OOAK Table Tennis Forum

Najay v Oskar (generalised account)
First off, Najay is a very fine fellow: humble, confident and friendly. In other words, a decent bloke. Going into that final I did feel confident that I would do well. Admittedly, part of that was a result of Malleus saying that from his own experience I would be able to keep up with a player
of his standard. Admittedly, I was quite tired by the finals, but not so much that it was an excuse not to win. Anyway, when the game got underway, I felt confident that I had enough tricks in the bag to at least give Najay a good run for his money. I did find out pretty quickly that he was a solid player and I had to dig very deep to win any easy points. From my point of view the match should've been much closer, but all credit to Najay for out hitting me and taking the title. BTW, Najay did film the entire match, but I'm not 100% sure how that turned out. My brother captured a few highlights which I will post if you like, depending on Najay's permission.

Regarding Menno, have I mentioned that I came up against a player who serves from his hand? Enough said.

Regarding GB, thanks for the praise and boost in confidence!

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Weapon 1: Andro Kinetic Supreme Hinoki/Zylon OFF-; Andro Hexer HDs (FH 2.1/BH 1.9)
Weapon 2: Ross Leidy 'Smokey'; Friendship 729-5s
Club1: Daylesford - since 2010
Club2: Ballarat - since 2011
Blog: A Naked Bear

We TT players are a funny mob. When something doesn't bother us, we don't tend to notice it. I beat Menno, 9,2,3. The first set was never really in doubt, I just slacked off and gave him a few easy points and woke up to realise I better focus and win it LOL. I had been 8-4, then 9-5 up! After that, I kept my focus to keep him at bay, realising he could be dangerous if I let him be. But I simply didn't notice his serves as they gave me no trouble. Yet I noticed Foam's cos while they didn't trouble me either, the follow up loop he hit certainly did!

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I'm always in the dark, but the Dark sheds lights upon everything!! Beauty is only pimple deep! Beauty is in the eye of the pipholder!
S/U 1: Blade: Bty Gergely . FH Black Andro Rasant 2.1 . BH Red Tibhar Grass Dtecs
S/U 2: Blade: Bty Gergely . FH Black Hexer+ 2.1 . BH Red GD Talon
S/U 3: Blade: Bty Gergely . No rubbers...thinking of adding Red Dtecs and Black Rasant
Aussie Table Tennis Shop / Aussie Table Tennis Facebook Page / Equipment Review Index / Read my Reb Report Blog: click here.

I'm fairly fit, but it's seems never enough, the fitter I get the longer I can play at full pace but even now I can't play flat out for a whole match on my limit. I'll send you the results, I got emailed them last night.



Malleus it's just a case of hours on the table, I've never owned a table and only ever played team pennant, no extra practice, no coaching. The trick is I've been doing that for a long time. You can work it out, I played 1 hour match time a week 15 weeks a year for about 26 years, I've been the #1 player at my club almost since the dawn of time. That's how much table tennis I had played until I started practising an extra day a week most week and playing tournaments last year (surprisingly little once I added that up ). At the point where I started playing an extra few hours practice a week (against a couple of keen kids that are 300-600 level players) I was probably an 900 point player but I honestly hadn't improved at all in the decades I've been at the top of the club. Then I started practising and 6 months after than I started playing tournaments at the beginning of last year. Because I'm playing so much better players once a month, it's reset the bar and let me chase after other guys and other standards. If I could play those guys once a week, well that would be something, right now the tournaments is the best I can do. It's good to play all different kinds of players, like I mentioned to you up there, I've only played about 10 matches against long pip players in my life so they each tend to beat me once before I find out how to beat them, then I'm ok after that. Was is you that played the ox pimple Jpen guy?. For example he beat me badly in 3 games the first time I played him, badly as in only getting a couple of points in the first game, about 6 in the second and 10 in the third. The next time I played him I won easily because I went home and thought about how could I have possibly lost that, he made me play like I was in kindergarten...... So the next time we played, I deliberately played no spin kindergarten table tennis and beat him at his own game. I enjoyed that , he is one of the most disturbing / disruptive players you can come across and he's good at that kind of game. Him and JB, actually both from your club are the two most disturbing pimplers on the entire Vic vets tour. Rebs not far away on the all time disturbing list either.

