly flat, but doing it for decades, and playing pretty well (2000+) by smashes and fast drives, and mostly under spin/no spin serves.

Spin is good, but it not an guaranteed win, especially if you not very experienced at it. But it gives you potential to grow in more advanced player in future

it is just easier to get good spinning than any other way for most players who are reasonable athletes. Hitting with precision especially against players who are spinning requires more practice and work. Spin makes it easier to play faster and place the ball with confidence but speed if you can be consistent with it is probably the ultimate weapon. But spin can slow down the game and mess up timing as well, spin just gives way more options.

 

[NextLevel]

What injury you have? sorry, if it bothered you by that question. I have completely tear mcl in left knee, and partly on my right knee by wrestling. And also two herniated discs in my lower back. Sport is health, yeah 🙂

I have had autoimmune arthritis for years (bad lifestyle choices). I am not professional athlete so most of my physical issues are not addressed or tested for and I cut down my carbohydrates for many years to manage the pain. But almost all my tendons and joints have inflammation or loss of cartilage and no synovial fluid and my right knee is very wobbly. I wouldn't be surprised if I have torn both meniscus in my knees as something popped in them years ago, but I just never went to see the doctor about it since it did not prevent me from walking (it did prevent me from running though). Maybe someday I will get a physical exam just to know what is going on but you can hear the crepitus while I play if you listen carefully lol.

 

[Der_Echte]

Although that is generally true, I'm pretty sure pushblocker on mytt managed to become a state champion while only pushing and blocking 😂

I myself am quite spin oriented but I still lose plenty to players who don't spin the ball anywhere close to my levels especially the combination LP/inverted penholders.

There's a lot more in TT than spin which is only one of the 5 main pillars, the others being placement, variation, power and speed.

Yes, it is a fact that Pushblocker did achieve a significantly higher than 2000 rating, prolly a consistent upper 2100s true level... but he played that level in the era of 40 mm cell ball and frictionless LPs. Yes, he pretty much blocked, or fast bumped the ball without attacking much of anything...

You would have to have been active in that era vs that equipment and playing at near that level to understand how a player can make 2000 level with frictionless pips. It took certain skills to do that, but they were easier to develop for those who did not train years on fundamentals. A local player here is a big example... 2000 level with frictionless pips... and maybe not 1700 without them in the ABS ball era.

One of the biggest catalysts IMO for ITTF banning frictionless pips was to appease the amateur crowd... the crowd of parents of pro trained kids who in their early years would bring themselves to tears not able to play vs an OK pushblocker wielding frictionless pips... and the parents of these kids were even worse in the crying and the wrong/strong disciplining and shaming of their kids... HOW DARE a topspin pro trained looper lose to that fat, old, untrained sloth with LPs !!!! These parents carried a lot of clout and it added up.

S-Jan will blame his good buddy the Reverend Larry Leisure Suit for all the ills of ITTF equipment decisions on laws, but deep pocketed parents had weight.

 

[Der_Echte]

There is A LOT of amateurs, that plays mostly flat, but doing it for decades, and playing pretty well (2000+) by smashes and fast drives, and mostly under spin/no spin serves.

Spin is good, but it not an guaranteed win, especially if you not very experienced at it. But it gives you potential to grow in more advanced player in future

Yes GM, it is true that well trained consistent hitters can crack top ten percent of players... and hopefully I articulated this well.

There is a local player here who would be on the verge of top ten percent if he did enough tourneys... dude is in the Russian Church and played many decades with equipment not capable of much spin, so he learned to hit and retrieve... has the best raw footwork of anyone in 3 million here at AGE SIXTY. Has extreme good control of grip pressure at impact... pretty much uses that as an adjustment at impact to consistently retrieve... then pound loose returns or safe shots. A tricky payer to face, you have to use both spin and deadly pace vs him or he begins to own you.

 

[SleepyMaster]

I have had autoimmune arthritis for years (bad lifestyle choices). I am not professional athlete so most of my physical issues are not addressed or tested for and I cut down my carbohydrates for many years to manage the pain. But almost all my tendons and joints have inflammation or loss of cartilage and no synovial fluid and my right knee is very wobbly. I wouldn't be surprised if I have torn both meniscus in my knees as something popped in them years ago, but I just never went to see the doctor about it since it did not prevent me from walking (it did prevent me from running though). Maybe someday I will get a physical exam just to know what is going on but you can hear the crepitus while I play if you listen carefully lol.

Better to know exact condition, if you playing a lot, and you knees are going through a lot of stress, just for the reason, not to make it even worse; but it’s only my humble opinion. I wish you will be able to escape some sort of a hard complications or things like that.

