Larry Hodges' Blog and Tip of the Week will go up on Mondays by noon 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 eight books and over 1500 articles on table tennis. Here is his bio. (Larry was awarded the USATT Lifetime Achievement Award in July, 2018.)
NOTE - Larry is on the USATT Board of Directors and chairs the USATT Coaching Committee, but the views he shares in his blog are his own, and do not necessarily represent the views of USA Table Tennis.
Blog is Now a Weekly
I have sad news. After 7.5 years of almost daily blogging (1800+ blogs), and much contemplation, I've decided to switch to once a week (probably Mondays), effective immediately. The reason is simple - while I'm still very active in table tennis, I'm also getting more and more involved with my science fiction writing. After doing the blog each morning, it's very hard to continue right into my SF writing - there's only so much mental energy in a day, especially when I often have to go straight from that to coaching at night. So I'll be focusing my writing on science fiction, both short stories and novels. (I just started a new novel.)
Another reason is harder to explain to non-fiction writers, but I'll try. When I write science fiction, especially novels that take many months to complete, I have to get completely immersed in it. Even little distractions take my mind off it, and then I'm done for the day as far as SF writing. So I'm trying to remove as many such distractions as possible. If I don't do this, I won't write SF nearly as much or as well, and someday I'll look back and regret it.
So I'll be blogging now every MONDAY morning, along with a Tip of the Week. I'm not 100% set on Mondays; I'm toying with doing it on Fridays instead. If anyone has any suggestions on the best day for this, comment below.
My private coaching is currently on hold due to my ongoing shoulder problems, and I don't know if I'll start that up again. I will continue with group sessions. As readers know, I've had shoulder problems all year, and after lots and lots of physical therapy, mostly to loosen the muscles around the actual injury, I now have looser (though still tight) muscles, but the shoulder still isn't healed - many movements are still painful. Doctors say this type of injury can take anywhere from six months to two years to completely heal. Their main focus has been on loosening the muscles that were pulling on it, though it's still not 100% certain what the specific problem is, though it's likely the slightly shredded rotator cuff, along with tendinitis and bursitis.
As to my science fiction writing, in September I have a short story coming out in Analog, the largest circulation science fiction magazine in the English language (I think there's one in Chinese that's larger), and a number of others. Mike Resnick, the editor of Galaxy's Edge Magazine (one of the big "pro" magazines that's bought 14 of my short stories) and who as a writer holds the record of 37 Hugo and Nebula award nominations (the annual SF awards), wrote to me recently saying, "Don't let this go to your head...but you're too good -not- to make a living as a [SF] writer." When I told him I was now working on a new SF novel, he wrote, "OK, you get to live."
My SF writing career has been taking off - I now have four novels and 92 short stories sold. Here's my bibliography.
Where should you go for your regular table tennis news, including coaching? Here is a selection of pages that have regular news items that often focus on coaching.
And here's the Ping-Pong Kid (3:03) - Nick Rudd - doing ping-pong tricks!
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Send us your own coaching news!
Table Tennis Coaching Back Up Again - Sort Of
As you probably noticed, the site has been down since Friday morning, July 13. It literally went down minutes before I posted my Friday blog, which I wasn't able to post. My technical person wasn't able to resolve the issue until last night. What had happened was the "Access Log" went over 1 GB, causing an "overload of MySQL resources."
Unfortunately, due to some unforeseen side problem, the site almost immediately went down again. Hopefully it'll be up soon. Below is the Monday blog, where I took the Friday blog and added lots of new stuff. I was planning on blogs on Fri, Mon, Tue, and Wed (mostly covering the Nationals), but couldn't do them since the site was down.
Last Blog Until August 1
Now the really bad news. I was out of town recently for 3.5 weeks (World Veterans and Nationals), and Thursday I'm going out of town again! I'll be away July 19-29, and so won't be blogging during that time. (I'm off to my annual science fiction writing workshop vacation in Manchester, NH.) After this I hopefully won't be missing any more days for a while.
Tip of the Week
Follow Through Back Into Position After Forehand Looping.
$10,000 Jim Butler - A.J. Carney Hardbat Challenge
Here's the video (91 min) of this challenge match that took place at the U.S. Nationals, on Saturday, July 7 at 1:30PM, with Adam Bobrow commentating. I'm sitting next to him, and occasionally comment to him. Initially the match was to be on one of the feature stadium tables, but with the tournament almost over tables were being taken down and moved into trucks, and the opening for the trucks meant that one side was looking into a glare. So they moved to another table. At 10:40 you can see the $10,000 cash. The match itself starts about 11 minutes in.
The challenge was initiated by A.J., and agreed to by Jim. The deal - best of seven to 21 - yes, you read that right! - with each putting up $5000 in cash. A.J. has dominated the U.S. hardbat world the last few years, while Jim dominated it for a number of years before that.
SPOILER ALERT! - Jim wins the match, 4-2: 15,-16,7,11,-15,19. There were two key turning points.
Here's my assessment of the two players. (Disclosure - A.J. and I are defending Hardbat Doubles Champions from the U.S. Open in December.)
JIM BUTLER
A.J. CARNEY
Thursday's Links
Last Thursday (July 12) was my first blog after being out of town for 3.5 weeks, and it was loaded with links to blogs and articles by some of our regular table tennis writers and videographers, including Samson Dubina, Tom Lodziak, Eli Baraty, Jon Gustavson, Shashin Shodhan, Emratthich, and PingSkills. Why not browse over some of the ones you didn't get to yet?
Maryland Table Tennis Center Featured!
Here are three new articles or videos that feature my club, MDTTC, or its players!
Banana Flip
Here's the video (5:12) from PingSkills.
3 Tips to Improve Your Table Tennis Serve
Here's the video (4:15) from Eli Baraty.
Tuning Footwork from Backhand to Forehand
Here's the video (3:26). I think they mean "Turning."
