Table Tennis Anyone?

Originally posted by petrosianpupil
Now the thickness is regulated to around 2 mm each side. Most people still play with "reverse" that is the smooth side out.

If you attack, normally you play with reverse.

To "Block" it is often best to play with fast short pimples on that side.

Long pimples can block as well and it is a hard skill but very hard to play against.

Defensive m to coach the best players at my club.

The player I was talking about was Carl Prean.

gosh.. i now see what u mean by the importance of the bat. I have not played TT for about 25+ years.

I remember when i was 12/13 practicing at home by puting the dinning table against the wall and playing my shots!

I just had wooden bats with a thin layer of rubber.LOL

The BBC used to show a lot of tennis in the mid-seventies and i really liked to watch the chineese players with their 'pen hold' grip..which is the grip i used. I never managed to master the 'handshake' grip as used by the rest of the world. LOL.. happy days.

TT does not really get any tv coverage anymore. Whatever happened to carl?

Do you know what Desmind does how?

Originally posted by SALADIN
gosh.. i now see what u mean by the importance of the bat. I have not played TT for about 25+ years.

I remember when i was 12/13 practicing at home by puting the dinning table against the wall and playing my shots!

I just had wooden bats with a thin layer of rubber.LOL

The BBC used to show a lot of tennis in the mid-seventies and i really liked to ...[text shortened]... et any tv coverage anymore. Whatever happened to carl?

Do you know what Desmind does how?

Looks like you, me and forest Gump started the same way!

What surprised me was that when we had the exchange with the chinese students, that most chinese in beijing academy were taught to play western grip.

Last time I saw Des was nearly two years ago. He invested his money wisely and still does a bit of coaching. Despite heading towards 50 he can still move quick. Carl was playing in Germany last I heard but he may have retired.

Woooohooo! Just found out a customer of mine was a former tournament player! Hoping we can get together for a few games next week. I wonder if I'll be able to beat him, he is 73 years old!😞

Originally posted by monster truck
Woooohooo! Just found out a customer of mine was a former tournament player! Hoping we can get together for a few games next week. I wonder if I'll be able to beat him, he is 73 years old!😞

My first County championships.

I walked into the place like I owned it. First thing I saw was two geriatrics playing the slowest game of table tennis I had seen for years. Laughing I said to my friend "I want the winner of that match"

God gave me what I wanted.

Worse than that, after losing in the "plate" I got drawn against the loser of that match and he beat me as well.

So be careful!

Originally posted by petrosianpupil
My first County championships.

I walked into the place like I owned it. First thing I saw was two geriatrics playing the slowest game of table tennis I had seen for years. Laughing I said to my friend "I want the winner of that match"

God gave me what I wanted.

Worse than that, after losing in the "plate" I got drawn against the loser of that match and he beat me as well.

So be careful!

None of my pals can beat me so a good thrashing would almost be welcome!

I can get shed-loads of spin on the serve.
After that my game falls to pieces somewhat.

Originally posted by Squelchbelch
I can get shed-loads of spin on the serve.
After that my game falls to pieces somewhat.

Do you hit all the serves well? Both forehand and backhand, short and long, top, chop, and sidespin? I don't have as much touch on the backhand side but can generate more spin I think.

Originally posted by monster truck
Do you hit all the serves well? Both forehand and backhand, short and long, top, chop, and sidespin? I don't have as much touch on the backhand side but can generate more spin I think.

My forehand serve tends to be holding the ball just behind the edge of the table, about 6 inches above the surface then wallop! Low & flat (or straight into the net!) whereas my backhand has masses of spin. I can hit it fairly flat & hard & it can stil spin wildly.
It's very amusing if my opponent lets it go, because it curves away even more behind the table.

Originally posted by Squelchbelch
My forehand serve tends to be holding the ball just behind the edge of the table, about 6 inches above the surface then wallop! Low & flat (or straight into the net!) whereas my backhand has masses of spin. I can hit it fairly flat & hard & it can stil spin wildly.
It's very amusing if my opponent lets it go, because it curves away even more behind the table.

