OOAK Table Tennis Forum

Did try a Matsushita Pro with Palio CK531 OX and DHS PF4 over the weekend - was actually quite nice, I felt it did really well close to the table (did not get a chance to chop much).

Had an attitude-adjusting trip to the club last night, when I lost pretty much all matches - not a surprise as Tuesdays draw stronger crowd, but still annoying

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USATT: 1807 | League: 1887

So, as I'm trying to play more of a chopping, defending away from a table style, I'm struggling with figuring out correct decisions at any given moment - mostly in the area of footwork: do I immediately drop back after I push on BH or stay close to the table. My BH blocking at the table at this point is less reliable than chopping/fishing (it does work very well on occasion with angles etc., but averages are not in favor of blocking so far). So far I've developed a couple of simple heuristics to signal to myself that I did something wrong:
* If I blocked the loop - I made a mistake earlier, and am in the wrong place/distance from the table
* If I push twice in a row with LP, I probably should've done something different on first push (place, depth, ???)

Bold statement of the day - was watching several Wang Yang matches recently (thanks, YouTube algorithm!) and came to conclusion that I kind of do what he does (in a very 'big picture' sense), but not as consistently

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USATT: 1807 | League: 1887

How much does your opponent determine you decision to move back or not immediately? To me, my play is very much determined by what my opponent likes me to do (I avoid that!) and what my opponent does not like (I try to do that!)??

Not enough, I would say, but let me clarify. What you are describing, sounds more like a 'strategy for the match' - "I'll be doing things A, B, and C, while avoiding X and Y with this opponent". I do try to have some of that in my head, my problem is that I don't execute on it, because of ingrained habits. So now I tell myself after the point or later: "wait a second, I was supposed to take a couple of steps back to chop, but ended up staying put and now have to block the shot". At least trying to notice when I do the wrong thing. And yes, I should've learned by now what is likely to follow my specific return and act accordingly, but it's hit and miss for now.

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USATT: 1807 | League: 1887

Game felt in a good spot lately, had some good wins, no bad losses and all that. Heading for a long vacation though, almost a month - visiting South Africa. Will try to stop at a club in Cape Town ZApenholder pointed me to, will write up a 'mission report' afterwards.

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USATT: 1807 | League: 1887

Did stop by at Stephanian Table Tennis club in Cape Town last night. Many thanks to ZAPenholder for connecting me to the folks there (he had to solve several last minute conflicts with scheduling and availability) and Sedick who was my informal host over there.

Most of clubs are not really in the center of Cape Town, it seems, so took a 30 minute/20km Uber rides to/from the club, which was totally fine (had good conversations with drivers too). There seem to be a decent TT scene in CT judging just by the number of clubs I was quoted (22) and a league with 6 divisions or so. Cape Town metro area is around 5M people, so close to Boston metro, but we don't have that many clubs and no league competition.

The club I went to does not have a permanent space, though, I think it's like a community center next to a softball stadium, and they have Mondays/Wednesday evenings there, or close to it. Enough space to put 6 tables with very decent court size and high ceilings.

I was told Monday nights are mostly free form practice (with 4 people per table as needed) with some 'top table' matches later - there were also some kids practicing early on, then couple of para players showed up, and perhaps 10-12 adult players. I did hit with Sedick, Roddy, Kirk and probably couple of others whose names I did not quite catch. Quite a few pips players from what I saw . Level was similar to what I see in Boston, but to be honest I did not get a lot of time to watch.

Played a couple of matches later - I *think* they usually play 1 game, but I was allowed to play 'best of 3'. Played Roddy (sp?) first, quite tricky anti/inverted player with a deadly FH put-away shot, who punished my loose returns again and again. I did win, though, 2-1 or so.


Then got to play Tyle(sp?) who was more of a conventional (and stronger) attacker - won a first game easily at 11-3 or so, which I think surprised him quite a bit , but then lost at 8-11 and 6-11 in a very entertaining match, by trying to chop more (space was good for that, so why not).

Overall really happy that I got to play there, a very nice bunch of people, would do it again in a heartbeat.

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USATT: 1807 | League: 1887

See you 4 weeks later in Boston @pgpg

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

Status - Out of Business Janitor/Babysitter

Hey @pgpg bring ur Pips Fri night tonite and face down me and Leo for LULZ.

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

Status - Out of Business Janitor/Babysitter