How many loops do you hit in practice?

[strangeloop]

I have posted links to my recent tournament videos here: http://www.tabletennisdaily.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?2958-local-tournament-my-results

The FH loop practice started (giving rise to this thread) because I missed too many in those matches and I didn't always hit it with confidence.

 

[Matt Hetherington]

Hey.. yeah.. I never meant to say that Matt is not experienced.. Sorry if I came across that way.. I have been learning the game for less than a year and it would be stupid of me to say that about anyone.

Yes.. you're right.. if I keep varying the placement on my loops I win. It's just that sometimes I try to see if I can loop their counter as well, only in vain..

No sweat I didn't read it that way anyway haha, when I said younger I was talking more when I was about 11 and 12 years old

 

[UpSideDownCarl]

Looping 20, 30, 50, 100 in a row, its okay. Not important but not bad. It is kind of fun and good for cardio. There are other things like multi-ball footwork drills that are good for cardio too.

Do a FH to FH loop rally 3 times, then you try and finish the point the quickest/best way you can, by...placement, varying your spins/speed, swerving the ball, angles etc.

Serve and receive drills are also good for learning to end the point.

Varying placements is very important. Even slight variations are very useful. Also, aiming for the opponent's switching point. There are three important angles to work on: crosscourt, opposite crosscourt and down the center. Usually a player who is good at handling shots to his/her crossing point will not be as good with wide angles and a person good at wide angles will not be as good at shots to his/her body.

Some reasons why TT players do not reach 1500, 1800, 2000 levels.
....
I'll stop at 51 beofre any of you throw a frypan at me.

Another thing that holds people back is not watching the ball, really watching the ball; all the way into the other person's racket. This makes it so that you see the angle that your opponent's racket has on contact which tells you where the ball is going and what spin it has on it. Higher level players usually do this much better than lower level players. And this habit sets up several things. Your footwork improves because you know where the ball is going earlier. Your reading of spin improves because you see the spin earlier and then you see it in the arc and bounce of the ball because you see the spin from the contact of the rubber with the ball. This is important on serves as well. A good player will read the spin on the serve even if it is well disguised. Watching the ball.

Tonight I noticed that one thing that sometimes causes me to stop watching the ball all the way into the opponent's racket is that sometimes I inadvertently watch the follow-through of my stroke and if I am watching my racket as the ball is heading towards my opponent, then I am not watching the ball as it hits his racket.

 

[Michal_Z]

Here's what he did with us.

Get a sparring partner/blocker. Do a FH to FH loop rally 3 times, then you try and finish the point the quickest/best way you can, by...placement, varying your spins/speed, swerving the ball, angles etc. All your partner has to do is to get the ball back in any way he can (make sure there are quality returns, not those sky balls from the very start.) Then change, you defend and he attack. Whatever you guys do..make sure you finish it. If the ball goes to your BH, try running around to get it, but if you can't, just use your BH and get the ball in play and start your offence again. It's a lot more fun and it'll develop better footwork/stamina. This method I find is the best way to create muscle memory..before you know it it's instinctive.

Awesome, I will try this for sure!!

 

[strangeloop]

@Carl, Watching the ball as you put it is a skill to be learnt.. Many times I hit a loop and it seems as if the block has come in a flash.. In reality, my head is probably not steady enough during the loop and recovery. So I end up seeing the ball very late. I need to work on keeping my head steady and watch the ball throughout. Any exercises to help with this?

 

[Der_Echte]

@Carl, Watching the ball as you put it is a skill to be learnt.. Many times I hit a loop and it seems as if the block has come in a flash.. In reality, my head is probably not steady enough during the loop and recovery. So I end up seeing the ball very late. I need to work on keeping my head steady and watch the ball throughout. Any exercises to help with this?

If this is difficult for you to effectively execute this at match speed, try slowing down your Fh topspin, focus on bouncing back and watching opponent. You will notice a difference right away. problem is, if you slow down your attack in a match like this, you will likely lose the initiative and get creamed. However, you lose points in a practice scenario to gain the experience and it pays off.

 

[azlan]

Exactly D_E. Step back after the loop. From the video, I could see that you're nearly airborne when you hit a FH loop. Your feet must be firmly on the ground for you to be able to move buddy. Otherwise, by the time you land, the ball has already pass you hehe