How do you handle emotions during a game?

[Denso]

- take a lot of time between points to think about what to do next . Cardio will go a bit down. As for me I take one deep breath , followed by 3 short quick ones . Maybe do it several times in a row if needed
- net and edges are part of the game. I try never to be angry about it. Usually the guy who gets them is the more active player . He’s putting extra spin which will help the ball fall on the good side for him . He’s going for lower arc balls and good placement near the side lines or the deep end of the table etc… if you don’t get enough of nets or edges its because you don’t put enough quality.
- pump yourself with tchooos ! Welcome your own lucky 🍀 points with a loud « RAKKI »before apologizing.
- drink Redbull or other energy drinks. They help a lot with focus

Yeah, I'll try to expand my routine between the points - good advice! Energy drinks don't work with me, together with adrenaline they rather make me overly nervous.

It's also not in my nature and feels awkward to "tchoo" points - whether lucky or unlucky. Nevertheless, this may be a good vent for myself and show the opponent that I'm in the game.

 

[Denso]

Being a really bad player and always playing with players better than you helps. It's not like you're expected to perform.

That's definitely the case. Last season I played a league higher (as an underdog), and it clearly helped to have no expectations.

 

[Archo]

That's definitely the case. Last season I played a league higher (as an underdog), and it clearly helped to have no expectations.

There's a secondary effect too, where the opponent tends to also get nerves and start to make mistakes they probably ought not to. Especially if you're up 4-0 in the first set.

 

[kase]

Self-talk and mindfulness are only parts of the picture, and how you perform these is important as well. If you are serious, you will need to do the difficult and boring work of improving the mental side, which is not a quick fix. It's a continuous, detailed and long process. 'Golf Beneath the Surface' is the best book I've found so far, it's very practical.

It's difficult for a lot of people to even start this type of work, as there is a deep sense of fear / dread involved (in people that need it most) and no real accountability to anyone, so I think a lot of people will be stuck where they are without improvement in this area. I have made a few posts about the mental game previously, you can search for them to understand my position more if you like.

The other thing I honestly do not understand is why someone who is not a professional would be so consumed with his self image from losing and winning that he would get frustrated when chance incidents occur.

Because it's a mental aspect of that individual, it really has nothing to do with a specific activity. You call it "a form of entitled arrogance". I would say it is a defense mechanism - the image of a fake-self is created to protect against feelings of inferiority or general worthlessness. The fake-self image comes with the belief that his opponent is low-level and he is superior. When that image is shattered by defeat or failure, those old feelings have nowhere to hide. They are usually expressed with black & white value judgements, absolutist thinking, catastrophising etc.

It's seems to be rooted in the idea that failure is shameful and a reflection of self-worth, therefore you can't allow yourself to fail. A lot of kids grow up in this environment, and therefore many adults have this problem. I find it so very common. This is why you sometimes see people 'not trying' when playing against certain players. They can't really fail if they aren't trying.

When chance is involved, it's a bit harder to figure out. The individual can feel like they have worked so hard, yet it didn't make a difference, deserves success, if not it was all for nothing. Perhaps, even though it was because of chance, it is still felt as a failure, because the immediate need for validation is denied. So the feelings are still there.

 

[Haito]

I thought about this topic a bit before I decided to post?

How do you regulate your emotions in day to day life, and how is that different than table tennis game?

I am not licensed psychotherapist or psychologist so take this advice with a grain of salt.

• Breathe deeply: Inhale slowly for five seconds, hold for five seconds, and exhale for five seconds. Repeat this five times. You can also do Wim Hof breath training. But for me it took about 2 months to get a persistent effect. It puts your body into stressful state on purpose and over time it helps to negate the negative effects of stress. You still will be pissed, but your hands will not get tense, you might no longer feel the urge to throw the racket etc.
• Ground yourself: Focus on things that are neutral and can help you dissipate the tension. I do focus my eyes on the balls for a couple of seconds if I am serving. it also helps my eyes to reset the distance accommodation thing. Basically you are changing the focus of your mind. What is done is done. You cannot do anything about it.
• Splash cold water: Put cold water or an ice pack on your face or wrists for 30 seconds to lower your heart rate.

