Need advice: how to transform qualities from training to match play

[PakDa1988]

Hello everyone,
I need your help with the following topic:

In the last few months I have significantly improved my backhand qualities in training.
In training and in exercises, I am now very well able to use topspin on the BH as well as active and hard shots.

However, when it comes to league games, especially against unknown opponents, I unfortunately hardly use my backhand actively.
I then fall into old patterns and mostly only play safety balls on the backhand. I don't dare attack, play topspin, or even play active balls.

Who of you knows this problem?
Do you have any advices on how to improve this?

I would be very happy to hear your tips and experiences.

Thank you very much

 

[Lazer]

Well, when You train most of the time you know where the ball ends up, in a game not so much. The best advice I think is unpredictable exercises and a bit of free play at the end. But then again predictable exercises serves a purpose so don’t ignore them.

Cheers
L-zr

 

[blahness]

You need to play lots of practice matches where you use all of the new techniques without the stress of league imo...

 

[Mikey_TT]

Play tons of players in your club and use thr bh topspin not matter u win or lose

 

[Tony's Table Tennis]

your problem might not be in the backhand, there are tons of possible problems to list..
So one can't really give an answer unless you post videos and have your issues exposed and for each issue addressed.

There is a simple drill that helps BH/FH transitioning, that you should do and maybe record for us.
one in the middle, one in the sides.

I have it in this video.

https://www.tabletennisdaily.com/forum/topics/training-in-taiwans-elite-table-tennis-school-introducing-nihs-lishan-lin-yun-jus-school.32146/

 

[gordonluvsu]

One goal when learning something New, improving a technique, forming New Habits for footwork or anything else is the following:
Make it so normal that you dont have to think about it.

I had the same issue.
In this case it would mean:
At the start you actively learn the technique, think about it, are mindful of what you are doing and get used to the new movement.
Then you slowly start to make it automatic so that you dont think about e.g. how to use wrist, forearm etc..
You begin to think about placing the ball instead of figuring out how to hit the ball.
You shift your focus from your self, your body and movement towards an external goal.
The more you make it a habit the better you can use it confidently and more often.

2 example of the these habits I have are pushing and serving a pendulum/underspin Serve.
After doing These so many times you use them as a Tool for the purpose of winning the point instead of performing a technique.
Some people take driving as an example, At the Start its difficult, you need to think about every thing you need to do, Look at, pay attention to and have a hard time saying relaxed and "just driving".
After driving more you get used to every thing for example the Gas pedal, the clutch, where to Look at on the street, how to Shift and eventually it is as normal as walking on the street.

Hope I made the point clear.

My advice:
Work on your technique and get used to the Backhand Topsin first. Make sure it is right.
Different exercises, more than just BH from BH corner same Ball from Coach or Partner.
Be creative and train with variety.
Once you feel like it is ready, start to redirect your focus from performing the movement and keeping your mind internal to reaching an external goal (getting the point, placing the Ball in a corner or something your Coach Puts on the table, making it difficult for your opponent, creating an arc, ).
Start implementing your Backhand into drills, into free play, practice Matches and Things that require more than just hitting a backhand topspin.

Hope that helps.

 

[NextLevel]

The thing is that there are a lot of things that could cause this problem. A lot. I will give one that hasn't been already mentioned.

Sometimes, the grip with which you play your backhand in practice may not end up being the grip you use in matches because your transition from serve to rally results in subtle finger movements that leave your shot feeling uncomfortable.

But even assuming this is not the case and your grip is fine, table tennis can be very specific. I have seen people who if you serve them long backspin, they loop the ball fine. If you push long and they are in position, they loop the ball fine. But if you serve short, they push and you push the next ball long, the footwork movements leave them missing the ball everytime.

Moral of the story in case this is all too long: you need to practice using your backhand in the precise situation you intend to use it in matches and not just as a general stroke. When this happens and your consistency is good, it will magically show up in matches.

 

[ben1229]

Muscle memory, footwork to be able lead your attack. A few weeks or months won't help you a lot. I would say 8-12 months to stables your back hand . Then you can use your BH skill no brain in match play.

 

[gordonluvsu]

I wouldnt say it takes that long.
Considering you are not a complete amateur,you can get your backhand to a higher level withing 3-4 months.

You would need to:
Set your goal ( what you want to achieve/ what your backhand should look and feel like, for example Fan Zhendong/Zhang Jike/Ovtcharov style backhand)
Learn about your goal ( watch videos, get a deeper understanding)
Think about your goal
Purposefully work towards your goal.
Train a lot of times, in a lot of places, with a lot of people
Train intensively.
Train in different ways with variety.
Train in a smart way.
Take it step by step.
The process makes the magic.

Believe and dont give up.

It is not as big of a deal as it seems.
And it doesnt take as much time as it seems

Dont forget to have fun!

 

[Doum]

You can do match simulation:

You serve short
Your friend push long to your BH
You do an opening loop to your friend BH
You enter an BH to BH rally
After a minimum of three BH exchanges, you attack when YOU decide, anywhere on the table with your BH. (the server is the attacker, the goal is to win the point right away).