I have always liked players who spin the serve. You can use the spin to control the ball or play it back with interest.

If it is long as well, then it is heaven. Serve a long backspin ball to any good player and expect the ball back with interest.

Deception is the key more than spin. Long fast serves are only used at the highest level for variety. The easiest serve for deception is a backspin serve as you can make it "a float" by subtle changes in contact point and bat angle.

Backhand serves are much rarer than forehand.

The most common serve is a forhand pendulum action creating sidespin/backspin/topsin from the same action but different contact points.

During the serve, the ball is meant to be thrown up "near vertical" however at the highest levels this is abused and players vary the throw angle to get variety.

I like getting way back from the table & winding-up a huge swervy forehand, just clipping the RHS of the ball & aiming about 2 feet to the right of the playing surface. Often, from only a few feet back, the ball ends up going over in the left side of the table doing this.
Embarrassing if you screw it up & hit the leg or support under the table though😀

Originally posted by petrosianpupil
I have always liked players who spin the serve. You can use the spin to control the ball or play it back with interest.

If it is long as well, then it is heaven. Serve a long backspin ball to any good player and expect the ball back with interest.

Deception is the key more than spin. Long fast serves are only used at the highest level for varie ...[text shortened]... owever at the highest levels this is abused and players vary the throw angle to get variety.

Have been working on both the pendulum and reverse pendulum serves. That sure takes practice to get the feel of it!

My friends and I have started using the double bounce serve instead of going long or short. We are still amazed at how effective it is. We got so used to serving hard and long (illegally) that we never considered the shorter serves.

After watching tons of clips on pedulum serves, I still can't get over how short the stroke is. It goes against my years and years of serving incorrectly!😞

Originally posted by monster truck
Have been working on both the pendulum and reverse pendulum serves. That sure takes practice to get the feel of it!

My friends and I have started using the double bounce serve instead of going long or short. We are still amazed at how effective it is. We got so used to serving hard and long (illegally) that we never considered the shorter serves. ...[text shortened]... get over how short the stroke is. It goes against my years and years of serving incorrectly!😞

Reverse pendulum! I'm impressed, that serve is so hard. The shortness is the absolute key. I was lucky enough to see Waldner serve and his action was so small you would not think it had any spin.

Be careful though, Waldner would play most of his league matches without relying on his service. Coming up to major events he would then work on his service in practice. That way he forced himself to have to work against lesser opponents. The English Champ once said "I've beaten Waldner many times, just never when it mattered..."

You beat your friends so you need to work on marking it harder for yourself in a way that will not dull your competitive egde.

One way is to agree that when you serve you MUST win the point on the third shot (your second) otherwise your opponent automatically wins the point. this stops you being lazy. It also gives your opponent more chance of beating you.

A tip against the pendulum serve, if the action is very small and the contact difficult to see because of the speed and angle of the blade; looking at the players elbow can help. The elbow moving up is an indication of heavy topspin.

Originally posted by petrosianpupil
Reverse pendulum! I'm impressed, that serve is so hard. The shortness is the absolute key. I was lucky enough to see Waldner serve and his action was so small you would not think it had any spin.

Be careful though, Waldner would play most of his league matches without relying on his service. Coming up to major events he would then work on his serv ...[text shortened]... ooking at the players elbow can help. The elbow moving up is an indication of heavy topspin.

Don't be too impressed, my reverse pendulum serve is still a work in progress!

Oddly enough, I'm using a practice method similar to Waldner's. During games with my pals, I work on only one serve to one specific area of the table and must rally for 2 shots after the serve before I can win a point. I lose alot of games this way each session until I buckle down on my defensive play or we tweek the handicap system a bit.
Will have to try your 3rd shot MUST win system today. Sounds like a nice variation to my defensive handicap system.
Thanks for the tip on reading the pendulum, hopefully my buddies will learn that serve soon.

Anyone have a link to good sites featuring Waldner? I've searched a few times and haven't found much.

Found a clip of Waldner doing an exhibition. Having never seen him play before I was stunned. The man is an absolute magician. Anyone know of a Waldner training video?