Korea Open
Here's the ITTF home page for the event, July 19-22 in Daejeon, South Korea.
Pan Am Juniors and USATT News
The USA Junior Team won six of the seven gold medals! Here's the USATT news page, with lots of articles on this and other topics. Here's the ITTF Pan Am Juniors page, with results, articles, pictures, and video.
Titles Defended, USA Triumph at Pan Am Junior Champs
Here's the article by Matt Hetherington on Team USA sweeping Girls' and Boys' Teams at the Pan Am Junior Championships. Here's the video (6:40) of them taking the podium. Here's the ITTF article, United States asserts authority, status justified. Singles and Doubles start next.
The Man Behind MH Table Tennis
Here's the video (9:39) featuring Matt Hetherington, who is also USATT's Media & Communications Director, and one of the hardest-working people in table tennis!
RIP: Dragutin Surbek
Here's the ITTF article, and another from the Croatia News. Reading this was sort of a "wow!" moment for me as Surbek was the first top international player I ever met - sort of. At the 1976 U.S. Open in Philadelphia, my first big tournament, I went out to lunch and sat at the counter at some diner. In walks the Yugoslavian stars, world #3 Surbek and Milivoj Karakasevic (father of future star Aleksandar). There were only two open seats - one on either side of me. So Surbek sits to my left, Milivoj to my right, and they spent the whole meal leaning back and talking to each other in one of the languages of Yugoslavia, while I sat frozen in awe. Surbek went on to win the tournament.
U.S. Nationals Ratings
They're up!
Comfortable with the Uncomfortable - Secret Table Tennis
Here's the article from Eli Baraty.
Jin Ueda's Backspin Touch is NEXT LEVEL!
Here's the video (17 sec). (Jin is world #26 from Japan.) Many players think that short pushes have little backspin, but world-class players put surprisingly amounts of backspin on the ball when they push short. It's that very grazing motion that creates the backspin that also gives them touch, since grazing the ball puts little forward motion on the ball, and that, along with the backspin, keep the ball short.
Technique Tutorial - Backhand Topspin
Here's the video (6:02), in Chinese but the demos are good.
Zhang Jike Forehand Topspin Loop
Here's the video (5:06).
Barrier-Blinding Footwork?
Here's the video (14 sec)! I presume the drill forces the player to react quickly to the incoming ball.
How Table Tennis Balls Are Made
Here's the video (8:25) showing how plastic balls are made.
Dhiren Narotam Profile
Here it is! Five new members of the USATT Hall of Fame were inducted at the Hall of Fame banquet during the U.S. Nationals. Each of them will eventually have their own Hall of Fame profile. Dhiren's was written by Paul Lewis, and is the first of the profiles not written by Tim Boggan.
Doru Gheorghe, Contribution Acknowledged, Inducted into United States Table Tennis Hall of Fame
Here's the ITTF article. Others inducted were Aili Elliott (Li Ai), Henan Li Ai, Dhiren Narotam, and Norman Bass Jr., plus the Lifetime Achievement Award to yours truly.
Minimising the Risk, Croatian Star to Focus Efforts on Recovery
Here's the ITTF article on the world #39, Andrej Gacina.
Mattias Karlsson | Ask a Pro Anything
Here's the video (6:21) by Adam Bobrow on the world #18 from Sweden.
Former Rock Publicist Took Up Table Tennis at 69, Now She's a Rising Star
Here's the article featuring Carol Klenfner.
Ian's 2020 Paralympic Journey
Here's the GoFundMe page for Ian Seidenfeld, who is trying to raise money to go to the 2020 Paralympics. Here's the start of his intro:
"Dear Friends and Family, I am honored to be a member of the U.S. Para Table Tennis Team with hopes of representing Team USA in the 2020 Paralympics in Tokyo, Japan. Many of you have supported my table tennis endeavors over the past several years and I hope you will continue your support throughout the remainder of the Paralympic Quadrennium.
"My Paralympic journey started well before I began playing table tennis. l was born with pseudo-achondroplasia, a type of dwarfism characterized by shortness of limbs and orthopedic issues related to bone and joint development. As a result, I encounter severe pain in my knees and hips. But at the same time, it is my physical disability that allows me to pursue my ultimate goal of going to the Paralympics."
History of USATT – Volume 21 – Chapter 8
Here’s chapter 8 of Tim Boggan's latest volume, which covers 1993-1994. Or you can buy it and previous (and future) volumes at www.timboggantabletennis.com. Chapter 8 covers "1994 International Play." Volume 21 is 438 pages with 1667 graphics, and covers all the wild things that happened in 1994-95 - and I'm mentioned a lot! Why not buy a copy - or the entire set at a discount? Tim sells them directly, so when you order them, you get it autographed - order your copy now!
Jason and Alex Piech at the Nationals
Here's the video (1:56)!
Water Pong
Here's the video (34 sec)!
Classroom Desk Pong
Here's the video (16 sec).
Hitler Reacts to ITTF's Game-Changing Announcement
Here's the video (4 min)!
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Send us your own coaching news!
NOTE - Due to technical problems, the site went down Friday morning and didn't come back up until Monday night. (The problem was the "Access Log," which went over 1 GB, causing an "overload of MySQL resources.") Now that it's back I'll be blogging again on Tuesday morning.
Tip of the Week
Pinpoint Your Weakness and Then Pinpoint a Drill. (I linked to this yesterday in my short blog, but thought I'd link again for those who missed it.)
Three Weeks in Las Vegas
I could write a book about all that happened these past three weeks in Las Vegas - or does what happen in Vegas stay in Vegas? In my last blog before leaving, June 13, I wrote about my schedule, and it pretty much went as listed. I spent the first week writing 23 articles on the World Veterans - see segment and links below. Then I had a four-day reading/writing vacation. Then we had a three-day camp for MDTTC juniors where they did two sessions/day, about 2.5 hours each. And then a week of coaching at the U.S. Nationals. (See segment below with results.) I'll likely do several blogs on the various happenings, such as the Hall of Fame Banquet, the norovirus stomach virus outbreak (I spent the day before the Nationals sick in bed, along with many others) the USATT board meeting, discussions on national team selection process and hidden serve enforcement, the mini-table tournament, and the $10,000 Jim Butler-A.J. Carney hardbat challenge match.