Then you play to win the point if your friend return your attack, like a real match.

I like these kind if exercises and it help develop reflexes. Then you translate this in real match situation.

 

[Nima Abadi]

This is something that I'm working on too. In practice my BH was super good but in match I could never be satisfied with it but usually the problem was not the backhand itself. Here are a couple of problems that I personally was having:

1. Lateral positioning (side to side): I noticed that I was always quick to jump into my FH side and prep my legs during the jump but I couldn't do the same thing for my BH side. I couldn't position myself fast enough so I'd end up reaching or just blocking.
2. Longitudinal positioning (forward and backward): In the practice my BH was good cause I had enough distance from the table, however, during the match I couldn't jump backwards in my BH side and I'd stay close to the table which made it easier for me to block. I needed to learn to do quick backward jumps in my BH side as well.
3. The grip switch: I was using two different grips for my FH and BH which required more time to adjust for every shot. This coupled with the above issues resulted in me not being ready for that perfect BH shot, so I slightly changed my FH grip to favor my BH and make the transition much faster.

Working on these really helped me and I'm still working on them, hope you find them useful too.

 

[NextLevel]

I wouldnt say it takes that long.
Considering you are not a complete amateur,you can get your backhand to a higher level withing 3-4 months.

You would need to:
Set your goal ( what you want to achieve/ what your backhand should look and feel like, for example Fan Zhendong/Zhang Jike/Ovtcharov style backhand)
Learn about your goal ( watch videos, get a deeper understanding)
Think about your goal
Purposefully work towards your goal.
Train a lot of times, in a lot of places, with a lot of people
Train intensively.
Train in different ways with variety.
Train in a smart way.
Take it step by step.
The process makes the magic.

Believe and dont give up.

It is not as big of a deal as it seems.
And it doesnt take as much time as it seems

Dont forget to have fun!

It does take long - the hours matter. One of the things about table tennis that caused frustration with players who don't have experience training and improving over long periods is they underestimate how long it can take to develop a skill to the point it becomes a weapon against the level of players you are trying to beat especially when they don't train the right things almost every day. Even if it takes 3‐4 months, the stroke may be better and not win matches. Or one might not be happy with consistency. It is better yo realize that you will likely still be playing on 2‐3 years and be patient with your improvement relative to the hours you are putting in.

 

[Sticky]

Play tons of players in your club and use thr bh topspin not matter u win or lose

Sounds like a confidence issue. As a tennis player, I also had this experience long time ago playing competitive matches. I agree with Mikey half way because more time is good but not without pressure. Match tolerance is a phenomenon in every sport. Pressure is reduced or eliminated through repeated exposure not avoidance. Just play as you do and acknowledge the pressure, the mistakes, the good shots. You only have to learn to ride a bike once.

 

[Der_Echte]

You need to play lots of practice matches where you use all of the new techniques without the stress of league imo...

Good. blahness is on the road to showing the OP that there is a progression... starts with habits/performance in training, then casual play, then less important match play like league or challenge matches, then in important sanctioned tourney play.

These are all different and distinct. Stuff does not immediately transfer from improvement in training to improved performance on these things in sanctioned matches... often takes 6-12 months for it to BEGIN to show in match play. opponents there are not giving it to you for free, they want to win to and may be as good or better than you.

It is important to train, improve in training, and do matches to sort it all out.

Often, when doing real matches, you LOSE ground trying to implement what you improved upon in training... it can get downright frustrating to the point of branding urself a giant failure and leave the sport to pursue competitive CHECKERS.

Development of mental performance is what gets that improvement in technique to show in matches and that can be tricky to improve upon right away, it takes many matches and focused relaxed execution to improve there and it can take a damned long time. it isn't easy like plugging in a USB cable and uploading stuff.

 

[Der_Echte]

Oh, and blahness articulation of being relaxed throughout the long process is uber important.

 

[IB66]

Good. blahness is on the road to showing the OP that there is a progression... starts with habits/performance in training, then casual play, then less important match play like league or challenge matches, then in important sanctioned tourney play.

These are all different and distinct. Stuff does not immediately transfer from improvement in training to improved performance on these things in sanctioned matches... often takes 6-12 months for it to BEGIN to show in match play. opponents there are not giving it to you for free, they want to win to and may be as good or better than you.

It is important to train, improve in training, and do matches to sort it all out.

Often, when doing real matches, you LOSE ground trying to implement what you improved upon in training... it can get downright frustrating to the point of branding urself a giant failure and leave the sport to pursue competitive CHECKERS.

Development of mental performance is what gets that improvement in technique to show in matches and that can be tricky to improve upon right away, it takes many matches and focused relaxed execution to improve there and it can take a damned long time. it isn't easy like plugging in a USB cable and uploading stuff.

Yeah, sometimes YOU improve, but results get worse, then it comes together and RESULTS improve!! Takes time and patience.