ROAD TO 1550TTR Week 45 - 3K TOURNAMENT PART 3

[@FelixPaulMeder]

we had a great match. Thank you for uploading🙏

[@limittless.]

@@FelixPaulMeder Ty Felix🙏🏼, it is so much fun playing better players like you, I can’t wait to play in a higher league. And I’ll work on my weaknesses for the next time😈

[@timoernst]

The reason why some viewers say that you still look a bit tense is because your right arm is bent when starting the forehand topspin motion. You should stretch the arm a bit more and have it relaxed while rotating the upper body to the right when starting the swing. Then, when you strike the ball, do a whipping motion forward with the arm and THEN bend it while also rotating the upper body back to neutral. You‘ll be surprised how much more quality the fh topspin will get with this. Starting and ending the forehand topspin motion with the arm bent throughout the whole strike will always look a bit stiff. To see an example, watch a Timo Boll forehand topspin in slowmotion. You‘ll see how he stretches the arm first, then body moves forward and only THEN the arm follows with a bend and a whipping motion. Another player who does this really well is Miikka from Pongfinity. Highly recommend to watch him whip in slowmo as well. Once you master this, your stroke will look way more relaxed and the quality of the shot is on an entirely different level. Love your videos. Keep it up, this is good stuff! I‘m also learning a lot from this 🙂🏓

[@limittless.]

@@timoernst you have no idea how many slowmos I watched and how many shadow drills I did. I know exactly what you mean, just yesterday I thought again that my elbow angle almost doesn’t change on the very stiff topspin’s. I tried so many different motions, there was a time when I managed to whip more and get more speed and spin the at way. Maybe you watched the episodes where I did the solo drills and single topspin’s with partner to focus on that. Today I had trouble again vs backspin balls and I realized I did the exact opposite of what I am supposed to do. I tense up and do what you described as well. No way to hit a good topspin that way, especially vs backspin. I know from martial arts that a good fast punch is only possible if the muscles are relaxed first and then in the right moment you snap/whip and the power comes from a chain of all joints involved together and the muscles connected to these. I just don’t get it in tt, not yet. So you say, straighten the arm more, keep it relaxed, then rotate the body first and whip through the ball with the arm correct?

[@timoernst]

@@limittless. Yes, exactly how you described it. Rotate body to the right and put body weight on the right leg. Start the swing with a relaxed, less bent arm (should not be completely straight, just a bit), then push your body forward with your right leg (shift body weight from right to left leg) and also rotate the upper body to the left. The arm then follows with an accelerating, whipping motion. The sequence ends with a bent arm. A nice trick to start with a less bent arm is to rotate the wrist to the right at the beginning of the swing (this is extremely noticeable when Timo Boll does it). This will automatically straighten your arm a bit without you having to think about it. It also helps to create more spin, especially against backspin. Just don't forget to move the wrist back into position when hitting the ball. When playing against backspin, you can start further down (against very heavy backspin, the racket should be at the height of the right knee), then accelerate and brush the rear part of the ball with a more upward motion and slightly thinner contact. This will get the ball over the net. However, when the incoming ball has forward rotation, don't go down too much. Instead, bring the elbow up and brush the top of the ball (contact at highest point of the bounce) and accelerate more forward going "through the ball". Another player who does the whip as well is Liam Pitchford. Watching him might help as well. However, not all players use this technique. Franziska, Harimoto, Jorgic, Togami, Gauzy and many others don't do the whipping technique. Instead, they start with a bent arm and they end with a bent arm, so they don't change the angle of it. They can do this because they can generate enough power and spin through their leg muscles and upper body. The beauty of the whipping technique however is that you can create a lot of speed and rotation without having to rely on raw muscle power. However, if the whipping technique doesn't work for you, I think it's ok. It's not for everyone. Some players do the whip, some others don't. I wouldn't try to force it because if you try too hard, that'll probably make you even less relaxed 😅 If you still want to try this though, I highly recommend to search on KZbin for "forehand topspin relaxed arm" and check out the videos from Jun Feng. His demonstrations and explanations are very useful. There is also a video about arm relaxation drills from him.

[@limittless.]

@ very helpful thx! Yes I also noticed that the players you mentioned use a similar motion than me! In fact I like my motion when I go against blocks or topspin’s but ONLY when I stay relaxed. Against backspin my motion seems to be not good. I think the problem I had with a longer backswing / more extended arm was that my problem of being too late was even bigger. I will definitely start trying it in todays and tomorrows session! Let’s see how it goes. Overall I can imagine a little more straightening of the arm combined with staying relaxed and a little more whipping could be optimal for me. I remember when I worked a lot on the fh this was the best feeling and results I had.

