OOAK Table Tennis Forum

So after thinking about your comment I just went to the robot and allowed my body to make my arm do the motion. Just like that I'm getting heaps more spin and speed. I was literally laughing while hitting with the robot.

As usual this wont be easy to add into a match but I finally felt it against block/topspin. I could even do inside out side spin. Obviously against the robot is easy mode.

I think I needed to work in that wonky backhand first, which had a hint of good whip at times. Eventually it would have improved I suppose. Instead by reading a couple of words on the internet I have a greater understanding of the backhand.

Like that I'm eager to get back to practice.

Regarding the coming jump footwork video. Is it correct to think that there should be a bit of up movement in body weight during the forehand and backhand stroke so after the stroke the body weight comes down and the energy gets stored in the legs for a bounce to a new footwork position?
So more of a push of the ground with the legs at the start of the swing leads later to a bounce? If you do not get the push of the ground then your footwork will suffer?
I know when I practice the backhand and a mini bounce between strokes or even 2 mini bounces I am lighter on my feet and my foot work seems to improve.
So pushing off the ground at the start of the swing could be one key for good footwork?
My footwork sucks at present as I was told last night by a 80 year old. I sucked a dancing too

Haven't seen a rectangular bat (other than Japanese penhold ones) in years...

Iskandar

Strokes look great Russ. Forehand looks directionally sharp. Backhand had an arm straightening issue on one shot but not a big deal IMO given the context.

_________________
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

Calderano has a short push on the forehand that sometimes looks like a short roll/lazy flick. Is it a legit shot?

_________________
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

Is it effective in WR top 20 where Calderano lives?

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

Yoko Ono

Are we talking about this thing? https://youtu.be/JHfBrpyVivA?t=33
or this one? https://youtu.be/JHfBrpyVivA?t=51

this one? https://youtu.be/JHfBrpyVivA?t=136

the double one? https://youtu.be/JHfBrpyVivA?t=211

this one worked great for him. it really seems like part of the plan with this shot. https://youtu.be/JHfBrpyVivA?t=424

took a while but i found the backhand edition that isn't hidden to the camera too: https://youtu.be/JHfBrpyVivA?t=293

here is one where it seemed like a pretty good frustration tool: https://youtu.be/JHfBrpyVivA?t=513

I don't watch lots of Hugo's matches, but he's doing this a lot this match. Was it a planned tactic because the opposition is extremely good at counter looping?

I find this final shot to be a 100% failure for me. https://youtu.be/JHfBrpyVivA?t=350 Pretty impressive how he moves forward at the same time gets good whip from his body and basically does a punch at the ball. Serious body control there. I see lots of people mess these up at the lower levels. It looks so easy!

This match is not first time I have seen him do it.

What you call a punch is a big forward loop. It does have similarities to a fighting punch but I think of it as making a windmill motion with the arm/body for maximum pace with good spin.

_________________
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

First ever unsanctioned tournament yesterday at Tyson's new ZBTTC. I feel safe in saying Tyson has the best TT club in America in a town of less than 50,000 peeps. Probably the best in any town under 500,000. Six tables, open six hours a day Mon - Sat, decent space, decent floor, decent lights, high ceiling. It's amazing he did this.

We had 25 players in three groups, 9, 8, 8, giant RR format. So I played eight matches. This was the 7th one. The result of this was either 1st or 3rd for me, 1st or 2nd for my opponent. I had lost my first match 11-9 in the 5th, then won the rest easily three nil.

I am playing against Cielo, my longtime practice partner. We know each other's games very very well. I watched some frames at 60 fps, and for example at :23 I start to turn and play a fh receive from the bh long before her serve contact. I changed my mind and pushed, and she moved into perfect position to loop my push well before I touched the ball.

Overall I just need to open on every ball. She is a counter-puncher by nature and training, so there is no reason for me to give up the first topspin. And I am making all the same errors I always make in body position and balance. Maybe some fatigue showing, but that's really no excuse. I know I played some of the earlier matches at my peak level, but no video.

In terms of what I have been working on, my PMA {https://youtu.be/aWWI2rGdda4}was good, choing was fine, focus was very good, controlling the pace of play was excellent. Evaluation and decision-making was fair, visualization was nearly non-existent. Unsurprising, the easier, most external aspects come first, the internal bits take longer. I want to create a feedback loop from post-point evaluation to technique changes that is automatic and absolutely subconscious. If anyone has any advice on how to deliberately train a subconscious response, please enlighten me.

Oh well, I really wanted to win. But if I have to lose a final there is nobody else I would rather have win it than her.
https://youtu.be/KQfhIeSpVGU

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

Yoko Ono

To me her serve was very predictable, looks like all backspin with no deception or no spin. Since it was predictable in terms of spin I feel you can be more attacking on serve return. You attacked her backspin serve to your forehand well. However you pushed a lot of her serves to your backhand. I feel you would have won if you attacked her backhand serve to your backhand. I think having a mental mindset to attack all her serves would reduce the indecision making and get your body mentally prepared to bow lower on the backhand or drop lower of the forehand. Only push if you have too. On serve receive you are fixed in body position as she serves. I suggest to copy the pros and move in a bit on serve return to get legs moving to improve footwork on serve return. This would be easy to add to your game. Was most of your serves long? Great play though, much better than me!!

Something tells me you didn't really want to win that match. It felt more like a friendly match probably because there were no rating points on the line. I prefer the old Ben, this positive imposter may lose more matches while breaking fewer rackets.

_________________
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

So I think I see some differences in your forehand Ben, but what differences do you think there are now?
I will go ahead and say it looks like you are playing a little more balanced on the forehand.

@Maurice101 the video quality is poor so you probably can't see it. She serves very heavy backspin and very heavy no-spin with the same motion. I have seen her serve literally a million times, we practice together for three years, and it still messes with my mind.

@NL It is a very friendly match. I love her, she is a good friend. I did want to win, but didn't think I would. We played four matches on Thursday night and I lost them all much like this, averaging one less point per set. About breaking things, I can't afford it any more. Nittaku is not a Sweden classic where I could order five at a time. She actually suggested a long time ago that when I need to throw something I should take off one shoe and throw that. So far I haven't sunk that low.

@wilkinru Nothing has changed yet. I haven't practiced a new fh more than maybe 500 balls, which is effectively zero. What will change is a shorter swing, with very little upper arm, just hip turn and elbow joint. To succeed it requires a very loose wrist and a very forward swing over the ball. Big changes for me. It basically exchanges swinging at every ball like it was heavy chop to swinging every time like it's a block. And it supports the short pips constraints on playing distance and contact timing better than the bigger FFF swing. I guess it is FFF accounting for the possibility that the next ball is played to my bh, if you want to look at it that way.

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

Yoko Ono

I like that you have identified that you do kind of go after many balls like a heavy chop - but I saw some in that match that described what you want to do. There is hope.

I did a little experiment last practice session. I fed (In the Brett style) a guy a backspin ball to his forehand. His ball quality was poor initially so I had him start slightly away (to the side) from the incoming ball. This made him do a little (6 inches?) step/jump into position. Instantly his knees were in better position and thus his body rotation showed up and the shot quality improved. I'm starting to think every forehand must start with a little hop. This would also be another reason the robot fails us - because we get into position and never need to hop. Even reasonably good ball feeders will have enough variance (and can add more on purpose) that the hop itself can be practiced.

I'm watching feet at the club now, seeing if I can find good forehands without a hop.

I don't think you have to hop into the backswing on every forehand but when developing footwork it is absolutely necessary. You can't connect shot sequences without getting used to it.

_________________
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