OOAK Table Tennis Forum

Thank you Tat!

I will speak about blocking, which is the style I know best.

Fact 1: The net is 33% higher
Fact 2: The table is the same size
Fact 3: The effective landing area is therefore smaller
Fact 4: For blocks to land on the table the block must therefore be slower for gravity to bring it down
Fact 5: Slower blocks are easier to get to for the opponent
Fact 6: If the opponent isn't rushed and can get to the ball it is worse for the blocker

Please tell me where I am wrong.

Bonus facts:

- The higher net will hurt short pip smashers as line of sight will be approximately 4" higher
- SP smashers will have to be more passive, whereas loopers can play pretty much their normal game
- This will force us to change our technique
- We will probably have to waste money testing new equipment (again)

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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

" Fact 1: The net is 33% higher
Fact 2: The table is the same size
Fact 3: The effective landing area is therefore smaller
Fact 4: For blocks to land on the table the block must therefore be slower for gravity to bring it down
Fact 5: Slower blocks are easier to get to for the opponent
Fact 6: If the opponent isn't rushed and can get to the ball it is worse for the blocker"

Substitute the word looper for blocker and you are still correct.

"Bonus facts:

- The higher net will hurt short pip smashers as line of sight will be approximately 4" higher
- SP smashers will have to be more passive, whereas loopers can play pretty much their normal game"

No one "knows" this as a fact yet. It remains to be seen. If the choppers and loopers have to correct for the higher net by aiming higher and slower, it may be to thier advantage. It is not fact yet. You may be right but it is your opinion, not fact.

"loopers can play thier normal game". That is not fact, it is your opinion. I can not picture playing my "normal" looping game with a two inch higher net.

Notice, I am open to any result from a higher net. I am not claiming Anything as fact yet as I have not tried it. I hope Tat finds some 2000+ level players to try it. Tat could be one of them.

Since meaningful spin-reversal was taken from us, quick blocks off the bounce with flat trajectories are our main weapon. No one will be hurt by this more than blockers. You can say it's not proven or whatever, but from physics, experience and common sense I already know it is true.

This thread reminds me of the Monty Python "Argument Clinic" sketch.

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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

You miss the whole point as usual.

You are saying;
"It is fact".
I am not saying;
No it is not,
I am saying it "might be". It is not proven either way yet.
You are stating your opinion, what you believe, not fact.
I am leaving my opinion open for testing like Tat will do.

You don't have to test hitting your thumb with a hammer to prove it will hurt. Some things are common sense...like blocking with LPs over a higher net.

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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

Or did you mean to say, "Looping over a higher net?".

One of the greatest pieces of comedy ever! I remember seeing it broadcast for the very first time, and it's still as pertinent today as ever.

I think MNNB and hookshot should go into the Hall of Fame for bringing us "The Argument Clinic" TT style!

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"So long, and thanks for all the fish
So sad that it should come to this" Sung by the dolphins in The hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy

No it isn't.

_________________



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

MNNB, you just genuinely made me laugh out loud. (I stopped short of rolling on the floor.)

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"So long, and thanks for all the fish
So sad that it should come to this" Sung by the dolphins in The hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy

I've been thinking about this and wondering why we haven't actually talked about the most significant change that increased net height would bring. We've talked about looping, chopping, blocking, smashing, but we haven't talked about the most important part of modern TT: the first three strokes.

Serve, return, 3rd ball. The way the game is played now places huge emphasis on the serve and the ability to return serve. We know that the average rally is only just over three strokes. Endless looping is very much the exception to the rule, as is endless pushing, blocking, chopping. Serve, return, 3rd ball.

If the net is raised 2" that means an incredible difference to the serve. What will a serve now look like? Will the receiver now have an increased opportunity to read the serve and prepare for the return? Currently, the bounce that the receiver has to work with is often less than 6". Now, the lowest bounce is going to be considerably higher (33% ?). Does this mean the receiver will have more opportunity to get under the ball, around the ball, over the ball... whatever is necessary to make a successful return?

If the receiver has more opportunity to work with the serve, does this now mean that the server is going to have less opportunity to dominate with a 3rd ball attack? Are we likely to see extended rallies rather than shorter ones?

Somebody please raise their net and find out!!!

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"So long, and thanks for all the fish
So sad that it should come to this" Sung by the dolphins in The hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy

Tat is working on that.

I think it will make serve return harder.

Picture a net one inch high. You could blast almost any serve.
Now picture a net 3 feet high. Almost impossible to blast any serve.

These are extreme examples but I think it shows the higher net will make serve return harder.

It will also limit how fast a serve can be.

Be patient, boys, I will get to it soon, but I think the 2" higher net will affect the serves first.

Tat,
If I was leaving from LA, I would help you test but have a flight from Seattle this time.
Have fun.

Nice comedy MNNB! Monty Python's produced many classics. My favourite's were the "Knights that Say Ni" and the "Bring Out Ya Dead" scenes.

I think adjusting serves to a higher net wouldn't be too difficult, especially given the returner has a higher net to negotiate the return over. I do think blocking off pips would become much harder especially fast blocks from heavy loops or smashes. Of course because the trajectory of some of those loops and smashes would change (and so may the speed), its a little hard to envision exactly how blocking would be changed. I suspect in some instances it would mean a block catching the net or going long where it wouldn't have previously, however there also may be blocks you can drop over the net and they will be harder to deal with than previously due to the increase net height.

I think there would be pluses and minuses to come to every players game from a higher net. I still tend to think it may advantage a looper most, but we can't be conclusive until its been heavily trialled. I prefer they leave the game alone and leave the net as it is and none of this need take place. We have a good game as it stands, I don't see a need for change.

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