OOAK Table Tennis Forum

I think whenever you play someone who you are "supposed to beat", there is a tension that comes over you if they are hanging in there or even beating you that can make you go to playing worse, or it can kick you into gear. Its never the same result as your reaction to it each time will depend on your bio-rhythms that are going on at the time. A strong mental approach in the game always stands you in good stead of course, and can carry you through some of the toughest matches. But if your body is tired, or if you are distracted by something else off the court (even subconsciously) then it can take away the edge. And that edge can make a huge difference to results.

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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.

My identity is confidential , was I watching? thats a good question . However I did survey that you seemed slightly distressed after you missed consecutively missed several smashes. No doubt the factors you listed had an effect on your game, because the other times I have seen you play, you had very few problems in comparison. On another note, the moths that were swarming too the lights in the club were extremely distracting .

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Please view my blog, viewtopic.php?f=58&t=17571 , all the problems that I face in table tennis, I post on here, and I would very much appreciate it if you give your opinion on the matters.
S#1: Joola Wing Passion Fast, FH: 729 Cream 2.2, BH: 802-40 2.
S#2: Joola Trix Medium, FH: Hurricane 3 Neo 2, BH: 279 FX Lightning 2.2.
S#3: Galaxy 896, , BH: Pro XP 2.FH: Pro XP 2.2
S#4: Senso Waldner Carbon, FH: Apollo I 2.2, BH: Blowfish Plush Short Pimple Tensor.
S#4: Giant Dragon Kris Special, FH: Giant Dragon TaiChi Soft, BH: Giant Dragon Meteorite Soft.

I think it is primarily coming down to focus and my head not being in the game As I always focus better when presented with a challenge, there isn't as much excitement from beating someone that I normally would.



Not too confidential, I put on my Internet detective hat and worked it out The moths were a bit annoying, it's tricky, because it's a warm night people want air flow, but that attracts all the bugs to the lights

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Main: Butterfly Timo Boll Spirit ST | FH: Andro Hexer HD 2.1mm | BH: Donic Bluefire MAX

Darn my identity has been exposed .

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Please view my blog, viewtopic.php?f=58&t=17571 , all the problems that I face in table tennis, I post on here, and I would very much appreciate it if you give your opinion on the matters.
S#1: Joola Wing Passion Fast, FH: 729 Cream 2.2, BH: 802-40 2.
S#2: Joola Trix Medium, FH: Hurricane 3 Neo 2, BH: 279 FX Lightning 2.2.
S#3: Galaxy 896, , BH: Pro XP 2.FH: Pro XP 2.2
S#4: Senso Waldner Carbon, FH: Apollo I 2.2, BH: Blowfish Plush Short Pimple Tensor.
S#4: Giant Dragon Kris Special, FH: Giant Dragon TaiChi Soft, BH: Giant Dragon Meteorite Soft.

I have come to the end of the most intense Table Tennis week I have had since about 2005-2006, I played 6 out of the last 7 days, 2 competition nights, 3 at the club practising, and one at home on the robot. So I have really hit the ground running with my return to training. I am starting to notice a bit of an increase in my form recently, just from the added table time and getting my technique back into gear, but I still have a long way to go.

There are a couple of things I am working towards in the immediate future and want to get done by the end of the year. First of which is finding the right equipment, about 3-4 weeks ago I changed my rubbers and I have found that while they are great for some shots, they are not so good for others, particularly on my FH when looping. I want to work this out as soon as possible so I can work out what I am going to stick with for the coming years (pardon the pun ), the less time stuffing around with equipment, the better The other thing I want to work on is getting my fitness back into gear, I have noticed it slipping over the last 6 weeks, and it is causing me to struggle in some matches, particularly in the warmer summer weather. Hopefully with plenty of time playing TT and getting back into the gym I will make a good start on this over the next month and keep it going into next year for when the competition seasons start. While not directly related to my technique or anything like that, I think these 2 things will provide a great base for me to take my game to the next level.

