Practice Games + Tension Testing

Table Tennis General

Last updated 14 years ago

Ji-Soo Woo

Ji-Soo Woo Asked 14 years ago

Dear Alois

How are you?  I had a couple of questions I thought of this morning.

1) Like most low-division players I suspect, I don't really have formal regimented drill + training sessions.  Instead my table tennis sessions can be divided into two kinds a) playing games in formal competition such as pennant or championships, or b) playing games for practice.  Since I lack proper drills etc...the practice games are the only chance for me to really train, and I was wondering if you could give me some pointers on things I should be doing or concentrating on when I have practice games to maximise improvement in the long run.

At the moment, the main difference in the way I approach practice games is that I play much more aggressively and push the envelope.  This is a chance for me to try serves I am not comfortable with.  It is a chance for me to try and initiate attacks off balls that I would normally push back in competition....etc...  I find this helpful, but any other suggestions?

2) in your answer to another question of mine you mentioned 'tension testing'...and I was wondering whether it involved any specific steps or things to look out for, or if it was just being generally aware of how tense you are.

Thanks!

Ji-Soo

P.S. the Easter Classic is around the corner and I'm entered in divisions 2, 3 and 4 events.  Looking forward to it!


Alois Rosario

Alois Rosario Answered 14 years ago

Hi Ji-Soo,

My first comment is that you should try to (I know this can be difficult) gte an opportunity to do some drills as well as practice games.

Assuming that you can't do this, during your practice games, you should try to do things like practising;

your serve by ensuring that they are all short
your placement
your focus on the ball - tracking
monitoring how much tension there is in your shots
recognising which balls are long and which are short
receiving short serves back short and attacking long serves

I hope this helps somewhat.

Tension testing involves just being aware of tension in your body during your strokes.  It is probably easiest done at first by practising one stroke e.g. the forehand topspin repetitively and seeing if there is any tension in any parts of your body while doing the stroke.  Often the first area that will develop tension will be your shoulder area.  Then check your arm, your wrist, fingers, and so on.  This can be really interesting and a real revelation.

After you have done this many times you may start to be able to do some tension testing during matches.

 


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