OOAK Table Tennis Forum

Thanks, for that, I know it isn't always kosher to post other coaching videos, but the half-long push discussion was very insightful. The channel looks excellent on the whole - actually made me log on to TTEdge again.

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Cobra Kai TT Exponent (Mercy effs up your Game)
One-Loop Man: One Loop... Again????
Lumberjack TT Exponent

"We don't rise to the level of our expectations, we fall to the level of our training" - Archilochus

My plan was to play with short pips until the end of the year. At the beginning of October I used inverted in one session to check that I hadn't unlearned my inverted technique. I realized that I enjoy playing with inverted more and stopped the SP project. Hopefully, I am going to be more disciplined with respect to other projects next year

Happy New Year and all the best for 2023!

Congratulations on the great thread!!.... Been wondering if one could add some ideas to the discussions.....once I did comment something about the fh topspin and one frequent poster told me off for doing so.....that this thread was only for TT Edge users....is that right?.....

It's a public forum and the thread is basically defunct for a while. Post if you like.

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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

Lol know what you mean BRS but not defunct. It all depends on the interest of the participants and whatever Brett cooks up in his lab.

Not sure what Charmander posted prior that got him the response he remembers. But if his post is largely about how technique or equipment supports club level table tennis, I am not sure why it would be an issue unless it goes in a direction that would more likely deserve its own thread. The main glue thr keeps this thread is people who have worked with Brett, but there have been other related discussions for sure.

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Cobra Kai TT Exponent (Mercy effs up your Game)
One-Loop Man: One Loop... Again????
Lumberjack TT Exponent

"We don't rise to the level of our expectations, we fall to the level of our training" - Archilochus

Starting to get more power on my BH topspin vs backspin -- at least in practice when I know in advance where the opponent is pushing.

Still a long way to go when it comes to using this shot more effectively in matches.

https://youtu.be/f9Ga8S2Jwi8

Looks good! Does it work for you in matches?

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Tactics Enthusiast

Thanks, it depends on the day, the opponent, and whether it's a practice match or a tournament match

A few weeks ago I practiced with one of my teammates. I don't like to play practice matches with him for the following reason. When he wins, he is floating on cloud 7 and when he loses, he is visibly upset => I feel uncomfortable in both scenarios. Anyway, I digress. We played a match and I told myself to use it as an opportunity to practice my BH topspin vs backspin. I tried serving short (pendulum) to the middle side/back or side/top. Fortunately, he pushed long to my BH most of the time. I didn't record the match, but iirc I tried attacking all the 3rd balls if they were long and I landed around 60-70% on the table. The shot worked well in that match.

That said, other opponents either push short or attack this set of serves more often and the rallies tend to be different.

In one of my recent tournament matches I only opened up 6 times vs backspin.

https://youtu.be/-Pmyjs3BML4

Definitely not often enough considering that the opponent was using inverted on both sides and that he often pushed to my BH. I had lost the first three matches on that day and I just tried to tough it out in this match.

How is your BH project going? Are you still working on it?

I want to improve my BH, but also not neglect my FH at the same time. It's not easy to find the right balance.

I also use the same approach: play a super BH-oriented game against folks I can usually beat consistently to improve it. And yes, people are often elated if they win

I feel like my BH is kind of fine. Against backspin I can reliably loop medium pushes, even to different points at the table. But if my opponent pushes quick and fast, I often miss and revert to stepping around. Plus I struggle against higher and slower balls, especially from mid-distance. Overall, it is much better than say 6 months ago. I will probably post a match or a clip too.

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Tactics Enthusiast

Ok, here is a 5-gamer I played at Princeton some time ago. Not a training match of course, I tried my best. Played a mixture of BHs and FHs. Got lucky in the first 2 games, but could not close it out.

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Tactics Enthusiast

Thanks for posting the match -- it was interesting to watch.

Your serves are really good! Edmund struggled with them throughout the match, but he got better at receiving them from game 3. iirc your BH looks more compact, stable and consistent compared to before => it's a nice improvement! The first point (spinny BH topspin vs backspin) and the rally starting from around 10:57 are good examples.

I think the match could have gone either way. He adapted better to your serves than the other way around. In particular, it seems that you still had trouble reading his punch serves in game 5. And he was just slightly more consistent than you.

I am glad you enjoyed it! I think your thoughts are correct. In general, when I play someone for the first time, I often have an advantage due to my serves and the first spin-up. But as my opponent adapts and rallies get longer, the balance shifts. On the other hand, I am not as adaptive and consistent as I have to be.

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Tactics Enthusiast

Edmund used to get coaching from Damien Provost back in the day - raised his level from around 1900 to around 2100+ with that friendship - hit 2200+ at his peak. I played him a few times back then when I was coming up (in the 1400-1900 range I think) and lost pretty badly - would like a rematch but who knows...

You played really well, Ilya. He struggled with your serves throughout the match, he just tried a little harder since he was under pressure and had more experience with such situations than you did.

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Cobra Kai TT Exponent (Mercy effs up your Game)
One-Loop Man: One Loop... Again????
Lumberjack TT Exponent

"We don't rise to the level of our expectations, we fall to the level of our training" - Archilochus

In general, I think against backspin, as you swing harder, your motion should not be mostly/solely upward, but should follow through a bit downward after the contact to create a full circle for the stroke and to keep the ball low. I find that people who don't come over the ball and downwards tend to use a lot of touch to play safe arcs on balls they can be more aggressive with.

BTW, what equipment are you using?

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Cobra Kai TT Exponent (Mercy effs up your Game)
One-Loop Man: One Loop... Again????
Lumberjack TT Exponent

"We don't rise to the level of our expectations, we fall to the level of our training" - Archilochus

Thanks for the suggestion! Actually, I don't understand what you mean by this. Do you suggest swinging more forward rather than upward? If not, can you provide a video where this is demonstrated?

In the practice (https://youtu.be/f9Ga8S2Jwi8), my BH against backspin is fairly aggressive with a low arc in some instances, e.g. at 0:21, 0:26, 0:50, 0:55, and 0:59. For me the difference between this type of shot and the more safe arc is that I try to hit the ball at the top of the bounce (rather than letting it drop below it) and that I swing more forward (rather than upward).

In the tournament match I was more tight, I tried to grind out a win, and I didn't know where the push would go, so I tried to play the safer shot.

In both clips, I was using my Nittaku Acoustic with Dignics 05 in max on my BH. However, I started using a Butterfly Kenta Matsudaira ALC since Monday because I am EJing a bit these days.

How is your TT journey going?