Feeling Overwhelmed When Learning

Hi Alois and Jeff,

I would like to say a very big thank you for taking the time to create the video response to my question. Your table tennis wisdom has helped clear a psychological obstacle that was blocking how I go about learning skills in both table tennis and in other areas of my life. You are both fabulous ambassadors for the game of table tennis and your generosity is most appreciated!

It is a pleasure.  Glad you like it Raymond.

I am obviously going against the flow here but science tells us that better results are achieved by focusing on the target ie the ball's flight path and where it lands (an external focus)rather than what your body needs to do (an internal focus).  Research tells us that an external focus results in better skill acquisition.  Bear in mind, also, that the learning may not be immediately obvious since motor learning becomes "consolidated" by sleep the following nights.  Much research can be found on Google with "skill acquisition" though little of it is directed at table tennis in particular but the principles usually apply beyond the particular task employed in the research.

Ernesto.

Nosebleed  too much genius,can't understand.What does that mean???

Hi John Kellet,

Thank you for reading my question and taking the time to reply. Your knowledge and insight is a valuable contribution to the discussion.

I partially agree with what you have said. Our external focus (the ball's flight path and landing position) determines our internal focus i.e. what our body needs to do to achieve our external focus.

Having said that, my coach said that our internal focus, how we hit the ball, is important. If our technique is poor, then the ball's flight path and landing position becomes irrelevant. Just because we can hit the ball where we wanted, does not mean we hit it correctly. Poor technique becomes a impairment when we are learning the more advanced skills or when we play good players.  

Personally, I believe that external and internal focus needs to go hand in hand. How much we each person needs to works on their external and internal focus varies from person to person.

I couldn't agree more, Raymond.  I believe the external focus becomes increasingly important once the basic technique is largely established.

Hello, Ping-skillers. Interesting thoughts you guys are exchanging about focusing. I never saw it that way but the same subject from another point of view. I never had a coach until now (Mr. Rosario and Mr. Plumb). So I read some books. Among them one written by Michel Gadal. He explains the concept "the action to the ball". The phrase itself is self-explanatory, but it lead me to think about the objective of training. The name of the book is "Training to win". At first it's so "overwhelming" to learn the physical side of the sport that we leave for later the understanding of the game. If I'm focused in training to win it is essential that I know how to overcome my opponent. Experience has shown me that I don't only need to be at least as good as my opponent (techniques, skills, physical strength...) but to play better. It means I have to train more than my opponent in order to get better control of the ball, and to know what to do with it. I think that puts in perspective both concepts "internal" and "external" focus, because there's also the focus of dominating the game.

Hi eduardo espinosa (I really like your name!)

Like John Kellet, Thank you for taking the time to add your thoughts to this discussion. Your insights are a valuable and great contribution to this forum.

You bring up the interesting issue of the psychological aspects of the game. Some people believe the psychological aspects such as self efficacy (the confidence you have in your skills and in your ability to execute the skills), fear, resilience and motivation play an vital part in our game. Some would argue that the psychological is more important than the physical, although this debateable. I think ultimately it is fear such as fear of losing, fear of hitting the ball out, fear of your opponent that is the hardest psychological obstacle to overcome.

It is not necessary true, that you need to be better in your skills to defeat your opponent. In table tennis, upsets such as when a lower ranked player defeats a higher ranked player, shows that 'playing better' on the day maybe more important than 'being better' than your opponent. Again this is debateable and there is great variation amongst players.

Table Tennis is such a great game. It looks so simple to the untrained eye, yet, it is so intricate and fascinating!

Thank you, Mr Lai. I like people that like my name! It is also great that we have Pingskills so ping pong lovers like us can meet and help each other. I have been playing T T (at an amateur level) for about 50 years. So I have been through many psychological stages and lately, looking back I discovered that passion for T T has helped me stay in good overall physical health up to now. That is a big asset by itself. And I want to keep it that way, meaning that I need to keep playing motivated enough to play well against players of all ages and levels without hurting myself. Therefore, fear is no longer my motivation nor winning but, playing well, if at all possible, perfect. Since loosing is not very motivational, if I have to play, it will be to win so I must use all my knowledge of the game because I have now physical limitations my opponents, most likely, won't have. Experience will tell you what's possible or impossible, easy or difficult at any given instant. Use all your knowledge of the game to give your opponent a real hard time if he wants to win. You will develop an instinct for discovering parts of the game your opponent have difficulties with. But, since my motivation is now play my best (in all aspects), if I loose, I still achieved my main objective of playing well. By the way I no longer look for matches. Instead I spend hours training hard practicing drills whenever possible. I think this is a good advice for any player: good or bad young or old.