OOAK Table Tennis Forum

Awesome I'm delighted to hear that slowing yourself down had such a positive impact on your game.

I would probably take your brother's comments with a pinch of salt. I doubt many other opponents would mention it. I understand your concerns though - there's a fine line between slowing yourself down to be mindful/present and slowing yourself down to gain an advantage from your opponent's frustration.

It might be worth speeding it up a tiny bit. One or two less bounces. What you've described is nearly identical to the way our County champion plays. His games always take absolutely ages - but it's probably not a complete coincidence that he's lost 2 games in 5 years...

After that though, if your opponent reacts negatively to you taking time to serve the ball, that's entirely their prerogative. If it gains you an advantage because they're hideously impatient and want to play relentlessly quickly, they only have themselves to blame. Nobody would ever accuse a quick player of gamesmanship even if it gained them an advantage from unsettling you...

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My blog: "Learning to play: as a modern defender": http://ooakforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=58&t=22254
My YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtazeX ... oICGS9bqNg
Join the OOAK Discord!: https://discord.gg/Yw2hYUdz3g

[Other gear I've used]
Blades: Butterfly Defence 3, Butterfly Defence Pro, Butterfly Innerforce ZLC, Butterfly Innershield, DHS Power G7, Stiga Offensive Classic Carbon
SPs: Friendship 802 (1.5), TSP Spectol (1.3, 1.8, 2.1), TSP Spectol Speed (1.3), TSP Super Spinpips Chop Sponge 2 (0.5, 1.3)
LPs: Butterfly Feint Long II (1), Butterfly Feint Long III (0.5, 1.3), Tibhar Grass D.TecS (OX), TSP Curl P1-R (0.5, 1, 1.3), TSP Curl P4 (1.3)

3rd match of the summer league. This time we were playing against a team comprising JG - a lady I usually play with on Tuesday. She's a beginner - playing only for a year or so, and while she's improving quickly, this is her first match experience. The second player was EH - the daughter of one of the players I know, and who was in my group for two of the end of season competitions, indeed went on to win the handicap doubles tournament. She's 12, and been playing for a few years. She not as strong as some of the youngsters I've faced, but still useful.

We won 5-0, fairly comfortably. I persisted with my slow serving routine, and found it really helped me stay in the zone. Afterwards, EH's father commented that I was good example of concentration, and calmness, and that my slow serving routine was great!

PH stayed pretty calm too - one stamped foot, but, importantly, staying completely calm after losing 11-9 in the 2nd against JG, before going on to win 3-1.

Not much to report, in that I wasn't really tested, and played steady, cautious, defensive TT, and attacking fiercely when the opportunity arose.

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Yasaka Sweden Classic | 802 OX | C8 OX
Check out my blog - LordCope's Latest Learning Log - 10+ years of accumulate mistakes!

Been a while since I updated this. Had the last match of the summer league tonight. My team finished mid-table, and had some close matches. The big difference was playing against teams of around our own strength - greatly increased the enjoyment.

I stuck with my PF4/C7 combo for all my matches (apart from one.. see below), and while I wasn't entirely convinced by the setup, I resisted the temptation to tweak. I found that as I got less practice done this last few months, my game inclined to more impatient and more agressive, which was interesting.

Now, tonight, owing to an incident with a table tennis bat and a five year old daughter, I had to play with my hardbat rather than the PF4/C7 combo. How interesting that was. Bearing in mind I haven't used this for months, it took me a while to get into it, but I played some lovely shots, both aggressive and retrieving, and while I lost all my games, I was very pleased with how I played, and as is often the case, I felt I enjoyed myself very much - there's a delightful immediacy about it.

After the match I got a chance to play with a coach who's going to put on a course for some of the novice players at the club. Interestingly he didn't start by saying: throw that rubbish away, instead he took the view of explaining how I needed to adjust some of my shots to take into account the way the bat and rubbers played. I learned to play BH and FH shots with a more open face, and enjoyed some good consistency. Also did some BH push drills, with good effect.

The overall sensation I always have is there's an elegant simplicity to my hardbat setup. It doesn't excel at anything, it can't impart vast amounts of spin, it doesn't cause severe disruption or spin reversal. But I can play all the shots I need to, and I feel in touch with the strokes. So... I think I might use this for the 6 session course the coach is going to run, and see how that goes!

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Yasaka Sweden Classic | 802 OX | C8 OX
Check out my blog - LordCope's Latest Learning Log - 10+ years of accumulate mistakes!

LOL LC!

If I could actually stick with one setup without flip flopping, I would make a wager with you on whom would stick with their guns the longest. Btw I am presently a back-to-basics type of setup with my mat.pro and 1.5 804 black on the fh and 837 red ox on the bh side for a two wing chopping game. Next week it will be a month…

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A big bag full of blades and long pimples, donuts and coffee!

Sounds very similar to a friend of mine whom I'll be playing with this afternoon. He has super anti and OX FL2/3 IIRC. Interestingly he can produce an evil whippy backhand kill with the pips!