After I finished competing in mma/bjj I did the whole checkup. The good thing was I didn’t have brain damage after years of boxing and mma, but my whole body is fucked up with arthritis and teared ligaments. The cracking sounds of my body in the mornings, always making my wife laugh. But as doctor told me - it’s a normal state of a body for professional sportsman’s. It could be better, it could be worse.

Anyway the only way for me is to keep training, bc when I don’t, i started to feel all the pain from the damage, that my body goes trough the years

 

[SleepyMaster]

Yes GM, it is true that well trained consistent hitters can crack top ten percent of players... and hopefully I articulated this well.

There is a local player here who would be on the verge of top ten percent if he did enough tourneys... dude is in the Russian Church and played many decades with equipment not capable of much spin, so he learned to hit and retrieve... has the best raw footwork of anyone in 3 million here at AGE SIXTY. Has extreme good control of grip pressure at impact... pretty much uses that as an adjustment at impact to consistently retrieve... then pound loose returns or safe shots. A tricky payer to face, you have to use both spin and deadly pace vs him or he begins to own

One of administrators of our club, is playing that style, and he is beating a lot of young promising talents. Just by feeling, placement and a powerful smash. Dude is in his sixty plus years, never played or trained traditional two wing topspin style - but he played in some league and Setka cups, and upsetting a lot of people with classical technique

 

[blahness]

Imo the biggest advantage of spin is the extra safety it provides via the Magnus effect pulling balls downwards toward the table. This is the reason why only inverted players can hit hard winners off balls below net height. You simply cannot do it with any other type of rubber due to the lack of topspin. With great spin generation it becomes very easy to land loops onto the table even if you misread the incoming ball slightly. With other types of rubbers you need to be much more precise with ball reading skills and many such players reached high levels with huge amounts of time on the table.

 

[NextLevel]

Better to know exact condition, if you playing a lot, and you knees are going through a lot of stress, just for the reason, not to make it even worse; but it’s only my humble opinion. I wish you will be able to escape some sort of a hard complications or things like that.

After I finished competing in mma/bjj I did the whole checkup. The good thing was I didn’t have brain damage after years of boxing and mma, but my whole body is fucked up with arthritis and teared ligaments. The cracking sounds of my body in the mornings, always making my wife laugh. But as doctor told me - it’s a normal state of a body for professional sportsman’s. It could be better, it could be worse.

Anyway the only way for me is to keep training, bc when I don’t, i started to feel all the pain from the damage, that my body goes trough the years

Not on my knees but I have had similar things with other joints like elbows and shoulders. Even paid for MRIs out of my pocket sometimes to analyze them. The overall approach of the doctors didn't encourage me much. Once they just see arthritis, they tend to just accept it as something that happens as you age if it is extreme so you won't get any real solutions unless it is so bad you need surgery. So in the end, you either figure out how to manage it or you just accept the deterioration until you need to replace the joint.

 

[NextLevel]

From the May 20 tournament - one of my four losses.

 

[SleepyMaster]

From the May 20 tournament - one of my four losses.

Pretty even game, anyone can win. You just make little bit more error on a receive, when initiating first move. But there were some good shots, and even you been able to catch some good of an angle balls, my moving your legs.
Good job, anyway.

What’s your rating and your opponent?

 

[SleepyMaster]

Not on my knees but I have had similar things with other joints like elbows and shoulders. Even paid for MRIs out of my pocket sometimes to analyze them. The overall approach of the doctors didn't encourage me much. Once they just see arthritis, they tend to just accept it as something that happens as you age if it is extreme so you won't get any real solutions unless it is so bad you need surgery. So in the end, you either figure out how to manage it or you just accept the deterioration until you need to replace the joint.

I understand what autoimmune thing is, it’s in all your body. But you’ve mentioned your knees, so I guessed that they are more exposed to it.
Again, I wish you to stay away from even worst of an injuries, that’s a not good thing for sure. Stay strong 💪🏼

 

[NextLevel]

Pretty even game, anyone can win. You just make little bit more error on a receive, when initiating first move. But there were some good shots, and even you been able to catch some good of an angle balls, my moving your legs.
Good job, anyway.

What’s your rating and your opponent?

This was my first tournament in over 2 and a half years so I was an overrated 2050 (I am now under 2000 with the points I lost). My opponent didn't lose an match in any event and was an underrated 2100. His rating right now is 2196 or so, but he is still underrated, definitely at least 2250 and more likely over 2300. It' just that because I know how to serve short ant attack serves on backhand, I tend to look better against these players than I should.