January 4, 2016

Tip of the Week
Backhand Serve Deception with the Elbow.

Luck or Skill?
I saw this video recently (16 sec, including slo-mo replay) and was struck what a perfect example of skill that looks like luck. Now when I say "skill," I don't mean natural talent; I mean learned skill. The player on the near side has an easy put-away, and creams the ball – but the opponent makes a seemingly "lucky" block return. He doesn't just block back a winner; he practically counter-smashes, and makes it look effortless and easy. So . . . was he just lucky?

No, it was almost all skill from years of training. Look at the body position of the player on the near side as he sets up to smash - he's set up to go crosscourt, and the opponent reflexively sees this. The near-side player could change directions at the last second, but doesn't, and so he's predictable. It would have been an easy winner to the wide forehand or middle. Of course with a shot like that, the near-side player was likely taking the long diagonal for safety as he didn't expect the opponent to react so quickly.

But the opponent didn't really react quickly so much as he reacted correctly. He couldn't cover the entire table, and so he read the opponent's body stance to mean he was going crosscourt. He was in a perfect ready position, and so ready to move quickly in either direction, and so as the opponent smashed, he was already moving into position for the shot. At that point, at the higher levels, making such a return not only wasn't lucky, but it would have been an unforced error if the player hadn't make the block, since he was right there and waiting. (Okay, most top players wouldn't have practically backhand counter-smashed as this player did, but they would have usually made the return.)

What can you learn from this? First, never give up on a point. There are only so many places the opponent can go, and even if you can't cover all of them, you can cover some of them. Second, after every shot your first priority is to get into a ready position for the next shot, where you are ready to pounce on any return. And third, many or most players telegraph the direction of their shot well before contact – and so even smashes become returnable, if you learn to read the signs that show where the opponent is smashing. (Hint – watch the shoulders!)

For more examples of such "reflex" blocking, see the segment below on Waldner's blocking.

The Table Tennis Player's Guide to Health and Fitness
Here's the new online book (free!), 99 pages. I haven't read it, but it's more on sports nutrition than on strictly table tennis, so I'm not really an expert on this. The opening line is nice: "Table tennis is the greatest sport in the world." Later it says, "This guide will provide you with the knowledge and tools necessary to optimize your training and nutrition for table tennis."

Fix It or Trash It? Learn to Problem-Solve During Matches
Here's the new coaching article from Samson Dubina.

USATT News
They have a slew of new articles, so I'll just give the link, and let you browse!

ITTF Updates – Plastic Ball Still Has Problems
Here's the article.

That Other Tenergy
Here's the new article from Coach Jon. I use Tenergy 05 2.1 black on the forehand, Tenergy 25 2.1 red on the backhand.

Tom's Table Tennis Newsletter
Here it is, from Coach Tom Lodziak in the UK.

Super Slow Motion of Zhang Jike's Attack!
Here's the video (21 sec).

The Legend Waldner King Block and Speed of Reaction
Here's the video (4:02). Watch how he picks opponents apart with precisely placed and deceptive blocks.

Cory Eider Leads Physical Training
Here's the video (1:19).

Harimoto Tomokazu - the New Prodigy of Table Tennis
Here's the new video (5:26).

Lob of the Year?
Here's the video (25 sec, including slo-mo replay). Of course, we're only four days in, but this might top anything from last year as well.

Chinese National Men's Table Tennis Team Sings
Here's the video (2:57) of Wang Hao, Wang Liqin, Ma Lin, and Ma Long.

Tricks & Top Shots: TTS Award Winners Oct-Dec
Here's the article and videos!

Jumping a Ping-Pong Table – Almost!
Here's the video (5 sec) – don't try this at home at your club!

Non-Table Tennis - More Pings and Pongs
My new anthology of short stories is out! More Pings and Pongs includes the 25 best science fiction & fantasy stories I've sold since my previous anthology, Pings and Pongs in 2012. I blogged about it this morning in my science fiction & fantasy blog. "From God getting Earth critiqued in a workshop, to a dragon landing on the U.S. Capitol, from a dead kid on a high school track team battling the mile mafia, to the first ten U.S. presidents battling each other and alien vacationers on an alien computer, there’s something for everyone!" Alas, no table tennis. The last month has been pretty good for me on the science fiction & fantasy writing front – I sold two stories to Galaxy's Edge, one of the top paying markets; I have three other stories that are "finalists" at other markets; my novel "Campaign 2100: Game of Scorpions" comes out at the end of this month; and of course More Pings and Pongs!

***
Send us your own coaching news!