Blogs

Larry Hodges' Blog and Tip of the Week will normally go up on Mondays by 2:00 PM USA Eastern time. Larry is a member of the U.S. Table Tennis Hall of Fame, a USATT Certified National Coach, a professional coach at the Maryland Table Tennis Center (USA), and author of ten books and over 2100 articles on table tennis, plus over 1900 blogs and over 600 tips. Here is his bio. (Larry was awarded the USATT Lifetime Achievement Award in July, 2018.)

Make sure to order your copy of Larry's best-selling book, Table Tennis Tactics for Thinkers!
Finally, a tactics book on this most tactical of sports!!!

Also out - Table Tennis TipsMore Table Tennis Tips, Still More Table Tennis Tips, and Yet Still More Table Tennis Tips, which cover, in logical progression, his Tips of the Week from 2011-2023, with 150 Tips in each!

Or, for a combination of Tales of our sport and Technique articles, try Table Tennis Tales & Techniques. If you are in the mood for inspirational fiction, The Spirit of Pong is also out - a fantasy story about an American who goes to China to learn the secrets of table tennis, trains with the spirits of past champions, and faces betrayal and great peril as he battles for glory but faces utter defeat. Read the First Two Chapters for free!

Tip of the Week

Why Table Tennis Really Is Chess at Light Speed.

Table Tennis Music Video

On Saturday night the Edie Sedgwick music group came to the Maryland Table Tennis Center to do a table tennis music video. The gist of the video is the group shows up at a nightclub to play table tennis, and then, one by one, they get destroyed by a kid. Starring in the video is Derek Nie, 11, the U.S. Open Under 12 Boys' Singles Champion. (Here he is warming up with me at the Open, and here he is in his full green wig and striped sunglasses outfit. And here he is at the Eastern Open last year!)

The band had been planning this video already, but were apparently going to just bring in some kid actor and fake the table tennis scenes. Then they saw Derek in the Washington Post video, and contacted me about hiring him.

The table tennis portion of the taping took four hours, from 7-11PM, though the band members came in around 5PM to start setting up. Also in attendance were Derek's parents and older brother, George (15, a 2050 player), and lots of pizza. In order, here's what happened:

  1. Taping of Derek and the band members arriving by limousine. Yes, they hired a white limousine for this part, and they actually picked Derek up at his school in the limo! (He said it was rather embarrassing explaining this to everyone there.) The chauffeur, Nas, a Pakistani immigrant, just last week drove Clint Eastwood, and has also driven Michael Douglas, Chris Tucker, Chris Rock, LL. Cool J, Erin Burnett, and Jon Huntsman.
  2. They rearranged the barriers at the club to create a long, diagonal entrance from the doorway to the playing area set up in the back of the club. Then they taped the four band members walking/sauntering in over and over. Then they did the same with Derek.
  3. Then came the table tennis scenes. They taped Derek mostly hitting and looping forehands while I blocked. Because of the extremely bright light they put behind Derek I couldn't see the ball when blocking forehands, but I made the fortuitous discover that I could block backhands from the forehand side without the light in my eyes. George Nie also joined in for some of the rallies. (George and I won't be in the video, we were just blocking for Derek.)
  4. Then they taped the band members playing. I fed them balls multi-ball style as they smacked shots all over the place, sometimes hitting the table. Two of the four were actually pretty decent. One could barely hit the ball, but after some practice we put on a decent show.
  5. Then each of them taped their "losing" scene. I'd hit a ball hard at them, they'd flail at it and miss, and then each had their own sore loser reaction - throwing paddle down (we used a cheap one for that!), kicking the wall (not too hard, I warned), looks of disgust, and each ending with the band member storming out of the club in some way. (So when you see them losing, remember that it was me who hit the winning shots, not Derek!!!)
  6. Then we filmed Derek's victory scenes, where he'd raise his arms in triumph, shadow practice forehands and backhands in celebration (sometimes left-handed), and other celebratory maneuvers. There was one very complex scene that Derek nailed in a few tries where he'd go through a series of these maneuvers (including his brother tossing him his striped sunglasses, and Derek cleanly snatching them in mid-air and putting them on) and going through a true actor's scene where he started out all happy, gradually realized he'd beaten everyone and was alone, looked crestfallen, and then tosses aside his paddle and sunglasses and runs off. Oscar scene!!!
  7. They also did several short scenes in front of a green screen. They will add in scenes from a night club later on. This saved Derek from having to go there, plus the night club they were going to use doesn't open until midnight (!), well past Derek's bedtime.
  8. We also had several humorous scenes of the band members preparing to play, including one member dressed in an all-white outfit who was constantly preening for the camera. In one scene, after he finished straightening his hair and clothes, we all threw ping-pong balls at him.
  9. Then we all had to spend some time putting the club back together, moving barriers and chairs back into position.

They said the taping for the video will complete next weekend (at the night club), and the video should be done in about a month. They have lots of video editing to do. I'll post when it's up.

Five Days Till the MDTTC September Open!

Have you entered yet? If you aren't there, we'll talk about you behind your back. We'll make Youtube videos about you. There will be rioting in the streets. It won't be pretty. So enter and stop the mayhem. (Tournament is at the Maryland Table Tennis Center, and I'm running it. I've run over 150 USATT tournaments, but this will be my first one in over ten years.)