A lot of other guys from smaller towns playing Vets are in the same boat, your club has some good players so you don't really have the same limitations but if you keep playing the tournaments and get yourself up the grades locally where you can play better players all the time, you'll notice you can improve fast. That's the real key, is just make yourself available to play the best players you can as often as you can. I've had times at tournaments where I've had a match with a 1700-1800 player in between playing Division 3 then came back to the next match in Div3 and seen the ball like a unmissable basketball and straight away playing hundreds of points worth of standard better than I was in the previous Div3 match. I really makes a huge difference, that gain is only temporary but some of it soaks in overnight too .

I've got a reasonable belief in myself and do think I can make Division 1 by the time I'm 45 (I'm still 40 atm) I just need to keep playing the good players.

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Donic defplay senso
Haifu whale soft (grips-euro)
Nittaku pimplemini 1.0mm

Thx - that would be good.

Edit: Got em. Thx again.

Yes, Foam, I did play that ox pimples penholder and he did make me feel like I was in TT kinder! I only got 6 points altogether on him; yet I managed to get 9 points against Wayne Greaves in one set! ( I do suspect he was playing in low gear though). Since he's from my club, I look forward to playing him again and working out how to beat him. I was thinking of just hitting harder with more confidence and more practice against no-spin balls, but it seems you beat him by just wearing him out and chiseling away, is that right?

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Blade: Andro Kinetic Supreme Zylon/Kiso Hinoki OFF-
FH: Hexer HD 1.7 mm sponge
BH: CTT National Pogo OX
Style: FH counterhitter, BH disruptor

I played totally no spin, as in the balls label wasn't even turning lol, if I attack against him with spin I'm more or less just playing myself upside down and I don't like that at all. He's a fairly consistent pusher but not quite as much as I am. Also I found I could lob balls at him to a certain height and tempt him to hit them, which if you can get it at just the right height then more often than not he missed, you have to be on your toes for the return though because when he does land a smash they are floaters and don't behave "normally". All that said not many of the Division 3 players can beat him and you do have to think about it a bit. The way he plays is a lot different to someone like you that has a more normal blade setup. So he's a very unusual and tricky .

_________________
Donic defplay senso
Haifu whale soft (grips-euro)
Nittaku pimplemini 1.0mm

Thanks for that! It was so great to play different styles; when I come across one that flummoxes me it's a great part of the game, the thinking about the physics, then working out a strategy for beating that style of play, then drilling the techniques to be able to do it and perhaps refining the strategy if it doesn't work!

_________________
Blade: Andro Kinetic Supreme Zylon/Kiso Hinoki OFF-
FH: Hexer HD 1.7 mm sponge
BH: CTT National Pogo OX
Style: FH counterhitter, BH disruptor

Malleus would that ox LP penholder have the initials LM? I believe he is in A2 at your club.

I also played him and in the first set wondered what the hell I'd struck. He beat me 11-5 while I got used to his awkward style.

In the 2nd set I managed to squeeze him out 12-10, knowing it would be tough to get back if I lost that one. Once I had his game worked out a bit more and I'd tired him out a bit with the fight, I then got him 6 and 8 in the next 2. But he is no pushover, let me tell you!

_________________
I'm always in the dark, but the Dark sheds lights upon everything!! Beauty is only pimple deep! Beauty is in the eye of the pipholder!
S/U 1: Blade: Bty Gergely . FH Black Andro Rasant 2.1 . BH Red Tibhar Grass Dtecs
S/U 2: Blade: Bty Gergely . FH Black Hexer+ 2.1 . BH Red GD Talon
S/U 3: Blade: Bty Gergely . No rubbers...thinking of adding Red Dtecs and Black Rasant
Aussie Table Tennis Shop / Aussie Table Tennis Facebook Page / Equipment Review Index / Read my Reb Report Blog: click here.

I played against BH, I examined his bat and it is pips out penholder. BH is higher level than LM who I didn't play. (roughly 1000 vs 700's) Yegads, so there are 2 of those in our club!

