Ask any Table Tennis questions to the Australian Olympic Coach http://www.PingSkills.com/table-tennis-forum/ Copyright PingSkills 2008 How to hold the racket when doing backhand chop? http://www.pingskills.com/table-tennis-forum/backhand-chop-grip/ Tue, 21 Sep 2021 06:43:41 AEST hi coach, I suffer from backhand to forehand transition because of my grip. After 1-2 backhand topspins I can't execute a forehand because I feel the handle slips inside my hand during the transition, so I squeeze the handle a lot.  The result is having a permanent backhand grip with a locked wrist.  I tried to play both backhand and forehand with a strictly neutral grip but my backhand became really stiff so it didn't help. I don't know if this is happening because of the arthritis problem i have in my wrist or because of a bad grip habit (maybe both), but I did notice for sure that the 2 small wooden curves at the top of the handle bothers me a a lot when I play. So I tried something else.  I switched the sides of the bat.  I put the blade logo which is supposed to be on the forehand, on backhand.  And then something magical happens. The curves at the top of the handle don't bother me at all, my grip is very comfortable and loose and the transition from backhand to forehand grip is very easy. so my questions are  a) did you ever seen or heard something so awkward like this? b) shall I glue my rubber the opposite way and play like this? or shall I try to fix the problem by experimenting more with my grip? I hope that I managed to express my problem correctly, my english is poor. Thank you in advance http://www.pingskills.com/table-tennis-forum/backhand-to-forehand-transitions-grip-problem-2/ Sat, 18 Sep 2021 17:48:06 AEST Hi, Pen-holders use more wrist with their forehand. Therefore good backhand chop and forehand chop is much harder to execute. Is there any way to fix that? http://www.pingskills.com/table-tennis-forum/defender-vs-penhold-grip-players/ Sun, 19 Sep 2021 09:28:18 AEST Hi, does any way exist to practise backhand chop and forehand chop alone? http://www.pingskills.com/table-tennis-forum/backhand-chop-and-forehand-chop-practice/ Sat, 18 Sep 2021 17:42:21 AEST Sir, which strokes can play to get low, backspin balls over the net? http://www.pingskills.com/table-tennis-forum/low-balls-2/ Fri, 17 Sep 2021 14:57:05 AEST There are a lot more attackers than defenders around today. Is attacking style an advantage over defensive style? http://www.pingskills.com/table-tennis-forum/attacker-or-defender/ Thu, 16 Sep 2021 17:33:40 AEST I’ve just started playing doubles and am left handed. I’ve been told that I must stand behind the table end and not on the corner. Thought it would be ok if the ball was definitely behind table end of table ? http://www.pingskills.com/table-tennis-forum/doubles-serving-position/ Thu, 16 Sep 2021 17:32:13 AEST Just curious, at what number do table tennis scoreboards stop counting the number of points and what happens if players play beyond that number?  http://www.pingskills.com/table-tennis-forum/scoreboard-crisis/ Thu, 16 Sep 2021 17:29:27 AEST Hi! Modern defenders at high level do backhand chop mostly. Why? http://www.pingskills.com/table-tennis-forum/backhand-chop-or-forehand-chop-as-a-defender/ Wed, 15 Sep 2021 09:44:33 AEST I currently have an offensive ply blade with Donic Bluefire M2's (2mm sponge) on both sides. I am looking at going to a carbon blade with Donic Bluefire M2 on the forehand, for a little more speed. But I'm not sure about the backhand.  I cannot loop on my backhand (and utilise the M2 rubber), so I was looking at going to something that would help my other backhand shots.  What would be better on my backhand?  I was thinking short pimples (2mm sponge), but unsure.  