Mistakes – From recreation level ping-pong players to World Champion table tennis players, everyone makes mistakes. However, there is a huge difference between the average players and the pros. The average players make the same mistakes again and again. Once they are down 2-0, or lost the match, or driving home after the tournament, they discover the fault and possibly think of a solution. The good players pause after each point, they recognize the lapse, and know how to immediately correct the problem. Below I have listed several ways to think more between points and eliminate continued errors.
#1
When training in table tennis, be aware of your faults point by point. When I am training with my Newgy Robo-Pong table tennis robot, I am thinking of a match situation. After I make five errors, I turn off the robot. I will not allow myself to make mistake after mistake without stopping, reflecting, making the correction, and then continuing.
#2
Ask a better table tennis player to analyze your game point by point. When practicing with a higher-rated player, ask him or her to stop every point for two minutes and tell you what you did right and/or what you did wrong.
#3
Take significant time between points. The official rule says that “play must be continuous.” You are allowed to step back and reflect for five seconds to realize what went right and what went wrong during the point. You are not allowed to take 60 seconds lecturing yourself while pacing the barriers. At the six point break, towel off and keep your focus on the game.
#4
Stay in the court. Not only keep your mind on the game, but keep your eyes in the court. Even in practice, don’t let your eyes go beyond the barriers. If you see spectators or other matches or trophies or food, your mind will drift off.
#5
Practice like it’s a tournament. After winning the World Championships, Werner Schlager was asked if he had felt much pressure during the finals. He said that he didn’t feel any pressure because for many years, he had been able to think clearly and practice as if he was in the finals. When the final came, he was just thinking like he had been training.
Samson Dubina
From Asia to Africa to Europe and even to the USA, there are thousands of professional table tennis athletes who are aspiring to be the next World Champion. One of the key elements to reaching the top is consistent training six hours per day. Most top players wake up, eat breakfast, train three hours, eat lunch, rest, then train three more hours in the late afternoon. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day to fuel an intense early morning session.
Here is the secret recipe for my power-packed breakfast.
For one serving:
1 cup of uncooked rolled oats (Uncooked oatmeal is the key)
¼ cup of sliced almonds
¼ cup of raisins
1 cup of milk
Mix them all together in a bowl. Preparation time is one minute.
Here are the nutrition facts:
Calories: 730
Carbs: 104 grams
Protein: 25 grams
Fiber: 14 grams
Every morning, I eat two servings of The Table Tennis Breakfast, and it gives me the right balance of healthy carbs and protein to fuel an intense training session with my Newgy Robo-Pong 2050.
Before I discovered The Table Tennis Breakfast, I used to eat three bowls of cereal or prepackaged oatmeal, two pieces of fruit, and two bagels. This breakfast would give me energy for approximately two hours. Cooked, pre-packaged oatmeal only offers about 1/3 cup of oats but expands when it is heated. It appears to fill the bowl, but is digested in less than half the time. Additionally, prepackaged oatmeal is loaded with unnecessary sugars and preservatives.
I challenge you to try it for one week – The Table Tennis Breakfast! You will feel energized and will avoid morning cravings for at least four hours. This breakfast is the key for anyone aspiring to move to the next level.
All top players and coaches agree that table tennis requires a variety of training techniques. Some examples of training include – drills, robot, multiball, serving practice, matches, plus a variety of physical training. Within those types of training, a multitude of variations are excellent. To be a complete player, one must be able to win against any playing style – looper, chopper, pips, lefty, etc…
While training with my Newgy Robo-Pong 2050, (click here for YouTube video), I now practice with more variety than ever before. For drills such as #28 and #59, I set the robot for topspin/sidespin. This is best performed by adjusting the robot head to the left or right 3 clicks. This variation has done 4 things for me:
1. Improved my concentration
2. Improved my ability to follow the ball closely with my eyes
3. Improved my ability to counterloop against lefty and right hook loops
4. Improved my ball placement on “weird” balls
One might argue that this is “unrealistic.” Actually there are several US players that play these types of unorthodox strokes: David Zhuang and Gao Jun with blocking and De Tran with forehand counterlooping.
Give it a try- it’s fun and challenging!!!
Why is it that most people only floss their teeth 2x per month?
“People just don’t see the need!”
It isn’t hard. It isn’t painful. It isn’t expensive. It doesn’t take hours. Dentists see the results of not flossing daily. If everyone saw the need (in the same way the dentists saw the need) there would be a world of people flossing daily and having healthier mouths.
As a table tennis athlete and coach, I see major problems in players’ technique and strategy daily. However, until the player sees it for himself, he really doesn’t believe that his problem is THAT bad. It’s kind of like bad breath; it is easy to detect in others, but we can’t smell it on ourselves.
So here is what I do to show a student just how bad his (breath), aka table tennis game, is. During a practice session, I will record a student’s strokes, then let him watch the DVD. Shocked… he will often come back with a response like:
“That’s not what I imagined.”
“I have some major changes to make.”
“That’s not me!”
“I had no idea that I looked that bad.”
Visualizing your game is the fastest way to improve. Once you see your mistakes, you need a coach to help correct your problems and give advice. About 90% of the American players do not have access to a professional coach. This is why I started the website: www.samsondubina.com.
Here is how it works:
Record several videos of yourself playing table tennis: match play, drills, robot, serving, etc. Load the videos onto youtube. Paste the youtube link onto my website. Wait 24-48 hours. I will give you a thorough analysis of your game including instructional videos and match play to explain your problems and the solutions to fixing your errors. Practicing is good. But remember: Perfect practice makes perfect.
Everyone wants to improve; however, most table tennis players will plateau at a certain level – 1200, 1800, 2100, etc… Here are some of the strategies that I have used to advance my table tennis game far beyond my fellow club members.
1. Know your strengths and weaknesses
Once you clearly understand your strengths and weaknesses, you can strategize on how to play your strengths against your opponent’s weaknesses. Do you win points with a strong attack or by being consistent? Do you make more mistakes with forehand or backhand?
2. Get a coach
A table tennis coach will see and understand things that you won’t see – strokes, footwork, serves, mental game, or an endless list of other common problems. If there isn’t a coach in your area, record yourself and compare the video to the pros.
3. Improve every aspect of your game
Advancing one part of your game might help against one particular opponent, but you need to progress all aspects. For example, if you develop a great forehand flip – excellent! But what happens if your opponent only serves long and pushes long?
4. Place a priority on serve and serve return
Each point starts with serve and return. If you can serve effectively, you can possibly win 3-4 more points each game. This is valuable. If you can return serve well, you will force your opponent to rally and lose his serving advantage.
5. Serving practice 20%, Drills and/or Robot 40%, Matches 40%
Serving, as stated previously, is the fastest way to progress in the shortest amount of time. Drills and/or table tennis robot practice will improve your basics and give a solid foundation. Matches are vital; this is the time to implement what you have been practicing.