Since this is primarily a coaching blog, I'll start with coaching highlights. We had 16 junior players from MDTTC at the Nationals, with seven coaches. Each night Wen Hsu from the HW Global Foundation (which runs the Talent Development Program at MDTTC - I'm one of their coaches - and raised the money to fund our coaches to the Nationals) posted our coaching schedule for the next day. I was primarily responsible for three players.
The key to great coaching at a tournament is players who are prepared!!! Coaching a match can seem like pushing buttons, but if you push the button for a short serve and get a long serve instead, you aren't going to be successful in your "coaching." Fortunately, the players were well prepared, both before arriving in Las Vegas and during the three-day camp. It's the player's responsibility to be prepared, and the coach's responsibility to make sure they are prepared and to know what the player can do - and if they work together, you get pretty good results. Coaches often get credit for tactical advice, but the players have to have developed the tools needed, and be able to execute them under great pressure. That ain't easy!
MDTTC has a history of starting out poorly at the Nationals and Open in Las Vegas, for a very simple reason - the kids would often fly 3000 miles the day before, and so were disoriented by the change in time zone (three hours earlier), thinner air (1000 feet elevation, which affects the ball in subtle ways), and different playing conditions (tables, balls, and background). The three-day camp solved this problem, and our players played really well right from the start. I coached over 40 matches during the tournament over five days. (None of our players played on the last day, Saturday.)
I had two coaching highlights on the first day. A kid I was coaching was down 0-2 in games and 8-10 match point to a player rated over 200 points higher. I called a timeout and said, "Serve fast no-spin to his middle. If it works, do it again." I knew the player could do this serve - he'd been practicing it. Sure enough, the opponent missed it - both times! The player did it again at 11-10 to win the game and went on to win the match. Perfect execution.
Later that same day I had another kid down 0-2 in games and at 9-all in the third, also against a player about 200 points higher. (I mistakenly told some he was also down 8-10 match point, but had the score mixed up.) Again I called a timeout, and again said the exact same words: "Serve fast no-spin to his middle. If it works, do it again." Once again it worked, the player deuced it, and went on to win in five! Perfect execution.
Later in the tournament I coached a pair of kids in one of the rating doubles events. They were up against a pair of elderly penhold hitters. They were down 1-2 in games and 4-9 in the third, but I didn't call a timeout yet. They scored three in a row to make it 7-9. Then, controversially, I called a timeout. Normally you don't call a timeout when your team has just won three in a row, but I had my reasons. They were about to serve, and I wanted to go over the serve with them. The kid serving had a tendency to serve deep, which he sometimes got away with here since the receiver couldn't loop. But the previous time he'd served the opponent had hit those serves. I told him to focus on doing a slow, spinny sidespin tomahawk serve, and with his back to the opponents, even had him shadow-practice it. Then he went out and did the serve. Perfect execution! Sure enough, the receiver pushed it about five feet to the side - twice in a row! They went on to win the match.
Several of the kids discovered the value of a simple short no-spin serve to the middle, while faking backspin. They do this in practice, but against players who they play regularly and so are used to it. Against new players, the balls were often popped up, pushed back weakly, or flipped erratically, and without any extreme angled returns (as is easier to do against serves to the forehand or backhand). They were able to serve and attack over and over off this serve, especially by mixing the no-spins up with backspin and sidespin serves, and sudden deep serves, and by varying the placement.
We had some great results at the tournament. Our best result was in Under 10 Boys, where Stanley Hsu came in first, with Mu Du and Andy Wu both making the semifinals - we had three of the four semifinalists. They had come in seeded #1, #3, and #4. All three had great tournaments, both results- and rating-wise, and if others don't also go up, will likely come out as #1-3 in the country. (However, the #2 seed will likely go up as well.)
I also ran the USATT Coaching University Serve & Receive Tactics Seminar on Tuesday night. The lecture & demos went 90 minutes, then I stayed another 30 minutes working individually with players who stayed late to practice. I went pretty much by the topics listed on the flyer. One change - the flyer has "Long Serves" and "Short Serve," which I changed to "Long, Short, and Half-Long Serves."
During my three-week trip I read nine books (often in the hot tub at night and in bed afterwards), wrote three new short science fiction stories (during the four-day reading/writing vacation), and saw two movies ("The Incredibles 2" and "Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom").
USA Nationals
Here are the results! (Set dropdown menu at top to "2018 US Nationals.") The event was held in Las Vegas, July 2-7. Here are two feature news articles by Matt Hetherington.
World Veterans Championships
They were held in Las Vegas, June 18-24. I was there doing daily online news coverage and ended up writing 23 stories. Here are some links.
Pan Am Junior Championships
Here's their home page, with results, etc. The USA Boys' Team is in the final against Argentina, the USA Girls' Team in the final against Canada.
USATT News
Here's their news page - lots of stuff was posted during my 3.5 week hiatus. Most recent news items are on the Pan Am Junior Championships.
Focusing Forward, Top Coaches Meet with High Performance in Mind
Here's the article by Matt Hetherington. Alas, I had to miss this meeting as it was inadvertently scheduled at the same time as my Serve and Receive Tactics Seminar (which had 33 players).
New from Samson Dubina
New from Tom Lodziak
New from Eli Baraty
New from Coach Jon
New from Fremont Table Tennis (Shashin Shodhan)
New from EmRatThich
New from PingSkills
Tom's Table Tennis Tips
Here's the most recent newsletter from Tom Lodziak.
