Daily Table Tennis Chit Chat

[blahness]

Recently i am looking a bit more into the use of the fingers during the FH loop / counterloop to make spin production even more efficient (for eg. when people BH punch the ball down the line and you dont wanna give up the close table)

So with BH i have the 2 finger method (side of thumb pressing on right side of the Fh rubber and index finger tip pressing on left side of BH rubber to create the double lever arm which creates the rotational moment) which works really well for me at the moment, but on the FH side it is just too slow (ie i get good spin but the time to activate the spin is too long)

So based on some experimentation, i came up with a possibly better method.

So the problem with FH is that the bat needs to be stable, so there needs to be a stable pivot point, i found out that the 5th and 4th fingers can fulfill this role better than the thumb. So during contact they need to be active to stabilize the bat while the thumb and index finger do their work in initiating, they cant be inactive.

With the thumb, i realised something cool - i could start with the side of the thumb touching the FH rubber, and then end with the base of the thumb touching and gripping the rubber on the left side which also is important in stabilizing the bat face. This rotation of the thumb contact with the rubber also coincides with the forearm pronation force so contributes to the rotational moment, in addition to the side of the index finger pressing on the BH rubber. This way, the base surface of thumb can also 'hold' the bat steady during contact when there are quite large forces/acceleration coming from the lower body.

This is quite a bit different to badminton where for the FH shots the thumb is the pivot point, while the index finger together with the 3rd,4th,5th fingers produces the lever arm forces.

Will test this out later in the week when i play next.

Tested this and it worked really well! First time it was so easy to get rich topspin from just the fingers lol. The good thing is that i can actually do a pretty nice FH topspin flick off a short ball and i can even make it rather short or long. Usually i default to the push flick (which is nontopspin), so this would be a useful variation.

But also the FH topspin is so much easier and flexible now with this change.

Now if I can get my serves back.... i think i need a stupid amount of serve practice to get my serves back, the trajectory control is just horrible and full of mistakes. I guess no way around it other than lots of practice.

Doesnt help that i have 4 systems of serves - hook, tomahawk, pure heavy under/no spin, FH pendulum to practice.....

 

[Archosaurus]

Played a bit with an-ex District player from Vietnam. He said he never qualified for the City team because his city was extremely competitive, so I guess you could say his max level was around 2100 equiv. I think he's about 1800-1900 right now; rusty and not playing for some time, but some shots are distinctly high quality way beyond that kind of level. I've seen him demolish 3rd division players, so he must be beyond that level at least.

We were supposed to play a few sets only, but I kept creeping closer and we ended at avg 8-11 after 6 sets or so . One even went to 10-12.

Also tried a more backspin oriented serving grip for a few days now and it's working really well. Also tried H8-80 unboosted on the backhand and I quite like it. I think H3 is overall better, but it's definitely acceptable for me. It feels a bit like something between H3 and T05 in feeling.

 

[Tyce]

It feels a bit like something between H3 and T05 in feeling.

That describes 90% of rubbers lol

 

[Archosaurus]

That describes 90% of rubbers lol

Lol, sure, but I mean in a literal way, it really does feel like they just took a H3 topsheet and a T05 sponge and slapped them together.

 

[jk1980]

We were supposed to play a few sets only, but I kept creeping closer and we ended at avg 8-11 after 6 sets or so . One even went to 10-12.

Training matches are bad to judge level and skill differences.
i am probably not the only one trying ridiculous shots against opponents that pose no threat, simply because it would be boring to win 11-3 and it would be missing an easy match like "try new stuff" scenario. If the 8 points are actually you scoring instead of him doing something overzelous that would be a different story

 

[Archosaurus]

Training matches are bad to judge level and skill differences.
i am probably not the only one trying ridiculous shots against opponents that pose no threat, simply because it would be boring to win 11-3 and it would be missing an easy match like "try new stuff" scenario. If the 8 points are actually you scoring instead of him doing something overzelous that would be a different story

His level is probably 500-600 rating above me, so I'm not saying we're similar. More-so that I was just able to attain a decent performance.

He will lose 1 or 2 points a set from trying some crazy receive, and normally he would still win maybe 11-5, but today I was able to force him into a weaker receive strategy and start counterspinning his opening loops or flicks so I got a bit closer. Serving was also really tight.

