I find that doing sparring matches is a really good way to improve and get sharp

[TensorBackhand]

I find that having a good sparring partner that challenges you a bit and can play 6 or 7 or 8 straight sparring matches in a row with you is a great way to improve and get in form.

As I keep playing over and over, I find myself making small adjustments to their game, and I find myself getting sharper and sharper and more confident.

I really like this method of training. Anybody else do this? What are the benefits or drawbacks of this method?

 

[Gozo Aruna]

We know you to be a TT player for some time now. Question is, why after so long only you discover sparring or match play is great way to improve? I mean, what have you been doing these long time? Robot? Wally Rebound board? Very strange question to be asked by someone who has been playing for sometime....

 

[PaddyPolar]

Yeah having a person who you can regularly play with and practise with is really good, and helps you a lot, especially if the person is better than you. You get to learn and adjust as freely as you want as it is a non competitive game.

The only downside that i can think of is the lack of playing styles that you can face. You get used to the same serves, returns, shots and counters. This is why it is good yo be part of a club

 

[TensorBackhand]

Yeah having a person who you can regularly play with and practise with is really good, and helps you a lot, especially if the person is better than you. You get to learn and adjust as freely as you want as it is a non competitive game.

The only downside that i can think of is the lack of playing styles that you can face. You get used to the same serves, returns, shots and counters. This is why it is good yo be part of a club

What I personally find is that the best sparring partner is not the standard 2-wing offensive looper.

The best sparring partner is somebody who plays a bit awkward, but generally executes their own style to a high level.

So among my common practice partners, my favorite sparring partner is kinda old guy with a nasty serve. He pushes a lot left and right and long and short. He doesn't always loop so quickly, but often looks to block or counter-smash my loop, so I have to be smart about placement.

 

[mcfly]

We know you to be a TT player for some time now. Question is, why after so long only you discover sparring or match play is great way to improve? I mean, what have you been doing these long time? Robot? Wally Rebound board? Very strange question to be asked by someone who has been playing for sometime....

maybe he ran out of topics to create?

 

[PaddyPolar]

So among my common practice partners, my favorite sparring partner is kinda old guy with a nasty serve. He pushes a lot left and right and long and short. He doesn't always loop so quickly, but often looks to block or counter-smash my loop, so I have to be smart about placement.

Yeah, thats why its importany to have multiple knocking partners. Sometimes i like playing against a more orthadox, spinny attacking style, while sometimes i like to play against a flatter style, both attacking and defending.

 

[Wakkibatty]

I agree having a regular training partner to "spar" against is very beneficial... but I think the key benefit lies in the "regular training" part of that sentence.

Having a regular training partner makes it easier to do drills, and to vary your training / practice regime. Playing them a lot also gives you some handy benchmarks to refer to with your skills, especially if they are the better player.

As others have pointed out, this also however limits your exposure to other people's games, and can limit aspects of your game if taken to extremes.

Diversity and regularity of training and practice is the key -- it need not be with just one person, or necessarily with many people either. It's the diversity, quality, structure and frequency of the practice that matters most.

 

[blahness]

I usually dont even bother much with topspin vs topspin or block training these days because it is just not that important compared to other skills. Imo most important training is just serve and serve receive training (one player serves and the other receives). You can limit the serve and receive types to make the exercise easier at first. With this you can try out many different techniques, experiment a lot and it directly benefits game.

If there is a partner who is good at many techniques (especially service), they are the best partners imo.

 

[JJ Ng]

I usually dont even bother much with topspin vs topspin or block training these days because it is just not that important compared to other skills. Imo most important training is just serve and serve receive training (one player serves and the other receives). You can limit the serve and receive types to make the exercise easier at first. With this you can try out many different techniques, experiment a lot and it directly benefits game.

If there is a partner who is good at many techniques (especially service), they are the best partners imo.

I concur. I used to do a lot of topspin v.s. topspin and block training when I was younger (like a junior player). But now I am too old to be running around the table for 30 or 60 minutes straight.

Now I don't even loop in warm-up and practice anymore. I just wait for the game to start and just go for it.

Serve and serve receive (plus third ball attack) are the most important part of the matches. I mean, in real matches, when do you really get into a forehand to forehand loop exchange?

 

[pingpongpaddy]

I find that having a good sparring partner that challenges you a bit and can play 6 or 7 or 8 straight sparring matches in a row with you is a great way to improve and get in form.