What Should You Eat To Improve Performance In Table Tennis?
Here's the article from Ping That Pong.
Butterfly Amicus Prime Table Tennis Robot
Here's the article by Larry Thoman. (Disclosure: I'm sponsored by Butterfly.)
How Table Tennis Rubber is Made
Here's the video (3:34).
Maria Sharapova Tries Her Hand at Table Tennis After Wimbledon Exit
Here's the article from India Today.
Juggling Pong
Here's the video (2:24)!
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I Need One More Day - Really!!!
After being away 3.5 weeks, I returned on Monday to an overwhelming todo list that took half a day just to put together. I need one more day to tackle that list before returning to daily blogging. However, the Tip of the Week is up: Pinpoint Your Weakness and Then Pinpoint a Drill. And here's a video (24 sec) of someone playing with an oven tray. Don't tell me you haven't dreamed of doing that!
World Veterans Articles
I am writing numerous daily articles for the World Veterans Championships in Las Vegas, June 18-24 (along with Matt Hetherington and Richard Finn). Come on over and read these articles that feature such champions as Istvan Jonyer, USATT Hall of Famers, many more!
Last Blog Until Wednesday, July 11 12
As noted below, I'll be out of town 3.5 weeks. See you in July!
Upcoming Schedule and Events
A detailed, day-by-day schedule of the next 3.5 weeks.
Pyongyang Open
Here's the home page for the event starting today in North Korea, June 13-17. (It's the last event on the ITTF Tour until the Korean Open, July 17-18.)
USATT Tournament Promotion Guide
Here it is, for those of you who missed it before. It was created by Matt Hetherington.
Root of the Problem: Are you looking for it?
Here's the article from Samson Dubina.
Ohio Mega Camp
Here's the article and six videos from this camp run last week by Samson Dubina. The videos include a highlights video and five lectures/demonstrations.
Training 101
Here's the new series of videos from PingSkills, which are free. "Our latest set of tutorials titled training 101 is now complete and available on the PingSkills website. There are 10 lessons designed for someone just starting out in table tennis or for someone looking to coach someone new to the game. Each session builds upon the last and presents some fun activities to help learn all about the important strokes in table tennis, and of course how to spin and how to counter spin."
Show #312 - Tomokazu Harimoto
Here's the new podcast (33:29) from PingSkills. This week they cover:
How to Backhand Flick Like Fan Zhendong!
Here's the video (2:40) from Table Tennis Daily.
The Deadly Strawberry Flick
Here's the video (3:41), where they demonstrate the opposite of the banana flick (or flip). Here's another, the Xu Xin Strawberry Flick (4:41).
Zhang Jike Forehand Loop
Here's the video (1:27).
Table Tennis Fans Flood Sina Weibo Calling for Return of Ex-Boss Liu Guoliang
Here's the article from the South China Morning Post (in English).
Legendary German Powerhouse, Rosskopf, Looks Ahead to Vegas
Here's the USATT article by Matt Hetherington.
Meet Yogesh Desai - Table Tennis Ironman
Here's the USATT article by Richard Finn.
Meet the Olympian Bringing Table Tennis to Freehold
Here's the article featuring Lily Yip, from App Magazine.
Table Tennis Tidbits #41: Teens and Twenties Triumph
Here's the article by Robert Ho.
The Tragedy of Decidophobia in Table Tennis
Here's the article by Coach Jon. "It turns out that there is a lot to be afraid of in table tennis!"
Where Are They Now? Anderson College Series
Here's the article by Steve Hopkins.
History of USATT – Volume 21 – Chapter 3
Here’s chapter 3 of Tim Boggan's latest volume, which covers 1993-1994. Or you can buy it and previous (and future) volumes at www.timboggantabletennis.com. Volume 21 is 438 pages with 1667 graphics, and covers all the wild things that happened in 1994-95 - and I'm mentioned a lot! Why not buy a copy - or the entire set at a discount? Tim sells them directly, so when you order them, you get it autographed - order your copy now!
Real-Time Tracking of a Table Tennis Ball
Here's the article. The full title is, "Research on real – time tracking of table tennis ball based on machine learning with low-speed camera."
Ito Mima vs Wang Manyu: 2018 Japan Open Highlights (Final)
Here's the video (12:33). Note - I linked to videos of the Tomokazu Harimoto-Zhang Jike Men's Final on Monday, along with Harimoto's SF with Lee Sangsu and QF with Ma Long.
Martin Jezo and Ronald Chen Exhibition
Here's the video (60 sec) as the two put on an impromptu exhibition at MDTTC.
Talented Ping-Pong Players Put on Mesmerizing Display Using SIX Balls
Here's the article and video (2:31).
Table Tennis Event Smashes the Salt Lake Scene
Here's the video (6:05) from Park City Television.
Ping-Pong T-Shirts
Here's an interesting selection from Fitness Magazine.
Table Tennis Emojis
Here they are.
These Ping-Pong Shots Are Dope
Here's the video (70 sec) of trick shots. I most appreciate the very first one, through the house of cards. Think about it - when trying this out, every time he missed he had to rebuild the thing!
Two Dogs Playing Table Tennis
Here's the repeating gif. (I may have run this once, long ago.)
Star Wars Power Paddle
Here's the page with it. Scroll down further and you'll get the "Come Along Ping Pong Paddle" at the Barbican."
Table Tennis Cartoon Animals
Here are a few. Just Google "Table Tennis Cartoon ANIMAL," and replace ANIMAL with your choice of, well anything. "Cartoon" is optional.
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Send us your own coaching news!
Tuesday - No Blog
I have a bunch of work being done on my house early on Tuesday morning, and a horde of things on my todo list to get done before I go out of town Thursday morning for 3.5 weeks. So no blog on Tuesday. See you on Wednesday! That, alas, will be my last blog for 3.5 weeks, where I'll be at a family gathering for three days in Eugene, OR; and then three weeks in Las Vegas - the World Veterans (one week); a one-week writing/reading "vacation" (though I'll also be helping to run a 3-day mini-camp before the Nationals); and then the USA Nationals.
