OOAK Table Tennis Forum

I practiced by only using the lp in games. Literally nothing but the bh lp. When I got to the point where I could win doing just that, adding in the forehand against paddy cake shots made it much easier - and the rallies shorter! As a bonus, this play style is seen as being EXTRA LAME by your opponents

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SOULSPIN CUSTOM BLADES
Fh: Spinny rubber
Bh: Not so spinny rubber...

Not a long pimple user but have been asked which long pimple I am using after a match by the opponent

I win a lot of matches by "lame tactics". I have beaten orthodox players (read smooth spinny rubber attackers) who then accuse me of not playing table tennis.

"A win is a win is a win is a win is a win".

If you enjoy the way you play then go for it.

I also remember a player who hated the way they had to play in competition or tournament matches to win. They stopped playing.

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Retriever (sometimes golden, but often leaden)
Moderator, Inverted Retriever Technique sub-forum - http://ooakforum.com/viewforum.php?f=74

I play TT mainly for fun and recreation and I love the way I play it as an OX LP hitter/blocker.
I sincerely do not think that winning by using OX LP is lame or cheating in any way. As a matter of fact, it requires good feel, touch and skillset to be able to use a combination bat effectively against all kinds of playing styles and standards below, on par and above my level.
Win or lose, I have maximum fun and enjoyment playing OX LP

OP is somehow very convinced that his tactics is lame.
Why would anyone see winning tactics as lame.
Any tactics is a challenge, if one has issues dealing with pusher, it means they have to grow their skills.
Similar to lawn tennis.
It's only until certain level when pusher is a problem, once you've crossed it, the pusher is just an easy pray.
I love seeing their faces when they don't know what to do anymore.

Sent from my SM-G960F using Tapatalk

It's fun for me being the LP retriever/blocker, where they just can't hit the ball past you. But against certain players it just feels so dorky! Like I said, I laugh at them during the point and after! I taunt them, shouting "C'mon take a swing at this one!" before sending over a high float etc. only to have them smash it into the net.

I think it's a great style, actually. Though it doesn't get any respect I probably have TOO MUCH fun playing that way, which makes my opponents hate it all the more

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SOULSPIN CUSTOM BLADES
Fh: Spinny rubber
Bh: Not so spinny rubber...

Reminds me of something I heard years and years and years ago. It was on a very long trans-Pacific flight, on one of those audio programs that your hear with those old-fashioned rubber tube earplugs that go into these holes on the seat armrest. It was, in fact, someone talking about how to win in tennis. He was answering questions about tactics. The gist of it was - forget tactics. Forget the Big X, try to keep the ball long, and when the ball comes back short, attack it. How do you know it's going to come back short? Because your opponent isn't playing on the Pro Tour. One of the questions he got was - how do you beat dinkers? Yeah, he said, dinkers win a LOT of tournaments. They win the As, the Bs, the Cs... here, hit this easy ball..

Well, pushers are the dinkers of table tennis. They win a lot of trophies - the U-1000s, the U-1200s, the U-1500s, you even see them take the U-1800s now and then. Yeah, you say, it only works up to a certain level. That's before you lose to one because you try to attack too many pushes instead of sensibly pushing it back and waiting for a high ball to attack. Mind you, they don't ONLY push. The good ones can also attack effectively, AND push effectively. They can vary the spin, they can even produce topspin or little spin and make it look like heavy backspin. Yeah, if you're a good player, you can attack (long) pushes easily, but that threshold IS pretty high. Pushing isn't out of place even at the highest levels of the sport, although the pushing there is of a different sort (with the emphasis being on keeping it very short with very heavy backspin to prevent a flick).



Even here.. they push. Yeah, THEY can attack the pushes, but I doubt the typical 1800-rated player could attack THEIR pushes. And the push can set up a winner. If they tried to attack every short serve they'd lose more points than if they pushed. (I suppose another lesson from this game - even at this level it's possible to fake out the other player with a serve. It really doesn't happen that often at this level that someone totally flubs a serve return but it happens here more often than usual.)