Once I have got the base for my improvement, I hope to tighten up and refine a few of the things I am currently doing, which are; body placement/footwork, mental focus, shot decisions. First of all, I am making a lot of errors at the moment due to not getting in the right position, which is because my footwork has got a little bit sluggish. I find myself getting to the ball, but not always making good body position at the same time to do a solid return. Sometimes getting myself into quite awkward positions as well. Hopefully through increased fitness and targeted footwork drills, I should iron this out without too much trouble. My mental focus is something that is generally good, but I am finding unless I am faced with a real challenge at the moment I am not playing my proper game and I end up doing just enough to get through the match. Ideally I need to focus in all matches and play them all to my full potential, no slacking off. The last point is something that could be related to both things I have just mentioned, which is my shot decisions. I have got myself into a few bad habits, which I am currently working on breaking, these could have developed due to poor footwork and not being properly focused on the game. I find myself playing unorthodox shots at times, playing my BH too far over to my FH side when I don't need to, and spending too much time defending/lobbing rather then working my way back to the table. I think with focused training and making a conscious effort, it shouldn't be too hard to break these habits, but unfortunately it is something I have got myself into. Once I have got these things to a point where I am comfortable, I will then start focusing on my technique in each stroke, trying to maximise the speed/spin/placement of them. I think it is essential to set a good base for myself before trying to improve my technique too much, as I will just fall into bad habits otherwise.

Once again, I look forward to any comments, discussions, and advice that you might have for me during my training At this stage I am lined up for 4 TT sessions this week, with 2 training sessions and 2 matches.

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Main: Butterfly Timo Boll Spirit ST | FH: Andro Hexer HD 2.1mm | BH: Donic Bluefire MAX

Your a very competitive person Dan. Keep on sharing.

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Enjoy the game. It is a never ending learning experience once you play and keep the ball on that 45 sq ft of space or should I say half of that space.

Last night's A grade match was very disappointing. After not much sleep and a long day at work, I dragged myself along to the match. Straight away I knew I wasn't in it last night, my first match was against an awkward, flat hitting player, with dead rubber on both sides. I have played him twice before and didn't drop a set either time. Last night was very different, he was off to a flying start, took the first set with ease 11-6, I was keeping my head clear at this point as I figured I just needed more of a warm up and I would get going, but this didn't happen at all, I struggled through the next set to win it 14-12, despite getting the set I wasn't playing well, I got a bit lucky and managed to just get over the line. The next two sets I was never in it, it's almost as if I was putting the ball in the perfect spot for him to just tee off and flat hit it past me. My mindset was completely gone during these sets, I wasn't thinking and giving away too many easy points, and as I did, I got more annoyed with myself and less in the game. So a very poor start to the night going down 3-1.

Next up I had the first doubles, the captain decided to put me in this one as I obviously needed more of a hit to get my groove going for the night. So after some fresh air and clearing my head, I started to play a bit better in the doubles, but still not quite up to my usual standard, footwork was very slow and I was playing indecisive shots. Luckily we were able to keep on top of our opponents, but still only scraped through with a 3-2 win. Going into my next game it was another player who I haven't lost to before, I know I shouldn't have been, but something in my head made me a bit cautious going into it after the performance in my first singles. Things went a lot better here, this guy wasn't playing as well as the first player, so even in my poor form I was able to push through and stay ahead of things. I won the first two sets easily 11-6 and 11-5, then going into the third set he started to stay with me and things were much closer, he took the lead 10-8 and had 2 set points, after a well placed shot by me and a fault serve by him, we were even at 10-10. I managed to hang in there and take the set 12-10, giving me the match 3-0. Funnily enough that player has a habit of coming back when I am 2 sets up and taking the third, even though he doesn't do much after that. I was feeling a bit better now, but my exhaustion from a long day was really taking it's toll.

