OOAK Table Tennis Forum

I have no desire to argue the semantics here but it's worth clarifying the couple pointers above have nothing to do with whatever shortcuts are hypothesized to exist in TT and that knowing the spin and knowing how to handle it don't involve any athleticism.

I'd have to say I've seen some very unathletic people (even disabled people and people in wheelchairs) play at a very high level because they know how to handle spin and impart it as well.

Iskandar

Iacas is saying that knowing (in the sense of describing) how to handle spin is easy. Actually handling it requires practice. You can be as educated as you want to be about it, but it's no substitute for practice.

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Cobra Kai TT Exponent (Mercy effs up your Game)
One-Loop Man: One Loop... Again????
Lumberjack TT Exponent

"We don't rise to the level of our expectations, we fall to the level of our training" - Archilochus

> Iacas is saying that knowing (in the sense of describing) how to handle spin is easy.

The crux of the misconception is that simple descriptions (eg top, back, side) do not fully characterize the vector nature of spin. Same for the even more complex vectors for "handling" it. Knowing exactly what when wrong at impact for any given shot significantly reduces length of the feedback loop, resulting in learning a lot faster.

That's pretty obvious so what you are proposing that he should do other than agree with what you have written?

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Cobra Kai TT Exponent (Mercy effs up your Game)
One-Loop Man: One Loop... Again????
Lumberjack TT Exponent

"We don't rise to the level of our expectations, we fall to the level of our training" - Archilochus

If it were so obvious then there would be no contention.

Yup.

The knowledge part is easy. The athletic part - the "handling" part - requires a lot of time and still cannot fully be mastered.

Can we shelve that discussion for now? It's not really something with which I'm concerning myself at this point. Thank you.

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Erik J. Barzeski
Newb in Erie, PA

Tibhar TEXO All | 1.8 999 Juic Elite x 2
Ross Leidy ALL Blades (x2) | 1.8BH/2.0FH Juic 999 Elite
Butterfly Amicus Pro

Erie TTC • Erie TTC Facebook
TST • GE • 5SK • LSW

I've been playing for 40+ years, have coached a lot of people, and I think you are approaching this exactly the right way. I hope it goes well for you.

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Butterfly Viscaria Black tag
2.2 mm Nexy Karis M on FH and BH

My Butterfly Amicus Pro ("Tom Servo") arrives later today, and I'll first use it tomorrow.

I look forward to it. I haven't had a chance to work on my forehand again since the lesson. Busy, and putting things off until I could get the robot.

I'll wash some of the practice balls I have later today. I hear that new balls have a dust on them or something and don't work as well as you might think.

_________________
Erik J. Barzeski
Newb in Erie, PA

Tibhar TEXO All | 1.8 999 Juic Elite x 2
Ross Leidy ALL Blades (x2) | 1.8BH/2.0FH Juic 999 Elite
Butterfly Amicus Pro

Erie TTC • Erie TTC Facebook
TST • GE • 5SK • LSW

Long time no see....

_________________
Cobra Kai TT Exponent (Mercy effs up your Game)
One-Loop Man: One Loop... Again????
Lumberjack TT Exponent

"We don't rise to the level of our expectations, we fall to the level of our training" - Archilochus

I'm back!

Ross is making two blades for me. I got some rubbers coming for them. I am basically starting from scratch again, but now that "the room" is set up in the basement of our golf facility, I'll be there a fair amount during the winter.

_________________
Erik J. Barzeski
Newb in Erie, PA

Tibhar TEXO All | 1.8 999 Juic Elite x 2
Ross Leidy ALL Blades (x2) | 1.8BH/2.0FH Juic 999 Elite
Butterfly Amicus Pro

Erie TTC • Erie TTC Facebook
TST • GE • 5SK • LSW

Of the two blades I have coming, one has an anatomic handle, while the other is a flared. I think the anatomic will feel better but basically I'll have two and can switch between them as necessary. I've got the layer composition elsewhere, but IIRC it's a seven-layer blade with a bit of glass fibre in the middle.

PP was out of Juic 999 Elite 1.8 in black, so I'm going 1.8 red on the backhand and 2.0 in black on the forehands. We'll see how that goes. Everything should be here around Friday or Saturday.

_________________
Erik J. Barzeski
Newb in Erie, PA

Tibhar TEXO All | 1.8 999 Juic Elite x 2
Ross Leidy ALL Blades (x2) | 1.8BH/2.0FH Juic 999 Elite
Butterfly Amicus Pro

Erie TTC • Erie TTC Facebook
TST • GE • 5SK • LSW

Good to see you are back! Now, time to return to advising you...

I often shake my head when I hear someone is playing with a Ross Leidy blade - not because they are bad, but because they make it harder to benchmark someone's game relative to the next player. At least, when I hear a player is using a Timo Boll ALC, I know what he is trying to do. On the other hand, I am fairly sure you won't be getting custom made rubbers.

_________________
Cobra Kai TT Exponent (Mercy effs up your Game)
One-Loop Man: One Loop... Again????
Lumberjack TT Exponent

"We don't rise to the level of our expectations, we fall to the level of our training" - Archilochus

Fair enough. I'm aiming for a pretty standard ALL blade/rubber combo right now. As I move along I'll see what kind of player I am, and will customize the rubber first, and ultimately perhaps the blade, to fit my game.

_________________
Erik J. Barzeski
Newb in Erie, PA

Tibhar TEXO All | 1.8 999 Juic Elite x 2
Ross Leidy ALL Blades (x2) | 1.8BH/2.0FH Juic 999 Elite
Butterfly Amicus Pro

Erie TTC • Erie TTC Facebook
TST • GE • 5SK • LSW

So I worked with my instructor for 45 minutes today.

She was pretty impressed and couldn't believe I'd played less than 50 hours total (it's probably under 35, but I didn't want to exaggerate the wrong way). That felt good. I think I trust her too since she moved me in the last 15 minutes to a drill where I:

• Return a shot from the backhand.
• Open up to take a forehand from the same location.
• Cross step over to take a forehand from the wide FH corner.

I don't have all of that footwork down yet, but I was apparently decent at the side-to-side stuff.

01 (2015-11-18)

• Show wood on the handle, thumb half wood/rubber, more across palm (in line with forearm).
• Take backhand in front of me, not to my left.
• Keep my other hand up. This feels weird. It keeps wanting to drop down to about hip high, or stomach height.
• Elbow stays pointed down on forehand. Short stroke with paddle to forehead.
• Footwork:
  
  • BH to FH: right foot steps back first, not too far or I point hips too far away from opponent
  • Cross-over: Don't bring the paddle back, feels like no backswing, big step and toward the table
  • Side-to-side steps very good

Next lesson is Friday, but I won't have my RL blades by then.

There's a tournament here in April that I may or may not play in. Honestly, that's not even necessarily something I care about per se. If I'm free, maybe I'll play. But right now I just want to see how good I can get.

_________________
Erik J. Barzeski
Newb in Erie, PA

Tibhar TEXO All | 1.8 999 Juic Elite x 2
Ross Leidy ALL Blades (x2) | 1.8BH/2.0FH Juic 999 Elite
Butterfly Amicus Pro

Erie TTC • Erie TTC Facebook
TST • GE • 5SK • LSW