September 27, 2016
6 HRS AGO - Wow! Time sure goes by fast when you stay up half the night watching commentary on the debates, Expand
6 HRS AGO - Wow! Time sure goes by fast when you stay up half the night watching commentary on the debates, and get up about half an hour before the blog is usually posted! Today's blog will likely be up by 11AM. Collapse
September 26, 2016
1 DAY AGO - It's Monday, and that means I coached eight hours the day before and went to bed late, and so Expand
1 DAY AGO - It's Monday, and that means I coached eight hours the day before and went to bed late, and so this morning's blog will be up later than usual. Stay tuned - I'll be blogging about USATT's response to the new ITTF coaching rule, the one that allows coaching between points (madness!). But suffice to say here that it was rejected (for now), though tournaments may choose to play under this rule if they wish to. More on this by 11:00AM. Meanwhile, here is this week's Tip of the Week: How to Play Against a Player with a Coach. Collapse
September 22, 2016
5 DAYS AGO - No Blog on Friday
See “Non-Table Tennis” item at end on the Baltimore Book Expand
5 DAYS AGO - No Blog on Friday
See “Non-Table Tennis” item at end on the Baltimore Book Festival.
New ITTF Coaching Rule
On Wednesday I blogged about this, and about the USATT Board – which I’m on – will vote on this issue this Saturday morning. If you have any comments or thoughts on this, this is your last chance – I DON’T want to hear from you after the fact if you haven’t commented before. There’s a discussion at Mytabletennis.net which I’m following and participating in, so you can post there, and I’ll see it. (Alas, I will hear from people after the fact because not everyone keeps track of the major happenings in our sport until they are directly affected, and they show up at a tournament and play a match against some kid whose coach is coaching every point.)
Here are my blogs on the topic, on August 19 (on why it’s a bad rule, with 14 reasons) and August 26 (on whether USATT should adopt it, despite it being a bad Collapse
September 20, 2016
7 DAYS AGO - Tip of the Week
Five Serves That EVERYONE Should Master.
Protect Future of Table Tennis in Expand
7 DAYS AGO - Tip of the Week
Five Serves That EVERYONE Should Master.
Protect Future of Table Tennis in USA
Most of you probably received the mass emails sent out last week from “Protect Future of Table Tennis in USA” about the U.S. team selections, especially in the Mini-cadet teams (12 and under). The letter is from Rajul Seth from the ICC Table Tennis Center (where he's done some great work), who I consider a friend, and hopefully that won’t change after this. He makes some good points, though there are some inaccurate or misleading items I could nitpick about, and there is more to the issue than what is covered in the letter.
However, there was one serious problem that really angered me, and it had nothing to do with the actual issue involved. I emailed him complaining about his naming these four 10-12 year-old kids publicly in this way (rather than referring to them by rating and as “Player A,” “Player B,” etc.). These kids did nothing wrong, and Collapse
Table Tennis Equipment – Tips for Parents
19/09/2016 - This is the third in a series of blog posts I’m calling “A Parent’s Guide to Expand
19/09/2016 - This is the third in a series of blog posts I’m calling “A Parent’s Guide to Table Tennis”. I believe this is a really important topic as parents have a big, and often undervalued, role to play in the development of their children’s sporting abilities. The idea is to share some of the wisdom I’ve […]
The post Table Tennis Equipment – Tips for Parents appeared first on Expert Table Tennis. Collapse
September 15, 2016
15/09/2016 - Years of Training Have Destroyed My Reactions
Okay, this may seem misleading. During my Expand
15/09/2016 - Years of Training Have Destroyed My Reactions
Okay, this may seem misleading. During my development years I did the usual intensive drills that conditioned me to react properly to nearly any given shot. Let me emphasize one word here: nearly. Now opponents may play at speeds that I might not be able to react to, or catch me off guard with placement and spin, but even there I’d usually react properly, just not always quickly enough or with just the right racket angle.
Some of my students have picked up on a certain flaw here, which I think affects me more than most. When someone throws something at me that I’m not used to, all that conditioning falls apart. It means I basically have two choices – I can go for a “regular” shot, and likely miss, or I can change to a safe shot, usually just fishing or weakly blocking it back.
