Most people who play or have played know the basic rules in table tennis. If you don’t here’s a link for table tennis rules.
Table tennis has and most likely will continue to evolve.
Table tennis has evolved so much that many recreational table tennis or (ping pong) players abide by the older rules. Such as celluloid balls, up to 21 points, 5 serves each, no ball toss etc. This means if you are unwilling to adapt and change, table tennis as a sport will gust rate the hell out of you.
Rules are important:
Rules are extremely important, it’s like building a cupboard from Ikea without instructions. You would put many holes in the wrong place, you may break a few pieces, some things would be the wrong way round etc.
Rules allow people to express themselves but with limitations and a clear outcome. How you reach the outcome is down to you. It also may pave the way in which we perform and carry out the task at hand.
Should rules be broken?
Depends on who you ask, Arnold Schwarzenegger says, “break some rules but don’t break the law”. Personally, I love this quote and in many ways, I follow his philosophy. My wife, on the other hand, will not and does not break the rules. This may be because of upbringing, past experiences or developed via culture.
Arnold Schwarzenegger playing table tennis
For me personally, there were little rules growing up. My mum was hardly home and if she was she wasn’t exactly a stickler for rules. On the other hand, my wife was brought up in a lovely family home with 4 siblings. This meant order was required in making sure everyone and everything was in check, keeping piece inside the home.
Pros and cons of rules:
If you are like me and break the rules you can find yourself in many sticky situations. Lots of mistakes, lots of disagreements, lots of seemingly (failures). But on the positive side, you may find lots of success, new ideas, exponential growth, unique methods, super learning, wonderful experience, development of strong mindset, grit, survival, and finding ways thought of as impossible etc.
On the other hand:
If you’re like my wife, you will not; try out new things, ponder over small mistakes, have fewer experiences, predictable often using systematic methods, let fear control you, follow others, be indecisive etc. But you will be trustworthy, organised, committed, play fair, rarely get in trouble, rarely make mistakes, consistent etc.
Are rules important?
Yes, 100% they are but if I had a choice (which we all do) I would choose to take positive qualities from both. This includes; Pushing the boundaries, look for loopholes and explore beyond to gain those special experiences via personal goals and vision. Yet I would also benefit from being committed, focused, have clear outlines and be organised.
I think if you are able to combine both elements you will witness great success.
Many of the best players explore the limits of scientific rules, both in physical and mental capabilities.
Breaking table tennis rules:
If the game is up to 11 why not play;
1. some games up to 100 points?
Why not play half table only?
Why not play two red rubbers one anti-spin?
Why not serve behind the arm/body creating illegal serves?
All these things wild explorations will elevate your game because you will have to adapt. As human beings, we are the best creatures on the planet at adapting because not only does our body adapt but our brain also looks for solutions.
Of course, once the official game begins re-group, focus and use your new skills to find ways of winning inside the rule book.
The choice is yours, become one way or another or be everything.
Wow, the table tennis culture in Belgium is so different.
Playing table tennis in the Belgium League
Nearly 20 years ago I played in Belgium at a club called Soka. The club had plenty of teams ranging from lower divisions through to the top division ‘Super Liga’. The Belgique super league has been famous for many years attracting lots of superstar table tennis players. Players include Samsanov, Primorac, JM Saive and many others. Moving forward in time I was back playing in Belgium, for a different club and here are some lessons and experiences which may interest you.
My experience
I have competed seldom over the past 7 years and most of the time it has been local competition. The play included once or twice a year to help friends and students at SBL but most know my focus is on coaching these days. Yet this felt like a mini-renaissance, I was asked to compete on behalf of another club as a player. This was no favour nor was it to help my teams out, it was me providing my skills as a player to a club.
Mindset
It was a weird and honourable feeling to for me. My head was giving excuses as to why I may lose and why I should not compete! I entered the hall and began watching my opposition knock up, again I questioned my ability to be there and could I beat these guys?
