Major change to Der_Echte's play style

says 2023 Certified Organ Donor
says 2023 Certified Organ Donor
🏆 Top 1% Commenter
Well-Known Member
Sep 2011
13,493
14,299
32,463
Read 27 reviews
Anyone who has seen my play a year ago would conclude that Der_Echte REALLY liked opening up real heavy on BH then playing out the point. (if opponent could handle the surprise spin)

I have only become recently aware, that when anyone gives me an underspin, my immediate reaction to it is to quickly step around and play a heavy FH topspin, usually a power topspin cross court. It is both winning me points and getting fast blocked for winners by the geezer crowd.

I somehow unconsciously drifted into that style. I do not know how I went that way, I wasn't trying to do that on purpose, it is getting me better results. My official rating is the highest it has ever been, in light of effectively being out of regular TT for two years and overcoming a near major shoulder injury (rotator cuff tendon grade 2 tear on tricep side of hitting shoulder) I consider it amazing. I have received zero coaching in the last 2.5 years since being back in USA.

I haven't been watching pro vids all night or anything, but in the last 6 months or so it seems, I have been going for the big FH right away... and that wasn't a huge strength of mine before.

is this a mission creep thing?
 
This user has no status.
This user has no status.
🏆 Top 1% Commenter
Well-Known Member
Jul 2015
1,697
1,976
6,397
Read 1 reviews
If you open with a pivot FH, how many consecutive matches in a row you can play before your legs become heavy? If I do that, after two or three matches I cannot bend my legs anymore and don't move well :( That is why I'm practicing my BH like a madman nowadays.
 
Last edited:
says Spin and more spin.
says Spin and more spin.
🏆 Top 1% Commenter
Well-Known Member
Moderator
Dec 2010
16,640
18,534
56,964
Read 11 reviews
If you open with a pivot FH, how many consecutive matches in a row you can play before your legs become heavy? If I do that, after two or three matches I cannot bend my legs anymore and don't move well :( That is why I'm practicing my BH like a madman nowadays.

@ Ilia: that means you need to train cardio endurance and leg strength. Der's legs are like tree trunks and he had been force to march through all kinds of terrain with a heavy ruck on his back. The military, they do that to you.

@ Der: that is what I told you in September and you flat out denied it. You kept saying "no, I don't really do that. If I can take the ball with my BH I will." But I was watching and you did a lot of stepping around your BH for the power FH. And you were not doing that the year before. Hehe.

And NextLevel said we may need to change your name to High Toss Serve man. [emoji2]
 
This user has no status.
This user has no status.
🏆 Top 1% Commenter
Well-Known Member
Jul 2015
1,697
1,976
6,397
Read 1 reviews
@ Ilia: that means you need to train cardio endurance and leg strength. Der's legs are like tree trunks and he had been force to march through all kinds of terrain with a heavy ruck on his back. The military, they do that to you.

I do a pretty large volume of footwork training, but it just takes time to rebuild the muscles. I think I will improve my BH way faster than I build enough strength to step around all the time.
 
This user has no status.
This user has no status.
🏆 Top 1% Commenter
Well-Known Member
Dec 2010
3,769
4,559
16,101
I think you lost some of your footwork when you were away , now that you are playing regularly its a normal reaction, especially if there is a long ball to the elbow. I found that when I switched shoes to my new Mizunos ( Wave Drive V I got from Contra ) , I started doing that to my opponents fast dead balls to my elbow. I still find that for me, I cannot do that to deep backhand balls, may be you have much more power on your forehand to do it consistently. For backhand, even if somebody locks me there with fast serves , I still try to find my way out of it. As long as you are not stepping around your forehand with your backhand ,its all good :p
Anyone who has seen my play a year ago would conclude that Der_Echte REALLY liked opening up real heavy on BH then playing out the point. (if opponent could handle the surprise spin)

I have only become recently aware, that when anyone gives me an underspin, my immediate reaction to it is to quickly step around and play a heavy FH topspin, usually a power topspin cross court. It is both winning me points and getting fast blocked for winners by the geezer crowd.

