OOAK Table Tennis Forum

Just giving my experience. And maybe the words 'time to run back' put me off. People seem to get forced back but seldom to run back unless defense is their primary style like a chopper.

I've given a few reps to lobbing vs smash because it's fun. But to win 10%, or even 5%, of lobbing points vs a 1900+ player would take me way more training reps than it is worth. I'd rather block, or counterloop from a few feet away. With my feeble body and slow equipment a few feet is the farthest I can go and still carry the ball beyond the net. Fastmover's mileage may vary. But I stand by my opinion that if this is about winning more points then lobbing practice is not worth the time. If there is lots of time and it's about having fun then go for it, lob vs smash games are great.

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Smile in the mirror. Do that every morning and you'll start to see a big difference in your life.

Yoko Ono

I'm a modern defensive player. Just move to MP for my BH to be able to have more tools to play. So I can counter, block and attack.

If I don't practice my counter shot and short attacking game I just start to go downspiral into defensive chop mode only and feel that I can't create surprise to the opponent. I loose confidence and patience. So do both is important for me.

On the opposite, on the forehand, I can stay near the table and block easily topspin I can also attack and defend far the table. I usually chop with my forehand, I prefer to counterloop, fish, lob, sidespin rapidly and coming back with slow pace with my backhand. Variation of speed and spin and tempo is key for my overall game.

Also practicing specific situation a few minutes in practice can give special amunition during a specific situation during a match that can unstabilised the opponant . My moto in ping pong is probably " Did you give your opponent a big surprise today ?"

I understand what you are saying and there is merit in it. I think you are not giving the other side enough credit.

First of all there is no need to get good enough to repeatedly lob down 1900 players. What you need is the opportunity to extend a few points when under pressure so that you don't feel helpless against some players who are playing too fast for you but who are not consistent enough to handle your variation from distance. It could be that they like quick exchanges but don't do well tracking the ball over longer distances. It could be that they can hit the ball hard once but go out of position to do so and recover badly but close to the table you cannot defend their shot but two steps further back you bring it back and they lose the point outright.

Is this the way you want to play all the time no. But you would be surprised what just 5 or 10 minutes playing this way every day for a week can do to your understanding of table tennis and the ball. Over a month you see the game differently and you get a better idea of what you can do two or more steps off the table. Some opponents are better at using angles than others. Not everyone is 1900 for the same reasons.

I remember the first time I ever stepped off the table to roll the ball at 1400 USATT in practice. I never looped at the table but I could do my upward stroke off the table. I know why now but back then it was sufficient for me to know that putting the ball back on the table is sometimes easier when you are further back. And it saved me a few matches later.

Habitually giving up the table is not a good way to play attacking table tennis. But to win a match it can be the right tactic. There is a girl who is about 10 and the U.S. Champ at that age. If you can Lob consistently you can beat her once you are over 1600 USATT. She beats me in close to the table rallies. If I don't third ball her I lose the match and I don't know how much longer that will last. But you can basically make her give up the match by winning a game vs her mostly with lobbing points.

I suspect fastmover is powerful enough to hit good loops from 4 or more feet off the table. It's just something you don't start doing without practice. And no he shouldn't just run back to defend. But he needs to find the distance where he can hit powerful loops and cover angles and give him self time to read the opponent. It is not the same distance for everyone and I don't think he has fully worked out what this distance is. That is mostly what I am encouraging him to do.

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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

Good points by the posters above.

I do spend a little time counter looping away from the table with a practice partner weekly. I don't use it in matches much but occasionally I'll run into the moment where I'll be back 5-7 feet and I need to loop a ball back on the table. If I get enough time the ball quality can be a pretty good.

NL's post above has good points. It's mostly knowing what to do to get that ball back from a bit further back. Hint: be like Nadal, hit it high with lots of spin.

For a time I was trying to chop the ball on the backhand when really out of position but now I just try to 'wrist it' with top spin back, works better for me, sometimes make a fantastic winner.

Thanks for this, Brett. Hearing how better players think has often helped my game and I expect this to help as well. If it doesn't, it still makes for fun and great anecdotes to show off with.