For example, one of my students (a righty) has been developing this inside-out backhand loop that goes down the line, breaking away Collapse
September 13, 2016
13/09/2016 - Today's blog will be up around 10:30AM. Dan Seemiller's book is out, North American Expand
13/09/2016 - Today's blog will be up around 10:30AM. Dan Seemiller's book is out, North American Championships, the writeup and photos from the MDTTC September Open - lots of stuff coming up! (That I woke up with a major stomacheache didn't help - I think that pizza late last night didn't help.) Collapse
September 9, 2016
09/09/2016 - As You Think, So Shall You Become - Revisited
Yesterday I posted this Bruce Lee Table Tennis Expand
09/09/2016 - As You Think, So Shall You Become - Revisited
Yesterday I posted this Bruce Lee Table Tennis graphic – and the Bruce Lee quote in the heading, “So you think, so shall you become,” very much applies to table tennis. Most players have self-images of their game, which puts them in a comfort zone. And nearly everything they do re-enforces this, and so they stay in this comfort zone, rarely developing anything new. Sure, they play around with other shots, and practice them, but not in a long-term, serious way. I’ve seen loopers who can’t block react by spending even more time working on their loop rather than mastering the block. I’ve seen players who are great blockers but constantly lament their lack of attacking skills – and spend decades playing as a blocker rather than taking a few months of that time where they develop and incorporate attacking skills. These players are unable to think of themselves as something better, and so are Collapse
September 7, 2016
07/09/2016 - Michael Jordon and Ma Long – the Same?
Here’s the classic picture of both. Expand
07/09/2016 - Michael Jordon and Ma Long – the Same?
Here’s the classic picture of both. There’s actually a coaching lesson in this. Players have their best performances when they just let go and let their subconscious take over, i.e. learned reactions. So when top players are performing at their best, they are basically just observers, other than basic tactics. So when they pull off great plays, whether in basketball, table tennis, or any other skill sport, they often have that reaction of essentially shrugging their shoulders and throwing up their hands, as they are just as amazed as we are at what they are doing – because, deep down, they don’t even feel like they are doing it, they are just spectators.
I’ve had this exact same feeling when I’ve played my best. I remember playing Rey Domingo – a 2500 player – in perhaps the best tournament match of my life, and I just watched as his best shots came at me in slow motion, and so easily Collapse
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Stroke Development Tips for Table Tennis Players – by Werner Schlager
9 HRS AGO - I started day one of Werner Schlager Week yesterday with nine table tennis tips from Werner Expand
9 HRS AGO - I started day one of Werner Schlager Week yesterday with nine table tennis tips from Werner focusing on the area of service and service return. Today, our attention switches to stroke development. We’re going to go through all of the major strokes, including; the push, the drive, the smash, the topspin, the flick/flip, the block, the […]
The post Stroke Development Tips for Table Tennis Players – by Werner Schlager appeared first on Expert Table Tennis. Collapse
Serve & Return Tips for Table Tennis Players – by Werner Schlager
1 DAY AGO - Werner Schlager is a former world champion table tennis player from Austria. Strangely enough, Expand
1 DAY AGO - Werner Schlager is a former world champion table tennis player from Austria. Strangely enough, it’s his birthday on Wednesday (he’ll be 44) – which is when I usually release my weekly blog post – so, to celebrate, I have decided to do a “Werner Schlager Week”. Each day this week I will release a new article […]
The post Serve & Return Tips for Table Tennis Players – by Werner Schlager appeared first on Expert Table Tennis. Collapse
September 21, 2016
6 DAYS AGO - New ITTF Coaching Rule and Board Discussion on Saturday
This Saturday at 9:30AM the USATT Board Expand
6 DAYS AGO - New ITTF Coaching Rule and Board Discussion on Saturday
This Saturday at 9:30AM the USATT Board will have a teleconference on whether to adopt the new ITTF Coaching Rule that allows coaching between points. I think it’s a horrible rule, and yet we’d be handicapping ourselves if we don’t adopt it, so it’s not an easy decision, and I’m still undecided – though I’m leaning slightly toward adopting it, with a note in the minutes that we should take this up again at the December Board meeting so we can evaluate it. This is your chance to chime in.