I somehow unconsciously drifted into that style. I do not know how I went that way, I wasn't trying to do that on purpose, it is getting me better results. My official rating is the highest it has ever been, in light of effectively being out of regular TT for two years and overcoming a near major shoulder injury (rotator cuff tendon grade 2 tear on tricep side of hitting shoulder) I consider it amazing. I have received zero coaching in the last 2.5 years since being back in USA.

I haven't been watching pro vids all night or anything, but in the last 6 months or so it seems, I have been going for the big FH right away... and that wasn't a huge strength of mine before.

is this a mission creep thing?
 
says 2023 Certified Organ Donor
says 2023 Certified Organ Donor
🏆 Top 1% Commenter
Well-Known Member
Sep 2011
13,493
14,299
32,463
Read 27 reviews
TTM... I only had so much footwork to begin with. It takes a few forum members to confirm that I do not have tiny legs. They will also confirm I can play almost forever consecutive even after no sleep and long drives.

I never had to ruck March all that much, but have done some private marchin g on my own time in Europe.. I did the Bern IML and a few others


I still do not known why I suddenly FH power crazy lately

Maybe this coincides with me regularly using MX-P on FH.

Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk
 
  • Like
Reactions: ttmonster
says 2023 Certified Organ Donor
says 2023 Certified Organ Donor
🏆 Top 1% Commenter
Well-Known Member
Sep 2011
13,493
14,299
32,463
Read 27 reviews
By the way, I did the beast mod to the Kim Jung Hoon blade. Overall weigh is now a beastly 204 grams this morning. Felt a lot better... and that blade feels damned good already BEFORE the beast mod. Just feels even oar right in the hand. Top gear a little better, impact feel better, blocks better.

I let OOAK member Jaspican use it and he loved it, said it really blocked good. he also hit his first 5 loops in a row... and he is a defender. I asked him if the bat felt 160 or 170 grams... he said 170. Hiz eyes popped out when I explained it was over 200 and the weight in bottom. And this is a dude that likes really light setups. The weight in the bottom makes all the difference.
 
says 2023 Certified Organ Donor
says 2023 Certified Organ Donor
🏆 Top 1% Commenter
Well-Known Member
Sep 2011
13,493
14,299
32,463
Read 27 reviews
Ilia, if I do a tourney with three events where I advance far, like say 15-18 matches, the next day, my hamstrings and in particular, my waist are all shot to hell. I don't ever feel tired on match day, there is always time to feel tired later. I am usually very good about bringing enough minerals, hydration, and just enough nutrition to keep my body and soul together on a match day.

I use my core a LOT and there is a LOT of Der_Echte to move around and it takes a lot to move Der_Echte from zero to there. I do move well enough when I move, but it does take a lot of power to do it, and the cumulative effect of wear/tear builds up to a critical mass by the next day.
 
  • Like
Reactions: UpSideDownCarl
says 2023 Certified Organ Donor
says 2023 Certified Organ Donor
🏆 Top 1% Commenter
Well-Known Member
Sep 2011
13,493
14,299
32,463
Read 27 reviews
Ilia made a good point about energy and performance on match day.

I do not have all the science and data to give a 100 percent detailed breakdown, but it comes down to your mind and having enough hydration and nutrition to make it happen. You could be fresh and when your mind wants it enough, you get more than 100 of your normal performance.... and when your body is wore out to close to minimal performance, your mind activates areas of your body to release stuff to bring you back up to near normal performance levels. Of course it has got to be a little more involved than that, but the short of it is that when your mind wants it bad enough, you can still perform close to normal in a bad depleted physical state.

I cannot scientifically prove any of what I just said, but I totally believe it and have experienced it often. it is almost as simple as saying that when I hear the ball bouncing at the club, I forget how tired I am.

Forumers may have heard of the term Natural High and getting into TT does that for a lot of us. We cannot on this one either explain all the details, but we have experienced it a lot.
 
This user has no status.
This user has no status.
🏆 Top 1% Commenter
Well-Known Member
Jul 2015
1,697
1,976
6,397
Read 1 reviews
Okay, my particular endurance issue is that due to my height I have to really bend my knees to play good shots. So after I play several tough matches in a row stepping around all the time, I feel fine. Except that some particular muscles are sore and in a match I cannot bend my knees that much and I cannot play good shots anymore. I just wondered whether Der_Echte faced the same issue playing that FH openers all the time.
 
