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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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Posted: 11/03/2016 at 12:29pm |
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Every now and then I start to feel depressed because work gets busy, so I can't practice as much. And when I do practice, I feel like I'm not getting any effective practice in, or I just feel like I'm not improving at all. Those times are really stressful, and sometimes it makes me feel like throwing in the towel. But no matter what I keep playing because table tennis is a game I love.
So I started playing table tennis just under 3 years ago, shortly after I moved to Japan. Ever since I was little, I had interest in the sport, but living in Australia, I didn't think there were any opportunities to play (there are, which I know now, but at the time I didn't). When I started, I didn't have anyone to teach me. I played casually after work with some kids there. They also weren't that great, but of course, much better than I was. I also didn't really watch many videos online (and to be honest, even when I did, I didn't know what I was looking at). I developed many bad habits. Habits I still have now, but to a lesser degree. I'm sure this is a very familiar experience with many of you. For example, I had 2 fingers on my backhand for the longest time, among many other weird body movements trying to hit the ball. The other day I was cleaning my computer, and saw some of my old videos. I decided to have a look. Needless to say, I was horrendous, especially the videos from 2.5 years ago (probably less than a few months after I started). I also saw a video of a practice match I had from 1.5 years ago against a then 5th grade girl. It was better but still horrible. Sometimes I spend so much time looking at my recent videos. Some from a few months ago, and comparing the ones I take now and thinking man, I did that so much better then. Am I even improving? But when you see videos from a year ago, 2 years ago, etc, you really notice the improvement. It makes me all excited about how I'll be a year or two from now. Anyway, sorry about how this post is written. The thought process is probably all over the place. It's 1:30am here and I just wanted to make this post before I went to bed. Here are some of the videos I was talking about: From 2.5 years ago... (video processing, so if you can't see it, wait about 10 minutes! That said, it's quite shocking, so you might want to save your eyes) A set from a match against the 5th grade girl 1.5 years ago: A set from the same girl, now in the 7th grade taken last week (she uses short pips on her forehand, by the way): Basically, I love table tennis! And thanks to the mytabletennis community for helping me with all the threads I've been making over the year in the coaching section. I really do hope to play with you guys sometime in the future when I'm visiting your countries! Until then, I'll keep practicing so that I can be worthy to play with you all :)
Edited by mickd - 11/03/2016 at 12:35pm |
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Yasaka100
Beginner Joined: 06/29/2016 Location: Los Angeles Status: Offline Points: 14 |
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Nice win over shortpips girl, hope she was not too devastated! haha
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zeio
Premier Member Joined: 03/25/2010 Status: Offline Points: 10833 |
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The definition that would be given of bullying, in terms of table tennis.
On a serious note, you're another example that demonstrates the plasticity of the human brain to adapt. Amazing transformation! From the anticipation to the coordination! Keep up the good work. |
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Viscaria FL - 91g
+ Neo H3 2.15 Blk - 44.5g(55.3g uncut bare) + Hexer HD 2.1 Red - 49.3g(68.5g 〃 〃) = 184.8g |
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balldance
Super Member Joined: 01/28/2009 Status: Offline Points: 246 |
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Keep going, man! I admire your passion for the sport!
Of course you are improving. I always believe that I'm still improving in some aspects after playing table tennis for almost 20 years, although there's no result in competitions to prove that :D BTW, the shortpips girl is so cute haha |
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ameetnsharma
Super Member Joined: 08/14/2016 Location: Austin, TX USA Status: Offline Points: 166 |
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Great videos and progress! Short pips girl is super cool! :)
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Get to the chopper!
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AgavE
Member Joined: 12/10/2013 Location: Russia Status: Offline Points: 56 |
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Who is that kid on the last video? ;-))))))
PS: Great progress! Keep do it! You have a big potential with right coaching! |
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mickd
Forum Moderator Joined: 04/27/2014 Location: Japan Status: Offline Points: 1231 |
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Thanks, everyone! She was okay :) I've won against her the last few times I played her, and this was the closest she got in awhile, thus her reaction at the end!
She's a really nice and smart girl. Off memory, she told me she came first in her grade on the mid-semester English test, and she's the strongest table tennis player at her school. Her dad is really nice, and speaks quite a bit of English. You can see her younger brother walking across the camera a few times (on purpose!) in the last video, too :) Her dad is the guy feeding balls on the right in the last video to an 8th grade girl from the same school as her.