Here’s what Samson Dubina wrote me about it:
It is a terrible rule and should never have been passed by ITTF. However, as you mentioned in the blog, we need to follow the ruling if we want to have any chance to have success at the international level. USATT really needs to have a conference call about this asap. Myself, as well as the other US Coaches, need to be developing a Collapse
Men's World Cup 2016 - Table Tennis
19/09/2016 - The Men's World Cup is an invitational event for 20 of the world's top players. See who qualified Expand
19/09/2016 - The Men's World Cup is an invitational event for 20 of the world's top players. See who qualified for this prestigious event in 2016 and get all the results. Collapse
Advice for players who hit the ball very hard, but keep missing
17/09/2016 - I have four players I’m coaching at the moment who all have the same problem. Their attacks are so Expand
17/09/2016 - I have four players I’m coaching at the moment who all have the same problem. Their attacks are so powerful the ball goes long more often than it hits the table. For every successful attack they make, they usually miss another three or four. In this blog post I share two very important pieces of advice for any player who makes too many mistakes by hitting the ball too hard.
The post Advice for players who hit the ball very hard, but keep missing appeared first on Tom Lodziak Table Tennis Coaching. Collapse
September 14, 2016
14/09/2016 - Just once I'd like to put up a note saying, "This morning's blog will be up extra Expand
14/09/2016 - Just once I'd like to put up a note saying, "This morning's blog will be up extra early, and in fact is already up, so why are you reading this note?" Instead, due to a combination of late-night and early-morning work and other interruptions, this morning's blog will be up by 11AM instead of the usual 10AM. Collapse
September 12, 2016
12/09/2016 - This morning's blog will be later than usual, as is the norm on Mondays, but should be up by Expand
12/09/2016 - This morning's blog will be later than usual, as is the norm on Mondays, but should be up by Noon. I've had one of those incredibly long weekends - 12 hours running a tournament on Saturday, staying up late to get the results ready and sending to USATT, coaching all day Sunday, and waking up feeling like I just ran a marathon and then went ten rounds with Mike Tyson. But I did put up the Tip of the Week:
Tip of the Week
The More Two Players Drill Together the Better They Drill Together. Collapse
Table Tennis Question - Time between serves
09/09/2016 - Don from California, USA asks...
How much time is allowed for a person to serve between Expand
09/09/2016 - Don from California, USA asks...
How much time is allowed for a person to serve between points?
----- Martin's Reply -----
The quick answer is that there is no specified time limit.
The long answer is as follows...
The Laws of Table Tennis are the "basic rules" which prescribe the equipment to be used; how to serve and return; the order of play; how to score points and how long the game can last. However, they do not specify any time limits for service.
You can read them here...
www.allabouttabletennis.com/official-rules-of-table-tennis.html
The Laws of Table Tennis are the same for both amateurs and professionals, BUT for higher levels of play there are many additional Regulations which supplement the basic rules.
How many of these additional Regulations are actually used will depend upon the standard of the competition being played, and whether the organisers have adopted all or any of them.
One of these Regulations states...
"Play shall be continuous throughout an Collapse
Table Tennis Tips for Racketlon Players
07/09/2016 - Hello, racketlon players! My name is Ben Larcombe and I’m a professional table tennis coach. Expand
07/09/2016 - Hello, racketlon players! My name is Ben Larcombe and I’m a professional table tennis coach. On Sunday I played in my first ever racketlon tournament. It’s now Wednesday and my body still aches all over! I’m glad I did it, though. I’ve wanted to enter one for years – despite the fact I’m no good […]
The post Table Tennis Tips for Racketlon Players appeared first on Expert Table Tennis. Collapse
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Service tactics to win cheap points
1 DAY AGO - One of the benefits of having a table tennis table in my garage, is that I get to practise my Expand
1 DAY AGO - One of the benefits of having a table tennis table in my garage, is that I get to practise my serves a lot. I spend time practising my favourite serves - the ones I always use in matches. I also spend some time experimenting with different service actions and spin. As a result of all this practice, my service game is quite strong. I usually win lots of points on my serve and my service tactics get me out of trouble when other parts of my game aren’t working quite so well. In this blog post I share some of the service tactics which help me win cheap points.