Lily Zhang and Barack Obama

Here's a picture of Olympian Lily Zhang shaking hands with President Obama at the White House.

ITTF Coaching Program

Here's an article on the ITTF web page about the ITTF coaching program. It mentions USATT Coaching Chair Richard McAfee, who is currently running seminars in India.

Great Point at the Russian Open

Here's a great point by Xu Xin of China against Russia's Alexey Liventsov. (26 seconds.)

Ping-Pong Record Covers

Here are two:

Penguins Use What For Rackets?

Here's a penguin table tennis cartoon.

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Practice Slower and Better

I have a couple of junior students at the beginning-intermediate level (under 1000) who like to hit everything hard. When they practice with me, they feel they can do it because I'm returning their shots, but they are spraying shots all over the table, and rarely make more than a few shots in a row. I've been on them for a while to slow down, and while this'll get them to slow down for a few shots, they quickly go back to smack it mode.

The only way to get them to slow down I discovered is to challenge them to make a certain number in a row. If I challenge them to make 50 in a row, then they slow down, and they make the 50.

But more important, by slowing down they get far more practice developing a repeating shot that they can do successfully over and Over and OVER again, which is the backbone of success in table tennis. Whenever I get them to hit 50 or 100 in a row, they play well the rest of the session. If I don't get them to slow down, they practice slapping the ball all over the place, and it doesn't help their development much at all. Table tennis is a game of precision, and you can't develop precision unless you practice precision shots over and over. Smacking balls all over the table and off it is a good way to practice smacking balls all over the table and off it.

MDTTC Table Tennis Music Video

On Saturday night (tomorrow) the Edie Sedgwick band is coming to the Maryland Table Tennis to create a table tennis music video. The video will star Derek Nie (U.S. Open Under 12 Boys' Singles Champion). I'll be there helping out, mostly as Derek's hitting partner and eating the promised pizza. I'm guessing the video features the band playing table tennis and thinking they're good, and then Derek shows up and destroys them. The band contacted me about this after seeing this Washington Post video (3:26) on MDTTC, and seeing Derek in it. They had already planned the video and were looking to cast the table tennis kid.

Korean Table Tennis Music Video

Normally I put the funny stuff at the end of the blog, but this is video (3:27) from the Korean group Orange Caramel just too funny to put there.

Tracking a Ping-Pong Ball in Flight

Japanese scientists earlier this year created a camera that tracks a ball in flight, even showing the ball's rotation. Here's the article and video.

New York Table Tennis

Now that's a big table tennis sign! Plus other info on this full-time table tennis club in Flushing.

Paddled

Here's the article "Paddled," a great and hilarious article about a U.S. "basement" table tennis player who thought he was good, who went to China and joined in a training program - and discovered "real" table tennis.

Pongcast Newest Episode

Here's Pongcast Episode 13 (15:34), which covers the 2012 Czech Open, LA Open, North American Championships, and the first week of the new Bundesliga season in Germany. Click on the "13 Videos" link at the top if you want to see earlier episodes.

The Harrison's Beat the Jenson's

Yes, in the ultimate "Hatfield-McCoy" grudge match from professional tennis, the Harrison brothers beat the Jenson brothers in this dynamic showdown. Here's the article.

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"Paddled" is indeed a great read. A friend who now is abroad (meaning, not in US) sent it to me this morning.

Maybe he was closely able to associate with the writer and so sent me a nice article to read. Or maybe my frequent laments about little kids beating me up prompted my friend to share the 'facial expressions' trick with me.

Forehand Foibles:
Wrist Flopping, "Smashing Like a Girl," and Returning to Ready Position

In my blog yesterday, I wrote about an article in the Washington Post entitled "You Throw Like a Girl," and wrote about how this applies to table tennis. Last night was a perfect case.

I was coaching an 11-year-old girl who had taken ten classes in my beginning junior class, and was now taking her second private lesson. She already has a pretty steady forehand and backhand, and can hit 50-100 in a row. However, she had two problems on the forehand. The first was a tendency to flop her wrist back as she stroked the ball, leading to a lack of control, with the ball often spraying out to the right. We spent some time on that, and she's mostly fixed up that problem. (I had her keep the wrist back and firm, and focus on driving the racket tip through the ball instead of letting it hang back.) I assigned her to shadow-stroke the shot correctly 50 times each day. That problem is, or will be, fixed.

The second problem was right out of the Post article. When we went to smashing, she couldn't hit the ball hard because, to quote the article, "Her shoulders and hips rotate at the same time." This meant she didn't have much acceleration in her forward swing, which should get the arm moving, and so wasn't able to snap her forearm into the ball much either. Unlike the wrist flopping back problem, which we fixed immediately (and practice will make it a habit), this will take some time as she gradually learns to rotate properly into the shot for power. I have no doubt she'll develop enough power to put the ball through most players, but it'll be interesting to watch as it develops.

Another player I coached last night had a different forehand problem - he had great difficulty recovering from a smash so he could hit the next one if the ball came back. This was because he followed through off-balance, with his head and whole body moving too much forward. We spent some time focusing on rotating more in circle, as if there were a rod through the head and you rotate around it. By doing this, you finish the stroke more balanced, and can return to ready position almost instantly, even after a powerful smash. I demonstrated how to hit at full power and be back at the ready position before the ball even hits the far side of the table.

