Losing temper while losing points

I think most of our strong emotions come from performing under the standards we have set for ourselves, especially when we lose against an opponent whom we think of rather lowly.

Improving our performance is one way to solve the problem, but usually the issue is that we think too high of ourselves. We tend to inflate the image we have of ourselves as a table tennis player, based on the time and energy we have spent on it, or associating ourselves with players we admire. If we think of ourselves as still having a long way to go, then losing against a mediocre opponent is just another lesson - as Alois points out. These players may not look like strong players but actually they're very good at doing things the wrong way. We should not underestimate them and respect them as opponents for the mediocre player we currently are, despite all our hard work!

yeah alois!

your tricks work....

I often lose temper when an opponent finds a weakness in my game, starts to exploit it and then wins a whole bag of points with it.

I can understand Ilia

Dieter I could agree more with what u said well done

Hello, my name is Ivan from China. I broken one or two bats in the last few years. I lost the match because I though I can beaten him down but the result was opposite then I started to angry and mad. At that moment, I did not have clear mind to do things just broken the bat made myself to calm down. Most reason I won this guy then I lost to him that made me so mad. I think just take a long breath is good and don’t put yourself in the high position just think about we are at the level, that may help.

Thanks for your advice Ivan.

You’er welcome, Alios. I like to read” ask the coach” because there have a lot of things I can learn from them. Mental preparation, skills. I would like to spend 30 or one hour to look at those questions.