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Yasaka Sweden Classic | 802 OX | C8 OX
Check out my blog - LordCope's Latest Learning Log - 10+ years of accumulate mistakes!

804 is a dead rubber. Its got enough friction to produce spin on the serve but on hard impact when it gets into the sponge, you get a knuckle ball that floats back. I use it as a beginners inverted as I am headed back to a simple chopping game. It also allows for relatively good serve returns but you can do more with it just like a regular inverted that has lost its tack. Good for hits and attacking as I try to improve that area of my game as well and inverted is a better option here as you and others previously stated. I wont be looping with it. 837 ox surprising gives a lot of bspin and what I like about it is the flat arc – its almost straight and it produces a lot of backspin. Its fast as well which suits my immediate needs.

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A big bag full of blades and long pimples, donuts and coffee!

Fun session at the club yesterday afternoon. Usual suspects, and usual combination of singles and doubles. I played again with my hardbat, since I've not fixed the one that my daughter improved yet...

Played two singles matches against PW and JT. PW I usually beat, although he is improving quickly. He won 2-1, but it was close, and I felt my game was coming together. JT is slightly better than me, but we've been much closer the last few matches. She won 2-1, but again very close, and I was pleased with how I played. I was mixing up my game, with retrieving/defending, close to the table blocking, and hitting.

Doubles went well, and I was pleased with some of my touches and chops. I also had a great one-on-one practice with one of the stronger players, and worked on blocking FH and BH off the bounce. It might be my imagination, but it's not the first time I've felt it... but when I play with my hardbat, it feels like my footwork is better... I can't explain it, but it feels more like dancing... odd.

On the whole, the feedback I got from the stronger players was that I was more consistent than usual, my footwork was good, and I was generating a surprising amount of spin, given their expectations of a hardbat.

The robot (Newgy 2050) arrives today. Wish I had a proper table to set it up on... will have to wait until tomorrow.

I'm getting used to the high pop of the bat... I'm almost not noticing it any more, and bugger the people who do.

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Yasaka Sweden Classic | 802 OX | C8 OX
Check out my blog - LordCope's Latest Learning Log - 10+ years of accumulate mistakes!

I was wondering what happened when I saw the new signature.

To be honest, I've been testing new setups recently, too. I lasted about 9 months with the prior setup, and am building a new blade, and trying different, but similar rubbers now, trying to find a more optimal setup, with minor improvements for the game I seem to play, so its for good reason, but I am no better as far as sticking to my setup.

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--- Push/Chop or Attack ---
USATT 1684 left, Lost it all by playing sick and hurt.
No legs left, no more backing up, just smash it!
Blade: TTPiet OFF-/ALL custom
FH: Spinlord Waran Short Pips
BH: Joola Badman Reloaded 0X

Well I lasted pretty much the whole summer season, plus a bit of the winter... nearly 6 months. And the change wasn't because I started to fiddle or got bored, but the accidental change has been such fun, I think I'll stick with it. I'm certainly going to stay with this until the end of the winter season.

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Yasaka Sweden Classic | 802 OX | C8 OX
Check out my blog - LordCope's Latest Learning Log - 10+ years of accumulate mistakes!

The robot had it's first outing! And I had a couple of knocks, in addition to spending some time on the robot.

First knock against TL. TL got 33% in division 3 last year. I'll be starting in division 5, and based on my current performances I might expect to get 50%. We hit a bit and played a few shots. He found my setup hard to cope with, as I can take a lot of speed off the ball, can provide a deceptive amount of spin on a chop, and can hit hard when needed. My blocks were effective at breaking up the rhythm too. We then played a game to 11, and lost 11-8. TL said afterwards that I'd really come on, and was quite an awkward customer now

The second knock was against one of the juniors who plays in division 5. I beat him in a match this summer. We had a quick knock, then played a best of 5 match. I raced into the lead 2-0, by playing a consistency-based game, waiting for him to make mistakes. But in game 3 it came undone, I lost my consistency, and his agressive shots started to improve. He pulled back one, and then another to make it 2-2. I lost the final one 11-4. I think I needed to try something different, but I wasn't sure what...

Against the robot I mostly did topspin forehand shots. The main thing I noticed was that I usually hit my shots in the centre of the table or to the BH corner, seldom to the FH corner - perhaps because of the sidespin on the shot? I learned that I can hit hard through the spin if I time it right, but that this is a risky shot. If I relax my grip and wrist and play much more gently I was able to get consistent shots back.

BH topspin shots were trickier. I could do a sort of flick/hit shot, which was again very effective if I timed it right, but the equivalent soft hands shot was trickier.

I did a few chops, and these were pretty good. I got the hang of digging hard into the ball to achieve good spin.

I'm pretty tired and achey... robots are hard work!

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Yasaka Sweden Classic | 802 OX | C8 OX
Check out my blog - LordCope's Latest Learning Log - 10+ years of accumulate mistakes!

Lordcope, what about your penhold..have you abandoned it?