[@timoernst]

Sounds good 🙂👍 Hope you find a good solution

[@HellVolhard-u6q]

hey there mate, glad to see you upload regularly. I might have some keen insights that can help you a lot, as you talked being tense in the matches earlier (also the performance anxiety) but today you said your felt more calm, but to me you still are pretty tense during the matches and your body moment is still very stiff n constrained, i wanted to share this observation because i been watching you for a while now and thought this can help you tremendously, as this can be the thing holding you back from progressing faster n getting better. If you can overcome these challenges, it would be an huge breakthrough of sorts, so pls try looking into it and let me know if this was helpful (:

[@limittless.]

@@HellVolhard-u6q 100 % I know, but it is insanely hard to get the tension out of my body. I did martial arts for decades every day. I already do yoga and mobility. But it’s a very slow progression. That’s why the mental relaxation is as important if not more important

[@danielpopa2121]

Hello again ! If I may give you a bit of feedback as well : 1. When you want to do a shot, decide BEFORE which shot you want to use and FULLY execute the motion through out, since many times you didn't finished the move, losing speed, quality and also placement ( through not finishing off the move ) 2. When the balls are very spiny, the arc A LOT , which can be use to the oponents disadvantage, if you slap them at the highest point of the bounce, because at that point the ball is "floating" for a fraction of a second. 3. When you serve forehabd from the backhabd side, instantly you finished the serve JUMP into ready neutral position, since your oponents used that flaw against you. 4. Remember that most players will use a lot of spin and momentum, so many times you just need to redirect the ball using a drive movement, than trying to hit it, due to the low reaction time you will have on that ball.

[@danielpopa2121]

5. If you decide to go around the corner, to use forehand from the backhand corner, try to EXAGERATE the speed that you will do that movement, just to give yourself a bit more time to get in proper position to use the shot in time. 6. Whenever you try returning a very spiny ball ( serve or hit ), remember that the lowest sp8n is just after the ball contacts the table on your side, so try to receive that as fast as possible. 7. If you notice that your opoent's serves are very short, try to stand 15 cm closer to the table that you normally do ( having the head of the rachet / bat on top of the table ), so that when you step in to receive the short serve, you will have more time to relax, be in position and do the receive closer to your body, raising your overall performance for that game.

[@limittless.]

@@danielpopa2121 very useful tips, i know most of it, just it is so hard to do everything right, especially in the heat of the moment

[@danielpopa2121]

@@limittless. In time, you will build experience and that will give you the power of choosing when to control your temper, believe it or not. Mental fortitude and high speed thinking + reacting are traineable skills. I'm glad that you already know those things, since that means you already have the knowledge, so you need to voluntarily do it in every training session, in order to bring those into your overall game by default, since you won't be able to think of much in the games. I would suggest you to actually have someone that is decent at table tennis with you when you're going to competitions, in order to see from the side what are you doing wrong and then you have a different perspective of the match, right there and then.

[@TP-mp5lk]

Wow, you are improving so fast. And 13 matches? You are unbelievably fit (from my point of view). I am usually near dead after only three matches. Looks like you already are at 1550 (even though you might not have reached that officially). I am really looking forward to seeing how much you can improve (your rating). How often do you train per week?

[@limittless.]

@@TP-mp5lk Ty 🙏🏼, I usually train 5-7 times a week plus mobility and yoga.

[@TP-mp5lk]

@@limittless. Wow. I would love training that much. I am at 2-3 times per week atm and that is more than anyone else in my club trains (despite having the opportunity to train everyday except Thursday and Saturday).

[@danielrenaud4639]

I enjoyed it thank you ! Sorry about your knee 😮. I Currently have 7 injuries 🥴 (not joking) but I still try to play slowly because we all need a sport, to enjoy and relax 🎉🎉🎉

[@limittless.]

@@danielrenaud4639 I recommend taking care of your body and considering yoga and mobility! Also sleep and nutrition is key. I am very strict on all of them. My knee just felt like the muscles can’t support anymore with a little bit or pain, I know my body well so I stopped immediately bc with 46 longevity very important for me.

[@dbish23]

That first game was awesome I don’t think I’ve seen you play with so much aggression, a lot more speed than spin and it looked great. Watching as someone who also does jiu jitsu I totally understand that even if you have great positioning on someone with a higher belt it’s still incredibly difficult to get a finish just because there are levels to any skill

[@limittless.]

@@dbish23 yeah man then you understand me 😊. I also think it was my best real game ever.

[@joshwalsh4797]

Well played! Hit some really nice shots. How did you manage to become more relaxed when playing? I'm sure a lot of people struggle with it, myself included

[@limittless.]

@@joshwalsh4797 Ty 🙏🏼, I answered that question under one of the other vids, idk if it was part 1 or 2. maybe I should make a video about it? Many people struggle with that I guess. Still a long way to go for sure!

[@hdvblankyy]

Don't worry if you make mistakes. Dont worry about TTR points. And it sounds crazy but you have to train to stay relaxed in many many training sessions. You have to focus to stay relaxed and play thousend of topspin with a tense body but a fast relaxed armmotion. Always be aware how every stroke was and what you can improve. And if you train to topspin with a relaxed armmotion a thousend .... a million times you will also do the same in the fifth set when it is 9:9.