William will be a bit more interesting I think because he doesn't have to hit as much competitive secrets since he is retired. For Powell, here are my questions:

1. What blade and rubbers do you use and how did you arrive at them?
2 who are you favorites players and what do you watch learn or enjoy when you watch them?
3. You did a video with William on returning reverse serves to the forehand and middle/backhand. Did the advice help You? (it might have been too basic but I had to ask ).

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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

Here is my question(s):

What sort of prep work do you do against a known specific opponent? Train against that style? Video replay? Come up with specific tactics for situations? How has this changed from being a junior to the top of Aus?

How do you overcome being low on confidence and not playing well?

Do you know of any top players who dislike practice? Don't need names but I'm curious if top players feel like practice is a job or if they really love it.

What kind of stuff do you think about right before a match? Between sets?

What kinds of situations do you take a timeout in, and what do you hope to get from it?

How do you decide what to work on in training and how much time to give to each thing?

_________________
Smile in the mirror. Do that every morning and you'll start to see a big difference in your life.

Yoko Ono

well others have covered most of the questions that I wanted so ill ask some non tt question but related questions.

What do you eat for breakfast on the day of the tournament?
what would you eat or during the tournament during and between matches?

a vegemite sandwich?

_________________
Smile in the mirror. Do that every morning and you'll start to see a big difference in your life.

Yoko Ono

These seem like good questions. I'll try to get the interview done next week, so you can keep the questions coming for a few days.

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Not sure its appropriate to turn Brett's thread into a joke. You better run, you better take cover.

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Was leading 2:1 in games, had a comfortable lead in the fourth, screwed it up and then the whole fifth game as well.

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Tactics Enthusiast

Dear fastmover,

I saw your video. At the beginning, smooth and relax. You body movement were quite fluide. You body was low enough for good loop. You start to change your strategy, change your serves that make you to attack the third ball. Then you start to crisp. Become more upright. Start to lose your shot hit the net or the ball went long. Finally become more tense. The opponent as a blocker was having more easy ball. You stop finishing your move ( follow trought) was afraid of miss hit. no wrist action. slower to recover shot. Bad serve action sending the ball in the net.

You need to practice game ending. Here an idea that helped me a lot. I do that in practice:

1- To keep doing your game and not going into defense mode that much: Take a good player above your rating. Have some point handicap where the opponent will chase you and the game will tense near the end. example: start 4-0 at the beginning of the game. You should start to feel that is coming after you but you don't stop doing what your doing best. If you arrive at the end of the game first too fast lower the handicap or higher it if he come to you too fast.

2- To keep doing your game and not overdo it because you're late in the game. Take a lower player and give him handicap. Try to come back in the game without loosing your fluidity and favorite shot. The same of the other drill, change the handicap if you recover too fast or you never succeed to catch him.

If you can have someone to watch the game and note any change ( positive or negative during the match. Sometime I got the note at the end of the game or sometime during the game.)

You will probably realised that without changing to much of your stroke you can securised or accelerate the tempo when needed without loosing your control and the game.

Maddrag,

Good suggestions. I suspect this is probably the first time he has gotten this close to beating this particular opponent and in my experience, such meltdowns are natural for the first time. He has to get accustomed to playing at this level and then the emotions from playing this way will be able to exist with the excitement of beating a player who is usually too good for him.

Fastmover,

A major improvement on the overall spin level vs the last video you played him. Other things improved as well but I will focus on the spin level since it enabled many of the other things to occur. You need to keep raising this so you can force him to give you high balls to drive and so that your loop drives will be more consistent as well.

Some of the smashes you are doing now can be more consistent spin drives but Rome wasn't built in a day. If you continue to play with more spin, especially on your drives, it's really a matter of time before the consistency and power of your game overwhelms his blocks.

It's not a bad thing if you don't get close for a few more months. Just stay on track. Many such problem opponents exist. I remember one that I had 10-6 in the final game and I still lost. Took another 2 months but I couldn't choke away a 10-2 lead in the decider. After that I haven't lost to him in 3 years or so now. But this guy was once a legit 2000 dual inverted chopper so I don't expect your process to be as painful.

_________________
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