As I keep playing over and over, I find myself making small adjustments to their game, and I find myself getting sharper and sharper and more confident.

I really like this method of training. Anybody else do this? What are the benefits or drawbacks of this method?

Your right its a very useful kind of session to have.

An enhancement to the idea is to have matches where you start at a set score.
like this:-

• best of 7 start at 10 all
  
  
• best 7 start a 8 all
  
  
• my favourite: best of 7 start at 8- 10 down !!- good for pressure practice
  
  obviously you dream up varied score lines to match different situations. If one player is very strong you could see 2 10 or even 0 10. Back in the day I can remember in one club with a wide range of standards from national ranking to local league that our weekly handicap tourneys involved 0-15 starts sometimes

 

[blahness]

I concur. I used to do a lot of topspin v.s. topspin and block training when I was younger (like a junior player). But now I am too old to be running around the table for 30 or 60 minutes straight.

Now I don't even loop in warm-up and practice anymore. I just wait for the game to start and just go for it.

Serve and serve receive (plus third ball attack) are the most important part of the matches. I mean, in real matches, when do you really get into a forehand to forehand loop exchange?

Yep, serve and receive are much more applicable to real matches. Rallies come only after the serve/receive stage has been successfully nullified.

 

[AutomaticBackhand]

In my first couple years of table tennis, All I did was playing matches and iteratively learning each time.

My playstyle was just pushing and blocking near the table with minimal footwork.
Nothing "offensive" - no loops or anything.
And I would beat almost all other kids at our club and in the league.

Now, I still find that matches are the most underrated way to improve.
Nearly all Drills and exercises that I see people do all the time are a waste of time and energy and they barely see improvements.

3-point-forehand, 2x FH-BH, Falkenberg etc.

I find variations of Serve-Receive-3rd Ball Attack exercises to be the most effective and efficient.

As a consequence of that, my rallying ability is my weakness..
But everything else makes up for it.

Serves, Receives, Blocks, 3rd Ball attacks, flips, Step-Around Forehands, etc.


Unless your playstyle revolves around winning rallies, I would advise you to practice more like you play and NOT like the fancy stuff you see on YouTube.

 

[U871247]

We know you to be a TT player for some time now. Question is, why after so long only you discover sparring or match play is great way to improve? I mean, what have you been doing these long time? Robot? Wally Rebound board? Very strange question to be asked by someone who has been playing for sometime....

This is HILARIOUS HAHAHAHAH

 

[PaddyPolar]

In my first couple years of table tennis, All I did was playing matches and iteratively learning each time.

My playstyle was just pushing and blocking near the table with minimal footwork.
Nothing "offensive" - no loops or anything.
And I would beat almost all other kids at our club and in the league.

Now, I still find that matches are the most underrated way to improve.
Nearly all Drills and exercises that I see people do all the time are a waste of time and energy and they barely see improvements.

3-point-forehand, 2x FH-BH, Falkenberg etc.

I find variations of Serve-Receive-3rd Ball Attack exercises to be the most effective and efficient.

As a consequence of that, my rallying ability is my weakness..
But everything else makes up for it.

Serves, Receives, Blocks, 3rd Ball attacks, flips, Step-Around Forehands, etc.


Unless your playstyle revolves around winning rallies, I would advise you to practice more like you play and NOT like the fancy stuff you see on YouTube.

Yeah serve recieve is one of the most important parts of the game, especially at the higher level. Its constantly changing with styles and tactics.

For example, top players in my age group now serve long, especially to weaker players, to inprove thier chance of a really strong third ball attack. However this is quite a gamble against able players who can just easily put the ball away.

I think one of the most practiced drils should be;

One person serves,
Other player receives, either passive or agressive,
First player does a third ball attack
Other player tries to receive. If they recieve correctly, then the point is thiers. If the first player wins it off the tird ball attack, then the point is thiers.

This drill encourages a strong serve recieve and a strong third ball.

 

[Tony's Table Tennis]

In my first couple years of table tennis, All I did was playing matches and iteratively learning each time.

My playstyle was just pushing and blocking near the table with minimal footwork.
Nothing "offensive" - no loops or anything.
And I would beat almost all other kids at our club and in the league.

Now, I still find that matches are the most underrated way to improve.
Nearly all Drills and exercises that I see people do all the time are a waste of time and energy and they barely see improvements.

3-point-forehand, 2x FH-BH, Falkenberg etc.