_________________
Blade: Andro Kinetic Supreme Zylon/Kiso Hinoki OFF-
FH: Hexer HD 1.7 mm sponge
BH: CTT National Pogo OX
Style: FH counterhitter, BH disruptor

Ah I see. Different guys! Well I tell you, they played doubles together in Div 3 and may well have been a nightmare to play. Don't know as someone else got to knock them out. Still, we had enough of a nightmare against the #1 seeds who almost got us. Once we past that hump it was easy sailing!!

_________________
I'm always in the dark, but the Dark sheds lights upon everything!! Beauty is only pimple deep! Beauty is in the eye of the pipholder!
S/U 1: Blade: Bty Gergely . FH Black Andro Rasant 2.1 . BH Red Tibhar Grass Dtecs
S/U 2: Blade: Bty Gergely . FH Black Hexer+ 2.1 . BH Red GD Talon
S/U 3: Blade: Bty Gergely . No rubbers...thinking of adding Red Dtecs and Black Rasant
Aussie Table Tennis Shop / Aussie Table Tennis Facebook Page / Equipment Review Index / Read my Reb Report Blog: click here.

So who's going to Bendigo....

_________________
Donic defplay senso
Haifu whale soft (grips-euro)
Nittaku pimplemini 1.0mm

lol. not me! I'll wait til you aren't in div 3 any more hehe! Actually I'd have gone, but my driver wasn't keen!

Gotta get to TT now, Dandy has NEW TABLES!!

_________________
I'm always in the dark, but the Dark sheds lights upon everything!! Beauty is only pimple deep! Beauty is in the eye of the pipholder!
S/U 1: Blade: Bty Gergely . FH Black Andro Rasant 2.1 . BH Red Tibhar Grass Dtecs
S/U 2: Blade: Bty Gergely . FH Black Hexer+ 2.1 . BH Red GD Talon
S/U 3: Blade: Bty Gergely . No rubbers...thinking of adding Red Dtecs and Black Rasant
Aussie Table Tennis Shop / Aussie Table Tennis Facebook Page / Equipment Review Index / Read my Reb Report Blog: click here.

Pity because we are just getting the grudge matches going . Technically I've won two divsion 3 events in a row but and should have been booted out already. However!, because "dodgy" Dandenong entered a Div 2 player in last time and I lost the final to him... Unless someone wants to scratch him off the winners records and give me me prize money, I've only won one of them lol........ so now I can play until the new rating list comes out. I wont be able to play in Melbourne at the Vic Open Vets in May because the new ratings will be out then and you can take a bus/tram etc there so you don't need any driver other than a hired one.

_________________
Donic defplay senso
Haifu whale soft (grips-euro)
Nittaku pimplemini 1.0mm

Well E said tonight he is still considering Bendigo. I have another engagement I should go to that day, but would probably blow it off if he wants to go. But I know entries close tomorrow. I also know the event organiser luckily, so might get some lee-way if needed

_________________
I'm always in the dark, but the Dark sheds lights upon everything!! Beauty is only pimple deep! Beauty is in the eye of the pipholder!
S/U 1: Blade: Bty Gergely . FH Black Andro Rasant 2.1 . BH Red Tibhar Grass Dtecs
S/U 2: Blade: Bty Gergely . FH Black Hexer+ 2.1 . BH Red GD Talon
S/U 3: Blade: Bty Gergely . No rubbers...thinking of adding Red Dtecs and Black Rasant
Aussie Table Tennis Shop / Aussie Table Tennis Facebook Page / Equipment Review Index / Read my Reb Report Blog: click here.

Bendigo! Why's it all happening so fast? I wanna go, but ... time is a nuisance!

_________________

Weapon 1: Andro Kinetic Supreme Hinoki/Zylon OFF-; Andro Hexer HDs (FH 2.1/BH 1.9)
Weapon 2: Ross Leidy 'Smokey'; Friendship 729-5s
Club1: Daylesford - since 2010
Club2: Ballarat - since 2011
Blog: A Naked Bear