Tip of the Week
How to Make Your Strengths Stronger with Serve and Receive.
What Makes Tomokazu Harimoto So Good
The Japanese whiz kid won't turn 15 until June 27, and yet he just won the Japan Open as a 14-year-old. This wasn't his first Pro Tour win - he won the Czech Open last year two months after turning 14. But that time he beat Hugo Calderano of Brazil in the semifinals and Timo Boll of Germany in the final. While beating Boll was an incredible victory for Harimoto, this one just seemed different as he beat world #2 (and really, the best player in the world) Ma Long in the quarterfinals, world #8 Lee Sangsu in the semifinals, and in the final won 13-11 in the seventh against Zhang Jike, who seems nearly back to his old form. (See segment below on Japan Open for more info.)
Before this tournament, Harimoto was ranked #10 in the world, and that seemed accurate. Now? I'd say he's firmly proven that he can compete with the very best. Does this mean he's better than Ma Long? No - I'd still bet on Ma Long next time out. But I think Harimoto should legitimately be #3 or #4 in the world. At this point, he's on a par with Ovcharov, and breathing down the necks of Ma Long and Fan Zhendong.
I suspect that part of this is because of the removal of Liu Guoliang as head coach last year of the Chinese team. He was great at preparing players for each event and each match. There's a really good chance that he would have better prepared Ma and Zhang for Harimoto. This type of thing makes a big difference. But we'll never really know, will we? We just know that while Liu was coach, the Chinese dominated and beat all challengers. As soon as he left, the elderly Timo Boll and Ovtcharov began to challenge beat them, and now a 14-year-old is beating them.
Being the youngest to win a Pro Tour Event isn't a guarantee of great success. Before Harimoto broke his record, the youngest male Pro Tour winner was China's Yu Ziyang, who won the 2014 Japan Open at age 16. Yet his highest world ranking ever was #20, and he's currently listed as #372 (mostly due to inactivity). But Harimoto seems a lot higher in level than Yu was, so barring injuries or unforeseen happenings, I can't see Harimoto not becoming the dominating best in the world in the next few years.
Harimoto wasn't the only Japanese player to upset the Chinese - Mima Ito won Women's Singles. See Japan Open below and article on Japanese Teenagers.
So, how is Harimoto at age 14 able to compete and win against the world's best? I watched videos of his matches at the Japan Open, and especially against Ma Long. Here are the quarterfinals, semifinals, and final of the Japan Open for Harimoto.
Here are six things he does about as well or better than anyone else.
Since I wrote about Harimoto's hidden serve, let's take a look at it, as well as Ma Long's, since both illegally hide the serve. Here are two sequences from their quarterfinal match. (It was tricky finding good sequences at the right angle. Now I wish I'd just used the first serve Harimoto did on the far side, this one, where he does the same subtle hiding as in the one below.) Note how Harimoto keeps the ball visible until just before contact, and only barely hides it? Then compare that with Ma Long. Both hide the ball by a last-second forward thrust of their head, but the ball goes way behind Ma Long's head so the ball obviously disappears. Before, I would have said Ma Long's hidden serve was subtle, as he waits until the last second before thrusting the head forward, making it impossible for umpires to see if the ball was visible or not. But Harimoto seems to take it to a new level, making it difficult even for the opponent to tell if the ball was hidden at contact as there's only that split second where the ball is hidden (or sometimes not, to keep receivers guessing), as opposed to Ma Long, where the ball so clearly goes behind his head. (I only did two photos for Ma Long as no more is needed to show how much more his serve goes behind his head.)
Harimoto:
Ma Long:
Japan Open
Here's the home page for the event, which ended yesterday in Kitakyushu, JPN, June 8-10. Here are some key articles - there are many more in their News section. Results are linked from the Information section.
Butterfly Training Tips With Brian Pace – featuring Shigang Yang: Forehand Flip With Multi-ball Training
Here's the article and video (1:20).
How to Improve Rotation in Topspin
Here's the video (34 sec) from the European Table Tennis Union.
New from EmRatThich
Interview with Iva Laginja, 2018 Maryland State Women’s Singles Champion
Here's the interview by Ayan Bagchi. "Ms. Iva Laginja is a 25-year-old Croatian born Austrian who moved to Baltimore, MD eight months ago to work at the Space Telescope Science Institute. She has recently completed her Master’s degree in Astronomy and Instrumentation from Leiden University (Netherlands) and two undergraduate degrees in Astronomy and Physics from the University of Vienna (Austria)."
ITTF World Junior Circuit - Where is USA?
Here's the article by Bruce Liu. While I believe it was the rise of full-time training centers that led to the rise of USA's juniors - you can't compete with the full-time training overseas if all you mostly have part-time players training in part-time clubs, which was the USA reality until full-time clubs began popping up, mostly in the last 10-15 years - he makes a good point that bringing the World Junior Championships or a similar event great spurs table tennis activity, as he explains.
Australia and United States Combine, Turn Tables on China
Here's the ITTF article on the 2018 Cook Islands Junior and Cadet Open in Rarotonga.
Table Tennis Superstars | 10 & 12-Year-Old Brothers
Here's the video (7:14) featuring Sid and Nandan Naresh. "12-year-old Sid Naresh and his 10 year-old brother, Nandan, already have their eyes set on playing professional table tennis."
2018 China Open: Ball Kids
Here's the video (58 sec).
Don’t Suffer from the Same Nightmare as Timo Boll!
Here's the video (1:50).
Romantic Dinner Trick Shots
Here's the video (2:01) from Pongfinity.
