Facing My Toughest Opponent: 2 Matches vs Eric & Learning to Let Loose 🏓🔥

[@knotwilg3596]

Different type of match than the previous ones: Eric is a class above you and this has everything to do with spin awareness. Eric reads the spin on your serves and returns, reacting properly, while you are making best guesses on his serves, and frankly make some bizarre choices during the rallies. It's forgivable that you don't read the spin on his fast serves, but backspin returns like 0:12, 0:47 1:11 and 2:34 are easy to read. Smashing them with topspin is a very bad decision there because you are hitting the ball on the upper side while it's already being dragged to the bottom. You need to power smash hit these with good net coverage, or push them back - my recommendation. Good fifth set where you decided to topspin/flick his sidespin serves and even looped one of his side-backspin serves. Eric's serves from the forehand side are really tricky and would give many lower level club players a hard time. I would not bet my own life on beating him :) How to improve: play this guy more often and dedicate yourself to reading the spin on his serve from 1) his bat action (if he goes under the ball, there's more backspin) 2) how the ball moves towards you (if it's speeding down a little, there's more backspin). Oh, and push back pushes for now, waiting for a weak push to attack.

[@BenSucksAtPingPong]

You are not wrong! I know that if I ever defeat Eric then it'll be a monumental achievement and something epiphanous has happened! I'll play Eric as often as I can!

[@lt.kettch]

3:26 I'm guilty of this as well sometimes but don't just stand and look at it! Assume it's going to come back and be in ready position ( ಠ_ಠ) One more random piece of advice (more like the different way of looking at something you can try): When you're hitting an incoming topspin ball near/mid distance, instead of aiming at his side of the table, try to aim one paddle width above the height of the net and do mostly forward (75-80%?) and some topspin (20-25%). Some students over-focus hitting to a spot on their opponent's side and forget to account for the necessary arc to clear the net. Maybe give this a try when you're warming up your loops and see if this works for you. Aim for a height about a paddle width above the net and adjust your power and spin accordingly. Edit for autocorrect issues

[@BenSucksAtPingPong]

This is great advice, and maybe I have been doing things wrong. Sometimes I try to hit the ball at a certain part of its trajectory in relationship to my body - like my side instead of in front of me, and I know that if I hit it as a certain 'spot' than the probability of it hitting the table is higher. I can aim to a certain side, but I don't really think of aiming at a certain height above the net like, ever. (Unless it's a serve) I'll give this a whack!

[@davidfouriestephens5382]

I am unable to find an extremely helpful video from Fang Bo, you might be able to find it if you do some digging; its somewhere on the 'Table tennis teaching channel'. But basically, one tip and one tip only. When you receive Eric's serve, the one he does 90% of the time, you need to forehand loop the ball in a wiping motion. It is difficult to explain and that's why the Fang Bo video would help a lot. If you wipe across the ball with your forehand, you immediately kill the spin of his pendulum serve...at the moment your technique is trying to lift the ball too much and that's why most of the returns are long when he serves...if you fix this or try this your competitiveness with him will immediately improve.

[@lt.kettch]

It's good advice in dealing with heavy sidespin serves (not too much top/back spin). You can also look for Quan Shi Bao (I think that's the name?) which is the name of the coaching group Fang Bo started. If I may add to the comment: I think I know the technique you're talking about. It's when you swipe *along with/in the same direction* of the spin, to the left (for pendulum, clockwise from above) or right (for reverse pendulum/backhand, counterclockwise), in order to neutralize *the effect of* sidespin on a serve. For example, against a pendulum serve (clockwise), you can either do an "inside-out" motion with your FH or a Chiquita with your bh. If you isolate the paddle's lateral motion, it's moving to the left, matching the ball's clockwise rotation (when viewed from above). You can almost think of it like lifting backspin with topspin except turned 90° on it's side Forgive me for being nitpicky but when you say "kill" it makes me think you turn sidespin into no spin, whereas a ball countered by the technique mentioned above will retain its original sidespin direction, which needs to be taken into account for the returning shot. Lastly, if I'm completely off the mark and this is not the tech your referencing, I apologize! Please feel free to elaborate or contradict as you see fit.

[@lt.kettch]

I'm pretty sure this is not the video you're thinking about but it's at least it's relevant to the current subject? 😅 kzbin.info/www/bejne/nonOZpmgq5Z4oqMsi=N7E_fZT4sXSfvbPc

[@davidfouriestephens5382]

@@lt.kettch feels like my comments get deleted haha. But yeah watch the video and you will see that the technique I'm referring to is a specific use case which I think will be very helpful for Ben against Eric's serves...he did use his forehand a lot and it failed quite a bit. If he uses the wiping motion his returns will land a lot more. I get your point that in general the return will still have spin on it and won't be 'no spin'.

[@lt.kettch]

@davidfouriestephens5382 dude! That happens to me so much... KZbin overlords deem our comments unworthy (╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻

[@BenSucksAtPingPong]

I promise it is not me! I delete ZERO comments!

[@lt.kettch]

0:56 is a relatively slo-mo version of his first service in the game 0:00. Notice the upwards pull at the point of contact, how his follow through is really upwards and towards his left shoulder. Also, the ball wants to jump forward/dive down. These are characteristic of most top spin shots Compare with his second serve at 0:05 where he "cuts through' the point of contact and his follow through is much wider to his left and not as high. Also, take note of the "floaty-ness" of the ball, especially apparent with the two serves starting 0:37. Balls with lots of backspin also tend to lose forward momentum each time it strikes the surface of the table (generally... Some tables are really old and don't have any grip left...) Lastly, don't say you know exactly what to do after he serves an ace. You're just inviting him to change the serve... Or maybe he thinks you think he's going to change the serve so he isn't going to change... Unless he thinks you know he knows... Etc etc. Yay... More variables ha ha My guess is that the probability he will do the same serve again would be higher if you didn't say anything because it worked the first time... Then you can try your adjustment and hopefully score.

[@BenSucksAtPingPong]

What has me confused, I think mostly, with his serve is I'm watching his follow through too much after the hit - if you look at "05, it looks to me that he is still raising his bat after the shot indicating a top spin when it's not. That throws me off so much. That's why his serves are so tricky to me and I think way more are topspin than actually are.

[@lt.kettch]

@@BenSucksAtPingPong That's true. It's more important to watch the paddle motion at the point of contact, rather than the follow-through. I just wanted to point out that *his* follow throughs have variations that can become potential tells

[@DrUnknownRL]

For forehand wrap around it more instead of hitting it