Our brains implode with information through a new experience and this was exactly how I felt especially when I was told before the match “this is an important match”. Luckily for me, my first match was against a defensive player. This gave me immediate confidence, I’ve always believed to be good against defensive players and I used the confidence to win that match 3-1. Two matches are played simultaneously and I glimpsed across on occasion eyeing up my next opponent blasting balls. Again my mind started began procrastinating saying all sorts of things like it’s OK you’ve won be happy.
As you can see our minds like to make us feel secure by giving excuses or looking for ways to protect us. I managed to win all 4 of my matches. My confidence by the 3rd and 4th match was at a massive high and I was able to execute my match play as if I was in the practice hall.
How and why was I able to turn my initial doubts into confidence and winning convincingly?
I purposely put pressure on myself, by posting on social media that I’m competing. I knew this would provide me a sense of external pressure and build my internal pressure. I wanted to put myself in a position where I felt uncomfortable and see if I could find a way to overcome it.
Admittedly I was very nervous the first match. All eyes on me from 90% of the club members and players, the club has paid for me to come and perform and I was told by the president that this match is important prior to the event.
So… how did I manage to control the pressure, something many fail (including myself) to handle or control?
The first game
My opponent struggled with my serve and I ran away winning 11-3, this is one of the reasons I always bang on about the importance of having good serves. Second game it all changed he was able to return my serves and began to put all the balls back on the table, furthermore I lost focus looking at my next opponent and I lost 11-9.
My mind began to get scrambled again “what if you lose this game? You’ll be 2-1 down and it will be hard to come back, then you may lose the other games!”. And you said, “you’re good against chop!!!” It was time to put my teachings into practice and often a good start can lead to a good ending.
Finding a way
My mantra is finding a way, I quickly changed those thoughts to
1. Focus on the moment
2. How can you win tactically
3. Lowering my pulse rate by focusing on my breath.
This allowed me to ignore all the variables and hone in on my skill and what I can do to win. I found some new tactics and slowly drew away point by point. The possible outcomes and negative thoughts disappeared and I was in the zone. I believe I won the next two games under 5.
Table Tennis Characters
I wrote a blog 2 weeks ago about how a character is required in our sport. Well, character in Belgium is in huge abundance which explains why they get people to come and watch plus support the sport. My second match was against the player I was viewing while I played my first match. You had to be there to believe it!
FIRST POINT – I won, (via my serve) this young man was effing and blinding for about 30 seconds.
SECOND POINT – I won, (third ball attack) my opponent goes mental at himself with verbal abuse and physically he goes to kick the table skimming it (luckily for him). Lots of verbal diarrhoea both out loud and under his breath, nothing aimed at me in fact as he prepares to play the next point, he says well played (LOL). The other amazing thing I noticed was how the umpire says nothing at all of this physical and metal outcry.
The THIRD POINT – he misses a shot and that was it he literally gave up. I tried to stay focused because sometimes this kind of giving up attitude allows a player to play freely and occasionally even better than their normal play. Furthermore by staying focused it employs that you are not taking them lightly regardless of their state and reinforces their (giving up attitude) making it virtually impossible for them to win. Even though I tried to maintain focus in game 2 he regrouped swinging left right and centre taking that game off me 11-7. My corner told me to go to his forehand when attacking. I knew it was important to get a good start and hopefully get him to lose his cool again. I did just that and he began playing as if he had lost the match and I just focused on winning one point at a time. Tactically I decided to go to his cross over which seemed to work better than going to his forehand side. (Lesson for youngsters) listen to advice but if it doesn’t seem to work or you’re uncomfortable, change tactics accordingly.
The madness continues:
Players often swore between points, lots of outspoken verbal diarrhoea some players drunk beer in between points and I saw one guy snap his bat in half after losing. Yet, with all this drama every player is courteous and polite in so many respects regardless of their outcry. For example, players wished you “Bonne Match” (have a good match) before play commenced, an immediate apology was given if a net or edge occurred. Gestures of well played, sorry and honesty was truly amazing to see. The respect for the player, game and club was beautiful to see such as; If a ball interrupted play players would always ask did the ball disturb you? And if the umpire thought it did not the opponent would correct them and say no by flipping the scoreboard and giving you back the point. Even though there was lots of verbal and physical outcry it was clear to see that was the personal character being expressed and they never I portrayed any animosity towards the other player.