The post Service tactics to win cheap points appeared first on Tom Lodziak Table Tennis Coaching. Collapse
ITTF World Tour - Where the worlds best table tennis professionals compete
4 DAYS AGO - 2017 sees the launch of a revamped ITTF World Tour with higher prize money for all players.
How to Return Spin Serves in Table Tennis
6 DAYS AGO - Last week I wrote about how to “read” spin serves in table tennis. Today, I’m Expand
6 DAYS AGO - Last week I wrote about how to “read” spin serves in table tennis. Today, I’m taking it one step further and looking at how to “return” spin serves. That means you’re going to need to have mastered a wide variety of table tennis strokes in order to get the most out of this post. Check out […]
The post How to Return Spin Serves in Table Tennis appeared first on Expert Table Tennis. Collapse
September 19, 2016
19/09/2016 - I’m pretty tired right now, and I need a vacation. Plus I’ve got a todo list that goes Expand
19/09/2016 - I’m pretty tired right now, and I need a vacation. Plus I’ve got a todo list that goes from here to Beijing – even now Ma Long and Ding Ning are examining the lower parts of it and cowering in fear. (I think the item “Make America so great at table tennis the Chinese quit and take up shuffleboard” is the part that scared them.) Plus today is Adam West’s 88th birthday – the original Batman from the 1960s TV show and mayor of Quahog in Family guy – a national holiday if there ever was one. So no blog today – back tomorrow. Collapse
September 16, 2016
16/09/2016 - All About Table Tennis Books
As readers here know, Dan Seemiller’s autobiography came out Expand
16/09/2016 - All About Table Tennis Books
As readers here know, Dan Seemiller’s autobiography came out this past week, Revelations of a Table Tennis Champion. It’s what all the “cool” kids table tennis players will be talking about at the club now, so go get your copy now. Don’t make us send you to the nerdy kids table. (See how that works for both schools and table tennis clubs?) Here is the text from the back cover:
Dedication, Determination, Heartbreak, and Achievement
If you are in the Olympic sport of table tennis, then you know Danny Seemiller, USA’s greatest modern champion. In “Revelations of a Table Tennis Champion,” the five-time U.S. Men’s Singles Champion takes you through his 50 years in the sport, from the early days of training, the breakthroughs, the agonizing defeats and the great triumphs. You’ll learn why the three-sport star – baseball, basketball, and football – changed his focus to table Collapse
How to Read Spin Serves in Table Tennis
14/09/2016 - More so than any other racket sport, table tennis is a game that is dominated by spin. A Japanese Expand
14/09/2016 - More so than any other racket sport, table tennis is a game that is dominated by spin. A Japanese study investigating the rotation speed of serves at the 2009 World Table Tennis Championships observed a top speed of 62.5 rps (rotations per second). That’s a lot of spin! When a ball that is spinning at 62.5 rps makes contact with […]
The post How to Read Spin Serves in Table Tennis appeared first on Expert Table Tennis. Collapse
How to look after your table tennis bat
09/09/2016 - I spend more money than I should on table tennis rubbers, so I really try to look after them. I Expand
09/09/2016 - I spend more money than I should on table tennis rubbers, so I really try to look after them. I want them to last as long as possible and retain their grippiness, so I can get lots of spin on my shots. Taking care of my table tennis bat doesn’t take much effort or cost much money. In this blog post, I explain what I do (and what you should do too).
The post How to look after your table tennis bat appeared first on Tom Lodziak Table Tennis Coaching. Collapse
September 8, 2016
08/09/2016 - Final Proofing - "Revelations of a Champion"
Yesterday I did the absolutely final Expand
08/09/2016 - Final Proofing - "Revelations of a Champion"
Yesterday I did the absolutely final proofing of Dan Seemiller’s autobiography, “Revelations of a Table Tennis Champion.” The book is really coming around! I did 4.5 hours of proofing at Ledo’s (noon to 4:30PM, lots of pizza and large Mountain Dew, two refills), did a 90-minute coaching session, and then did another 2.5 hours of proofing at Wendy’s (7:30-10PM, large chili with cheese and onion, and a large Dr. Pepper). And then it was done! Except – I needed another three hours to input all the changes, making sure to keep all the layouts lined up. (Plus some USATT stuff took up over an hour.) I also had 19 questions for Dan, which I emailed to him a little after 2:30AM. As soon as he gets back to me on those, I’ll be able to finalize the interior. (It’s 3:23AM as I write this – I’d rather get the blog done now then have to do it when I get up.)
Meanwhile, today I need Collapse
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