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Still Missing the Speed Glue

Hi Poknas,

I still have my penholder blade, but haven't used it at all. Quite happy shaking it.

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Yasaka Sweden Classic | 802 OX | C8 OX
Check out my blog - LordCope's Latest Learning Log - 10+ years of accumulate mistakes!

Session 1 out of 6 of the training camp at my club. Today's session was on 'The Backhand Push'. The coach explained the idea behind the shot, and demostrated it, and then had all of us (8 players) push to each other, aiming at a small sheet of paper, and then at two sheets of paper. We briefly covered FH push too. I felt fairly comfortable - I play BH pushes often, and have good touch on my hardbat, so was able to feed and control nicely. The exercise was worthwhile.

Interestingly, coach mentioned that he rarely teaches the FH push, as he thinks it's not used (other than for some service returns), and prefers a more assertive shot. I didn't question this, but I've flagged it for later. I think I play FH push quite often!

After the coaching session we played 'Top Table'. I found this frustrating, as I felt the need to rush serving and playing points. I played badly and ended on the bottom table. Then I played a couple of matches - against PW whom I play with on Tuesdays - I won closely, but was pleased with my play, and against my team mate PH from the summer league - I won 3-1, and apart from a wobble in the 4th (which I lost 11-2) I felt I played ok. I must say I've found watching the commonwealth matches inspiring, from a mental toughness perspective!

Sightly worrisome things:

1) I feel some temper creeping back into my game. The occasional grr, or negative self talk, or 'get over', or 'get on', or grunts of frustration. I need to watch out for this...

2) I found this last week too, and today, that when I practice intensively (ie something for a long time, rather than just games), I start to get quite stiff in my back between by shoulder blades, I'm feeling somewhat stiff now too. Wondering what I need to do to compensate and fix....

Next session is on Thursday, and covers 'FH Drive'. Club session tomorrow afternoon. More soon..

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Yasaka Sweden Classic | 802 OX | C8 OX
Check out my blog - LordCope's Latest Learning Log - 10+ years of accumulate mistakes!

Training session 2 today: forehand drive. Same format - discussion of principles, demo, then practice with partners, mixing up partners, then some top table. Good session - I was pleased with how I played, and found I get great control and plenty of spin on my shots. The main thing I took away was how short the stroke can be, and how if I keep a pretty soft grip on the bat, things seem to take care of themselves.

Top table annoyed me again. Again felt the need to rush, and twice ended up going down a table because I was a point down in a game I felt confident of winning. Ended up on bottom table, playing team mate, who got 5 lucky points in a row to be 5-0 up. Now again, in a match I might be able to make that up, but with imminent changes I just thought 'what is the point' and pretty much gave up in disgust. Won the final match, move up a table, and then had a set to 11 with my Dad, losing 11-9, in a close game. Was happy with how I played.

Finished with a match against the coach. Lost the first 11-9, after playing very well. He resorted to evil serves that I didn't return well and I lost the next two 11-5, but I was happy with my movement and play. Just need to get better at service return.

On this point, on Tuesday I played well too, mostly in doubles, but had a good practice against one of the better players who has some really evil serves. Practiced returning them a bit more actively, with a push with a bit more of a dig, if the ball had some chop, and a flick if the ball had some topspin. Need to introduce this into my game. Useful. Also had a go on the robot.

Will try to get a camera set up next time, to video and share myself against the robot.

All in all, I'm happy with how I am playing, and I'm enjoying playing. Just need to watch my perfectionist streak that allows negative self-talk to sneak in when I play a weak shot, or when my opponent gets a lucky break. I'm reminded of Steve Davis, the snooker player of my youth, who was always implacable, and never showed emotion. I don't need or rely on emotion and pump up and actually play better when in a zen mind-like-water mode... so thinking that might be a nice approach - never let emotion show - a shot is a shot. Sounds like an interesting idea anyway.

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Yasaka Sweden Classic | 802 OX | C8 OX
Check out my blog - LordCope's Latest Learning Log - 10+ years of accumulate mistakes!

Works for some Chinese players..!

Being negative *never* helps. Simple as that!

_________________
My blog: "Learning to play: as a modern defender": http://ooakforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=58&t=22254
My YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtazeX ... oICGS9bqNg
Join the OOAK Discord!: https://discord.gg/Yw2hYUdz3g

[Other gear I've used]
Blades: Butterfly Defence 3, Butterfly Defence Pro, Butterfly Innerforce ZLC, Butterfly Innershield, DHS Power G7, Stiga Offensive Classic Carbon
SPs: Friendship 802 (1.5), TSP Spectol (1.3, 1.8, 2.1), TSP Spectol Speed (1.3), TSP Super Spinpips Chop Sponge 2 (0.5, 1.3)
LPs: Butterfly Feint Long II (1), Butterfly Feint Long III (0.5, 1.3), Tibhar Grass D.TecS (OX), TSP Curl P1-R (0.5, 1, 1.3), TSP Curl P4 (1.3)