Develop an Overpowering Strength and Ways to Use It

This article, now online at Butterflyonline.com, was originally a Tip of the Week from back in February, but I added some stuff from Coach Jack Huang (one of my co-coaches at MDTTC), and sent it in to Butterfly, who published it yesterday. (You even get to see a picture of me and my "devastating" forehand!) A related article is How to Move Up a Level, which explains the five things you need to do to improve a level, with #5 about finding that overpowering strength and ways to use it.

Back update - I'm back!

Yesterday I got the okay from my physical therapist to resume table tennis activities as long as I go easy on it. I can finally hit with my students! For the last couple weeks I've had others come in to do my hitting.

Originally I was going to take six weeks off, but the therapist thought three weeks would be enough, and now, after two weeks, after examining my back, said I'm ready. It's been a busy two weeks; I've been doing a ten-minute stretching and strengthening routine three times a day, and meeting with the therapist twice a week for a more rigorous routine.

For now, I'll just do easy stuff  - multiball, blocking and easy countering, and perhaps I'll do a few easy loops just to test it out. Surprisingly, the back rotation from my forehand pendulum serve (along with looping) put the most strain on my back; I'll test that out. Playing games also put a lot of strain as I wouldn't know where the next ball was going and often did last-second moves that strained the back - and this was even more true even when playing beginners, since they spray the ball randomly all over.

So you want to be a better table tennis coach?

Sidespin loops

Do you loop with sidespin? If not, why not? There's a common misconception that a loop should be 100% topspin. It's often more natural to loop with some sidespin, as the shoulder is normally higher than ball contact, and so the arm is naturally tilted slightly down at contact, meaning contact would be a bit on the far side of the ball, thereby creating some sidespin. (Some coaches recommend loops have about 15% sidespin.) Or you can create sidespin intentionally by simply dropping the wrist to hook the ball so it breaks left, or raising the wrist so it breaks right. (Lefties should reverse.)

It's not only more natural to loop with some sidespin, it's probably more effective. The sidespin makes the ball curve in the air, jump on the table, and jump sideways off the opponent's racket, giving him great difficulty. Plus the very curving of the ball over the table means it stays over the table a split second longer, giving it more time to drop and actually hit the table, thereby increasing consistency. (At least that's the theory I've been told; more sidespin means less topspin pulling the ball down, so it's a tradeoff.)

When looping from the wide forehand it's especially natural to loop with sidespin as you drop the wrist and hook the ball back to the table, with the ball curving to the left (if looped by a right-hander). When looping from the backhand corner with the forehand you might use less, as you are now contacting the ball on the near side - and now, in fact, may sidespin the other way, so the ball jumps away to the right (if looped by a right-hander). This latter type of sidespin is generally more difficult.

You should generally loop either with whatever sidespin is most natural (without forcing it), or intentionally use sidespin to mess up the opponent (which is why many top players learn to sidespin either way, usually so that the ball breaks away from the opponent).

Creating service spin

Someone emailed me the following question (this is just an excerpt): "I can't generate heavy spin just average spin.... Any tips that may help me." Since this is a common problem, I thought I should put my response up here.

You might need to work with a coach directly to find out why you are having trouble creating spin on your serves. However, here are some possible reasons.

1. Do you have a relatively grippy racket surface? (I'm guessing this isn't the problem, but had to bring it up.)

2. Grazing motion: are you really grazing the ball at contact? If so, there should be little speed on the ball as most of your serving energy should convert to spin. If your "spin" serves are going long, and with good speed, then you probably aren't grazing the ball much.

3. Racket speed: a lot of players slow down their service motion so as to better graze the ball. This defeats purpose of grazing the ball. Serving is a violent motion - if you want the ball to spin at 100mph, you need your racket tip to move 100mph. That mean's using body, arm, and (most important) wrist on the serve.

4. Wrist motion - a common problem is not really snapping the wrist into the ball, leading to low racket speed. First, you should be changing your grip for most serves to maximize the wrist motion. (If you aren't sure how to do that, any coach or top player can show you.) then snap the wrist into the serve like a whip!

How serves have evolved.

What are your table tennis goals?

And before you say them, remember this. There are two voices that will constantly ridicule your goals if they are too high. One is from some other players, who may not have the same lofty goals for you that you may have for yourself. Ignore them, and go for your goals. (Though it is helpful to have reasonable goals - just don't limit yourself.) The other is that little voice inside your head that says, "You can't!" Ignore that voice. In the words of Albert Einstein, "Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds." So drop the mediocre voice from your mind and let the great spirit soar.

Illegal hidden serves one more time (until next time)

<Begin Rant>

Dear umpires, coaches, and players, let's go over this one more time.

Rule 2.6.6: "It is the responsibility of the player to serve so that the umpire or the assistant umpire can be satisfied that he or she complies with the requirements of the Laws."

Read that over once or ten times, and it'll still say the same thing. If you aren't sure if the server is hiding contact with his serve, then you aren't sure he isn't, and the server is not serving "...so that the umpire or the assistant umpire can be satisfied that he or she complies with the requirements of the Laws." You can give a warning the first time, but thereafter you must call a fault. If you do not, you are not umpiring; you are allowing one player to cheat, and making sure more players will do so since they see umpires are not enforcing the rules. You know, the rules, the ones umpires are supposed to enforce?

Tip of the Week

Suggested equipment for beginning and intermediate players.

Sean O'Neill teaching the forehand

Here's a great video (8:21) of Olympian and five-time U.S. Men's Singles Champion Sean O'Neill teaching the forehand. Note the emphasis on being in balance - left and right sides, backswing and follow through, etc.

