Focus on the ball instead of my movement?

[XpingpingpongpongX]

Usually, when the ball comes, I do a stroke, focusing on my movement and blade angle.

Then, last time, I just had this idea out of no where. I tried to focus on where on the ball I should hit, and let my natural instinct to figure out the blade angle. I felt I have better consistency in this way. Thinking about it, this has 2 advantages: 1, focus better on the ball; 2, focus less on my body so I could be more relaxed. It was just a training session, I will test it out in some actual matches and see if it still works.

Is this something obvious to everyone, but I just had it wrong all the time? Do people think about the contact point of the ball and/or the blade angle?

 

[Tyce]

A little bit of both, but you can see lots of pro players following the ball constantly, even when they hit it.
I think there's a few special benefits from this. For one, it makes sure you can correct your direction up to the very last moment, in case of a gnarly sidespin, a weird bounce or whatever.
Two, following the ball coming in as well as shooting out really establishes great hand-eye coordination. You use the eyes to set up the body and if you stop looking, you're basically flying blind.

Your mind will understand what you need to do with the blade, provided you have trained sufficiently to learn the necessary strokes.

 

[sebi]

In training you should get balls with very little deviation. To train your technique and swing. Switch it up in training if its wanted in training like training for float or under spin etc.

In match play you should watch the opponent and then follow the ball with your eyes until you hit it. Technique and swing should be automatic in match play.

My take on it

 

[XpingpingpongpongX]

Yep, I understand the importance of following the ball with my eyes. But previously I just hit the ball, adjusting my blade angles according to the situation. Now I tried focusing on where on the ball I should hit and forget about my blade angle. It makes a difference to me, at least in my last training.

 

[Jslick89]

Each stroke is a multitude of "lightning fast" decisions, but I try to keep those decisions as "simple" as possible when executing:

1) Always watch the ball
2) Always try to maintain proper footwork
3) what technique do i need to do here? (IE, push, loop, block ect. ect)
4) When aiming, i split the table up into 3rds that run perpendicular to the net. My decision for aiming is simply which of those three quadrants do i want to aim my shot towards.
5) recover

so to answer your question, stroke movement and bat angle would fall under the 3rd decision, but the execution is muscle memory once ive made that decision because at this point, i've practiced each technique a least a million times.

 

[Tony's Table Tennis]

Following the ball is correct
following the path of the ball - getting your body into that position to hit the ball.

its not always you can do text book shots, but you need to learn text book shots and during live play - your body would do the rest.

 

[NextLevel]

Usually, when the ball comes, I do a stroke, focusing on my movement and blade angle.

Then, last time, I just had this idea out of no where. I tried to focus on where on the ball I should hit, and let my natural instinct to figure out the blade angle. I felt I have better consistency in this way. Thinking about it, this has 2 advantages: 1, focus better on the ball; 2, focus less on my body so I could be more relaxed. It was just a training session, I will test it out in some actual matches and see if it still works.

Is this something obvious to everyone, but I just had it wrong all the time? Do people think about the contact point of the ball and/or the blade angle?

@Baal always reminded us that table tennis is a sport that playing at your best will leave you without feeling like you are focused on anything in particular. If you feel you are improving your play by doing something consciously, then you are unlikely to be playing at your best. You are just adapting to something better which you haven't sufficiently practiced yet. Conscious thought always interferes with optimal play.

 

[Lula]

I think if you tell a player to hit on top of the ball, then they are forced to close the racket angle and can only hit back and forward. But probably easier to just close the racket angle, then you are forced to hit on top of the ball, than back and forward.
As long as it works for you i think its good.
I do think it is important to try to learn to look at the opponent more. Game is to fast to react, need to anticipate by looking at how the opponent stands, shoulder, racket and so on.

 

[XpingpingpongpongX]

thanks for all the good comments and recommendations. It sounds like I need to work on my consistency and things will come to me more naturally. I just don't have enough time and resources to practice more.

 

[XpingpingpongpongX]

I do think it is important to try to learn to look at the opponent more. Game is to fast to react, need to anticipate by looking at how the opponent stands, shoulder, racket and so on.

I often remind myself to look at the opponent, but it's hard. When I look at the opponent, I would "forget" to look at the ball. And when I look at the ball, I would "forget" to look at the opponent.

