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My Progress Over Time |
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mickd
Forum Moderator Joined: 04/27/2014 Location: Japan Status: Offline Points: 1231 |
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Very quick response, NL haha. It would definitely seem that way since my smashes with a harder sponge Chinese tacky rubber is laughable at best... Something to try the next time I'm in a lobbing situation!
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emihet
Platinum Member Joined: 09/22/2009 Location: Oregon Status: Offline Points: 2315 |
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good job, impressive
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Viscaria, Ma Long 5, Old Clippers, BTY Ovtcharov and Various Custom blades
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NextLevel
Forum Moderator Joined: 12/15/2011 Location: Somewhere Good Status: Offline Points: 14842 |
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Don't take my word for it. Watch Ma Long or Quadri Aruna play vs lob. |
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I like putting heavy topspin on the ball...
Cybershape Carbon FH/BH: H3P 41D. Lumberjack TT, not for lovers of beautiful strokes. No time to train... |
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mickd
Forum Moderator Joined: 04/27/2014 Location: Japan Status: Offline Points: 1231 |
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Thanks, emihet!
@NL Yeah, they have really nice topspin smashes. When I mentioned the same problem to my practice partner, he said the same thing. Go for more topspin smashes. I think I usually go for topspin smashes, but it's quite difficult to generate the power needed to decide the point. I probably still need to focus on concentrating my power on the point of contact, increasing racket head speed, and getting into a better position. After feeding multiball to the little kids at the club for 1.5 hours yesterday, I had 30 minutes to practice after they left. Played a match with one of the older guys and in the last 10 minutes one of the high school boys asked me to hit with him for a bit. He defaults to moving back to counter/lob, so it was a good chance to try it out. Some of the smashes were quite good when I moved into position (not too close to the ball, and waiting for the ball to drop to a manageable height). I still need to work on it though. To me most of the higher balls were topspin smashes (some were a little flat, though). But I just want to make sure that's what I'm doing. Comments welcome! P.S. The video freezes for me at 720p60 but works fine at 1080p60. If it's freezing for you.. please try a different resolution. I'm not sure why that's happening.
Edited by mickd - 02/28/2018 at 9:17pm |
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NextLevel
Forum Moderator Joined: 12/15/2011 Location: Somewhere Good Status: Offline Points: 14842 |
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Watch Ma Long and use the whole arm and body. Think Helicopter. The key to hard sponge is that it spins better than it flat hits. You don't have to close the paddle or brush too much as you aren't looking for arc. The helicopter motion will turn the racket into the ball. Watch Ma Long smash to Freitas or Aruna to Yoshida until the beauty of the swing inspires you. It should feel like a discus throw. Hook the wrist throughout the stroke.
Edited by NextLevel - 02/28/2018 at 10:55pm |
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I like putting heavy topspin on the ball...
Cybershape Carbon FH/BH: H3P 41D. Lumberjack TT, not for lovers of beautiful strokes. No time to train... |
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mickd
Forum Moderator Joined: 04/27/2014 Location: Japan Status: Offline Points: 1231 |
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Ah yes. The whole arm and body swing. Such a beauty to look at... so difficult to get down right. I do love the look of it, and prefer it too. When I get another opportunity, I'll try it out. It'll probably take a few revisions before I can get the general technique down. I rarely practice against lobbing because most my practice partners can't or don't lob. I'll probably dedicate another thread to it once I get some good attempts in!!
Thanks NL.
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mickd
Forum Moderator Joined: 04/27/2014 Location: Japan Status: Offline Points: 1231 |
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Yesterday during the last 10 minutes of practice, I played a game against someone that is much stronger than me. She uses long pips on the backhand, which I'm generally pretty weak against.
We play together for about 30 minutes maybe once a week, but we usually do drills. I think the last time I played a game against her was about a year ago. I did surprisingly well. We only had enough time for 2 sets (11-7, 9-11). I used a lot of short and long serves targeting her forehand, with the occasional long dead serve to the backhand (since I didn't want to deal with the pips). Unfortunately I didn't record the match, but it was really nice to see I've improved because the last time I played her I only got like 5 points. I suspect the next time I play her, she going to beat me easily. But I hope this isn't a one off thing!