Extras for Ping Pong Summer

Here's an article about all the extras that came out for parts in the upcoming Susan Sarandon movie Ping Pong Summer, coming out next summer. According to the article, "The film is set in Ocean City in summer 1985, and revolves around a boy on vacation with his family. Ping-pong and hip-hop music are said to figure prominently in the script." Here's the IMDB.com entry, which describes the movie as "A family vacation during the summer of 1985 changes everything for a teenage boy obsessed with ping pong."

Americans Are Better Than Europeans at Table Tennis

At least that's what English golf star Lee Westwood (world #4, and #1 for much of 2010 and 2011) said in this article about the players getting together after the Ryder Cup. ''Unfortunately, the Americans are slightly better than us at table tennis. I think the Europeans have the edge on the drinking.''

Great Points from the Worlds

Here are the best points from the 2012 World Championships (10:57). I don't think I posted this one before.

Ping-Pong Action Figures!

Here they are! Yes, you can order yours online. You can also order them at here at Amazon.com, which says there are only 9 left. (Make that 8 - I just ordered a set!)

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Do You Loop "Like a Girl"?

I found the article and illustrations from "You Throw Like a Girl" in the Washington Post yesterday fascinating as much of it applies to table tennis in explaining why some players can loop with power while others cannot. There is a real phenomenon that boys throw much harder than girls, and it's because of technique. Boys often learn to throw properly early on and practice it regularly, while girls often do not. To quote the article:

"A right-handed boy steps first with his left foot. Hips rotate first, then shoulders. He involves most of his body. His arm and hand whip around as he releases the ball. A right-handed girl steps much later in the sequence, often with the right foot. The motion is limited mainly to her forearm. Her shoulders and hips rotate at the same time, if at all."

In table tennis, players who forehand loop with power use almost the same technique as described in the boy throwing above. The ones who have trouble generating power tend to follow parts of the description of the girl above, with limited use of legs and hip rotation, and with a stroke that focuses on upper body and arm. (I've seen a few beginners try to step with the wrong foot, but that's not too common.) Many of those who cannot produce much power do a lot of shoulder rotation, but they tend to start with that rotation instead of it being a natural continuation coming from the legs and the hip rotation. The proper technique is like a rocket ship going to the moon, starting with the largest rocket at the bottom, then it drops off and the next largest one at the bottom fires, all the way to the last one (the arm and wrist). Those without much power essentially start with the second or third rocket, skipping the largest ones at the bottom.

I've had arm and shoulder problems since I was a little kid, and never could throw very hard. Why? Because I hadn't learned to throw properly, and until I was older I always threw "like a girl." (How embarrassing!!!) When I was twelve I badly wanted to play third base (like Brooks Robinson), but couldn't make the throw from third to first and so had to play second. For some reason no baseball coach ever tried to correct how I threw.

PIPS - Table Tennis and Art

PIPS is a rather interesting combination! From their About section: "PIPS is a unique venue that combines Art from emerging contemporary artists and the highly social sport of Table Tennis. This street level storefront space brings monthly art exhibitions as well as thematic table tennis tournaments and open play daily."

There is sort of an underground table tennis racket art movement, which I've blogged about a few times. Here are three interesting table tennis racket art sites - just remember you are getting these rackets for the art, not for high-caliber play!

Or you could just draw something on your paddle (35-second video) or this!

Great Table Tennis Point

Here's a great point (34 seconds) that looks real, not exhibition. The near player is apparently Evgueni Chtchetinine of Belarus (world #79, just try pronouncing his name, I dare you!); I don't know who the other is.

Table Tennis Troll

Here he is! His name is Grot.

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Twin Towers

The jets soared down from high and bright,
Tumbling towers in the darkest night,
3000 died in this crazy blight,
Who brought forth this unspeakable sight?

Towers toppled from a monster’s spite,
Bodies crushed with no chance of flight,
What was, to a madman, the highest height,
For the rest brought forth just rage and fright.

The world exploded in a bigger fight.
We bombed and killed in a show of might.
We avenged the act because we were right.
But when will humanity see the light?

Unexpectedly Playing Well and Best Wins

After spending much of two weeks lying around from my neck injury I returned to coaching last week, and did my first serious playing this weekend. The coaching helped me get back in shape, especially a joint session on Saturday afternoon with John Olsen (1950 pushing 2100) and Kevin Walton (1750 pushing 1900). The first hour is multiball, then we do an hour of one-on-one drills. I did a lot of serve & attack drills (they are so used to my serves they return them better than most 2300 players) and a lot of rallying drills, and I could tell my game was coming back. 

In a Saturday match session, where I'm a practice partner, the other coaches had me playing beginners, afraid I'd re-injure my neck and knowing I was out of practice. But I could tell that I was "on" for some reason, and told them to put me up against the stronger players. So they did, and I played great.