Would short pimples be a good option? http://www.pingskills.com/table-tennis-forum/changing-backhand-rubber-to-short-pimples/ Mon, 13 Sep 2021 19:51:32 AEST Hey I’m wondering what would be the best option for an outside table that is both durable and for high quality playing http://www.pingskills.com/table-tennis-forum/outdoor-table-3/ Sun, 12 Sep 2021 13:20:59 AEST Hi! I’ve been trying to add more spin on my serves by using my wrist more. My long serves are quite spinny because of this. However, I find that most of my short serves have little to no spin, or end up accidentally turning into long serves. Is there a way to add more spin to my short serves so that they are more effective? Thanks! http://www.pingskills.com/table-tennis-forum/short-and-spinny-serves/ Sun, 12 Sep 2021 13:28:05 AEST How to deal with heavy topspin as a defender when we are pushed away from the table http://www.pingskills.com/table-tennis-forum/defending-heavy-topspin/ Sat, 11 Sep 2021 13:17:09 AEST Hi, Can you please let me know the instructions/steps in cleaning the table? Can I use the water or any other cleaning liquids? Thanks, Mahee http://www.pingskills.com/table-tennis-forum/cleaning-table-tennis-table/ Tue, 07 Sep 2021 19:28:46 AEST Hi Alois From what I‘ve seen, professional table tennis players tend to stand near the side of the table when serving. Is it a really common strategy and what advantages can it give? http://www.pingskills.com/table-tennis-forum/professional-players-serving-position-2/ Mon, 06 Sep 2021 12:10:49 AEST Hi, coach! What do you think about the following robot:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DdiS-CnlreI   Will it help to improve technique of strokes? I remember that you said stationary ball doesn't help. Will training with such machine damage technique? http://www.pingskills.com/table-tennis-forum/a-machine-with-stationary-ball/ Sat, 04 Sep 2021 21:58:13 AEST hello Alois i wanted to ask some questions, 1. what if the ball does not touches the racket and touches the ground at the time of serving? 2. what if the ball  does not touches the racket but we catch it in our hand ?   http://www.pingskills.com/table-tennis-forum/no-touch-serving-rules/ Thu, 02 Sep 2021 15:45:49 AEST Hello Alois, I am facing a problem in my table tennis training . I do several drills at home but whenever I go to play I am not able to apply them. like I practice forehand counterhit and backhand counterhit at home but when I am in front of the table I am not able to apply it. please help http://www.pingskills.com/table-tennis-forum/training-and-matches-2/ Thu, 02 Sep 2021 15:44:25 AEST Hello, I introduce myself: my name is Lucas and I would like to ask about the thickness of the sponge, you see, I am a modern defensive player who plays with a 2.0 mm Andro Rasanter R47, but I feel that it is very fast, all my shots with this rubber are so fast that a large part of the balls go off the table, even if I want to hit soft it goes off the table anyway, I use it with a Dr. Neubauer Barricade DEF wood, what I am looking for is a rubber with a lot of control, I'm about to buy a Butterfly Tackiness Chop but I don't know which sponge thickness to choose, if one of 1.1mm or 1.9mm, the 1.1mm one catches my attention, what is the difference between that thickness and the 2.0mm one? http://www.pingskills.com/table-tennis-forum/sponge-tickness-transition/ Fri, 27 Aug 2021 23:18:13 AEST Hi Coach! Could you please compare this modern hybrid attaking rubbers and point out pros and cons for each one of them. I'm referring to the Butterfly Dignics 09C, Yasaka Rakza Z and Nittaku Sieger PK50. Thanks. http://www.pingskills.com/table-tennis-forum/butterfly-dignics-09c-yasaka-rakza-z-and-nittaku-sieger-pk50-modern-hybrid-rubbers-compared/ Fri, 27 Aug 2021 07:22:27 AEST I am always out of position in rallies in which my opponent suddenly hits to my backhand corner. This is not the case in my forehand corner. How can I improve my positioning and backhand play?  http://www.pingskills.com/table-tennis-forum/how-to-avoid-the-backhand-corner-mistakes/ Mon, 06 Sep 2021 15:37:54 AEST Hi coach! Until the olympics,  in the last one year I saw FZD won Ma Long several times. Then I started to think that Ma Long is getting old.  But in the final of olympics Ma Long was great. I think FZD underestimated Ma Long  and FZD was in a bad physical condition, when Ma Long was in a great shape. Can't think that FZD had bad game plan, tactics.  Can you say about tactics? Mini analysis?  