OOAK Table Tennis Forum

I like the shot. We have limited information because we can't see your legs and we can't see the spin coming off the return-board or whatever it is. I like the fact that you've added a backswing and I think you can do even better. I'm not even sure that this finishing position is as bad are you think because the ball is probably flat after coming off the board and the camera angle is quite low.

I'm going to make a simple video for you that will change the way you think about this shot. It will be ETTS48

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ttEDGE.com Professional online coaching
YouTube table tennis videos by Brett Clarke

LTT99 is now available on ttEDGE.com

I use this logic a lot these days.

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ttEDGE.com Professional online coaching
YouTube table tennis videos by Brett Clarke

Honestly, I think the OP somehow cherry-picked the frame where the finish position looks a bit unusual To me it looks really good in the video.

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Technique is overrated

BTW, can we have some more videos on how to close the gap between the abilities in practice and the abilities in competition? I want to learn how to actually play table tennis (not just how to loop against a block or a push).

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Technique is overrated

For example, the series on psychology was very good and of enormous help. There are probably other areas that play an important role in the competitive performance that lay outside of the pure technical knowledge of shot mechanics.

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Technique is overrated

To me Brett is right about the need for some different camera angles and locations. The current shots appear to be coming from almost under the bat, so it's no surprise that the blade appears to be open at completion. In fact, Barfly's contact with the ball seems quite crisp and spinny.

You have learned a lot. I watch you play your friends and you are the only one who is playing table tennis in a decent way. Your friends will be struggling to break 1600-1800, no matter what they do. It's just impossible to improve quickly when you have such bad form. And, even if I'm wrong, let's agree that they'll never break 2600.

Let me tell you what I really think about this topic. If you have glitches in your game, they show up in competition and make you a lesser player long term. In my opinion, Ma Long, Fan Zhen Dong and Harimoto have almost no technical problems with their technique. I don't think it's a coincidence that they are the very best. I believe it matters how you play your shots and almost everyone underrates the impact long term.

If I had to say why William Henzell never made the top 50 in the world, I'd say the following. His backhand block was incorrect and his forehand topspin lacked true LTT99. Can you believe that I think it's that simple? I believe that William may have missed 100K backhand blocks because of poor technique. If I had to say why I didn't make the top 200, I'd say poor backhand technique in general. I never had someone show me how to play a correct backhand. I made a few more backhand blocks than William, but probably missed over a million backhand topspins because of bad technique. That adds up and impact results. When I think back to my table tennis, all I can see is myself missing backhands when it really mattered. Where was LTT80 and LTT81 when I was 12 years old? I'd pay a lot of money to send those back in time to me when I was 12. I'd also pay stupid amounts to send back LTT96 and others.

It's difficult to see the above when you are losing to some guy you 'should' be beating. There are of course other factors which contribute to your TT level. Anticipation (how early you read the play) is very important. Samsonov has had a lot of success because he has amazing anticipation. Reading spin is also a massive part of the game. I created an app to try to deal with anticipation and spin reading because I recognize the importance. Of course an app isn't a full solution to a massive part of the sport. I'm just saying that I recognize the importance because I spent 2 years of my life working on it.

I know that my comments regarding technique are controversial, however, I honestly believe what I've said. Get solid technique and practice it hard until you can't possibly lose to bad players. Learn to serve so someone who plays 1500 can never ever hit your serve anywhere near the table. Get enough topspin on your LTT93 so bad players block the ball back over your head on the full. Stop looking for some match trick to beat your opponents. Just get good at playing your shots. It's easier said than done because it takes multiple year to perfect things and most people struggle with that in today's world.

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ttEDGE.com Professional online coaching
YouTube table tennis videos by Brett Clarke

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Technique is overrated

I also have to say that LTT80 and LTT81 are indeed of enormous value. I have yet to meet a player or even a coach who is aware of the technique (and who was not exposed to TTEdge). Some people even don't believe me when I show it, but after they watch practicing ZJK in this video and follow the motion of his trunk, they usually have no doubts in their heads.

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Technique is overrated

Get good technique on all of your shots and spend a few years cementing them until they are powerful weapons. You should also be playing lots of matches to learn how to combat and integrate those shots. We are talking about a long process and LTT52 applies the whole way.

I like the psychology stuff a lot too. I've spent a lot of time on studying the impact of emotional level and confidence and it's very interesting. I'm also interest in resistance training (weights) and injury prevention stuff. I may make videos on this at some stage. But what good is weight training to someone who can't do a 'kick pendulum serve'? That's the topic for LTT100

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ttEDGE.com Professional online coaching
YouTube table tennis videos by Brett Clarke

I started this process in my sixty's. I am running out of time to get it all together
Personally I like LTT86. No coach have talked to know what this is about at all.

Brett, it all makes sense. The only reason I currently care about the short-term improvement is that the new season of NCTTA (the collegiate table tennis championship) is coming and I hope to make the team and produce some positive contribution. It could be my last chance to compete there. So I am trying to grab some short-term (in the horizon of 2-4 months) gain.

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Technique is overrated

My post above is controversial, so don't feel bad. It is an opinion and I'm not even trying to claim it's fact. It's the way I view the sport, based on my own experience. I expected to see 13 pages of counter arguments etc, and I would have been okay with that. I was practically inviting it.

I've dealt with a lot players of your level and a lot of 2700 types. I know the difference in the way you see things and the doubts you have. Top players see the game more simply, which is totally ironic. I sometimes make Heming watch my videos to help him to understand stuff. He's ranked 100 and something in the world.

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ttEDGE.com Professional online coaching
YouTube table tennis videos by Brett Clarke

The weight training has an enormous value for injury prevention. I learned it the hard way as I had to recover after a shoulder (quite annoying) and a foot (minor) injuries. I was enormously lucky to meet a physical therapist who knew what he was doing and who put me back on track. It was all about doing the right resistance training and it made wonders. But I suspect that this topic is of such breadth and complexity, so it will be very difficult to cover.

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Technique is overrated

Play lots of matches.

Changing some someone's technique is a long term gain at best. Even if you teach your team some killer serves, it may only help slightly. 2 months isn't long enough to adjust to the ugly returns that they'll get whilst having a half-baked serve. Teach them LTT80 and they'll miss 70% of their shots and lose every match.

In an extreme example, here's what I'd do if I had one week to teach a kid table tennis and then play a comp for my life. I'd give him/her a hard bat and teach them to block balls back off both sides. I'd then quickly get them playing matches all day with their stupid style. Forget LTT entirely. It would be the best approach for saving my life.

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ttEDGE.com Professional online coaching
YouTube table tennis videos by Brett Clarke