OOAK Table Tennis Forum

Well yeah there is always going to be people who just push and block. You want to attack whenever possible because that's the game we signed up for in this program. Losing comes with it. As you get better at looping you'll beat some of the players you struggled with. You will then play better people and have to improve...but Brett gives us the blueprint to beat so many players. It just comes down to us doing enough correct practice.

We are working on the problem and we have applied a short term fix. It's still best to avoid using Chrome though. Sorry for the inconvenience.

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Let's talk about my backhand. The first one is against a long backspin serve, then against the block. I am sort of happy with my BH loop against backspin (it works in tournaments and league matches). But my BH against block is quite erratic. For some strange reason I place my elbow too close to my body in the middle of the backswing and then it bring forward. It probably messes up the timing. I also don't turn the wrist back enough. What else?

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It does sort of look like you are moving your arm from the shoulder, which is why your elbow tucks into your side on the backswing. It still looks like a good shot, but if you think that is making it unreliable, try swinging only your forearm from a fixed elbow position, with little or no upper arm movement. If that makes any sense.

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I thought the first 3 shots were really solid. Good LTT80 type movement until the ball started to get blocked to slightly different positions.

I agree that your elbow could be further out in front in a more stable position. Other than that, I think it's a decent shot with potential to improve.

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I have a few questions about LTT80 and BH in general.

1) It looks like in BH the hip movement is back-and-forward and not circular (unlike FH). But shouldn't there be some twisting of torso & hips as well? For example, look at the point a 2:20 in the video: [Facebookvid]https://www.facebook.com/DimitrijOvtcharov/videos/738876206144856/[/Facebookvid]. Looks like there is quite some rotation there. But it is a special case of course.

2) For us amateurs does it make sense to put feet in a very BH oriented position to get extra power sometimes? Of course somebody like Dima can stand almost sideways to the table (see the shot above) to get megapower, but he is a unique player.

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Almost all of the time, it should be a bow forward and back. There are very rare cases in match highlights where the player:
- is away from the table
- has lots of time
- has the ball to the side of their body

If the above perfect storm occurs, top players can use 100% rotation on the backhand, but I've never really seen anyone practice it. Kenta does it really well when he's away from the table. Rotation is totally correct for a tennis player on the backhand and that's why TT players can't play tennis backhands and tennis players can't play TT backhands. Here's how you should play a TT backhand almost always https://youtu.be/kyvzVosDvvY?t=187.

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Brett, thanks for a comprehensive response.

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ttEDGE.com is now working properly again. Sorry for the inconvenience caused.

LTT86 and DTT20 are now online.

LTT86 is the way I teach forehand topspin these days. There is no new material and it's really just a change of language from previous videos. I've started learning the forehand topspin with my non-playing hand using the 3 simple steps and I was able to create a little lag immediately.

The racket finishes over the eyes as the arm is slowing down and that's where it naturally stops. If you take your foot off the gas, your car will keep going for a while before stopping. It's the same thing that happens with your TT shots. I'm writing this because someone who truly understands table tennis mechanics may think that I don't understand things after hearing the instruction in LTT86. I still stand by LTT86 because it works as a tool.

DTT20 is a drill I use for students who aren't really ready to play against continuous random block.

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I fell behind a week and just watched LTT 85. I think there's a minor error with the script. Where you said "acceptable" you must have meant "mandatory."

Why deny yourself the most satifying shot in table tennis?

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Because you should probably still make a topspin against a shoulder high ball. I guessing you're messing with me a bit, but that's the answer

It's almost impossible to get an elite player to smash these days. The ball must be bouncing extremely high before they stop using LTT47 type swings.

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I dream of doing a LTT47. Seriously I've had dreams about it. I don't even have to look up the videos anymore. I know what you meant when you said LTT47.

Getting that big of a shot (and it being reliable) vs those easier balls would likely be +2 points a game for me. I get a lot of those balls.

Okay, you asked for a real match. Here is my toughest opponent in the local league. He is very smart: once I play a close match with him, he adjusts his strategy. This one I lost 0:3 with first two games slipping away too quickly, but the third one was close with some nice rallies. I decided to put my pivot on hold and play more backhands. I will keep practicing the pivot, but a bit later. Yes, I am fully aware that my FH flick is really, really awful.

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You actually won that match because your opponent served a fault every serve. I'm half kidding, of course. This type of guy is very common and there's normally at least one at every club. They have played for 30+ years and you need to pass a certain threshold before you can easily beat them every time. They are good resistance training.

I liked almost everything you did. Your forehand flick needs immediate attention as is the case with 97% of learning adults. You are just putting the racket out and praying at this stage. There is no LTT83 whatsoever. This is exactly the type of spot where private coaching is handy, providing the coach understands the shot.

Your backhand topspin against backspin is probably your best shot. You still have a way to go with your forehand although you've made significant steps forward in training. Your serving is okay.

There were times in the last set when you looked really good. There were a few points like this where things started to come together. Most learning adults never get to play a point that looks exactly like this. https://youtu.be/0iya0p0PAB8?t=236

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I really like your serve + recovery. The match started off a little poor but you really stepped up later in the match and you had a few really nice points! Lots of good from the backhand for sure. The forehand looks a little awkward still and like me probably a little too much up motion and arm motion. I think you have the nice beginnings of a forehand flick too - the timing looks good and it's better than my efforts. Mine is that bad in matches.

At 2:00 was my favorite point. You handled a backspin and then a block and put it out wide with sidespin. Well done.

Try watching just your feet and legs once. I think you'll see some things to work on there. I have similar issues with little jumps and straight legs.

Do you use the robot a lot? Or practice cross-court shots a lot? I don't think you went down the line on any shot the entire match. That's something for you to focus on right away and lets you continue to groove your shots.