I actually have a history of having some of my best results when I shouldn't. For example, way back in 1980 when I was 20 and living for two years in North Carolina I was playing great in practice. I had a rating of about 1900, but was much better - I kept beating the best players in the club. With a tournament coming up I was too excited to sleep. On Thursday night I couldn't sleep. On Friday night I couldn't sleep. I remember lying in bed early Saturday morning in a panic, knowing I'd been up since Thursday morning - 48 hours - without sleep, and worrying how it would affect me at the tournament. I started out shaky, struggling against some 1700 player in my first match. Then I caught fire and beat a 2000 player. In celebration, I ate a quarter pounder with cheese. I had another good win, and ate another. By the end of the day, still without sleep, I'd eaten nine quarter pounders with cheese, had a near incapacitating stomach in my last few matches (duh!), and had won all four events I was in - Under 21, Under 2000, and Open Singles and Doubles.

Now I'm thinking about other matches. Here are my ten best moments or achievements as a player, roughly in order:

  1. First Open title, the 1980 North Carolina Open over Fred King at age 20. Down 13-17 in the fifth on his serve, with no sleep in over 60 hours, and with a near incapacitating stomachache from eating nine quarter pounders with cheese that day, I scored five in a row and won, 21-19. (I'd go on to win open singles at 14 tournaments.)
  2. Winning the 1991 National Hardbat Championships over Lim Ming Chui, the reigning champion (I'd win it one more time, along with four over 40 hardbat titles), and then winning 13 hardbat doubles titles (9 with Ty Hoff, 4 with Steve Berger).
  3. Winning the National Collegiate Doubles Championship in 1990 with Christian Lillieroos. My best moment was in the semifinals, where we were struggling and I caught fire to pull out that match against a "stronger" team. (Almost making list - winning 1995 National Collegiate Team Championships as a player/coach, but I played poorly in the final so it doesn't make the list.)
  4. Twice at the U.S. Open Team Championships in Detroit I played the ninth and final match to make the first division against a player rated about 2350, and both times I won.
  5. Going 31-0 and 21-0 at the 1996 and 1997 U.S. Open Team Championships in Detroit (the last two years before it moved to Baltimore). I was a player/coach those two years, playing on a weaker team, but the combined 52-0 included three players over 2100, eleven over 2000, 20 over 1900, and 31 over 1800. If you think it's easy beating 31 1800 players in a row, try it sometime!!!
  6. Hitting 2755 consecutive backhands at a Seemiller training camp in 1979, with lefty Ben Nisbet (who only missed three times, if I remember correctly, his forehand to my backhand).
  7. At a Seemiller training camp in 1978, when I had just broken 1800, we played Brazilian teams. The other team had players rated about 2300, 2200, 2050, 1900, and 1700. Down 33-43, I scored 18 in a row to win for our team, 51-48. At the end the whole camp had gathered around to watch!
  8. Beating members of the National Teams of Canada, Nigeria, and Israel.
  9. Going over twenty years (circa early 1980s to early 2000s) without losing to a chopper rated under 2400 while beating six over 2400.
  10. Winning Under 2400 at the Easterns in the early 1990s over Pat Cox from down 0-10 in the fifth (games to 21).

Michael Maze Plays Table Tennis with a Book as a Kid

Here he is in 1988! He's the lefty. And here is a more recent picture showing how the Denmark star's backhand has improved, leading to his current world #21 (and as high as #8 in 2010).

Animals Playing Table Tennis

Here are two more animals playing table tennis I just added to the collection - there are many more in the Humorous Table Tennis Pictures section of the Fun and Games page. I've also put in a larger version of the Chimpanzee picture.

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Tip of the Week

If You Can See It, You Can Loop It.

Department of Angry Emails

A certain prominent USATT member (former top player) wrote a long email to a huge number of people last night. Someday I'll learn to stay out of these things, but I just couldn't help but respond to some of the false information in the email. (None of it was about me.)

The writer was angry about the "cancelled" USATT election for CEO four years ago. (There never was an election for CEO; the USATT Board hires and fires the CEO.)

The writer was angry that only one member of the nine members of the USATT Board is elected from the membership, not including the two player reps. (There are actually three.)

The writer was angry about skipped issues of the magazine in recent years. (There weren't any skipped issues.)

There were also some unsubstantiated claims, such as saying the USATT web page was worth $75,000 without giving a source or rationale.

I have nothing against dissent. But it should be informed dissent. Don't send out mass emails with various accusations just to see what sticks, or spread rumors you've heard that are easily checked on. If the writer had sent a simple email to any board member or just about anyone involved in USATT, that person could have directed his attention the Bylaws that show that the CEO is hired by the USATT Board (not elected) and that three members are elected by the membership, and he could have directed him to the old USATT Magazine page and the recent one that went up this year, both of which show the actual covers of every issue going back to 2007, with a link from the old one to the archives that have every cover going back to 1999. (This is what I put in my email response.)

In other words, if you see something you don't like, make sure to get your facts straight before lashing out in public. It's not that hard. Really.

The writer responded this morning by making a big deal about how I said there was no election four years ago and demanding that I apologize for this statement, when of course I had very clearly said there was no election for CEO. He argued that he had gotten his info on board members elections by cut and pasting from the Bylaws, when he quite obviously had not. He also argued that the magazine had been delayed, which of course is quite different than saying there had been skipped issues. (He also argued that there were several late CEO Reports on the web page, which "proved" that the magazine had been delayed, when of course the web page updating had nothing to do with the magazine.) I responded one more time, but as I promised, it'll be the last one I respond to.