Table tennis culture in Belgium
This was fascinating to me, they have 30 thousand registered players in a very small country. Yet they have produced a world no.1 and many world-class players over the past 30 years. They have a top division professional league where some top players get up to €50k per season.
A very large proportion of the clubs are based in a full-time table tennis hall which has a bar, lounge seating area and its open 7 days a week. They provide for the local community and the community supports them by offering sponsorship. This particular club I was playing for had over 50 different sponsors scattered all around the hall.
Pub – Drink – Play
Effectively the system works like this, there’s a bar open to the public. Players enjoy a drink and socialise with their friends and compete for both, on a social, local, national and even professional level. The local community support the club via multiple local businesses. Often the sponsors are players inside the club and they get multiple benefits via sponsoring the club. Tax benefits, supporting the local community, their company is viewed by internal and external people and they get to have a beer on the house. The beautiful thing was seeing families attend the club to watch dad, mother, brother or sister compete. After the match, both teams sit down for a drink and a meal were discussions about table tennis flows.
Table tennis pub clubs:
Maybe it’s time for us to incorporate a similar structure in England? Lots of pubs are closing down, this gives scope and possibly reviving pubs across England. All that’s needed is pubs that have some land where a hall can be built to accommodate a playing area/facility.
The benefits:
People attend the pub to play
Join their friends who play
Watch TT (entertainment while they have a drink)
Burn off the beer calories
Social evening
Compete
Provide for the community and unite the community via a social gathering
To see little clips and pictures of the club in action please visit my social media networks (Insta or FB)
Table tennis never ceases to amaze me, the sport can give so much to a person’s livelihood. All we have to do is invest in building a culture that understands and wants to take part.
A table tennis tactic which is thought of is actually irrelevant if you’re unable to execute it.
Having a tool is useless if you don’t know how to use it:
When developing players I always do my best to explain my methods. This gives them the ability to execute their leanings at particular game scenario’s. A tactic is easily spoken about but the player often won’t have the tools or know how to implement such instructions.
It’s important if you’re coaching someone in the corner for the first time. That you be honest with one another and discuss what the player is able and capable of. If you know the player well then stick to tactics that you both know.
W. Schlager Table Tennis World Champion 2003
Finding a way:
Sometimes the tools and tactics may not work, that’s when you must step outside of your comfort zone and look for solutions. I live by many motto’s and philosophies and one I like “ if there’s a problem, then there’s a solution”. You may not have the best backhand in the world but you can still win a world or Olympic title. Both JP Gatien (World 1993) and Ryu Seung Min (Olympics 2004) did it, they found other ways to compromise their personal deficiency’s.
The game is evolving:
It’s getting harder and harder to win major titles or become a world class player if you have technical deficiencies. Today most top players have near complete games, what set’s them apart is the mindset and tactics used to find small gaps and wholes.
Developing tactics:
Tactics are where you can observe your opponents weakness and use it against them. For example, if you play a someone that struggles to flick with their forehand, would you serve short to the backhand? I once played a player who had an amazing backhand and forehand flick. We are all taught to serve short which is what I did and I was 2-0 down. My teammate came over and said, “Eli, serve long and occasionally short”. It was an easy game for me from then on winning 3-2. Tactics are often simple if understood and seen, the key is finding them. Tactics, as mentioned, can be easy but you won’t be able to execute them if your game is limited.
When you play games and train, try to reflect post-match. Analyse what worked and what didn’t and this will slowly open up your thought process of how to win matches using various tactics.
We can’t all be a genius but we can be smart with practice and time.
Written by Eli Baraty eBaTT (Eli Baraty Academy of Table Tennis) Coach Me Table Tennis – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –Instagram: _elibaraty Twitter: @elibaraty FB: Coach Me Table Tennis – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – W: www.coachmetabletennis.com M: 07900401144
Have you ever asked yourself, how important is a table tennis rally?
We all love having a long table tennis rally and of course, winning the big rallies is like an injection of adrenaline.