[@limittless.]

@@hdvblankyy yes that is the mindset! and yes you describe exactly what I do now, awareness is key.

[@IvanVojtila-e8r]

Great! Very nice matches, and I also like the way you comment on them :-). I have a question regarding your serves: do you use no-spin and top-spin serves all the time, or do you also use a backspin serve? I really like your top-spin serves, especially the long one. It seems they are effective in most of the matches I've already seen. I’m trying to incorporate it into my game, and I think I can do a short top-spin serve similar to yours :-), but I struggle with the long one. Do you have any suggestions on how to make it longer :-) or recommend a good tutorial for that kind of serve? Keep up the great work you’re doing! Thank you.

[@limittless.]

@@IvanVojtila-e8r Ty 🙏🏼, yeah I use backspin serves too, short and sometimes long in the forehand to mix it up with the long topspin serves into the bh. If you know how to do the short one you can try to get the first bounce close to the edge, it will automatically be a long serve then. Let me know how it goes!

[@lachlandierkx1654]

Love the videos. Glad I came across this channel. What would 1550 TTR be compared to in Rating Central?

[@limittless.]

@@lachlandierkx1654 welcome 🙏🏼, this is what Chat gpt says: A TTR rating (used in Germany) of 1550 roughly corresponds to a Rating Central rating of around 1950-2050, depending on the specifics of the player’s match history and strength of opponents. The conversion between TTR and Rating Central is not exact, as the two systems use different algorithms and data sets. However, as a general guide: • A TTR of 1550 indicates a player of solid intermediate level, typically comparable to a USATT rating of ~1700-1800, which is slightly lower than the equivalent Rating Central number. If you need a more precise conversion, you might need specific match data or an active profile in both systems to compare.

[@lutz18692]

Taking sets from players rated 200 points higher than you is a win in my book!

[@limittless.]

@@lutz18692 🙏🏼😊

[@jkka60]

You are still able to relax more imho. Your forehand sometimes feels like its moving a bit stiff

[@limittless.]

@@jkka60 yes!! Especially in the forehand there is a lot of potential still. I try to identify where I tense up even in normal day activities and be aware of it. It’s the shoulder, complete back, forearm and wrist but these two got better already. I do special movement exercises, stretching and yoga to improve. But decades of martial arts make it hard.

[@nimrodlavie8477]

So you played with the Evolution elp rubber fh and bh on this tournament? You mentioned you were using it in the past? Reason Im asking is that I just bought the elp and Im trying to understand how to know in the future that it's time to move on

[@limittless.]

@@nimrodlavie8477 exactly, at the moment I am still testing back and forth. The elp is clearly great for more control and safety and spin, the mxp50 is a weapon and if handled well ist deadly. It takes me 5 sessions to get used to a fresh mxp it seems like

[@hdvblankyy]

hi, i want to point out that all evolution rubbers are great and used from pros or semi-pros. Even the softest one has usage in the german 3rd Bundesliga. So please dont think you have to ''move on'' if you getting better. If you like the feeling just stick with your elp. But if you keep getting better and your topspin motion gets faster and you can hit the ball harder there are 3 situations where you can consider to change your rubber: 1. The contact feels ''wobbly / squishy'' (dont know how to describe it better) because you hit the ball harder with a faster topspin motion. So the ball doesnt move the direction where you want it. 2. Your opponents becoming better and the quality of their topspins are better -> wobbly / squishy feeling blocking such balls 3. You have mastered all the basics and you want more power. But pls believe me: It is more likely that your technique contains errors that you should fix first.

[@nimrodlavie8477]

@@hdvblankyy Thanks for taking the time to explain that!

[@limittless.]

@@hdvblankyy its super weird, i remember having both feelings! the elp seemed "wobbly" and the mxp50 completely seemed to solve that and felt just perfect. after a short holiday and around 2 weeks break from training with freshly glued mxp50 (my third set) all of a sudden they felt too fast and I hat way less control than before. then the spare racket with the elp saved me. my only explanation it, when I switched to the mxp50´s my technique was cleaner and I was training almost every day. because my technique, muscle memory and feeling is not established yet (after 2 years overall training) the above described factors were enough to make the freshly glued mxp too fast for me. yesterday i trained the 4th session with mxp and it already was better. If you held a gun to my head and force me to decide I would pick the saver option and go with the elp. the mxp feels so good if I hit the ball just right, the elp clearly keeps the ball in the rubber longer and therefore gives more control.

[@kenji2787]

What’s the plan after you reach 1550? Road to 1800 TTR?

[@limittless.]

@@kenji2787 I have several ideas but who knows how long I’ll still take for the 1550 😅 but I consider 1750 the next major milestone

[@topke5642]

What rubbers do you play at the moment ?

[@limittless.]

@@topke5642 used to play mxp 50 but now going back and forth with my former el-p