Now if I can only stay out of online political debates as the U.S. presidential election approaches....

Beginning Junior Class

We have dozens of junior players at the Maryland Table Tennis Center. Recently we've had an influx of beginners. I had eleven beginners in my beginning junior class yesterday. Coach Wang Qing Liang assisted as we put them through various multiball and robot drills. We finished with target practice as I fed multiball as the kids took turns trying to hit a Gatorade bottle (red fruit flavor) that I assured them was actually full of nosebleed from my pet rhinoceros. If they hit it, I had to take a sip. I spent the whole time mocking them and saying they had no chance to hit it, leading to great delight (and feigned consternation on my part) when they did. 

Coaching beginning junior players, especially in the 5-9 age group, is quite different than other types of coaching. They don't yet have the hand-eye coordination to actually rally among themselves. So you start them out with ball bouncing. (I wrote about this in my blog on Aug. 15, 2011.) Then you work with them using multiball and/or a robot, directing them through the shot. If you make sure they have a proper grip and foot positioning, most of the rest falls into place. You still have to make sure they rotate the body (not just arm) and not slap at the ball with a wristy motion.

Hardbatties, Unite!!!

Are you a serious hardbat player? Well, the old Hardbat Forum has been resurrected, care of hardbat guru Scott Gordon. Come join us for hardbat discussions, as well as sandpaper and clipboard, which both fall under the "hardbat" umbrella. (I'm normally a sponge player, but I do hardbat on the side.)

Lily Zhang in the School Paper

Here's an article in The Viking: Palo Alto High School Sports News, entitled Olympian Lily Zhang named 2012 Junior and Women’s North American Champion."

Have You Practiced Your Under-the-Leg Smash Today?

Here's Kim Gilbert demonstrating proper form!

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Tournament Season

Tournament season is upon us! After a long summer of practice (right?), you are now ready to take on all those pampered players who didn't train as you did, and make their ratings points yours while gathering a collection of hardware. (And if you are in the Maryland area, don't miss our Sept. 22-23 MDTTC tournament, which I'm running - we've got hardware AND checks just sitting around, waiting for someone to take. Won't you please?)

It's time to focus more on game-type play. All summer you've been doing stroking and footwork drills (right?), physical training (right?), and practicing your both your regular and new serves (right?). Those stroking and footwork drills will take you far, but in matches, most opponents will object if you ask them to hit the ball back and forth between two spots so you can move back and forth and attack with your forehand. So now's the time to introduce game-type drills.

Focus on serve & attack drills and random drills. When possible, start off drills with a serve and attack, and then either play out the points or combine both rote and random footwork. For example, you might serve backspin, partner pushes deep to your backhand, you loop (forehand or backhand, depending on your style), partner blocks to your wide forehand, you forehand loop, and then you play out the point. Or partner pushes your serve back randomly anywhere, and you loop and play out the point. Or partner flips your short serve anywhere (or perhaps the first flip goes to the wide forehand, or perhaps wide backhand), and then play out the point. Be creative in designing drills that match what you face in matches.

This doesn't mean you should stop doing regular stroking and footwork drills - they are important at all times. But the focus needs to switch to more game-like drills.

You should also be honing your serving skills. Can you pull off in tournament conditions the serves you can do in practice? Can you serve with all spins to all parts of the table, both short and long, with deceptive motions? If not, better start practicing. In particular practice your fast and deep serves out of proportion to how often you use them. You may only serve them a couple of times a game, but they need more precision and therefore more practice if you are going to use them at all.

And don't forget your sports psychology! Playing in a tournament is quite different than playing a regular club match, and if you aren't ready for that, you are sunk. Here are some good links on sports psychology.

Below are two articles I wrote on playing in tournaments (which I also linked to a few days ago):

Coaching Articles

While I'm linking to articles, here are many of my online coaching articles. I've also got over 80 Tips of the Week. And here's a complete listing of my 1382 published articles, many linked online.

Ding Ning to Miss World Cup

Here's an article where defending champion and world #1 Ding Ning explains why she'll miss the World Cup. Article includes a link to the video of last year's final between Ding and Li Xiaoxia.

Interview with Allen Wang

Here's an interview with Allen Wang, who just won the North American Cadet Championships. (And he trained for two weeks this summer at MDTTC, my club!)

Marty Reisman Featured in American Way

The article isn't online, so you'll have to fly American Airlines to read the entire thing. But this article from Table Tennis Nation features a number of excerpts from the article, such as: "Even at 82, I'm itching for a good money game…What I really want to do is play a money match against someone who's young enough to be my grandson — ­someone of note, not some Mickey Mouse player. That’s never been done in professional sports before. Sure, I’ve lost some speed, but I still play a very clever, witty game. I’m pretty athletic for someone who's 82. I’ve still got plenty of vinegar left in me." There are also some nice pictures.

iTable Tennis!

Watch this video of this ordinary room becoming a feature table tennis club in just 20 seconds!

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Baltimore or Columbus?

This Thanksgiving a number of table tennis players will face a conundrum: Baltimore or Columbus?