Timo Boll serve and grip change

Here's a slow-motion video (1:10) of world #2 Timo Boll of Germany doing a reverse pendulum serve, and following it up with two forehand loops. Two things of interest. First, note how long he spends at a complete stop before the serve - he's visualizing the serve before doing it, as you should always do. Second, about 38 seconds in, as he prepares for his first forehand loop, see how he changes his grip into a forehand grip. Most players do not change grip during a rally; Boll does. I sometimes think this might be the next technique revolution, where players change their grip for certain shots as part of the stroke. Right now it is frowned on by most coaches, just as receiving short serves to the forehand (against backhand serve sidespin) with the backhand was a few years ago, or reverse penhold backhands. Yes, techniques change.

Possible Replacements for the New York City Open

Off to New York City Open!

EDIT - BREAKING NEWS AT 10:30 AM - Due to Hurricane Irene, the New York City Open has been postponed.

I leave right after lunch, about 12:30, for the New York City Open. I'm going up with the juniors John & Nathan Hsu and their mom, and Jeffrey Zeng Xun. Jeffrey (when he's not playing - he's seeded fifth, and was the recent Cary Cup and Eastern Open Champion) and I will be coaching John & Nathan. I may coach a few other locals when I'm free - Ryan, Greg, Tim. I'm just coaching, not playing. There are 277 players entered in the tournament, and the Open includes 11 players rated over 2550 or higher, and 36 over 2300, listed below. Newly unretired Scott Boggan, rated 2447, is seeded only 21st! (See note on him below.)

Why you should have a slow, spinny loop

(This was originally from a forum posting, but I thought I'd put it here as well.) It's extremely helpful to have a slow, spinny loop, for four reasons. First, many players have difficulty with slow, spinny loops, and if you don't have one, then you are handicapped in the match. Second, it gives you more variation, which makes your other loops more effective. Third, against a very low, heavy push, it's much easier to go for a slow, spinny loop then to try to power it all the time. And fourth, if you are missing your faster loops, it's good to have a slower and steadier loop to fall back on. 

There is less slow looping at the highest levels, but that's because at that point they can pretty much rip anything they see. However, even there you'll see some slow loops as variations, depending on the circumstances. But anywhere below the world-class level a slow loop is one of the more underused shots.

How do you do a slow, spinny loop? One key is to let the ball drop more than usual, especially against backspin. A common mistake when slow looping is to slow the swing down. Instead, use normal power, but graze the ball so finely that most of the power converts to topspin. Then get ready for your follow-up - and note that the very slowness of your shot gives you time to prepare for the next shot. This is why when you step around your backhand corner to forehand loop many players either loop a winner or a slow loop. If you loop medium, then unless you have fast footwork you might not have time to react to the likely block to your wide forehand.

Training session on forehand

The Creation of a National Franchise-Based League

I put together a rough proposal for a professional league for our top players - see below! Feel free to steal this idea, though it'd be nice to credit me.

Highlights from 2009 Worlds

Table Tennis Master has put together a great video (11:21) compiling the greatest points from the 2009 Worlds. Enjoy!

The Rise of Table Tennis

Here's an interesting article on the growing popularity of table tennis.

Connor Crane, football, and table tennis

Here's an interesting article on football star Connor Crane and table tennis.

Kevin Garnett, basketball, and table tennis.

Here's a 37-second news video on basketball star Kevin Garnett in China, where he plays table tennis at the end.

Update on back problems

Hidden Serves

At the higher levels (i.e. 2600 and up), most players hide their serve because most umpires simply are not enforcing the rules. The main rule in question is, "It is the responsibility of the player to serve so that the umpire or the assistant umpire can be satisfied that he complies with the requirements of the Laws."  Many players have learned to just barely hide contact from their opponent, but they do it so quickly and subtly that umpires, sitting off to the side, aren't sure if they have hidden the serve - and instead of warning and then faulting the player for not fulfilling the rule quoted here, they let it go. And so those who cheat are rewarded.

There are always exceptions, such as world #6 Vladimir Samsonov, who never hides his serve. How good would he be if he did so? But he plays against hidden serves regularly, and developed his game before hidden serves were illegal, and so can return them effectively.

Before, illegal hidden serves was mostly a problem at the highest levels. Now it's spreading to the cadet levels. It's survival of the fittest, and the "fittest" are those who win, and more and more these are the ones who hide their serves.

The problem is you cannot learn to return hidden serves unless you practice against them on a regular basis for a long time. (It's not easy learning to read spin from the way the ball travels through the air and bounces on the table, and to do so quickly enough to react properly.) And you can't do this unless your practice partners use them. So the only real way to teach players to return hidden serves is to teach them to all to hide their serves. Plus, even if you learn to return hidden serves, you have to use them yourself if you want to compete evenly.

Tip of the Week

Strategic Versus Tactical Thinking.

MDTTC Coaching Camp - Day Ten

• Friday was Day Ten and the last day of our second MDTTC two-week camp of the summer.
• While working with the beginners (mostly age 8-10), I brought out "Froggy," a large and very realistic rubber frog, which I put on the table for target practice. We divided the group into two teams of four, and while I fed balls with multiball, they took turns trying to hit it. Team A won over Team B, 21-17. I brought it out several more times as the kids seemed to take great pleasure in hitting the poor frog.
• We ran a tournament for most of the players, but I again took the beginners separately, as they weren't really ready for a tournament. Instead, I brought out two bags of candy - hard candy and Hershey's chocolate kisses - and spread them on the table. I spent much of the afternoon feeding multiball as the kids tried to knock them off. When they did, they got the candy!
• This was MDTTC's last camp of the summer. Our next camp is our Christmas Camp, Dec. 26-31.

Oh my aching back!

Yes, the two weeks of camp has turned my back into a battlefield tourist attraction on a par with Gettysburg. If anyone can pull the twisted sword out of my back, I will make you king of England.