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Ma Long Forehand Loop
Here's a new ITTF video (56 sec) showing the world's best (though technically ranked #2) in real time and slow motion! Let's take a look at it, piece by piece. I'm including four still images from the video. (Note that when I say power, that means both speed and spin.)
BACKSWING. Let's jump to eight seconds in, where they show his backswing in slow motion. Key points:
START OF FORWARD SWING. Key points:
CONCTACT. Key points:
FOLLOW-THROUGH. The most important thing? It should be a natural follow to the stroke itself. Key points:
Here's slow motion video of Ma Long looping against backspin starting about 12 seconds in). The main differences here are that there's more upward motion, his head moves more forward (since there's no rush to return to ready position), and if you look closely, now he's using even more wrist.
Thursday Beginning Junior Class
I teach two beginning junior classes each week, on Thursdays and Sundays. We had our final Thursday session of the season last night, with the final Sunday session this weekend. As usual, on our final session we did "player's choice," where the players choose what they want to work on; then we did smash against lob, always a favorite, where they took turns smashing against my lobs and Coach John Hsu's. As usual we finished with games - this time I introduced them to Table Tennis Tic Tac Toe (TTTTT), as demonstrated in this video (64 sec) from Maria Ingles that I posted yesterday.
So no more beginning classes until late August - but now it's Summer Camp time!!! Yep, camps all summer long, Mon-Fri.
Japan Open
Here's the home page for the event, which starts today in Kitakyushu, JPN, June 8-10. But because they are on the other side of the world, that means their "today" is already done! Here's the Japan Open Day 1 Review (2:02). Here's video (52:22) of world #4 Timo Boll's opening match against Tanaka Yuta (world #331) of Japan. Ma Long is top seed, no Fan Zhendong or Dimitrij Ovtcharov, so there's a good chance of a Boll-Ma Long final in Men's Singles - but Zhang Jike is also in Boll's half. As of this writing, Boll is already in the QF against Kenta Matsudaira of Japan, with Ma Long a round behind and up against Maharu Yoshimura of Japan - followed by a likely quarterfinal clash between Ma Long and Japan whiz kid Tomokazu Harimoto, #10 in the world at 15. On the Women's side, no serious upsets as of yet.
Table Tennis Diplomacy
Here's the article by Eli Baraty. "I am a great believer in table tennis diplomacy and Diplomacy as a whole. Many years ago a great event occurred called Ping Pong Diplomacy, In short, it's about how China opened their gates to America (click on the link to read about it). A month ago the table tennis world witnessed history once again but this time, I call it Table Tennis Diplomacy."
Even Younger Sora Matsushima, Next Child Prodigy
Here's the ITTF article. Japan keeps pumping out these child prodigies! China probably does as well, but they tend not to play internationally or get much public exposure until they are older. Many of the best Chinese first show up internationally when they are already among the top ten in the world or close to that. "Undoubtedly he oozes talent, the popular view being that at the same age he is ahead of Tomokazu Harimoto, a player who has left crowds open mouthed in recent years with wins against celebrated names."
Kelly van Zon, Most Celebrated Name on Duty
Here's the ITTF article. "Winner earlier this year in Lignano and Slovenia, Kelly van Zon of the Netherlands is the most decorated player on duty at the forthcoming 2018 Spanish Para Open which commences in Sant Cugat de Valles on Friday 8th June."
2018 Cook Islands Junior & Cadet Open – Breaking News
Here's the article by Bruce Liu.
Ping Pong (Table Tennis) Scenes - Movies
Here's the listing of 18 movies with lots of pictures!
Talking Tom and Friends - Ping Pong Wizard
Here's the animated table tennis cartoon (10:54)! The table is there from the start, but the real table tennis action starts at 1:35.
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Timo Boll Hand Switch at 2018 China Open - Revisited
Here's the video (45 sec), which I posted on Tuesday, of the point between Timo Boll of Germany (world #4) and Liang Jingkun of China, world #82. Let's look at it shot by shot. (Use the space bar to start/stop the action, and the left arrow to bring the video back 5 seconds - at least that's what it does on mine.) Note that Liang will end up pulling off the upset, -5,9,10,-7,-4,9,5. At the time of this point, Boll is up 3-2 in games but Liang leads 9-5, and 9-6 after this point.
Japan Open
Here's the home page for the event, which takes place in Kitakyushu, JPN, June 8-10, starting tomorrow.
New World Rankings
Here they are. On the men's side, they are a bit saner than before with the best player in the world, Ma Long, moving from #6 to #2, after Fan Zhendong, the second best player in the world. (I think Ma has beaten Fan the last three times - that's what someone told me though I haven't checked it.) Overall, for the first time since they began the new system, the rankings look rather accurate on the men's side other than this. On the women's side, it's still hard to fathom that Ding Ning is #12, when she should be at the top with the other top Chinese - Chen Meng, Zhu Yuling, Wang Manyu, and Liu Shiwen, with Kasumi Ishikawa of Japan (#4) the only non-Chinese to break up that murderer's row.
3 Ways to Win a Table Tennis Point
Here's the article by Eli Baraty. "Each point is evidently different and no player plays the same way! But there are three different ways we approach a point or match."
How to Return a Topspin Serve
Here's the video (7:55) by Tom Lodziak.
Response to "Shut Up and Just Play"
Here's the article by Sean O’Connell.
WAB Club Feature: Atlanta International Table Tennis Academy
Here's the article by Steve Hopkins.
DHS ITTF Top 10 - 2018 Hong Kong Open
Here's the ITTF video (5:42).
Table Tennis Tic-Tac-Toe
Here's the video (64 sec) from Maria Ingles. I may try this out in my beginning junior class!
Insane Ping-Pong Gun
Here's the video (41 sec)!
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Waldner 2018
Many, perhaps most, consider Jan-Ove Waldner the greatest player of all time. I've never played him, but I've met and talked to him many times, even had lunch with him and other top Swedes when I interviewed them for an article. What would happen if he were in his prime today?