The North American Teams in Baltimore (now in its 15th year) is a 4-star tournament that last year had 767 players playing 6557 matches, dwarfing the other two big U.S. tournaments that year, the 5-star U.S. Open (548 players, 2989 matches) and 5-star USA Nationals (502 players, 2934 matches). (The Open and Nationals stats don't include doubles, hardbat, or sandpaper matches, which might increase their numbers 10% or so.) They usually get about 200 teams, with 150 tables in a 150,000 square foot playing area at the Baltimore Convention Center, and give out over $20,000 in prize money. It's the biggest table tennis tournament in North America. One of my favorite activities each year is to watch newbies walk into the hall for the first time. The look on their faces when they see the endless rows of tables and equipment booths is priceless.

However, some players were unhappy with the prices and awards given out at the NA Teams last year. And so an alternative was born this year - the Thanksgiving Butterfly Teams in Columbus, OH. Though technically only a 2-star tournament, they promise players will have just as much competition in the same format for the three days of the tournament (both are run Nov. 23-25, starting the day after Thanksgiving), with better awards, though only $3000 in total prize money.

So what'll it be, Tradition or Upstart? Personally, I'm going to coach at whichever one my students go to, and I'll let them go wherever they choose. (My club is only an hour from Baltimore, while Columbus is seven hours away - but my club and many of its top players are sponsored by Butterfly. Quite the conundrum.)

Here's a quick comparison:

North American Teams in Baltimore

Thanksgiving Butterfly Teams in Columbus

Hardbat at the Nationals

Alas, I won't be playing hardbat events at this year's Nationals. Hardbat Doubles starts on the first day, Tuesday at 2:15, but with Under 22 Men at noon and the Junior Teams at 4PM, there's just too much conflict since I'll be coaching players in both events. Hardbat Singles and Over 40 Hardbat start on Wednesday and Friday, right in the middle of numerous events I'll be coaching.

It's the end (for now) of a "dynasty." I've won Hardbat Doubles at the Open or Nationals 13 times (9 times with Ty Hoff, 4 times with Steve Berger), and am the defending champion at both the Open and Nationals (both with Ty). I've also won Over 40 Hardbat four times and Hardbat Singles twice. (I normally use sponge, but play with hardbat as a sideline.)

Liu Guoliang: "I Am a Passionate Coach"

That's the title of this article on the Chinese National Coach and former superstar player.

Jim Butler on the Women's Game

Olympian and Three-time U.S. Men's Champion Jim Butler wrote a pair of insightful postings about the women's game recently on the about.com forum (responses #23 and 24), in response to questions. (After reading the second, I must sheepishly admit that I play my backhand like a woman - but I do it pretty well!!!) Here they are:

Question: Wouldn't THE best thing at this stage be for them [the top U.S. junior girls] to compete in international events against WOMEN?

Jim Butler: Yes in a perfect world with unlimited resources, that would be ideal. However, there is no USATT budget to do that. I have always felt that the U.S. Women's game has the best chance to reach success internationally. They have high enough level competition in this country to reach that goal.

To simulate that competition though, they must move over to the men's side. The women can compete year around in this country against men, and get the level and regularity of competition it takes to be successful internationally.

If you are a 2700 level man in this country, there are very few athletes higher than that, so competing internationally becomes a must to raise your game further to the likes of the Chinese, Germans, etc. The best women in the world are not better than 2700.

The U.S. Women's Team members are also in school, so competing in the United States also makes it possible to do both.

Question: Also, although the ratings suggest an equal level, playing against a 2600 man is a different experience from playing against a 2600 woman, and they need to face their peers and develop strategies against those styles

Jim Butler: It's not as different as one might think. The men's game clearly has more speed and power, but the women tend to be more consistent. I think most men can learn a lot by watching the women's game more, and appreciating the level of consistency they tend to play at.

If you watch a 2500 women beat a 2500 level man, they do it with consistency, and they make fewer unforced errors. The men can wow everyone with incredible power and speed on their shots. The highest level women force you to make a high quality shot nearly every point in order to beat them. They smother people with consistency.

Another very important aspect of the game the women tend to be better at than the men, is their ability to stay within their limits and game. Because men have the ability to hit the ball so hard, they tend to over play shots in their matches. If you watch most men play (especially at lower levels), you will see them lose many points a match because they tried to hit the ball out of the gym, instead of backing off and putting it on the table.

Younger male players really tend to do this, and so many points are wasted by trying to hit the ball too hard. Women will rarely hit the ball harder than they need to. 

Non-Table Tennis: "You're No Good, Baltimore Orioles"

My humorous poem (a takeoff on "You are Old, Father William") is featured on Orioles Hangout, the main online forum for the Baltimore Orioles baseball team. It's the seventh time they've featured my work. I wrote the poem on Tuesday night, the night that the Orioles tied the Yankees for first place in the American League East. (They had been trailing by ten games just a month ago.) Here's the first of the eight stanzas:

"You're no good, Baltimore Orioles," the sportswriter said,
"And your play all year long has been trite;
And yet you keep winning when you should be dead?
Do you think, since you're bad, it is right?"

Disastrous Table Tennis Slide

This video (17 seconds) shows why you should never jump on your ping-pong table when it is covered with ice.