Edited by mickd - 04/25/2018 at 10:42pm |
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Tt Gold
Gold Member Joined: 10/22/2014 Location: Germany Status: Offline Points: 1302 |
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mickd
Forum Moderator Joined: 04/27/2014 Location: Japan Status: Offline Points: 1231 |
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Hey TtGold. Thanks for having a look! Could you elaborate a bit more on what you mean? Do you mean not standing side on? Or not putting my weight on my left leg before I smash the ball? Or do you mean the angle my foot is facing? Or something else? I'm trying to get some weight transfer in, so that's why I'm leaning on my left foot and standing side on. If I'm making a mistake here, let me know! Cheers!
P.S. The smash at 0:05 was just bad though
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mjamja
Platinum Member Joined: 05/30/2009 Status: Offline Points: 2895 |
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Very impresses. Looking so much better than in early videos. Keep up the good work and keep posting.
Mark |
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Tt Gold
Gold Member Joined: 10/22/2014 Location: Germany Status: Offline Points: 1302 |
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At 0.05 for example you raise your right leg. This is a common bad habit among players. It doesn't have any benefits and will only cause trouble once you reach a level where the game speeds up. Also at 10 seconds moving onward your left leg moves back( behind you). That's what I was pointing out. Generally you need to work on having a stable position, so no leg raising or letting your left leg go.
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mickd
Forum Moderator Joined: 04/27/2014 Location: Japan Status: Offline Points: 1231 |
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Oh, I think I see what you mean. Do you mean how my left leg bends up at the knee? I'll need to work on having better balance while smashing. To be honest, I didn't feel out of balance at all during those shots (except for the one at 0:05). But yes, looking at the video, I should probably work towards addressing this, so thanks for bringing it up! I think there are two factors that come into play that 'forces' me to hit like that. Timing and position. I think I'm hitting a lot of the balls too high. A lot of the balls I'm hitting above head height, which means to reach above the ball to do a topspin smash, I need to push up off my left leg, which causes the raising and the leg going behind me as I land forward on my right leg. And positioning. A lack of anticipation and movement means that the ball doesn't enter my ideal strike zone so that I can have a balanced weight transfer without jumping towards the ball, or in the case of 0:05, pushing up because the ball was already too close to my body to hit forward. Thank you Mark :) Progress has been slow since about half of my play time is spent helping new players. But that's my choice and I enjoy it, so no biggie there! I'm looking forward to more videos from you, too!
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mickd
Forum Moderator Joined: 04/27/2014 Location: Japan Status: Offline Points: 1231 |
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It took a little over 4 years, but I'm finally starting to challenge the above average members at my local club!!
I remember losing 0-3, only taking up to 5 points a set with my opponent going easy on me a few years ago. I barely lost 2-3 this week :) I had a chance at 11-10, but she got the ball back! Here's the last few points of the 5th set and some random highlights! I felt like I'm getting better at controlling the ball, especially against long pips. I liked the point at 1:27. |
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kevo
Super Member Joined: 01/16/2012 Location: ireland Status: Offline Points: 469 |
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That's really great play vs the long pips. Really impressed. I always enjoy your videos as I lived in Japan--Aomori-ken--for 5 yrs and really remember it fondly. (Though I hardly played any TT at all at the time! I played football (soccer) seriously then.)
Random question: Do you know what blade and rubbers your opponent with the LPs uses? I play a similar syle and am curious. Cheers and keep up the training!
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mickd
Forum Moderator Joined: 04/27/2014 Location: Japan Status: Offline Points: 1231 |
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Thank you, kevo! Yes, Japan is a great place! Were you on the JET Programme? I've never been to Aomori. Never been north of Tokyo. It's on my to visit list along with Hokkaido!
I'll ask her for you the next time I see her! She's told and showed me her racket before, but I forgot. Will do!! And I'll keep the posts coming!
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kevo
Super Member Joined: 01/16/2012 Location: ireland Status: Offline Points: 469 |
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Yes, Mick. I was on the JET programme but also lived there as a teenager as well. Aomori is a wonderful place. Real hidden Gem. People mainly fly over it or pass through it on their way to Hokkaido but it is worth visiting. Lovely people. Great skiing and food!
You keep posting and we'll keep watching! Cheers!
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mickd
Forum Moderator Joined: 04/27/2014 Location: Japan Status: Offline Points: 1231 |
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I plan to visit as many prefectures as I can, so Aomori is definitely on my list :)
I asked her today and she's using Fastarc G1 on her FH and Tibhar Grass D.TecS on her BH. She said that Grass D.TecS still creates a lot of variation with the plastic ball, too.