From a table tennis point of view:

• If you got a table tennis robot set it up so it will edge or net. Robots do not have a great accuracy due to ball divergences, but my Joola can be calibrated to get a net or edge about 50% (again not due to settings, due to the ball differences). And just learn to recover them. It only takes 2-3 hours to adapt your body and technique to try to recover those. I cannot recover all of those balls, but the change in my mind has happened to try to get them instead of getting angry.
  They are part of the game, you cannot do anything about it, apart from adapting.
• Put more spin on the balls. Whatever the stroke is, more spin will make your opponent to either make mistake or put more spin of their own. IF they push and net, the backspin will throw the ball back to them, making the net THEIR issue. If it has top spin on it then it will probably land shorter on the table, so less edge probability.
  You cannot eliminate them.
  You can make them less likely.

 

[Denso]

It's seems to be rooted in the idea that failure is shameful and a reflection of self-worth, therefore you can't allow yourself to fail. A lot of kids grow up in this environment, and therefore many adults have this problem.

Perhaps, even though it was because of chance, it is still felt as a failure, because the immediate need for validation is denied. So the feelings are still there.

I think these statements hit the nail on the head. Very well put!

 

[Draycott old man]

Every time I care too much, I play worse.

When I went into a tournament with high expectations, I ended up loosing early.
When I went with no expectations, I won

So True!!! Best not to over think, wait till you have finished your session before judging yourself, give yourself praise when stay calm!!! This is my goal tonight lol 🤣 🤣 🤣

 

[J-fed]

One of the keys is to welcome them.
As mentioned above, psychological improvements involve training and hard yards , not just thoughts. In fact usually the aim is to minimize thoughts of channel them effectively.
Back to the main point here. Your emotional state and responses and the neurophysiological responses they set in motion are there to help you if you accept them and work with them.
A first step is to acknowledge them when they arrive and welcome them to the team. The absolute worst thing to do when your heart starts beating faster is to say ‘oh no, please not now’. Adrenaline is there to transport your energy around your body quicker and the cortisol is there to focus you on the task at hand, not to paralyse you.
If you allow them to do their job they will do it well. There are some factors that prevent that and one common one is “oh no, not again. Please go away”.
“Welcome to the team, let’s beat this guy together” is the way to go.

Nb: for those I haven’t met yet, I’m training to be a practicing sports psychologist after completing a degree in sports science, post grad in research methods (PEDs) and masters in sports psychology.
I’m just offering some key points of my learnings. Helpful stuff that has actually been practical help to myself lately.
Can also be equally applied to musical performance, dating or job interviews.

 

[Gozo Zyreruna]

This is what cussing is for, a very apt opportunity to cuss. Better if your are Asian and specifically a Cantonese speaker!.

 

[J-fed]

This is what cussing is for, a very apt opportunity to cuss. Better if your are Asian and specifically a Cantonese speaker!.

Status checks out.

 

[jonol]

Getting frustrated is normal. I find if I miss an easy shot or make a bad shot selection, trying to completely bottle it up and not react, or reacting too strongly just feeds the negative feeling.

So I just let myself be frustrated for a short moment and then turn it into a coherent thought I can use to adapt like, "I can open more aggressively there" or, "I hit too flat, I will land that if I brush the ball"

Then I put it aside and spend a few seconds considering how I will approach the next point, and by this point any frustration is gone.

The more I do this, the less frequently I get frustrated and when I do, it lasts for less time.

Rather than trying to avoid getting annoyed, I focus on turning my annoyance into something constructive.

 

[J-fed]

Getting frustrated is normal. I find if I miss an easy shot or make a bad shot selection, trying to completely bottle it up and not react, or reacting too strongly just feeds the negative feeling.

So I just let myself be frustrated for a short moment and then turn it into a coherent thought I can use to adapt like, "I can open more aggressively there" or, "I hit too flat, I will land that if I brush the ball"

Then I put it aside and spend a few seconds considering how I will approach the next point, and by this point any frustration is gone.

The more I do this, the less frequently I get frustrated and when I do, it lasts for less time.

Rather than trying to avoid getting annoyed, I focus on turning my annoyance into something constructive.

Perfect example of what I described above.
Great approach.