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Los Angeles Open and Exhibitions

Here are the results, and here's a video of the final (14:53) between Dimitrij Ovtcharov of Germany (a bronze medallist at the 2012 Olympics in Men's Singles and Teams) and Oh Sang Eun of Korea.

If you watch the match, it becomes clear early on they are basically playing an exhibition. There's been much discussion of this on online forums, and few experienced players disagree with this verdict. (Many lesser-experienced players couldn't tell.) Many have condemned it, and I have to grudgingly agree that it was completely out of line for them to play this way in the final of a major tournament, and right from the start. I have no idea why they did this.

USATT has rules that cover this, under 3.5.3 Good Presentation (and ITTF has nearly identical rules):

3.5.3.1 Players, coaches and officials shall uphold the object of good presentation of the sport; in particular players have to do their utmost to win a match and shall not withdraw except for reasons of illness or injury.

3.5.3.2 Any player who deliberately fails to comply with these principles may be disciplined by total or partial loss of prize money in prize events and/or by suspension from USATT events.

In this particular match, it is obvious the two did not "do their utmost to win [the] match." Are there cases where it is okay to play exhibition in a tournament match? Some would say never, citing both the USATT rules and the general idea that you should always fight to the end. However, many European players have a long history of playing exhibition at the end of a lopsided match, usually instigated by the player losing badly, and usually their opponents (often Chinese) go along with it, since in essence the one losing has given up on the match. (So technically speaking, both sides are playing exhibition, in violation of the rules.) I remember a women's singles final match at the USA Nationals between Gao Jun and Jasna Reed (now Jasna Rather), both known for their backhands, where (if I remember correctly) Gao had already won the first two games in the best of three to 21, and in game three they essentially had a backhand-to-backhand contest (won by Gao in deuce). I don't think anyone complained; that last game was riveting.

I'm guilty as well. About twenty years ago I played David Zhuang in the quarterfinals of the New Jersey Open in a best of five to 21. He won the first two and was well up in the third when I switched to exhibition. We put on a good one (lots of lobbing and counter-smashing, and I jumped the barriers several times while lobbing), but the umpire was very upset at us, even jumping out of his chair and trying to grab the ball while it was in play near the end when I blew a ball back, and again a few points later when David kicked one back. I also once played an impromptu exhibition match with Eric Boggan in front of an audience after I was well down, and once took on Scott Boggan in a pure exhibition-style counterlooping duel. (Note that between them, David, Eric, and Scott have won nine Men's Singles titles at the USA Nationals.) I've played plenty more exhibition points in matches, almost always at the end of lopsided matches.

So I'm on the fence about this one. I think there are circumstances where it's okay for players to play exhibition . . . except there are those pesky USATT rules. . . .

Does Time Slow Down in Table Tennis?

Here's an article in Discover Magazine entitled "Ready steady slow": time slows down when we prepare to move. I've experienced the same phenomenon, especially when returning serves, but also at other times, right as they say - when I'm about to move. How about you?

Is Tahl Leibovitz the Greatest Jewish Athlete You’ve Never Heard Of?

Here's an article in the Jewish Journal about Tahl Leibovitz.

Ping-Pong Cover for iPhone

Want a table tennis cover for you iPhone4? Well, here they are! They come in legal red and black, and illegal green and blue, but only in hard rubber (i.e. pimples out, no sponge). Sorry inverted loopers!

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Tip of the Week

Multiball Training.

Coaching New Players

This past weekend had three new kids in the Beginning Junior Class I teach, Sat 10:30AM-Noon and Sun 4:30-6:00 PM. (All three came for the Sunday session.) All three started out really well. One of them picked up the strokes so fast she was doing footwork drills by the end of the session - and she's just six and a half! I've taught the class since it started in April, and about eight of the new players have gone on to take private lessons, including one who is starting with me this Wednesday.

One issue I still struggle with after all these years is how soon to bring on new techniques. Is it better to spend the first few sessions focusing on just the forehand, or spend time equally on forehand and backhand? When to introduce pushing? How much focus on serves? In a class situation, I generally focus more on the forehand early on, introducing the backhand perhaps in the second half of the second session. I introduce serves generally on the third session. I postpone pushing until the player can stroke effectively from both sides while doing footwork.

When doing private coaching, where you have more time, in a typical one-hour session I introduce the forehand, backhand, and serving in the first session, but again focus on the forehand more early on. The reasoning behind focusing on the forehand first (in both classes and private coaching) is that it's best to get one side really ingrained before focusing on the other side, and you have to choose one side - so I go with the forehand first. This would have been a no-brainer a few decades ago, when the game was somewhat dominated by forehand players, but now the game is more evenly divided between forehand players, backhand players, and those who do both equally. Another reason to focus on the forehand first is that it leads to more mobile footwork than if you focus on the backhand, where players tend to stand in one position more. (One remedy - have them do side-to-side backhand footwork, which most players neglect to do, instead focusing only on forehand footwork.)

Hardbatters of the Past, Present, and Future, part 2

In my blog on Friday, Aug. 31, I addressed the questions of how good were the best hardbat players of the past, compared to modern hardbat and sponge players, and where I also wrote about Cheng Yinghua playing hardbat. I wrote more about this yesterday in response to questions on the about.com forum. Here's what I wrote, with a few changes so it won't seem out of context.

