Watching Table Tennis

Simon Lewis Asked 11 years ago

Hi Pingskills,

Over the past 6 months, I have made a conscious effort to sit down and watch high class table tennis for 15-30 minutes every night. I usually access YouTube and watch some games on there, usually the most recent Bundesliga games...

I was doing this to see what effect it was having on my game. Previous to watching Table Tennis, I was training regularly, doing different drills to focus in on specific areas of the game. Progress was quick, and I could feel my game improving. I was getting into the right areas quicker and I was landing more shots.

Watching Table Tennis has added at least 30% extra to my game. I am a visual learner, I like to see things get done and then do them myself. Identifying that this was my learning style was an important step, as doing this has enabled me to focus training plans on more watching rather than reading or listening.

The main difference I have noticed is my mind set. The more you see something done, the more it becomes natural to do it yourself. I had problems with my mind set against loopers. I would normally stand up to the table and block, which wasn't serving me well. I couldn't get out of the habit. Watching top class table tennis has shown that a better way of playing loopers is to try and get your own attacking shot in off the loop. Blocking will simply allow them to loop again, whereas attacking the loop gets you back in the rally...

Watching Table Tennis has improved my game so much. I would recommend to every user to include watching the game in their training programs. Even better, find a player you like or a player that is relevant to your game.. (eg defensive, attacking, left handed, right handed etc) and watch them. You will soon see that subconsciously, elements of their game that you like will start to creep into your game...

Alois Rosario Answered 11 years ago

Hi Simon,

A good piece of advice.

It is one of the reasons that good countries get better because players in that environment are able to see good images of players whether it be in real life or on video more often.  With the age of YouTube I think this is something that is now available to more players around the world.

Does anyone else out there implement the same strategies.