 

[andymagata]

You will be new tomorrow and you will be looking for new setups...

So true! A very humbling experiance I hope for me…I was so sure about my short pips! So sure! And then I tried inverted forehand again and was immediately in love with it again. I feel like a fool that I thought that I could exchange the ability to brush loop for a slightly different feeling in some drives.

With this said, played almost 6 months with short pips, and I learned a lot! And now with my Yinhe Mercury 2 I can still do flat drives almost as good as with the pips. And I move better than before, the pips ”forced” me to move the feet more than to swing with my arm.

 

[kindof99]

So true! A very humbling experiance I hope for me…I was so sure about my short pips! So sure! And then I tried inverted forehand again and was immediately in love with it again. I feel like a fool that I thought that I could exchange the ability to brush loop for a slightly different feeling in some drives.

With this said, played almost 6 months with short pips, and I learned a lot! And now with my Yinhe Mercury 2 I can still do flat drives almost as good as with the pips. And I move better than before, the pips ”forced” me to move the feet more than to swing with my arm.

Playing with short pips will definitely help you use body more and time the ball better, and for more compact strokes. That is why pips can be harder to play with if playing properly.

 

[kindof99]

Lol, sure, but I mean in a literal way, it really does feel like they just took a H3 topsheet and a T05 sponge and slapped them together.

the more accurate description is 50% T05 and 50% H3

 

[andymagata]

What is the cause of the whip like pistol shot sound coming when flat hitting? The ball, blade or rubber or combination?

 

[Haito]

What is the cause of the whip like pistol shot sound coming when flat hitting? The ball, blade or rubber or combination?

Mostly ball and blade combo.

 

[Archosaurus]

the more accurate description is 50% T05 and 50% H3

Yep, that's what I meant. A mixture of feelings and performance.


Training today, nothing special. Did some blocking, some looping, some match scenario multi, some practice games. Performance a bit unstable today, but it is what it is.

H8-80 on backhand does stand out when blocking; easy to get a low and fast arc, but also easy to take spin and pace off the ball. I quite like it. The hardness measured around 46, but it feels generally softer than that to me.

What is the cause of the whip like pistol shot sound coming when flat hitting? The ball, blade or rubber or combination?

That's the sound of the sponge compressing to its limits to where it starts to become semi-solid and the wood compliance takes most of the additional load. Although there's some sponges out there which make a mean crack even if you're not really hitting into it too much.

 

[dingyibvs]

So in the excitement of watching Sora's thunderous attacks recently, I bought a couple sheets of Zyre03, which should arrive in a couple days. I plan to put it on the BH of my FZD ALC. I think I'll keep the H3 on the FH side for now, though I'm tempted to just make a full Sora setup with a D09c for the FH.

With that said, I'm playing really well with the Rxton 9 and with my current setup in general. It's relatively easy to play with, very stable, has a lot of gears without being too mushy at the lower end like my W968. Just earlier today I beat a player in a practice match whom I'd never beaten before, and a lot of it was due to the improved stability on the BH side, with very solid blocking, counters, and just enough offense to create opportunities for finishers from my FH. The FH is just as easy to use as my W968, maybe even easier. It's got the characteristic 968 flex, allowing me to land shots from uncomfortable positions, launch powerful strikes with great arc and hold, and the lack of power compared to the W and the Q is simply not an issue at my level.

So, I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'll probably switch to the FZD/D09c/Z03 soon

On the technique side, during training today I tried doing what FZD said which was to hit the ball a bit in front of you. I gave that a try and it does seem to mesh well with my recent incorporation of hitting more forward. The whole movement seems a bit more natural, and I have more control of the ball. I'm gonna have to try it some more in the next training session. As mentioned before, I started keeping notes after training now, and the list of things to work on is starting to get a bit long. So long that it might be a bit hard to work on everything I want to each practice, but I guess I'll do my best.

 

[Archosaurus]

On the technique side, during training today I tried doing what FZD said which was to hit the ball a bit in front of you.

FWIW FZD's contact point fore-aft wise is basically identical to all other top players. But he does get a bit lower relative to the ball than the standard technique. It seems to work really well if you're a bit stocky.