 

[Jslick89]

thanks for all the good comments and recommendations. It sounds like I need to work on my consistency and things will come to me more naturally. I just don't have enough time and resources to practice more.

how long have you been playing for? For us HOBBY players, consistency is the main thing we all need to work on. I also don't have as much time as i would like to practice more, so you have to make the most of each of your practice sessions. I like to spend approx 60% of my time working on my strengths, and approx 40% of my time honing my weaknesses.

 

[XpingpingpongpongX]

how long have you been playing for? For us HOBBY players, consistency is the main thing we all need to work on. I also don't have as much time as i would like to practice more, so you have to make the most of each of your practice sessions. I like to spend approx 60% of my time working on my strengths, and approx 40% of my time honing my weaknesses.

I started playing when I was in elementary school, no coach, just having fun with my buddies and tried to learn by watching Olympic games. But I have been on and off for like 20 years, playing maybe 5 times per year on average. I started playing again in the summer of 2024. Like you said, consistency is the main thing. Occasionally on a good day, I could win a couple games against a 2000+ rating player (I know they are not tournament serious), but on a bad day I could lose to a 1400 rating player. I am strong, so I have powerful loops and counter loops compared to my level. But then everything else is my weakness lol.

Recently a friend (2200 rating) told me that when I loop, I should open up my blade a little bit more, it would give me better consistency. Since then, my play has been horrible for a couple months because my mind was trying to fight against my subconscious habit. Maybe this was why I came up with this idea of focusing on the contact point of the ball instead of my blade angle.

 

[Jslick89]

I started playing when I was in elementary school, no coach, just having fun with my buddies and tried to learn by watching Olympic games. But I have been on and off for like 20 years, playing maybe 5 times per year on average. I started playing again in the summer of 2024. Like you said, consistency is the main thing. Occasionally on a good day, I could win a couple games against a 2000+ rating player (I know they are not tournament serious), but on a bad day I could lose to a 1400 rating player. I am strong, so I have powerful loops and counter loops compared to my level. But then everything else is my weakness lol.

Recently a friend (2200 rating) told me that when I loop, I should open up my blade a little bit more, it would give me better consistency. Since then, my play has been horrible for a couple months because my mind was trying to fight against my subconscious habit. Maybe this was why I came up with this idea of focusing on the contact point of the ball instead of my blade angle.

interesting. There is a HUGE skill level between a 1400 player and a 2000+ rated player. I'm 1850 now and I can toy around 1400 level players quite easily. A strong loop and counter is a great though. And come to think of it, i have a friend whos rated 1300 who can take cames off 2000 players but never won a match. i guess anything is possible lol.

Anyways, that is interesting advice from your friend. i generally have a more open face now when i hit forehand, but thats because I switched grips to more neutral and also started using chinese rubbers, so i had to adjust my technique a little to fit these changes. If the change isn't working, you other need more practice, or more feedback from your friend/coach.

 

[NextLevel]

I think if you tell a player to hit on top of the ball, then they are forced to close the racket angle and can only hit back and forward. But probably easier to just close the racket angle, then you are forced to hit on top of the ball, than back and forward.
As long as it works for you i think its good.
I do think it is important to try to learn to look at the opponent more. Game is to fast to react, need to anticipate by looking at how the opponent stands, shoulder, racket and so on.

Closing the racket leads to a lot of racket edging, I prefer people find the contact point (usually on side top) like you said. This plastic ball lets you get away with setting the angle late.

 

[NextLevel]

Usually, when the ball comes, I do a stroke, focusing on my movement and blade angle.

Then, last time, I just had this idea out of no where. I tried to focus on where on the ball I should hit, and let my natural instinct to figure out the blade angle. I felt I have better consistency in this way. Thinking about it, this has 2 advantages: 1, focus better on the ball; 2, focus less on my body so I could be more relaxed. It was just a training session, I will test it out in some actual matches and see if it still works.

Is this something obvious to everyone, but I just had it wrong all the time? Do people think about the contact point of the ball and/or the blade angle?

With the new plastic ball more than ever and with the improved rubbers as well, you do better trying to hit and brush with solid contact and relatively open racket faces hitting the right spot on the ball and then adding and controlling spin on the follow through than to set the racket closed early and maintain the angle (if it was ever correct to do that). That said, it does require you to track the ball well anf early, rather than lazily lift the racket from below all the time.