There's no way of making a perfect comparison. For one thing, Waldner played nearly his entire career with a 38mm ball, while we now use 40mm. Equipment has also gotten better. (Hidden serves are now "illegal," but it isn't really enforced, so that part won't affect him. Games to 11 instead of 21 won't make much of a difference.) So how would he do? Keep in mind that nearly always the next generation is "better" than the previous generation, with better techniques, better training, and better equipment. Only a true phenom like Waldner could hope to compete with players a couple generations later. (Of course, if Waldner were to have developed in modern times, he'd have access to these better techniques, training, and equipment, but we're going to look at him as he actually was, not as he might have been.)
First, note that "greatest" is not the same as "best." Victor Barna is one of the greatest players of all time - he won Men's Singles at the Worlds five times. But I'm pretty sure that if I could go back in time when I was at my peak and play him when he was at his peak, using the rules at the time, I'd beat him easily, since I'll using Tenergy and throwing loops and serves at him that he's never seen before, and he'll be stuck with a hardbat. Similarly, the best modern swimmers are all faster than Mark Spitz, but he won seven gold medals at one Olympics, setting a world record in each of them. The best modern swimmers are better than Spitz, but Spitz was greater than all of the ones not named Phelps or Ledecky.
Getting back to Waldner, I think Ma Long has a better game than Waldner. He simply has too much firepower. But there's a catch - that's only after he's played Waldner at least once, perhaps more. Players who have played Waldner pretty much all report the same thing about, how uncomfortable it is to play him with all his misdirection, change of pace, and variety. These days nearly all coaches turn players into mini-Ma Longs or something close, and so the things that Waldner did to make players uncomfortable is mostly a lost art. It's not a matter of a player suddenly deciding he's going to try to change the pace or use misdirection; he'd have to have done it since he was a kid, while developing, so it's natural and instinctive, as it was with Waldner. Then you use these techniques as just another part of your game, to be used at the appropriate time, while focusing on the modern all-out two-winged looping game.
Keep in mind that as good as Ma Long is, none of his shots are that much better than Waldner. He has a slightly better forehand, slightly better backhand, slightly faster footwork, and with his banana flip, is better at attacking short serves with his backhand. (In fact, that's probably the shot where he's most ahead of Waldner.) But Waldner had a masterful forehand - not quite as powerful as Ma Long, but dominant because of placement and consistency. Ma Long also has a better backhand attack from close to the table, but Waldner mostly (not completely) offsets that with his more all-around skills - he can loop, hit, or block, and his blocking is far better and among the best ever. Shot for shot, Ma Long seems to have an edge in almost any type of rally, though Waldner had more dominant serves, among the best of all time.
So what is my conclusion? If Waldner were to suddenly show up in his prime, and ignoring the nitty details about the different ball size, etc., I think he'd cause havoc at first. Keep in mind that Timo Boll is 37 and still one of the five best players in the world - and he was never as good as Waldner at his best. In his first outings with Ma Long and Fan Zhendong, Waldner would give them great difficulty as they adjust to a game they haven't really seen, while Waldner will be a bit more comfortable against their styles. I'm not sure who would win at first, but I think it would be close at the start. But after they've played a few times, Ma Long's overall game would prevail, and Waldner would drop down a few spots in the rankings - my guess is he'd be #3, after Ma Long and Fan Zhendong, and he'd battle with them as well or slightly better than Timo Boll and Dimitrij Ovtcharov.
But the repercussions of Waldner showing up now in his prime? Suddenly the things he does that few others do would once again be on display. Players would see how effective it is to have misdirection, change of pace, and variety, and want to add those aspects to their games. And coaches would have a pretext to teach this part of the game early on, where before they felt compelled to teach only the "modern" game of relentless attack. Perhaps rather than attacking ten balls it would be better to throw something different 10-20% of the time, and catch the opponent off guard as Waldner did so well?
Of course, one problem is that most of the stuff Waldner does that I'm talking about was self-taught, so it's more important for a coach to encourage and guide it while the player experiments and finds out what works and when. You don't just throw a change-of-pace or misdirection shot at an opponent who is in position and ready for it - you do it when it will catch him off guard and set up a follow-up shot.
The key point is that the modern game is more advanced than what players did in the past, but that we've gotten so much into turning players into clones of the current best that we ignore aspects of the game that, if developed, would enhance their games.
Starting Out in Table Tennis
Here's the video (50 min) from PingSkills. "In this episode of the PingSkills we talk about how we got started with table tennis, we talk about a young Timo Boll, and we answer some of your table tennis questions."
USATT Nominates Players for 2018 Pan American Junior Championships
Here's the USATT announcement by USATT High Performance Director Jörg Bitzigeio.
2018 China Open: Day 4 Review
Here's the video (2:30).
Table Tennis Presents Another Golden Opportunity for Sir Peter Snell
Here's the USATT article by Richard Finn. "In his prime Sir Peter Snell of New Zealand was one of the most accomplished and decorated middle distance runners of all time." … "Long retired from running, today as he approaches his 80th birthday Snell has adopted he same attitude to competing in his most recent athletic endeavor table tennis as he did when he was an Olympian.
Ma Long, Landmark in Reach but Still More Goals?
Here's the ITTF article. "Success at the recent Seamaster 2018 ITTF World Tour Platinum Kaisa China Open in Shenzhen means that Ma Long is just one win short of equalling the all-time ITTF World Tour Men’s Singles record of Vladimir Samsonov of Belarus, the owner of 27 such titles."
Zhang Yining Within Sight of Wang Manyu
Here's the ITTF article. "Like Wang Manyu from China, Guo Yue won four times in 2007 but the player to catch is their Chinese national team colleague Zhang Yining."
Champions Crowned at AGTTA Summer Open
Here's the article and video (35:06) by Brian Crisp of this tournament held this past Saturday in Atlanta.