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skip3119
Premier Member Joined: 02/24/2006 Location: somewhere Status: Offline Points: 8257 |
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Nice video, and very good progress.
Please keep us updated.
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skip3119
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mickd
Forum Moderator Joined: 04/27/2014 Location: Japan Status: Offline Points: 1231 |
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Thanks skip3119.
Actually, there was a tournament in my area today for middle school students. At least a couple hundred students were competing, including the girl from the videos above. Since you guys were interested in her, here's a set from one of her matches. Unfortunately, I took the video with a Surface, so the sound and quality is a lot lower than my usual videos (which I take using my DSLR). It was 2-2, and this is the 5th set. Enjoy! By the way, I don't know who voted 5 stars for my thread, but thanks! I didn't even realise you could do that! :) |
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zeio
Premier Member Joined: 03/25/2010 Status: Offline Points: 10833 |
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Thumbs up to Ishikawa!! She knows her game. 1-2-3, you're done.
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Viscaria FL - 91g
+ Neo H3 2.15 Blk - 44.5g(55.3g uncut bare) + Hexer HD 2.1 Red - 49.3g(68.5g 〃 〃) = 184.8g |
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mickd
Forum Moderator Joined: 04/27/2014 Location: Japan Status: Offline Points: 1231 |
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Thanks fatt and everyone else who votes for this thread! Ishikawa did pretty well! She has a mean forehand, but right now it lacks consistency. In the end, their school came about 15th. I'll post some more matches from the tournament in my other thread :)
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mickd
Forum Moderator Joined: 04/27/2014 Location: Japan Status: Offline Points: 1231 |
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Here are 2 more videos comparing now and before!
I uploaded these awhile ago, but I've been pretty busy. Also looking to upload more videos into my other threads :) I chose these 2 because both my opponents were probably similarly skilled. Since the second video was quite recent, I do remember thinking that I would just serve underspin because then I could practice my third ball attack. I didn't think my opponent would deal well with my go to serves. Viewers beware! My form from a year and a half ago was soooooooo bad. |
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mickd
Forum Moderator Joined: 04/27/2014 Location: Japan Status: Offline Points: 1231 |
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Hey everyone. So I've been really busy recently with work, travel and various other things, and haven't been as active on here as I hoped.
The other day I had a competition in a small rural area about an hours drive from where I live. The competition was broken down into 7 divisions, each with 6 teams. I played in division 5. The other members in my team were all over 70 years old, so my doubles partner did pretty well considering his age!! Here are some of the highlights! Any comments welcome as well. One of my opponents was actually the top player in her prefecture when she was younger, and even went on to play in the All Japan tournament. You can see the highlights with her from 0:26. I lost that match 3, 3, 5. She had really good placement and she didn't miss much at all. I'm TEAL SHIRT :) Edited by mickd - 03/14/2017 at 5:41am |
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ChichoFicho
Platinum Member Joined: 06/24/2009 Location: Earth Status: Offline Points: 2118 |
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That's a huge progress. I liked the short pip woman and your doubles partner in the yellow shirt. Very experienced
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Darker Speed 70
Hammond FA Speed Tyotokusen |
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Tt Gold
Gold Member Joined: 10/22/2014 Location: Germany Status: Offline Points: 1302 |
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I don't get what's wrong with these kids. In that 3 minute video against the girl some kid in the background is just retarded. I'm not against celebrating points, but what is wrong with him. He choed like 6 times at one point.
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ChichoFicho
Platinum Member Joined: 06/24/2009 Location: Earth Status: Offline Points: 2118 |
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Yeah, kids these days are so irritating. Nothing motivates me more than beating a dumb kid playing with a 500$ paddle who chos and yells after every point.
Edited by ChichoFicho - 03/14/2017 at 6:31am |
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Darker Speed 70
Hammond FA Speed Tyotokusen |
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Tt Gold
Gold Member Joined: 10/22/2014 Location: Germany Status: Offline Points: 1302 |
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I also celebrate after certain points, but only after certain ones. Also I at least celebrate in my own language. I find it pretty stupid how everyone celebrates in Chinese or some changed version of cho like chu, Chole or tu even though they don't even know what it means.
