OOAK Table Tennis Forum

Good one, Malleus. It's amazing what a good night of wins can do for your game. The key now is to remain sober about the next set of games, because over-confidence can be a real handicap.

_________________

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

Whilst being beaten soundly by a 77 year old lady is still fresh in my memory, I doubt I will get too overconfident too soon! My main aim right now is just to stay somewhere off rock bottom on the ladder so I will qualify for A3's for the winter season in a team with you, Oskar. The other thing is that there are no easy wins here, like there is in B's, so learning is at high efficiency. An occasional hard fought for win is important so that I feel that winning is possible.

_________________
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 don't think anyone likes an easy win. I applaud your determination to throw yourself in the fire, so to speak. Or is that jumping into the deep end? Either way, you're getting to know some tough opposition and that which doesn't kill you ...

Kind of reminds me of the attitude we fostered when we started skiing Mt Buller. Sure, it took a while for both of us to get our ski legs, but it was very satisfying when we decided to tackle the Summit. When we challenge ourselves, especially when a dose of fear is involved, it makes for the best memories!

So, keep on working on that competitive edge and when winter rolls around we'll be ready to frighten our opponents!

_________________

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

Coaching at last!

Perhaps it had to be this way. Perhaps I had to go through a little humble pie by showing my videos for heavy critiquing before I was ready to be properly coached. Alex's book helped too in understanding that it is often useful to revisit the basics even when you are developing more advanced strokes. I must admit I was a bit resistant to go back to basics until this point.

It was also a set of fortuitous circumstances and creative thinking that has allowed me to have the opportunity to get coaching. Let me explain.

Wednesday night is my wife's night out, and Monday night is mine. So I assumed that I could only do the pennant competition on Monday and the coaching which is available locally on Wednesday was not possible.

We are a busy family with 2 kids and trying to fit in the kids Scouts, Athletics, Gymnastics and Taekwondo was hard enough.

Indeed the Taekwondo people were asking if our daughter could get to another session in the week, and Wednesday seemed to be the only night possible.......
I realised that the taekwondo was on at the same time as TT coaching (which is quite close by to the Taekwondo place) however I needed to look after my 8 yr old boy and then I came up with the brilliant idea; why not get him to be coached as well? Indeed the coaching is aimed at kids, but adults can be involved too. I must say that the quality of coaching is probably the highest possible standard in Australia.

He has had the odd bash but it has been hard for me to teach him so I gave up before. Anyway I think the environment made him quite excited and he really took to it and is keen to go every week! Sometimes Dads are not the best teachers and especially in this case, if he really takes to TT it will be great that he doesn't learn any bad habits right from the start.

So now I can add an hour of coaching each week to my TT training. And at the same time possibly getting another drilling buddy trained up!

_________________
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'm so glad you're able to take the coaching route. I'll be there next week, too! Regarding your son, once he gets a hang of the basics and his enthusiasm grows, we'll be able to keep him going with further drills and the occasional practice game or three. Our little TT group is growing at a pace now. Funny to think we were three strong less than a year ago and now it has doubled. Onward we go!

_________________

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

An honourable loss

Lost again in the pennant competition last night but I felt I played well against the better player, who was a double inverted who read the pip effect really well and made very few unforced errors. I got a set off him but went down 4-1. Went more forehand dominant against him. Got a few chop-loop rallies too which was great. The other player was very close and we went to a full 7 sets to lose 4-3 and with a bit more competition hardening and practice and focus, I should beat him next time. My teammate also lost 4-0 and 4-2 and we lost the doubles 4-2 but we gave tham a hard time and did not let them win easily.

_________________
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

Focus

In the warm up session I felt that I was fluffing easy shots and was frustrated with myself. I then aimed to try and get myself into maximum focus for the games ahead.

We were up against the "Tigers", Oskar will know them as one of them was his nemesis in the last years pennant, DJ, with JA, who are both higher on the ladder than us.

I focused hard and consistently, aiming to be calm and strategic and aiming to win each and every point. I continually asked myself, what is the weakness? What are my shots that are winning more consistently? How can I set up a third or fourth ball attack? At times, telling myself, that was just a mistake. Forgiving myself. That shot was a good decision but I just happened to miss it so I'll try it again next time rather than psyching myself out of the game. Then setting up that shot again and getting it right the next time and then again and again.

I won against both, with DJ we went to 7 sets beating him 4-3 and against JA winning 4-2. My teammate beat DJ too but lost against JA and we lost in the doubles.

The Tigers beat the top team in the division, 2 weeks ago, but we beat them tonight, so that really boosts our confidence. It's really hard work maintaining absolute focus through each and every point but like everything, the more you practice it the better you'll get. But I know now that with that focus, and many more hours of efficient goal oriented practice, it is possible for me to beat every person in my division.

_________________
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've been wondering how you'd go against my past nemesis. Good on you for winning! It seems your confidence will build now and, with the coaching, you should go from strength to strength. And remember, this is your first competitive season - you're going to learn a lot about 'battle hardiness'!

_________________

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

Drilling to winning

Tried entirely playing the same 2 drills today against my bro in law in a game. Have practiced these drills over the last 2 weeks, but I attempted to pretty much do the same drills in an entire set of games.

1st drill on serve: Standard short backspin serve, which he always pushed back, then a pips block which he usually did a weak block back then I step around to my FH and topspin/drive it away with full confidence.