Actor, Lead Villain, Fayed, in Hit Series 24 Joins Celebrity Lineup
Here's the article featuring table tennis hardbat & sandpaper star and actor Adoni Maropis. "We’re excited to announce THE FIRST of several Special Guests attending the Tenth Annual PingPongforCHARITY™ Events with Christian Laettner and Friends." … "Adoni has won the National Championship and US OPEN Championship in Hardbat and Sandpaper Ping Pong and represented the USA at the World Championships of Ping Pong twice at Alexandria Palace in England."
Pongfinity Trick Shots
Here's their latest!
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Tip of the Week
Footwork at Different Physical Levels.
Maryland State Championships . . . and Waldner
They were held this past weekend. My write-up (along with links to photos) is up at the USATT News site and the Butterfly News site - take your pick! The Butterfly one features a picture of the Under 4000 Doubles Finalists - and those two little 9-year-olds in the middle, Mu Du and Stanley Hsu, made it to the final, losing 15-13 in the fifth. They are rated 1789 and 1976! (Read about their exploits in the tournament article.) USATT featured the Open Doubles finalists, with Lidney Castro/Martin Jezo the winners over Jeffrey Zeng/Wang Qingliang.
Here are the ratings from the tournament, which went up yesterday. And in case you missed it from my mini-blog yesterday, here was the Point of the Tournament (55 sec), from the Men's Singles final between Lidney Castro and Wang Qingliang, care of PongMobile - the foremost way to view ratings!
Running a tournament can be exhausting. I think I received more emails and phone calls in advance of this tournament than just about any other I've ever run - and this was the 201st USATT sanctioned tournament I've run, all but two of them two days long. That makes exactly 400 days of running tournaments. This weekend I opened the club at 7:45AM each morning (play started at 9AM), and was there until 10:30PM both nights. I was also there from 6-11PM on Friday setting up (with great help from Mossa Barandao and Wen Hsu, as well as during the tournament). But I spent a huge amount of time the week before the tournament with those emails and phone calls. (And don't get me started on the time spent before that on scheduling, selecting and ordering trophies/plaques, and the zillion little things that you have to remember to do or the whole tournament comes collapsing down like the pyramids of plastic cups the younger kids like to construct and then knock down by smacking forehands and backhands.
Sunday from 4-5:30PM I ran off to the back tables to run the Beginning Junior Class, while Mossa and Wen kept things going at the control desk. The day's feature, after a bunch of standard drills, was backhand-to-backhand - how many can you do? Grace joined the 100 backhands in a row club - and she did 100 forehands last week.
I'm not sure how people keep getting my phone number as I try to do all tournament business by email. That way there's little chance of misunderstanding, there's a record of what was said, and I don't have to jump every time someone calls - with email I can get back to them after I finish with whatever I'm working on, though I always get back quickly. I also have a problem that I have great difficulty understanding accented voices over the phone, and over half of the calls are from people with accents - and so I'm constantly having to ask them to repeat what they say, which isn't fun. (I think my hearing is getting worse these days, alas.)
This morning I was going to write about how Waldner would have done if he played at his peak now, but when I got up this morning the power was out in my house - I have no idea why. It didn't come back on until about 9AM, and since I'm running short of time, I'll hold back on the Waldner blog until tomorrow. Writing about the tournament is quicker!
Timo Boll Hand Switch at 2018 China Open!
He's done it again - here's the video (45 sec, including slo-mo replay). But that's not the most interesting thing about the rally - look at what he does two shots later to win the point! Replay it a few times.
China Open
Here's the ITTF home page for the event (results, articles, pictures, video), which was held this past weekend in Shenzhen, China. Check out the results!
Three Ways to Win a Point
Here's the article by Eli Baraty.
Tom's Table Tennis Tips
Here's the newsletter from Tom Lodziak, with links to coaching tips.
Taking the Ball Early
Here's the podcast (32:49) from Pingskills. This week they cover:
Butterfly Amicus Prime Table Tennis Robot
Here's the article by Larry Thoman about the new line of robots that just came out. I normally shy away from equipment articles due to conflict of interest - I'm sponsored by Butterfly - but this is rather new. "Butterfly launched a refresh of its highly regarded Amicus line of table tennis robots at the recent World Team Table Tennis Championships in Sweden. The newly introduced models are the Start, Expert, and Prime models. All are upgraded models from the models they’re replacing—the Basic, Advance, and Professional."
World Awaits Tan and Naresh as they Succeed North American Hopes Qualification
Here's the USATT article by Matt Hetherington.
2018 TATA Trickshot Challenge
Here's the video (5:15).
History of USATT – Volume 21 – Chapter 2
Here’s chapter 2 of Tim Boggan's latest volume, which covers 1993-1994. Or you can buy it and previous (and future) volumes at www.timboggantabletennis.com. Chapter 2 covers "June-July 1994 Tournaments." Volume 21 is 438 pages with 1667 graphics, and covers all the wild things that happened in 1994-95 - and I'm mentioned a lot! Why not buy a copy - or the entire set at a discount? Tim sells them directly, so when you order them, you get it autographed - order your copy now!
Werner Schlager - Kalininkos Kreanga, Legends Tour 2018
Here's the video (9:05) from Arnaud Scheen.
Through Rolling Tube and Into Cup
Here's the video (50 sec, including slo-mo replay). I'd love to try this one, and would probably use my forehand where I can smack a ping-pong ball from nine feet better than half the time.
The 1901 Ping Pong Song
Here's the video (1:42) of this song from 1901 (!) played on the original equipment!!! It was sent to me by Steve Grant, who wrote under the video, "Ping Pong Song, by Edward Lauri, 1901, London, playing on a polyphon-like music box. My collection also includes the Edison Bell brown wax cylinder of this same song, sung by Harry Bluff, which I am attempting to play and record. I do not own the sheet music and do not yet know the lyrics. I welcome any help."
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