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Lestat
Super Member Joined: 01/16/2012 Location: UK Status: Offline Points: 421 |
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You've got the legs going really well, that was nice to see.
Now, your form looks correct but there is something that holds you from applying real power and spin on your FH. I can't put my finger on it though, maybe somebody with more expertise can chime in. You're moving your waist/shoulder/forearm as you should but to me it doesn't look like you're getting that compound power which comes from the synchronisation of all your moving parts. Or maybe you're hitting too close to the body? I really don't know. All in all, very good progress indeed!
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Tt Gold
Gold Member Joined: 10/22/2014 Location: Germany Status: Offline Points: 1302 |
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You seem a little too tense when playing. One reason for why you lack power might be your forearm speed. Your forearm is already pretty closed when starting the stroke, and your overall topspin seems like it relies a lot on your arm movement. You should either loosen up and increase forearm speed or if that is not possible hit more through the ball with your body.
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tom
Premier Member Joined: 11/18/2013 Location: canada Status: Offline Points: 3016 |
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keep up the good work. the most important thing is to enjoy your play.
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zeio
Premier Member Joined: 03/25/2010 Status: Offline Points: 10833 |
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Nice progress there given your circumstances. I see much coordination in the footwork, in a match situation against unfamiliar opponents.
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Viscaria FL - 91g
+ Neo H3 2.15 Blk - 44.5g(55.3g uncut bare) + Hexer HD 2.1 Red - 49.3g(68.5g 〃 〃) = 184.8g |
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Lestat
Super Member Joined: 01/16/2012 Location: UK Status: Offline Points: 421 |
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Sorry, I know it's totally unrelated, but have to ask - how do you guys deal with the Fukushima fallout? Are the people at ease about it? Somebody in the hall is wearing a dust mask, is that as a form of protection against inhaling radioactive particles?
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Chairman Meow
Super Member Joined: 10/04/2016 Location: Hell, Michigan Status: Offline Points: 290 |
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It's probably just because of your friendly neighbourhood pollution. Inhaling 'radioactive particles' is not really something to worry about- they can damage you easily without having to be inhaled. Just skin exposure to high intensity radiation can cause cancer and other diseases (radiation sickness). A dust mask won't stop it. Why do you think professionals wear full body hazmat suits when entering radioactive areas?
Many people in urban areas (Tokyo, Shanghai, Beijing) wear these masks to gain some measure of protection against the high level of non-radioactive pollutants in the air. Mickd stated earlier that the event was in a more rural area, so it may just be a city dweller coming to visit and wearing a mask out of habit, or it may be a paranoid person. I live in the suburbs (in the U.S.) and my neighbours are originally from Shanghai. They often wear those masks out of habit.
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-1 ply Cypress 11.5mm "The Castigator"
-H3 Prov. Blue Sponge 2.2mm 41 deg. -H3 Prov. Orange Sponge 2.1mm 37 deg |
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mickd
Forum Moderator Joined: 04/27/2014 Location: Japan Status: Offline Points: 1231 |
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Thanks ChicchoFicho, TTGold, Lestat, tom and zeio.
@TTGold The boy who is choing in that video is not actually playing a match there. He's just choing like that because he's silly, hehe. Once he gets older he'll calm down. I think he has some problems concentrating. @Lestat I'm actually trying to figure out the same problem. I put in a lot of effort into movement, probably one of the most active on my feet in my club, but lack power on my shots. I think TTGold has it right. I'm too tense and too controlled on my shots. I lack speed on my swing. I need to not worry about missing, loosen up, and try to swing my arm much faster. Once I get used to the faster timing, I could probably do it more in actual matches, too. Opening my forehand angle will definitely help. So many videos of myself I lack any forehand snap. I'm using my shoulder too much. About the Fukushima fallout, the area around the nuclear reactors have been abandoned ever since. But no one in Japan outside of that area is wearing the mask for that reason. Most people actually wear it to stop the spread of or catching the cold/flu. You see it a lot when it starts to get colder. For example, a month or so back, nearly 15 students in each of my classes were wearing them. Now, as it's starting to get warmer, maybe only 3-4 students wear them. Basically if you're coughing, you wear one of those masks. There are also people who wear it for fashion, though. But yeah, those masks are just as common anywhere in Japan. Rural or city.