Table Tennis Rallies
An average table tennis rally is between 4-5 strokes and each stroke is played from 0.2 to 0.5 of a second, in simple terms approximately 2 strokes per second. If you take these stats into account you must ask yourself, how important is it train long rallies in the practice hall? 1 in ten points you will have a long-lasting rally (between 8-15 strokes).
Ping Pong Championships at Ally Pally
How should we train?
I think when building fundamentals the focus should be on building solid foundations which evolve around regular and consistent exercises. Once your stroke play has solid foundations then the key focus should be on the first 4-6 balls. Naturally, you should be giving extra attention to the serve and return then third fourth and fifth ball. Developing these key shots will enable you to deliver high-quality shots from the offset and sway most games in your favour.
Interesting table tennis stats
If you take an average Professional Table Tennis Match (best of seven) you will notice that the match lasts around 50min. In that time the actual rally play is on average 4min and 10sec. This means less than 10% of the match is actual gameplay. Every rally starts slow and speeds up (should we implement off the table training with slow to fast training sessions?)
The first ball:
People say the most important shot in table tennis is your serve, I say I agree but I also disagree. The first shot is the most important whether it be your server or return. These two shots start a rally and one without the other won’t complete a winning game. Therefore I would practice both with similar importance, the only difference is the service can be developed solely and you are in full control of the spin, speed and placement.
Can I be a world class player without big rally play?
If you want to be a world class player, I believe it can be achieved without having wonderful rally skills but there will be times when you’re required to rally beyond 6 balls. If you fail to develop a good rally base you will be exposed eventually. If you watch Ma Lin, he was a great example of serve and return, he was capable of playing long and good rallies but would much rather avoid long rallies due to a weaker backhand wing.
Key learning:
Develop the fundamentals to enable long rallies but ultimately develop your serve and return then 3rd and 5th. After that, you can focus on developing your rally play. if you don’t have those fundamentals you won’t reach the rally plays even though you may be good at them.
Players often ask me how can I improve my table tennis game? The simple answer I enjoy giving “hire me as your coach” lol.
Table Tennis Game
Improve your table tennis game at least 10% in the next 30 days, then follow these 3 simple steps.
Record your training drills and match play, you will quickly notice things you never knew you did.
Break the routine, if you practice once a week make it twice or more or visa versa. Try new things; new exercises, different clubs, different sparring partners, a different coach and try to place yourself under unfamiliar territory. Try to notice how you deal with it because in tournaments or league’s you will often face an unfamiliar situation and that’s where you must find solutions. If you purposely and constantly place yourself in an unfamiliar situation you will learn to deal with tough situations.This will enabling you to develop and progress at a faster rate.
Practice your serve, I’m sure you’ve heard this before (serve is the most important shot in the game) YES, we know that! So, if you know it why won’t you spend 5-10 minutes practicing it before you play? Experiment with a new service, try to keep the ball low over the net, place the service where you don’t often go or have never gone before and try to impart as much spin as possible. The more you do this, the more joy you’ll get when people miss-read or return your serve poorly and lastly fail to return your serve.
You have three tools to improve your table tennis game which will instantly help you with your game and if you require more get in touch with me or your local coach.
How I uplift my player’s games by having table tennis targets on the table. I’m going to explain the benefits of my methods below.
I love coaching and the more players I coach the more I learn. But one thing seems to stand out with 95% of the players I work with. They all fear the opponent standing on the other side of the table.
The 5% of players who don’t fear the opponent have a secret!
When playing someone of our level or above we find ourselves, feeling uncomfortable and going for a little extra which often results in unforced errors. We often complain by saying I played badly today but in truth it’s our awareness of the opponent that causes anxiety, making it hard for us to win.
Table Tennis Targets
Learn to win rather than lose:
We are not always beaten by players of our standard or slightly above our level but commonly LOSE tight matches to those players. What do I mean? We fear our opponent in most cases and we tend to make unforced errors hence a loss rather than the player creating winners and beating us. We think too much in an attempt to foresee the future which disables our execution or forces an overload of information causing a poor shot selection and ultimately deliver a weak or failed shot.