My third singles was the final match of the night and it was getting late. I have had mixed results against this player, although usually I come out on top. Last night I was never in the match at all, I was playing a sloppy short game, and he was consistently counter hitting my offensive shots back past me. The first set went quickly with me going down 11-5, the next set went much the same until I made a late comeback, although it didn't last and I went down 11-8. My confidence was really lacking now, I was just happy to get the game finished, I still tried some different things and tried to get on top, but everything I did, he had an answer for, it just wasn't my night. I ended up going down 3-0, and only won the one singles match for the night. My other two team mates played well though and we won the match 9-2, with my 2 singles being the only losses for the match.

After a night like that it is hard to stay enthusiastic, I am trying to get my training going, but at the same time I am struggling due to a busy work life and not enough sleep. It is really showing how important the mental side of the game is as well as the necessity of energy/fitness to keep me going. I guess everyone has their bad matches though, and it is a learning experience which I can use to identify areas which are causing me troubles. As at the other end of the scale there are nights were you play amazingly good, which is what the first opponent I played experienced, who even pushed our top player to 5 sets for the first time. For the moment though I think I need to focus on finding some consistent form, I don't need to be playing amazingly every week, just keep things steady and keep my games up to the standard where I am comfortable.

Things start to get interesting with tonight's match as I will be starting to trial new rubbers on the hope I can settle on something I am happy with by the end of the year.

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Main: Butterfly Timo Boll Spirit ST | FH: Andro Hexer HD 2.1mm | BH: Donic Bluefire MAX

A busy day and/or lack of sleep can be huge factor Dan, don't let it get you down mate!

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OOAK Table Tennis Shop | Re-Impact Blades | Butterfly Table Tennis bats
Setup1: Re-Impact Smart, Viper OX, Victas VS 401 Setup2: Re-Impact Barath, Dtecs OX, TSP Triple Spin Chop 1.0mm Setup3: Re-Impact Dark Knight, Hellfire OX, 999 Turbo
Recent Articles: Butterfly Tenergy Alternatives | Tenergy Rubbers Compared | Re-Impact User Guide

You can't win 'em all Dan. Don't let a sub-par night curb your enthusiasm. 1 out of 3 isn't a disaster. Even 0 out of 3 you have to cop on the chin and recognise nights like this happen. Being tired doesn't help of course. Sleep is highly under-rated by many people, especially young energetic ones. I suggest if you want to make top 10 in SA you do it before you marry and have kids. Once that happens, TT might suffer just a little more for a while

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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.

Thanks guys, I know I can't win them all, I don't mind losing when I put up a good match, but when I play well below par it gets a bit frustrating Sleep is something I'm going to really work on improving, as not only does it negatively effect my TT, but everything else too. I have got taken tomorrow off from work (cashed in some overtime from last week as time off instead of extra money), so I will get some good sleep and a day off to relax. So it should be a good start to getting back in gear

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Main: Butterfly Timo Boll Spirit ST | FH: Andro Hexer HD 2.1mm | BH: Donic Bluefire MAX

I often play with a flat hitter with dead rubbers, those guys are always going to have some on night where you can't do anything but watch the ball wizz past, luckily that style is so timing critical that they only have a good night once for every 10 times they play so don't get too worried about that

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

Haha! You have never met Mars63 the Foam. He was a regular here on the forum for a while, and someone I had the occasional hit with. And also a bloke who used to play in A1 at Dandy. Now he didn't use dead rubbers, and there was a modicum of spin in his flat hits and flicks. Physics demanded it. Someone who can flick a ball past you at smash speed from a short below-the-net ball must apply some spin. But damned if I could see it, the ball went too fast. SHFS had a hit with him once, he may recall some of those shots. Mind you he hit with him after his peak and he'd stopped playing competition for a year.

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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.