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Lestat
Super Member Joined: 01/16/2012 Location: UK Status: Offline Points: 421 |
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Interesting that you're using the masks to protect against flu. As fas as I know, once you are outside the disaster area, internal radiation (hot particles/internal emitters, inhaled or ingested) is much more dangerous long term compared to general external exposure. Hence my assumption.
But back on topic, I would have a look for Brett Clarke's teddy bear video, 'Learn forehand topspin like a bear' or something like that. Pretend for a moment you don't have control over the shoulder joint, and try to swing your arm freely just by using your waist. It should look like your arm is out of the socket. That will give you a clue to what you are looking for. |
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blahness
Premier Member Joined: 10/18/2009 Location: Melbourne Status: Offline Points: 5443 |
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mickd, I have a feeling you're too concerned about your form and recovery and not missing, instead of where you want the ball to go. Your stroke just looks as if it's constant speed, a half hearted shot to put the ball back onto the table instead of one that is intended to go past your opponents. Your stroke structure is good, however you're just running it at first gear and never accelerating to higher gears. I think you would benefit a lot from just a few sessions of hard hitting, solidly through the ball. No need to change your stroke, just hit the ball hard straight through as if it is supposed to be a kill shot. One good way would be to ask someone to feed you high balls that you can smash as hard as you can.
Another fix could be just changing to hard tacky rubbers like Hurricane coupled with slow wooden blades, to gain confidence in your strokes and to force yourself to hit harder. Because they're really slow compared to tensor rubbers like Tenergy, you're forced to put in a lot of your body and explode into the stroke, otherwise they're going to end up in the net most of the time haha.
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Viscaria FH: Hurricane 8-80 BH: D05 Back to normal shape bats :( |
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mickd
Forum Moderator Joined: 04/27/2014 Location: Japan Status: Offline Points: 1231 |
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Thanks Lestat. Every day I do some shadow practice. Not much. Maybe like 100 times spread through the day. I always feel like I have a very relaxed swing, and I've been doing that exact thing!! Twisting my waist and trying to let me arm swing freely. It all falls apart the moment I pick up a racket, though :(
@blahness I think your analysis of me is sadly perfect haha. I've actually been using H3 Neo for like 1.5 years, though. Maybe that's why my balls are so slow... I find it really hard to hit the ball fast. Whenever I do, it falls into the net. Since most of my practice time is spent teaching beginners (maybe 5 hours a week), all I usually get to do is block and push. The few hours I do practice for myself, recently I've been trying to swing faster. I'm definitely missing something though. I think my muscles are just too tight. It's not for sure yet, but I'm likely to go to China for 2 weeks to practice table tennis at the end of April. I'm planning to pay a coach a few times a week to hopefully help me figure out what I'm doing wrong. I'll probably get to do multiball for myself there. I'm really looking forward to it.
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kitkit890
Member Joined: 06/13/2015 Location: Philippines Status: Offline Points: 69 |
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May I ask if you're playing with people you don't know? The one thing keeping me from going to our local table tennis club is my fear of talking to strangers lol
On-topic: Wow, you've improved so much! Nice :D |
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Blade: 729 Bomb (penhold)
FH: DHS Hurricane III Neo BH: 729 Focus III Snipe |
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Tt Gold
Gold Member Joined: 10/22/2014 Location: Germany Status: Offline Points: 1302 |
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NextLevel
Forum Moderator Joined: 12/15/2011 Location: Somewhere Good Status: Offline Points: 14844 |
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Lest at identified the problem (lack of whip). That TTR hunter video will not solve it. Neither will this one by Brett Clarke but it will give mickd and idea. Basically,you need to pull your racket into the ball like you are cracking a whip. Will post the link next - you can do this with just your lower arm or wrist as well if your stroke is a bent arm stroke. But the body must lead the racket on the forward swing or your backswing should not be fully completed before the body starts coming forward. Not easy to see in words but once you get a feel for it, then you can't imagine looping any other way.
https://youtu.be/tyCTDQRkPHo Edited by NextLevel - 03/15/2017 at 1:43pm |
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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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