  • Like
Reactions: thekleifheit13
says Spin and more spin.
says Spin and more spin.
🏆 Top 1% Commenter
Well-Known Member
Moderator
Dec 2010
16,640
18,534
56,964
Read 11 reviews
The actual drug you are looking for Der is ADRENALIN. The circuitry for our body producing adrenalin starts with a message from the pituitary gland to the adrenal glands. The message is in the form of a hormone and adrenalin is also a hormone. But adrenalin is like your body's natural version of a stimulant.

I think, when Der hears TT balls bouncing, his system produces more adrenalin than most.

I can attest to having witnessed a time when Der had driven 10 hours, slept 4 and then drove another 5 and when I saw him play, it definitely seemed as if he had been doing crystal meth.

No wonder he can play so well with a 120 gram blade and a 230 gram setup!!!!!


Sent from Deep Space by Abacus
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: ttmonster
says 2023 Certified Organ Donor
says 2023 Certified Organ Donor
🏆 Top 1% Commenter
Well-Known Member
Sep 2011
13,493
14,299
32,463
Read 27 reviews
Yup, I am with the "say no to meth" crowd solidly on this one. I agree with Carl that Adrenaline is good shyt when you can manufacture it naturally, but there is more too it than that. TT action lets me make endorphins, another natural feel good, yet it is still more involved than that. "Second Wind" is a common phrase we use in sports. If anyone ever saw me in person before I start playing, it appears (correctly by ANYONE's judgment) that I would need a 22nd wind to get through even half a match day. I am not a 49 KG lad anymoar if you know what I mean. Long ago I heard some hardcore coach yelling at a tiring player in some other sport during training that the player had plenty of time to get tired later. Somehow, in TT I get many second winds, at least enough to get by.

Working hard when you are tired is good training, yet with TT, I get help from myself it seems, as long as I have been minimally hydrated and nourished throughout matchday.
 
  • Like
Reactions: UpSideDownCarl
says Spin and more spin.
says Spin and more spin.
🏆 Top 1% Commenter
Well-Known Member
Moderator
Dec 2010
16,640
18,534
56,964
Read 11 reviews
Der, I am still waiting to see what adding FX-P or MX-P to BH would do for your play style.

However, I would be afraid to see that. It might look a bit like The-Tazmanian-Der-Echte.

34694f924324f0d3497d4f56ec25e388.jpg


5f893fe65b156c9821e4c98cc097208a.jpg



Sent from Deep Space by Abacus
 
Last edited:
This user has no status.
This user has no status.
Member
Jul 2015
234
116
908
So Der echte, you said you had a rotator cuff tear???? do you think this could have something to do (either physically or even subconscious)with using the back hand less? I have actually wanted to start a thread on rotator cuff injurys and backhand play and I still will do that sometime. I played a lot of competitiveness baseball up through college and suffered a rotator cuff injury in college and as result coming to table tennis I have found playing some backhand shots are not smooth or even a bit painful. Looping backspin for me on the back hand is the most constant shot I feel something on. I have a strong arm and I don't really think about this until I feel it. If you are a strong guy (sounds like that may be the case) you could easily have musicals built up in, and around Your shoulder enough for you to not normally think about it but you shoulder joint may not move as smooth, effortless in the backhand sometimes? I may be way off. every injury is different etc but my back hand play development has been affected buy this old injury .

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk
 
says Spin and more spin.
says Spin and more spin.
🏆 Top 1% Commenter
Well-Known Member
Moderator
Dec 2010
16,640
18,534
56,964
Read 11 reviews
Gmiller: something you should know, based on what you just said about your rotator cuff injury: training your BH, the motion of a controlled BH will cause your rotator cuff muscles in that arm to strengthen. The controlled BH stroke is very similar to some standard rotator cuff strengthening exercises without the racket and with a cable or rubber-band instead.

That might not equate to a big backhand in a game situation. But training the BH with controlled strokes will strengthen the rotator cuff muscles.


Sent from Deep Space by Abacus
 
  • Like
Reactions: gmiller2233
Top