Well last night was a much more relaxed competition night. As there is only one tough match each week due to the rankings system, I went into it with a relaxed mindset of just wanting to play my game and not get frustrated with mistakes. I also changed my FH rubber to Donic Barracuda last night to give it a test run (thanks haggisv). My first two games were against their number 2 and 3, and as such there wasn't much to note. I mainly played solid shots and focused on the consistency, rather then trying to blast my opponent off the table. I went through these two rather easily both with a score of 3-0. The Barracuda was looping well and felt much nicer on my FH then the Moon Pro, it will be interesting to see how it compares to the Vega Pro and Hexer HD that I am getting to try as well.

The final game for the night was against their number 1 player. In recent times I haven't had much trouble with him and usually manage a 3-0 or 3-1 result. He mainly plays an over the table blocking & counter-hitting game, which at times can be like trying to hit through a brick wall. Although having played him many times before I knew where his weaknesses were. The match started with it being very close, we were pretty much going point for point, although he had a couple of extra nets/edges along the way to help I ended up winning the first 14-12, the final point I was pushed back from the table, he smashed it wide to my BH, I managed to get an outstretched bat to it and hit it back, while at the same time I turned away and my back was to the table and I wasn't sure if it would actually go on, I turned around and to my delight it landed on and seemed to have enough side spin that it put my opponent completely out of position and he couldn't line up for another smash. The next set I started solidly and took an early lead, but as my opponent gets so many balls back I started to get a bit worn out, he took advantage of this and made a comeback, again we were sitting at 10-10, a poor service return put it to 11-10 his way, and then on the final rally he got a thick net and it just dribbled over to my side to bounce twice before I could get near it. Bringing the game score to 1-1. The next two sets went much the same with me taking an early lead, and then him chipping away at me to comeback slightly as I got more worn down, but in these two sets I was able to hold him off long enough to get the win in both, giving me a 3-1 win for the match. So I was still hanging in there at the top of the ladder unbeaten with three weeks of competition to go. I still have to play the other 2 top players, so it could be an interesting few weeks coming up as they both sit behind me on the ladder with only 1 loss each.

My other new rubbers on their way and I will hopefully be able to start testing them out in the coming weeks, I will be rotating between Vega Pro, Hexer HD, Barracuda, and Moon Pro to try and decide what combination I want to stick with for the coming year

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Main: Butterfly Timo Boll Spirit ST | FH: Andro Hexer HD 2.1mm | BH: Donic Bluefire MAX

Good effort there Dan2105, especially since you're using a new Fh rubber.
Just a note that the rubber you're trying is Baracuda Big Slam, which is a little different to the original Baracuda.

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OOAK Table Tennis Shop | Re-Impact Blades | Butterfly Table Tennis bats
Setup1: Re-Impact Smart, Viper OX, Victas VS 401 Setup2: Re-Impact Barath, Dtecs OX, TSP Triple Spin Chop 1.0mm Setup3: Re-Impact Dark Knight, Hellfire OX, 999 Turbo
Recent Articles: Butterfly Tenergy Alternatives | Tenergy Rubbers Compared | Re-Impact User Guide

Have you played #1 Mark H ( I think thats his name_? he only comes on the odd weeks so you may have missed him. If you haven't, that would have be a very good match.

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Please view my blog, viewtopic.php?f=58&t=17571 , all the problems that I face in table tennis, I post on here, and I would very much appreciate it if you give your opinion on the matters.
S#1: Joola Wing Passion Fast, FH: 729 Cream 2.2, BH: 802-40 2.
S#2: Joola Trix Medium, FH: Hurricane 3 Neo 2, BH: 279 FX Lightning 2.2.
S#3: Galaxy 896, , BH: Pro XP 2.FH: Pro XP 2.2
S#4: Senso Waldner Carbon, FH: Apollo I 2.2, BH: Blowfish Plush Short Pimple Tensor.
S#4: Giant Dragon Kris Special, FH: Giant Dragon TaiChi Soft, BH: Giant Dragon Meteorite Soft.