2nd drill on recieve: Pip block the usual backspin or combo back/side serve, which again he blocked or hit with uncertainty, and again step around to my forehand to drive the baby home.

At first I missed quite a few with my aggressive 3rd and 4th ball attacks but I persisted and refused to go back to passivity. Lost the first couple of games however as I got used to doing the shot in the pressure of the game I found the same simple strategy achieved win after win.

Another great advantage is that I forgot about the score, I was simply executing my drill and trying to achieve good consistency with attacks.

As he got used to my drills he started returning some of my attacks but I just continued forehand attacks relentlessly and the supplementary drill was to change the angle of my bat to cope with the increasing topspin on subsequent shots.

A stronger player might attack my pip blocks first but luckily at my present level I think this strategy might be useful against many players. Of course in a pennant game that really counts I may not continue the whole way with this. However if it continues to win me games I just might.

Now to put this into practise for the pennant tommorrow night! We face one of the stronger teams. Might we pull off an upset?

_________________
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

That's a great example of how a few practice sessions can make a dramatic improvement to your game!

_________________
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

Thank you Haggisv! The other great thing was the feeling like I was in control, like playing a sequence of chess moves to the winning shot. I will aim to drill further combinations, it is likely that some combos will work better against some and not against others, so good in the long run to have a repertoire of sequences. I feel like I am moving from playing single notes to playing chords. I love thinking about pips!

_________________
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

Goal for this year

Earlier on in this blog other members asked what my goals were for table tennis. I have only just started in the club pennant matches this year and before now I could not really formulate a specific goal to train towards and fight for. I agree that this is an important part of improving in table tennis.

Now I have a worthy goal, ambitious, yes, but with straining every fibre of my body mind and soul I believe it is achievable.

To dominate the division I am part of by the end of this year!

Because I will be playing and training with Oskar, and I know he has the similar urge and dedication to improve, I will be satisfied to be second to him, although I will aim to be first! May we drill together and fight together with such determination and discipline of training that we end up fighting for the number 1 and 2 spots, having left the rest behind in a cloud of dust!

Then we can join the A2 division next year!

_________________
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 applaud your enthusiasm, vision and self-belief.

To keep things in perspective, I can't look as far as A2 at this stage in my development as a player. Last year, I did dominate the B1 division by being singles aggregate player, but I didn't use that as a platform to look too far ahead. Realistically, I just wanted to tackle the next group of players, which are the WB division players (made up of players from A3 and down). So far, this current division of players has been tougher than the last, but I've still managed to be dominant: in all likelihood, I will again be rewarded with the singles aggregate trophy.

The next step, of course, will be the next division: A4, which you're currently playing in. From what I've learned they will represent the next tough challenge for me, but I hope to rise to the occasion and learn more about my game - its strengths and weaknesses.

The point for me is that I'm reluctant to move up a division unless I'm doing quite well in my current division. In fact, I don't think I'd move up a grade unless I was the dominant player in that division. I figure that if my current division is populated by players stronger than me then I'm in a good place to improve my game.

Another important factor is the team I'm involved with. Although I can have the satisfaction of being a dominant singles player, I do enjoy the game as part of a team. Put simply, I do want any team I'm involved with to put in their best to try and be victorious. Now, I'm not suggesting that I have a tyrannical need to win, rather that every team member works to improve and, more importantly, enjoys the trip of competing. I like the team dynamic when it involves enthusiastic talk about opponents and tactics and what we need to do to be better. In short, I like nothing better than to sit around on the weekend after a grueling game, drink a few beers and spend time getting all table tennis geeky!

_________________

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

Malleus I have just watched your vid (the match one) and skimmed the thread. I'd seen your thread before and have often meant to peek in here, but have been distracted before getting to it by this, that and the other thing. Anyway, better late than never. There's been plenty of good criticism here, and you now have a coach it seems, so I'm noy going to comment there except to say that I could see what carbonman wrote was all on the level and not derogatory. I've seen him play and you would think you're playing tiddly winks, not TT, to see it (and so do I in comparison lol). But I understand that it is hard to get too harshly criticised as it is more discouraging than anything. Its just not possible for a beginner to take too much in, in one gulp. And its also hard for someone at high level to hand out the baby-steps as they need to be, especially when writing on a forum and not a weekly coaching session. I think you will be quite surprised by the TT you see and experience at Geelong. From your stage, the good news is it doesn't take too long to exponentially increase your skills to a reasonable level. But there then comes a point where the increase is so far less pronounced that you don't feel you progress much over the following years. Of course you do progress, its just in such slow small increments that its almost unnoticeable.

I look forward to meeting you and Oskar at Geelong and maybe throwing you a few tips on pips!

_________________
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 Reb. I look forward to the Geelong tournament and meeting you too. I look forward to experiencing first hand, not just watching, what really good TT players can do and although I can really only hope to win a few at Div 5 and maybe Div 4 I think it will be a great eye opener. I do feel I am at an exponential stage of improvement and I hope to keep a similar rate of improvement going as long as possible. At the beginning of my 1st pennant season I lost most games but towards the middle I started to play a more aggressive and successful game and on the last night I won against one of the strongest players of the A4 division (bearing in mind of course that this player has a rating of 276). Well, we all start somewhere and the rate of improvement is the most important thing to me and I am dedicated to continual training and the hard work that it will take.

_________________
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