OOAK Table Tennis Forum

If you watch this guy's game carefully there's really no "trick" to his pips. He wins with the sort of spin variation that loopers would never face nevermind practice for. For example, places long backspin to BH and forces FH topspin from opponent, and then places a soft side-swipe down the line. Even if they get there it's a challenge to execute the transition from lunge to touch return. Basically a really good LP blocker who can put it away on sitters. A master of the range of returns that's possible with the face/edges/sides of the pips.

I actually missed watching this friendly match between Huang and Samsonov. Thanks for pointing out this match.
Here is an embedded video:

I've been watching some of this guy's instructional vids lately and the trickery in his shots is profound. The best demonstration of this is comparison to a more pure push/punch-blocker Wang Chun Fu (王春富), when they face a common mainstream style opponent:

WJJ, middle match from:

correctly timestamped: https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=p ... 8Rvs#t=358

Wang Chun Fu:


The common opponent 关欣 is ex-Provincial but plays amateur tourneys now, and ostensibly familiar with high level LPs. WJJ pretty much clowns him, but WCF's more predictable patterns let him down as 关欣 strokes flatter into the body, and puts it away when WCF is out of position.

Wang Chun Fu is also a pretty interesting character. He didn't start playing until 2002, so a very late bloomer, yet in not too long became another notoriously tricky LP foe. His style is much simpler, very wristy PH pushblock with punch for weak return, and perhaps within reach for more forum denizens. His level seems higher than the Polish pushblocker here if we're judging by quality of opponents: http://ooakforum.com/viewtopic.php?p=283644#p283644. I don't think there's a thread for him here yet.

I recall there was a thread at mytt once where some folks claimed WJJ is only ~2200 level because he "lost" a friendly exhibition to ~2300 LP player who's USATT rated. I guess by that logic from the Samsonov "match" WJJ's reestablishes his world top-10 status again.

Interesting stuff. Thanks for posting that.

I think it's interesting to see 关欣 (the common opponent) vs another LP player as you're right, he's familiar with playing those style of players. Yet those two matches are so different.

Just some initial impressions from a first watch:

- WJJ's serves gave 关欣 much more trouble than Wang Chun Fu. They're better disguised and overall seem much tricker to read.
- WJJ seemed to focus on returning serve with the LPs into 关欣's backhand daring him to try to loop it where Wang Chun Fu seemed to put it right down the middle right into 关欣's wheelhouse for the easy opening loop.
- WJJ appears to have better spin reversal on his chop block. I can't say for sure but it appeared to be that way. Probably better technique.
- WJJ's ability or willingness to twiddle to his SPs to take the attack served him well where Wang Chun Fu appears to be pretty much a full time LP player. There were times where he had a high ball and the point but missed the put away. WJJ would have twiddled in those situations and put that ball away.
- WJJ's placement was better moving 关欣 around in uncomfortable positions.

It really was a great video between the two to try to better understand tactics and position vs simply just sticking your LPs out there for the block. I don't mean to sell Wang Chun Fu short. Just obviously not on the same level as WJJ.

thx for the video.

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Stiga Clipper Classic
FH - TSP Spectol Red 2.0
BH - Dawei 388D-a 1.5

I do believe WJJ is a higher level player than WCF, but the gap isn't as much as the video might make it out to be. In short 关欣(GX) has "figured out" how to play WCF, but I think that's first time he's played WJJ who has his own unique set of tricks. WCF has a bit more variety in store, but was largely unable to withstand GX's first attacks. WJJ can beat a lot of supposedly much better players (like lower national team) unless they practice for him. But it's very much worth paying attention to WCF because his style is far more accessible to us plebs.

There tends to be huge stylistic mismatches with high level LPs. For a good illustration watch Part 3 in the WJJ series above, the 4th player (in red, we'll call him 4eyes) he plays and only one he loses to contrasts drastic to GX despite similar levels. 4eyes is somewhat better than GX (supposedly competitive with provincial pros and CNT B training parters) but he completely demolishes WJJ in the same way WJJ demolishes GX, even if games between GX and 4eyes should be much closer. 4eyes is a very smart/tactic player in the vein of Ma Lin or LGL, and while mechanically he's on par with GX he rarely misreads WJJ's spin despite the large variety of strokes. This completely neutralizes the LP advantage in a way that's difficult to do to topspin attackers.

Thanks to Table Tennis Teaching for uploading this series to youtube. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCiQf_u ... Tej1eaSMyQ

I blogged about these videos here. http://chroniclesofgossima.blogspot.com ... anted.html

Part 1



Part 2



Part 3



Part 4

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Stiga Clipper Classic
FH - TSP Spectol Red 2.0
BH - Dawei 388D-a 1.5

That's the last tutorial from 2010.

There's also another tutorial from 2008 on their channel (where the partner is a kid):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhIqDj4IMUA


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jxHBh3XSdA


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQUVo6x5J30


I'd imagine kind of frustrating to watch if you can't understand chinese.

I watched this one last week and it demos his 14 strokes, and the second tutorial is supposedly shows how to use them in practice.

Made i laugh!!!

You could see Huang go for it, as in the jugular of Samsonov, he was a little tinker and pulled out all the stops!

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