I find variations of Serve-Receive-3rd Ball Attack exercises to be the most effective and efficient.

As a consequence of that, my rallying ability is my weakness..
But everything else makes up for it.

Serves, Receives, Blocks, 3rd Ball attacks, flips, Step-Around Forehands, etc.


Unless your playstyle revolves around winning rallies, I would advise you to practice more like you play and NOT like the fancy stuff you see on YouTube.

well, i'm going to disagree on everything you say.

not understanding 3 point forehand or falkenberg means you not able to do those things when the speed is faster than your throught process.

for amateurs, what you say is possible correct and incorrect.
for anyone who wants to get to semi pro, just doing matches day in and day out, won't get you far.

there are only so many times or sequence things come through during matches.
during drill training, it is repetition.
and such drills are not for "winning rallies" per se, but about control, feeling, movement etc.
There are many times where players can execute impossible shots, where they don't train for, because they have such control, feeling and movement.

I assume it is difficult to understand this essence if you haven't really been training 40 hours a week and knowing what your body and mind is capable of, and assuming matches are just everything or majority.

Matches are only useful when the skillset is there, else, the repetition of bad habit is another reason why matches could be terrible for development.

 

[Tony's Table Tennis]

maybe he ran out of topics to create?

impossible,
he will just go to chatgpt and find another 50 to create in the next 7 days on training or equipment or search for training topic that leads to equipoment

 

[Tony's Table Tennis]

I find that having a good sparring partner that challenges you a bit and can play 6 or 7 or 8 straight sparring matches in a row with you is a great way to improve and get in form.

As I keep playing over and over, I find myself making small adjustments to their game, and I find myself getting sharper and sharper and more confident.

I really like this method of training. Anybody else do this? What are the benefits or drawbacks of this method?

it all depends on your level,
in matches, when you stuck with something,
what do you do?
work on it straight away, or wait for it to come back in one of the games in the 8 matches?
or address the issue next week.

proper training means working on what you want to work on.
not, change serve and start a total new play.

there are many ways to train, and what a lot of people who list examples here on why they like matches is pretty much possible with match drills too.

also, working on one sparring partner could make you get used to them. That doesn't mean you have improved or become better. You are just used to them and you could think you have improved with certain reading, or shots or returns. But have you really?

This is why 1 on 1 training is only so good, while group training is also required (or training with many partners).
table tennis is not static with one style, one person. Everyone is unique and adaptation is part of training and development.

This is why you could have domestic killers and weak internationals and on the other side, weak domestic players but strong internationals.
or like you, king of your group of tt friends but low USATT rating.

 

[PaddyPolar]

proper training means working on what you want to work on.
not, change serve and start a total new play.

I agree with tony, if you're struggling with ones person's one serve, its better to work on it directly with them on that serve, then play out a game and only face that serve once in twice a game.

I can also enfore his point that the combination of 1 on 1 coaching and grpup coaching is teally beneficial for iimprovement. For me, i have group coaching, 1 on 1, and matchplay sessions in my training schedule and it definately helps me a lot more than if i went to only just one type of session multiple times.

 

[Crillo]

In my first couple years of table tennis, All I did was playing matches and iteratively learning each time.

My playstyle was just pushing and blocking near the table with minimal footwork.
Nothing "offensive" - no loops or anything.
And I would beat almost all other kids at our club and in the league.

Now, I still find that matches are the most underrated way to improve.
Nearly all Drills and exercises that I see people do all the time are a waste of time and energy and they barely see improvements.

3-point-forehand, 2x FH-BH, Falkenberg etc.

I find variations of Serve-Receive-3rd Ball Attack exercises to be the most effective and efficient.

As a consequence of that, my rallying ability is my weakness..
But everything else makes up for it.

Serves, Receives, Blocks, 3rd Ball attacks, flips, Step-Around Forehands, etc.


Unless your playstyle revolves around winning rallies, I would advise you to practice more like you play and NOT like the fancy stuff you see on YouTube.

I agree on serve, receives and 3rd ball however if you don´t start early with other parts such as transitions, backhand loop, open-ups etc. you will not go beyond Boys 13. In Boys 11 you can probably be around top 10 in Europe with those skills. When you turn 14-15 you start loosing more and more and you finish your carrier by 16 because you have huge holes in your game and can´t win anymore. On the other hand if you are an adult hobby player other rules apply.. longpips etc.