 

[Tony's Table Tennis]

interesting. There is a HUGE skill level between a 1400 player and a 2000+ rated player. I'm 1850 now and I can toy around 1400 level players quite easily. A strong loop and counter is a great though. And come to think of it, i have a friend whos rated 1300 who can take cames off 2000 players but never won a match. i guess anything is possible lol.

I am that friend that is 1000 and can play 2000 or 2500 shots, but back to 1000 and 500 the next point.
i blame the belly.

 

[Jslick89]

I am that friend that is 1000 and can play 2000 or 2500 shots, but back to 1000 and 500 the next point.
i blame the belly.

Kind of different because you used to be a high level but you “grew” out of it

 

[canonFH]

I think different types of training require different focus points. If I am learning a new shot, or trying to work on my technique, I do this in a "sterile" environment. Which means getting easy balls so I can focus on my movements, either with a robot or a partner who has the right touch.

Then I progress to making the shot at different places, different timings, etc. Here, I don't focus on my technique but my position and timing. If I have worked enough on my technique, the muscle memory should automatically do the job once I'm in the correct position.

Finally, if I'm able to reasonably make the shot from multiple positions, I'll work on consistency. Which means most of my focus is on the ball, but if I make a bad shot, I try to diagnose the issue.

During matches, all I'm thinking about is what my opponent wants to do and how I can prevent it or make him uncomfortable and what I want and how to get to that position.

But during all this, I don't think there is a moment where I'm not tracking the ball. I think it helps if you have played other ball sports. Here in India, we play cricket a lot and the first thing any coach tells a player is to watch the ball. Some players at the highest level have even been recorded saying this to themselves when they're getting ready to face the ball.

 

[XpingpingpongpongX]

interesting. There is a HUGE skill level between a 1400 player and a 2000+ rated player. I'm 1850 now and I can toy around 1400 level players quite easily. A strong loop and counter is a great though. And come to think of it, i have a friend whos rated 1300 who can take cames off 2000 players but never won a match. i guess anything is possible lol.

Anyways, that is interesting advice from your friend. i generally have a more open face now when i hit forehand, but thats because I switched grips to more neutral and also started using chinese rubbers, so i had to adjust my technique a little to fit these changes. If the change isn't working, you other need more practice, or more feedback from your friend/coach.

1850 is very good for hobby players. I do want to get to around 1900 in the future. My understanding is, in that level, I don't make much unpressured mistakes and can return most shots as long as I am not badly out of position. Winning a game from a 2000 rating is very rare. Even though I know they didn't go 100% on me, that still gave me confidence that I have the potential to get near that level. Just need to work on my consistency and fix a few weakness.
For the blade angle, I talked to difference people and they have different opinions. But I do see the benefit of opening the angle so that I won't do the occasional edge hit or shallow brush. I just need to suffer through the adjustment period. With not much time to practice, this could take a while unfortunately.

 

[XpingpingpongpongX]

I think different types of training require different focus points. If I am learning a new shot, or trying to work on my technique, I do this in a "sterile" environment. Which means getting easy balls so I can focus on my movements, either with a robot or a partner who has the right touch.

Then I progress to making the shot at different places, different timings, etc. Here, I don't focus on my technique but my position and timing. If I have worked enough on my technique, the muscle memory should automatically do the job once I'm in the correct position.

Finally, if I'm able to reasonably make the shot from multiple positions, I'll work on consistency. Which means most of my focus is on the ball, but if I make a bad shot, I try to diagnose the issue.

During matches, all I'm thinking about is what my opponent wants to do and how I can prevent it or make him uncomfortable and what I want and how to get to that position.

But during all this, I don't think there is a moment where I'm not tracking the ball. I think it helps if you have played other ball sports. Here in India, we play cricket a lot and the first thing any coach tells a player is to watch the ball. Some players at the highest level have even been recorded saying this to themselves when they're getting ready to face the ball.

yep this is a very systematic way to learn. I just don't have that resources. It would be nice if I can hit with a robot for a couple hours a week. And it's quite hard to get rid of bad habits like not following the ball all the time.