I remember watching a little bit of the hardbat doubles match where Cheng Yinghua played with Julian Waters [at a USA Nationals about ten years ago]. However, Cheng didn't really practice for that match, other than a short warm-up with Julian. As I mentioned in my blog, it was only after about half an hour of intense practice with me that a light bulb sort of went off in his head, and from there on he dominated. If Cheng at that moment had then played doubles with Julian, he would have dominated the match and you would have been duly impressed with his attacking and counterhitting.

He also can chop surprisingly well, since he chops to students regularly with various rackets. However, one of the things I learned long ago about hardbat is that chopping hardbat to hardbat is very different than chopping against a sponge looper, which is what Cheng is used to. This is why Derek May's chopping with a hardbat isn't as effective as Steve Berger's, even though Derek is a far better chopper in the sponge game. While Cheng's hardbat chopping would dominate most players, the best hardbatters wouldn't have a lot of trouble with it. When you chop hardbat to hardbat, you have to learn to dig into the ball more aggressively than with sponge or against a loop, and you have to do a lot of spin variation. If you don't, the better attackers will go right through you. This is why, for example, Marty Reisman once beat a 2000 sponge chopper 21-0, since the chopper was only getting balls back without doing anything to make Reisman miss.

In a hypothetical match with Miles, assuming Cheng (at his peak) practiced for many months, I don't know what would happen. I do know that both players would have to work very hard for the match. In any hitting/counter-hitting duel at less than smashing speeds, Cheng would dominate. So Miles would be chopping and pick-hitting - no big deal, since that's primarily his game. When Miles pick-hits at full speed, that's where Cheng would be at a disadvantage as it is very difficult to counter-hit or even block against a smash with a hardbat, while it is surprisingly easy, for the best hardbatters, to chop them back from off the table - and Cheng doesn't really have that in his arsenal at a comparable level.

But Miles would have his hands full because Cheng's not going to have much trouble reading his changing spins, and would be attacking pretty hard with few mistakes. (But he won't have a devastating point-ending loop.) At his peak (i.e. when he was much younger), Cheng could hit as hard as the best. Of course Miles can return nearly everything, and the varied spin will force mistakes. If he does enough stiff chops, Cheng will eventually push or drive one soft, and that's when Miles might go for the smash. There would be great rallies because both of these players are incredibly consistent at what they do - Cheng attacking aggressively, Miles chopping aggressively.

One unknown is how well Cheng would develop his drop shot against Miles' chopping. Cheng has great touch in dropping spinny serves short with sponge, and showed nice touch with a hardbat when I played him, but we don't know how well his sponge touch, after a few months of practice, would convert to hardbat touch and instincts at the level needed. On the other hand, I have a feeling Cheng would play a patient topspin game, mixing in hard, medium, and soft topspins while he looks for a shot to put away, and so wouldn't drop shot too much.

Regarding serves, it's not just the hidden serves that'll give Miles trouble as much as the semi-circular serves, where Cheng can use a fast motion and give varied spins that are difficult to read, something that Miles not only said nobody did in his day but to the end told me he didn't believe it was possible to do. (I had a long argument with him on this, pointing out that many 1800 players can do this, but he really didn't believe me.) However, I'm sure that Miles would have adjusted and would have been able to chop most of the serves back effectively, though the serves would wear him down a bit for a few points at least each game. (If he had to attack the serves, then he would have had far greater difficulty, but chopping allows you to take the ball as late as possible and just float it back.)

It's sort of funny to me that most people are either on one "side" or the other - they either think Miles would kill Cheng, or that Cheng would kill Miles. I'm pretty sure it's somewhere in between. Miles has the advantage that he was about the best of the hardbat players in his era. Cheng has the advantage that he systematically trained his attacking strokes, footwork, and reflexes eight hours/day from age five to about 25, and has modern serving techniques Miles never saw. As good as Miles was, I don't think he could compete with the best out of thousands of kids training full-time from age five with a hardbat with top practice partners and under the tutelage of professional coaches (teaching both hardbat and modern techniques, such as modern serves), but of course Cheng did that training with sponge, and so never developed the hardbat defensive game, though his sponge attack and counter-hitting does convert rather well to hardbat. Overall, we're talking one heck of a nice match, and I would love to see it. Anyone got a time machine?

I don't think most current world-class players could convert to hardbat and challenge the very best hardbatters of the past. Every one is different, and some are more adaptable to change than others. A player like Cheng, whose game is based on control, is better at adapting then, say, an all-out two-winged power looper. But any world-class player, with practice, is going to dominate with a hardbat against all but the best current hardbat players.

Liu Guoliang's Love Story

Here's an article about Liu Guoliang falling in love at age 16, and the problems that ensued since the Chinese team had strict rules about this type of thing. Liu's most romantic memory? "Walking in the rain." 

SportsCenter's Top Ten Plays

David Wetherill of Great Britain made #1 on SportsCenter's Top 10 Plays with a diving shot off a crutch. Here's a link to the video of the match (42:49), which should take you straight to the where the shot takes place, just after 37:30.

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