OOAK Table Tennis Forum

Another hot topic here and I can't but help draw upon everyone's favorite pushblocker, pushblocker.

What tactics have you used that work and are efective? What tactics have you seen others execute that you would like to imitate? What's your favourite pushblocking video? Let's discuss tactics that we can use in a game situation and provide videos that can help illustrate these tactics to make us better and stronger pushblockers!

To begin, I have religiously followed pushblockers serve from the fh corner as I find it most excellent to win a streak of points or to break up someone who is striking me. His bh serve is what I would like to talk about ...more later. How about you guys?

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

Alright, it's later now and back to pushblocker's serve.

Well from a novice's perspective, The slowness of his main bh serve makes it very deliberate. First it looks cool, when other servers serve fast, a slower serve might give less tempermental errors. Also, it is loaded with backspin and he varies the height. Yes, he has variations, by pulling the arm, or going vertical etc. but the slow bh serve sets up or constructs points for him. Of course this is my opinion and it could farther from the truth. By serving slowly and deliberately, it's safe, consistent, and at the right time in a match, you are daring the attacker to attack the serve which is loaded with backspin. I think this works very well at club level and especially against inconsistent attackers.

The other thing about serving slow serves from the backhand, is you get to control the pace, which is another law of pushblocking that I forgot to mention, is to keep the rallies slow.

The final thing is that if the return from the opponent with a sticky rubber is a push with back spin, that bs ball can be pushed back "aggressively" and you can take control of the point.

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

The slow underspin serve is all about getting a push you can punch to a corner.

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The MNNB Blog has had some pretty amazing stuff lately. Just click this text to check it out. | My OOAK Interview
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My whole set-up costs less than a sheet of Butterfly Dignics

Thanks MNNB for the info and for helping out with your contributions. So glad that Reb took over its like I am a free man, not a prisoner...(quoting Iron Maiden)

I was reading Reb's other post in philosophy, and he plays very aggressively with a fast blade. Just wondering about how to block with something like a gergely.

Does Reb open block with it or does he close block on his bh lp side? Also does he perform more pull back blocks with this faster setup?

Getting a push that I could punch would also be easier if I was using a fast blade.

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

I found fast OFF+++ carbon blades good for everything except handling hard hits. I couldn't do it, and being able to absorb hard hits is a critically important part of my game.

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The MNNB Blog has had some pretty amazing stuff lately. Just click this text to check it out. | My OOAK Interview
Table Tennis Video Links: itTV | laola1.tv | ttbl | fftt | Challenger Series | mnnb-tv

My whole set-up costs less than a sheet of Butterfly Dignics

Hi Timeout, sorry didn't see this til now.

To answer your questions I would say a lot depends on the ball coming at you, but generally I am closing down the face to at least 90 degrees to the table and usually pulling back at impact. Its a touch and judgment thing and some balls will require a more open face than others, depending on speed and spin mainly. Of course in addition to that you have to get the bat in the right place at the same time (can be easier said than done, especially if there is side-spin or you mis-read where the opponent is hitting to.) On some fast blocks its actually better to have a more closed angle and the blade going forward at impact so the blade and rubber are in control, not the ball. It comes down to case by case, but I'll let you in on a secret. As much as I am well known in my peers for blocking back some very difficult balls, every time I do, it still feels something of a fluke ....just a fluke I seem to have somewhat mastered

PS. I like to keep it that way so opponents are more caught unawares when the ball comes back with whatever I manage to generate onto it

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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
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Well, I say if an Over 50 yr old Korean Achuma lady can do it, we can too. They play with thh fastest OFF++ blades with OX Grass D-Techs and it is all in the wrist pressure that they get those fast drives back on the table. This crowd never topspins the ball heavy and can slap the piss outta a ball that is 1 cm over net height. They slap each other around like that and when they can get their bat to the ball, they know what to do with it to slow it down. It is all in the wrist and in taking it early.

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Goof-off chopping bat
Gambler All Rosewood
Aurus Soft / Gambler GXL .6 sponge

Status - Out of Business Janitor/Babysitter

I think the difference is young, fit male players hit the ball a lot harder than old ladies. The rockets these young guys hit are very difficult to block back onto the table with OFF+++ blades, at least for me. Conversely, I can keep many of those shots on the table with my slow blade.

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The MNNB Blog has had some pretty amazing stuff lately. Just click this text to check it out. | My OOAK Interview
Table Tennis Video Links: itTV | laola1.tv | ttbl | fftt | Challenger Series | mnnb-tv

My whole set-up costs less than a sheet of Butterfly Dignics

Lots of tips from vets...gotta love this forum!!!!

Thanks Reb.

Wow you can open block on very fast top spins, for me that's so far removed from reality even with my slow blades. Good idea with the pull back block - that's something I never really apply unless it's a fluke too because the ball is so fast it recoils off my blade sending my wrist backwards...yikes!Maybe I have the wrist of a Korean female hmm they probably have stronger wrists...

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

You simply gotta go to Korea and see for yourself. These ladies can slap the ball through you and the concrete wall behind you. You don't gotta be 6' 4" and 250 lbs to hit a ball hard. Fast slapping the ball is all they do on FH besides cut it. When they decide to hit on FH, they HIT, they are not holding back. When Achuma winds up with a Schlager Carbon and catches every bit of the ball, it will be screaming. They all practice that 30-60 minutes a day to each other.

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Goof-off chopping bat
Gambler All Rosewood
Aurus Soft / Gambler GXL .6 sponge

Status - Out of Business Janitor/Babysitter

My main serve is usually heavy underspin and it's not supposed to be deceptive at all, just heavy underspin, forcing my opponents to push or chop back as my aggressive push against their underspin is how I take control of the point. Due to the reversal and taking the underspin ball right off the bounce, my pushes usually have topspin (which helps to bring the ball down) and that allows me to push very fast into the opponents most uncomfortable spot. It allows me to keep the opponents reacting instead of acting by just getting my aggressive pushes back.

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2010 Florida State Champion
Dr. Neubauer Firewall Plus with DHS G888 1.8 mm and Giant Dragon Dragon Talon OX National Team

I've watched so many of your videos Pushblocker and I noticed that for many of your opponents, your bh backspin serve is slow and short and high sometimes...looks like you are daring them to attack with the fh but they never do, they just push it back and the rally begins. even the match against Pradeepan Peter Paul, who is a scary, powerful, attacker imo, just pushes your serve back. When I serve like that the opponent attacks it immediately forcing me to serve lower, at net level...

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

I really don't care if they push it or if they attack it. If they attack it, it only adds a additional step to getting underspin on the ball.. If they attack it, I block it and they will have to push the resulting underspin ball, and that's the ball that I will aggressively push and take control of the table.

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2010 Florida State Champion
Dr. Neubauer Firewall Plus with DHS G888 1.8 mm and Giant Dragon Dragon Talon OX National Team

Punching slower balls or high balls, is this standard for shake hand LPs?

Been trying it recently as oppose to just regular slow push. My question is is this a high percentage shot? I'm missing a lot but feel like it should work. I catch early and try to punch down fast to keep on table.

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Custom Defense::: Friendship 802 : Dr. Neubauer Super Block

On both sides? Wow..

Iskandar