Opposition awareness
Being aware of a player’s ability is good but it should not override your shot selection. If we think that our opponent has an answer to all our shots, then we won’t be able to beat them mentally and that is often half the battle. The aim is to execute and deliver your game with the best strategy possible. A game plan (can be changed) and is adaptable according to the situation but we must give ourselves the best opportunity of beating a player regardless of their ability!
So, how can we give ourselves an upper hand in executing what we can do, regardless of the opponent?
Here are the simple secret top players use to focus on their capabilities rather than the opponent’s repertoire.
Please note: top players will and can manipulate the ball in many different ways and you will need to adapt accordingly.
3x Table Tennis Target Tips:
You must focus on ball placement but it must be precise placement to ensure greater success. Pick a point on the table you wish to hit and aim there, in doing so your focus will shift away from your opponent. To enhance this skill place targets on a table and aim to hit them, notice what targets are easier to hit and take note of where you are hitting the ball from, (understand you angles) ‘scroll to the bottom of the page’. When you play a match, you can visualise the targets on the table and aim to hit one of them, depending on the ball given, your body position and angle you are hitting the ball form.
Target Focus
When focusing on a specific target your mind will hone in on the goal set and shift away from your opponent’s possibilities. You are only in control of your own shots and if you are unable to execute them due to fear of his/her reaction, then this will often lead to poor results your end. By placing targets in a practice session gives you the ability to visualise those targets in a real match which can help you to execute your shots. If the player can counteract your shots, then either you change placement or they are just too good on this occasion. Nevertheless, if you execute your shots at least you know where you stand rather than be dictated to, by unknown future events.
Take the ball as early as possible, this will give you less time to worry about what your opponent will or can do and it will also give your opponent less reaction time.
Lastly, use your peripheral vision, try to notice where your opponent is standing or itching to go towards then have your target in your mind and go to that specific zone.
These three tips will give you a more zoned mindset and provide a simple tool to beating players your level and above more often than not.
Place table tennis targets on the table when you train and make target hitting second nature when playing matches.
Here is a nice little target practice I use with my players (Filip Szymanski Polish International).
We are often told, that was a high-risk table tennis shot, or we tell ourselves that was a poor shot selection. After one or two high-risk shots our game instantly changes into:
Reduction of power
More spin less power
Directing the ball towards the centre of the table for more safety
Well, I agree with all of the above but…
I also believe we should train at high risk more often.
The more you practice hitting the white line and exposing the ball into the wide angles the safer that particular shot will become
The more you practice and expose yourself against fastballs with positive blocks and counters the more accustomed you will become to it and develop a positive but secure defensive game.
If you implement an increase of harder and faster hitting the balls in your training session with the correct adjustments the risk percentage will decrease in your favour. You will learn how to time the ball correctly and this is exactly what the best in the world do. When you watch them hitting such wonderful shots which seem virtually impossible, you will soon understand that training at high risk becomes a low risk in due course, if done correctly.
Filip Szymanski Heritage Oil Table Tennis Tournament
So, go and hit some high-risk shots and develop it into low risk. To witness this in action I have developed a video that illustrates a high-risk table tennis shot, click here to see it.
Written by Eli Baraty
eBaTT (Eli Baraty Academy of Table Tennis)
Coach Me Table Tennis
Instagram: _elibaraty
Twitter: @elibaraty
FB: Eli Baraty
W: www.coachmetabletennis.com
E: elibaraty@hotmail.com
M: 07900401144
Table Tennis tactics can win or lose you a match, even though you may or may not have the better technical shots. Growing up, I was unaware of how mentally tough I was and I had a craving desire towards winning which drove me through many hurdles.
The desire to win comes first:
My personal desire to win as a player faded due to many reasons, which means no matter what tactics i employ it’s very hard to win. (that’s another story). I believe its vital for each and every one of us to have or build a burning desire towards winning. Once we have that we can then implement tactics towards becoming a winner. I want to share 3 key elements which I believe can help you win more matches.
Desire to win
1. Talking to yourself:
We all have that voice that pops up saying “you’re going to lose this match” “don’t bottle it” that’s the voice that likes to say negative things and find excuses and reasons for us to lose.
STOP!
As soon as you hear that voice, override it and speak to yourself, internally or externally, repeating positive words and phrases such as; “this is my point” I’m capable of winning this match” etc.