http://www.pingskills.com/table-tennis-forum/whats-wrong-with-fzd-in-the-final-of-the-olympics-2/ Thu, 02 Sep 2021 20:50:31 AEST Hi coach! Since I like TT very much, many collegues, friends ask this question to me very often.  In your opinion, why is China dominating in TT? These are probable reasons that I heard from internet, club-mates, etc: 1) Chinese work harder than others But I think non-chinese players also work very hard 2) In China TT is more popular sport.  3) I saw some youtube comments that says Chineese players use doping/PED.  But I think this is not true. Even if it is true, I think PEDs don't affect. TT is not boxing.  4) There are secret training methods in China.  5) China has the best coaches. They study and detect weaknesses of non-chinese players very well. For example, initially  Lin-Yun-Ju  won Ma Long, Fan Zhendong, Lin Gaoyuan in a row. After some time Lin Yun Ju lost to all of them.  But there are many super coaches in the world. 6) In China, the competition is very hard. There are many people in the internet that say Chinese league is harder than most world tournaments.  What do you think? http://www.pingskills.com/table-tennis-forum/why-is-china-dominating-in-tt-2/ Thu, 02 Sep 2021 20:50:08 AEST Greetings Team, this time reinterpreting a question asked to me by my friend, who does not speak English too well.He asked me if he is eligible to be a short pimple player.I told him that in the first place I am not competent to direct him what rubbers should he use but in my opinion he has nothing to lose if he tries it. I would like to ask for your opinion on this. I know you haven't seen him play so I will try to describe as he is one of my most frequent tournament opponents.He is a backhand oriented player. By style,he belongs to the archaic type of one-wing attacker (uses active blocking on backhand and topspin on forehand). He has quite stiff arm,but has good reactions. Is slow on his feet when in mid range. His major play is backhand punching, not unlike the elderly technique used by former Chinese players to attack with traditional backhand resembling a technique of direct boxing punch. With this stroke he has great consistency. He does not use almost any other stroke on backhand except for a long push and occasionally smash (again with the box punch-like technique which limits his power but he is great at aiming with it. On forehand,he uses also a long push and mostly stiff-armed topspin with low level of spin. Overally,he has very limited stroke set.As I know that style is also affected by psychological side I will describe him from this view as well.He is quite humble and unsure man,who finds it difficult to decide,including in the rally. Tends to use the same action again and again.Does not believe in his own abilities: he is much more experienced than I am,though he frequently lowers his head before me,claiming I am the more experienced one,and very humbly asks me for guidance (like in this case,despite that he has 88% of victories against me).Reaches his top performance when there is a dominant figure checking on him during training. So,if a really strict coach gives full attention to him at training,correcting him,simply giving him a "sharp eye",he gets better results. (Several times,he even told me that I am also an authority strong enough to invoke this type of motivation on him,which I do not agree with.)What do you think? Is such a player from both physical and psychological view eligible to change to shortpips?ThanksDan http://www.pingskills.com/table-tennis-forum/short-pimple-eligible/ Thu, 02 Sep 2021 15:38:00 AEST Dear teacher, I follow your videos and I am a fan. I wanted to tell you that I currently play with a long-point rubber without a sponge and an attack rubber on the drive. I have a problem when the opponent attacks me constantly, never cuts the ball and is always topspin. What to do when the opponent plays easily against my long point rubber? Even he almost never lets me attack. Thank you in advance for your response. http://www.pingskills.com/table-tennis-forum/strategy-for-long-pips-ox/ Mon, 16 Aug 2021 07:08:22 AEST