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kevo
Super Member Joined: 01/16/2012 Location: ireland Status: Offline Points: 469 |
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You're a star, Mick, thanks! I use D.Tecs myself though have been toying with anti again. You didn't by any chance catch what blade she's using? It doesn't seem to be a balsa blade. A defensive blade of some sort...?
Cheers!
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mickd
Forum Moderator Joined: 04/27/2014 Location: Japan Status: Offline Points: 1231 |
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Sorry for taking so long to reply, kevo! I checked her blade and she's using Nittaku Acoustic! So a slightly offensive blade. She's usually offensive with her forehands, so I guess it works well with that.
Yesterday I went to play against short pips girl (you can see her in the OP). It's been 1.5 years since I last played her. She's now in year 9 and about 2 weeks away from retiring from middle school table tennis to focus on high school entrance exams. Needless to say, she has improved a lot! She has also been taking some coaching classes. So.. who do you think won?? 2 years ago when she was in year 7, I barely beat her in 5 sets. Of course, I've improved as well... Watch and let me know what you think! Sorry about the camera angle. I usually avoid taking it from that side since I'm left handed, but on the other side there was a guy lobbing, so I didn't want him to knock my camera over :) Here's the last part of our match. For the people who haven't read the OP, she uses short pips on her forehand! |
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mickd
Forum Moderator Joined: 04/27/2014 Location: Japan Status: Offline Points: 1231 |
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As someone who started playing as an adult with no coaching, I think I should be proud of my progress over time. But as the competitive side of me is constantly at the back of my head yelling, sometimes it's hard to stay positive, especially since I always watch videos of myself playing (so easy to nit pick everything in a video). In so many ways, knowing what I know now, I regret so many of the things I did (or didn't do) that really slowed my progress down. Of course, all of us wish we were stronger, but I really feel like I could have been much stronger by now if I was just more disciplined. One of my long time rivals (not sure if that's the right word for him), or rather someone on my "to beat" list (long story, but we didn't get along years ago. he has quite a stuck up personality. we're fine now tho) was open, so I asked him if he wanted to hit some balls. He said okay. We hit for a minute or two and then he said let's play a match. I said okay. I've never beaten him. The last time I played him was maybe 8 or so months ago. Maybe more. And to my surprise I actually beat him 3-1. I don't think he was playing as well as he usually does, and I was probably playing some of the best TT I've ever done, but it was still a great moment. Anyway, I really wanted to share that. I was in such a happy mood all the way home :) Here's my favourite point from our match. P.S. Sorry for the long wall of text!!
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mjamja
Platinum Member Joined: 05/30/2009 Status: Offline Points: 2895 |
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Congratulations. First win against a good opponent is always special. You looked very good in that point. Much more fluid and balanced than in some of early videos. You seem to be more compact in your strokes too. Hope I can get there one of these days.
Mark |
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JediJesseS
Member Joined: 06/02/2016 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 99 |
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Great point! What equipment are you using these days? As your skill and understanding have improved do you find you have different preferences now?
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mickd
Forum Moderator Joined: 04/27/2014 Location: Japan Status: Offline Points: 1231 |
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Thanks Mark! I've been practicing a lot more closer to the table table tennis recently, so I think that has helped with making my strokes a little shorter. A little more like the women's game! I think you're already there because from what I've seen in your past videos, you're always close to the table with a fast and powerful compact swing. And with much better placement than me haha. I just put the ball back onto the table.
