OOAK Table Tennis Forum

Watched YG1. Again, you are so much better than you were last summer. Any feedback I can give has to start there because that is what really matters.

Impressive serving after the first-set wobbles. She had a lot of trouble with them. And your fh was good again. I feel like fairly early in this match it should have gone through your mind that fh-fh rallies were to your best advantage. Junior gurls generally have very solid bhs. I have no stats to back that up, but it's the impression I get from playing them and watch match videos. They are usually more solid on that wing.

And she beat you by going outside your bh on so many points. In the 3rd and 4 th set she started pounding the middle of the table some too, but I feel like the majority of her winners, as opposed to your errors, were off your bh corner.

There is a drill I did at the 2017 B75 that I think would be good for you. It's extremely simple, but requires a human partner. You play normal points, or games, a match, whatever. But if either player hits two bhs of any kind in a point they lose the point. You can serve bh, that doesn't count, but after that you only get one bh, whether it's a push, hit, block, or loop.

If that's too extreme, you could set your robot to shoot randomly across the fh two-thirds of the table, and you play all fhs.

Or if you have a multiball feeder, they could do the same thing and you can cover anywhere from 50-100% of the table with your fh, depending how much movement you want to work.

After two or three months doing something like that, add in bh-fh transition drills where you set your crossover point on the table, and slowly increase the pace as the fh or bh decision making becomes automatic and instant.

Your fh is good. You have problems with everything the same way I have problems with everything at 1950, and Eugene Wang has problems at 2850. Everybody can always be better. But the one problem that will unlock your game to 1500 - 1600 level is using both sides. You are kind of playing with one arm behind your back now. It's not a super easy fix, but it is only one thing, and if it were me I wouldn't work much on anything else until you sort that out.

If you have to work on one other thing, I suggest recovery after your serve. I have a very pathetic video in the etts or ltt series, ben's serve recovery. You are better, but not great. And I think that may play into your bh-fh problems.

But mostly it seems to just be a confidence thing. Your fh topspin is money at your level. Believe in it.

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Smile in the mirror. Do that every morning and you'll start to see a big difference in your life.

Yoko Ono

Latest tournament Feb 2019:

In keeping with one of the current topics at TTEdge, I've created a highlights video from my experience at the US Open to play when I need to get pumped up for a tournament.

July 2019 marked 2 years since my first recorded league match, so now seems like a good time for a retrospective.

July 2017: I joined a TT club 3 months previous, started lessons, and just purchased a table/robot to practice at home. My first recorded league match:


July 2018: Tournament #4, USATT rating=1291


July 2019: Tournament #10, USATT Rating=1548


The good: I'm getting better.
The bad: very, very slowly.

I still play the same awkward, backhand-dominant style that is obviously not optimal. Watching this now, it seems my game has hardly changed at all, except my shots are a little crisper and more consistent.

I think it comes down to footwork (lack thereof) and I'm not sure what to do about it. If I'm not specifically thinking 'don't forget to move your feet', they just don't move. And during a game, there's so many other thoughts that distract me from thinking footwork footwork footwork! If any other learning adults have tips on how to make your feet move against their will, without constant attention, I'd be most appreciative

I think you do yourself a disservice. You've come a long way, and look more assured.



Lots and lots and lots and lots of drills. BH, Middle, BH, FH; FH, Middle, FH, BH; Falkeberg; and then semi random - middle / wide, or 1 or 2 BH 1 middle 1 or 2 BH. You need a practice partner who is patient enough to block for you to these places, or a coach. The more you do this the more it becomes second nature.

Secondly, jump rope... a lot. Every day. And before matches. And in between, to stay warm.

BTW you remind me a lot of myself a few years ago... in terms of how you look when you play. You're tense... braced... jerky. Your body language says: argghhh! what do I do!? Be ready!

Now check out this dude (in the Joola shirt): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZraCVKenlBY

He's a good friend of mine... international level player. Watch how relaxed he is... watch his neck and shoulders. Watch how effortlessly he generates spin and speed from a position of relaxed muscles.

Any martial arts expert will tell you a tense muscle is a slow muscle. So the other thing to work on is being mindful of your body - check your neck, your teeth, your forehead, your grip on the handle of the bat. These all are good queues to relax more.

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Yasaka Sweden Classic | 802 OX | C8 OX
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