2. Facing the challenge head-on:
I often hear and see players given excuses prior and after a match. “I haven’t trained this week” “my rubbers are dead” “I’ve been unwell”.
The fact of the matter is you have a match regardless, so why not face it head on? If you lose you lost with your specific circumstances and on that occasion, it wasn’t meant to be! You give yourself a greater chance of accepting your so-called issues and going into the match with what you have. if you manage to win you did it despite your issues…
Fight or lose
It’s like being thrown into three different cages with a lion.
Cage 1: You have a gun
Cage 2: You have a knife
Cage 3: Only you stand before the lion
In all three circumstances, you have no choice but to fight for survival. If you choose not to fight regardless of cage number, you will lose your life! If you choose to fight in all three cages your chances of survival are increased.
3. Tempo:
I’ll never forget watching one of the all-time greats Wang Liqin and he had a special formula which he used to control the tempo of a match.
If he won a point on his serve he would bounce the ball twice on his bat and then serve. If he lost a point he would bounce the ball 4 times!
On the return of serve, he would wipe his hand once on the side of the table and twice if he lost the point.
Now you have some insight secrets to perform regardless of the situation, go out there and perform your magic…
Written By Eli Baraty
Twitter: @elibaraty
instagram: _elibaraty
Facebook: @coachmetabletennis by Eli Baraty
W: ebattsport.com
One of the hardest things to improve is your table tennis ball placement. I think most of us see the top player hitting the ball hard, its visually pleasing and we want to emulate them. I was the same, always looking to hit the ball 100 miles per hour irrelevant of what the ball received!
Your form does not predict results:
I was 18 years old and playing some of the best table tennis of my short. I had worked my way up the Grand Prix circuit winning every band and at Bath Grand Prix I was in Band 1. I was in good form going through the rounds. Players included Craig Bryant, Victor Guang and other top England players, in my path towards the final. In the final, I faced England no.67 at the time. I was on firebombing shout from both wings and felt I would wipe the floor with whoever came my way. Oh, how wrong I would prove myself to be!
I lost 3-0 and before I had a chance to realise what had happened my first band 1 final was over and done with! Everyone who watched the final was shocked, as to how badly I got beaten (3-0).
Mitchell Jones & Guarav Aravind Table Tennis Training
Try to Learn from your experience
At the time I just took it on the chin and admitted to myself that he was better on that occasion. I continued playing my usual game, of trying to hit every ball hard. A few years down the line after becoming a coach I reflected on that loss. Then it hit me, that player put the ball in places where I was unbalanced making it hard for me to unleash my bombs. He did not possess power shots like me but instead, he had fantastic ball variation, deception and placement. Today I have learnt to adopt that skill alongside power when the opportunity arises.
How did I improve my placement?
1. Putting targets on the table when doing exercises, for example, a piece of paper and then folding it in half every time you hit it. Or to spice things up you can place chess pieces and attempt to hit targets but alongside a thought process e.g. knock the king down and you win the match. 2. Table restriction put a small towel in a certain area of the table. Or as shown (Picture) put barriers in play to restrict the angles or open the angles for one person but not the other. 3. Watching the opponent and placing the ball into their crossover section or using the angles, depending on where they are standing.
I have placed some pictures and videos (click here).
Good ball placement in Table Tennis
When you learn to place the ball where you wish it to go. You will often hear players saying, “you make me feel uncomfortable and I don’t know exactly what you’re doing?!
Another Tip, take two pieces of paper one on each side. Both players must attempt to hit the opponents paper. When you hit the paper it must be folded in half, making your target smaller and harder to hit. You can increase the difficulty by varying the location of the paper after each hit.
Table Tennis Angles
Focus on the angles given, you have a right and left-hand triangle angle. For example, if you’re hitting the ball from the right-hand side (your side) you have a wide angle to the left-hand side.
Deep ball placement
A deep ball means towards the end/edge of the table which can also be seen as good ball placement. When knocking up watch where your balls are landing. Notice if they land short and if so amend your shots accordingly.
Placement can be just as powerful if not better than hitting the ball hard…