Iskandar

Beautiful contest...
Thinking a bit more about it... there is massive difference between two games.
Pusher cannot make far in lawn tennis, there is no style called "defender" in lawn tennis.
Only controlled aggression will take you far.
You can't keep sending floating balls my direction because I'll come to the net.
Cannot come to the net in TT, so you can keep sending those floaters loaded with backspin all day long.
Hence, defender style is valid, respected and admired.
I do not understand why would it be seen as lame.

P.S. OP seems to enjoy them losing more than himself winning.

I suppose dinkers would qualify as "defensive". From what I understand they'd send soft, high, tempting shots your way, and they'd win points when your return goes into the net or sails long. Probably more like a retriever/lobber than a blocker/pusher/chopper, but the idea was to return everything until the other guy made a mistake.

Iskandar

I think dinkers try to keep the ball low, since they don't want to be smashed. When I'm playing as the retriever, I love when they smash! ...so long as I've set them up for it. Then they often hit full force (and if it doesn't go into the net or off the table...) right at me, and I'm waiting there to block or lob it back over while they hold a very majestic pose thinking surely a shot like that would be a winner

What I'm calling my "lame" is style is really just a consistency game. My returns don't need to be great or difficult, they only need to land on the table. Now, why I label it lame is because I feel a 'real' chopper should be working to change the spins, deceive their opponent and that sort of thing. But what I'm discovering is that all the time spent trying to do those things... lowers my consistency, and isn't actually needed at the levels I play at or ever will play at. Would they help? Sure! Though you need to be super consistent with them, and skill/training/coaching (none...) wise, doesn't seem like it would benefit me in the end since my steadiness is inevitably going to take a hit.

Do I think it would be more fun and rewarding to change the spins and fool them that way? You betcha! Then it feels to me that I'm 'attacking' them with the back spins/floats, rather than simply batting it back knowing they can't handle the onslaught of dinks!

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SOULSPIN CUSTOM BLADES
Fh: Spinny rubber
Bh: Not so spinny rubber...

Then work on the stuff you would like to be able to do while beating them with your other consistency.

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Panda Drive / 4H Xiom Sigma Pro 2 2.0 / BH Xiom Omega IV Elite Max / Play right-handed
XVT balsa carbon 10mm / 4H Xiom Sigma Pro 2 2.0 / BH Globe 979 Long Pips OX / Play Left-handed shakehand
Stiga Def Wood / 4H Xiom Sigma Pro 2 2.0 / BH GD CC LP OX .. Play Left-handed
Cpen SOS Wood / 4H 729 802-40 2.0 / BH GD Talon use righthanded shakehand grip
HARDBAT / Shakehand Hock 3 ply / Friendship Dr Evil OX .. Play Right-handed

Yup.

OP style is so lame and is considered by many players to be cheating or no skill... so sez that crowd.

I consider the OP lame style and tactics to be a welcome and necessary important part of table tennis.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

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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, in lawn tennis as in table tennis, it would depend on the level of the opposition. If the opposition is good at the smash, then "lame" dinking won't work, you'd have to try to keep the ball long and low. If the opposition is like most 1200-1300 level players, they'll miss a lot of smashes, so you give them a lot of high "bait" in order to tempt them to smash out. Throw in a few lobs for good measure. I imagine, as in table tennis, attacking lobs effectively is a learned skill, not something that comes naturally to all players.

Come to think of it.. I've often seen Federer use long, slow "chops" with backspin. I wonder if playing a 75% "chopping" game would be a viable tactic in lawn tennis. Of course, you can't vary the spin like you can with table tennis chops, or if you could, it's not going to react off the opponent's racket either.

Iskandar

Don't come across consistent retrievers very often. Would love to run a few smashes by you!