Thanks JediJesseS. I use Hurricane Long 3 with Neo H3 on the forehand and Omega 7 Euro on the backhand. I've basically always used Neo H3 on my forehand. Over time, I've been trying a bunch of different backhand rubbers though. I went from Fastarc P1 3 years ago to MX-P a year ago to Omega 7 Euro like a month ago. I don't know which I prefer on my backhand, but I generally give each rubber at least a year before I change. MX-P was a little too fast, I think. I found it was making me too passive because I could just block balls back with decent speed. With Omega 7 Euro, passive blocks hardly bounce off the rubber, so it's forcing me to be a little more aggressive (which is what I want). At first most my backhand balls just fell into the net with it, but now that I'm used to it, I'm liking it so far. Thank you for the kind words, fatt :) He has been on my list for over 3 years, so it was really nice to finally get the win. I was still very humble after the match, but after getting back to the bench I was pretty excited haha. And yes, I welcome all criticism from all players!! So thank you for taking the time to write that out. And of course, you hit the nail on the head because that's something I've been trying to work on! I definitely need to be more aggressive. There was a rally in the 4th set that I lost because I was extremely passive on all my returns. I passively blocked the ball back like 3 or so times before overcoming to his pressure and missing. After reviewing the video, I felt like I had plenty of time to be more aggressive with all those blocks, I just didn't have the attacking mindset there. It's so easy to fall back on what you've been doing since the beginning! There were some very nice short points like that where I was aggressive from the beginning, and they usually start from a slight topspin long serve ;)
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mickd
Forum Moderator Joined: 04/27/2014 Location: Japan Status: Offline Points: 1231 |
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Last week I played someone that I didn't think I'd be able to win and ended up winning 3-1 :) It was my first time playing him! I'm finally starting to consistently beat the average club player, and starting to challenge the upper average players, too!
There's still a lot of work to be done, especially against different styles. I got smashed by a long pips player on the same day, though he's one of the top players at that club. Unfortunately he didn't want me to upload the video. Anyway, here's set 2 from the match! As always, ALL opinions and suggestions are welcome. I'm highly analytical in my play. So even if it's something I won't be able to implement straight away, or something very simple tactically or technical, feel free to post!! (If it's not clear from my other videos, I'm yellow shirt!)
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ericd937
Gold Member Joined: 06/01/2012 Location: Saigon, Vietnam Status: Offline Points: 1191 |
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It may just be the location of the camera, but I cant see the the ball contact your paddle during your forehand serve because your other hand is blocking the view. I'm not sure if your opponent can see it or not? Has anyone ever complained to you about that?
Also, I'm impressed by your footwork. Much better than mine. You have quick feet. Edited by ericd937 - 09/06/2018 at 11:24pm |
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Current Setup: TBS FH T80/BH D80
Official USATT Rating 1815 Current estimated level: 1800-1900. |
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mickd
Forum Moderator Joined: 04/27/2014 Location: Japan Status: Offline Points: 1231 |
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Thanks for the quick reply, eric! I have a lot of the older guys complimenting my footwork all the time, but the younger guys usually tell me how bad it is haha. It's still a work in progress but has definitely improved a lot over the years (more accurate movements, less wasted movements)!
I'm generally really really careful about my serves, so if anything is wrong I'll definitely put it highhhh on my priority list to fix. Could you let me know which serve/s (time/s in the video)? I've never had anyone complain about it, but as you know, most people won't complain about serves. I also rarely complain about serves. I always move my hand out of the way (or try to!) and always only move my head down after the ball has dropped below head height (or try to!!) As for the camera, it was 1.5 tables to the left of the table I played on, relatively far back, zoomed in. So it was quite left side bias (from our view). Thanks again!
Edited by mickd - 09/07/2018 at 12:31am |
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skip3119
Premier Member Joined: 02/24/2006 Location: somewhere Status: Offline Points: 8257 |
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Looks like you play better than me, so no suggestion from me.
Skip
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mickd
Forum Moderator Joined: 04/27/2014 Location: Japan Status: Offline Points: 1231 |
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Thanks skip, but I'm one of those guys who knows well that playing level and teaching level aren't necessarily related.
You're always welcome to say anything. You've got a load more experience/wisdom than me too (joined the forum in 2006!!), which I would also be honoured to receive!! Everyone has something that they do well :) And I want to know it all haha. With that said, you'd probably kick my arse if we played :)
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balldance
Super Member Joined: 01/28/2009 Status: Offline Points: 246 |
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It's easier to criticize you when you lose. You won convincingly in the last video, so it's hard to give you any advice :D Your technique is not "perfect" in general but you play pretty smart and have a good approach. The thing I like most about your game is that while you don't have power to loop kill, you almost always get back to the neutral position and be ready for the next shot whether it comes to your BH or FH, and that helps you do well in long rallies. P.S.: if you want to receive more criticism and advice, I think you should post matches that you lost, but the opponent shouldn't be too much better than you.
Edited by balldance - 09/07/2018 at 3:13pm |
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kindof99
Premier Member Joined: 02/07/2014 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 4227 |
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What would be mickd's appr. US rating? 1800?
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