Blog - Page 19 of 19 - Table Tennis Club London

Table Tennis Mind Set

March 1, 2017

Table Tennis mindset, I believe is often the least respected part of the game. Most coaches and people focus on fitness, nutrition, footwork and technical abilities. They often avoid or forget to tackle the most powerful tool any human being has (their brain – the way they think. Players are blamed for lack of fitness or technical malfunctions etc. When in fact most players have enough tools in their repertoire to win most matches at their respective level! But lack the mental capacity to overcome fear, tactical issues etc.

Your mindset sets you apart from others

So… What differentiates players when they are both of a similar standard? Without a shadow of a doubt, it’s the ‘MINDSET’. I had the privilege of coaching two players over the weekend, both top 5 England at the ‘JUNIOR BRITISH LEAGUE’ premier division.

Coaching both players against other top ten players ‘similar standard’ it was clear to see the difference was not the ability but mentality.

One of my players was 2-0 down to a player ranked slightly below. At 2-0 my player said, “I’m playing crap” my reply “no you’re not your body language is wrong, your mindset is wrong and your attitude is wrong”. You need to change your mentality from negative to positive. I gave him a few tips and advice about how to enter into a positive table tennis mindset. This is, of course, easier said than done but we all possess the power to switch our mindset and internal emotions. The young England no.6 found a way to tap into a positive mindset and all of a sudden the whole match changed. The end score was 3-2 in favour of my player.

The young man came off the table smiling and happy, I said, “you see, you are not playing badly (or “crap” in his words) but in fact your mindset was wrong”

You’re in control of changing your emotions

My player went from complaining about everything imaginable including: ” it’s a bad bounce, my backhand is not working, my opponent is lucky etc.”. To a player who could do no wrong and in fact all the complaints switched over to the opposing player.

We all focus on improving our footwork, our serve, backhand and forehands but we forget to train our minds.

How can you train your mind?

3 key points that can help:

1. Look at your behaviour and analyse your thoughts. This can be done by recording yourself and having a diary recording your: before, during and afterthoughts in a match/competition situation. This will help you learn more about yourself, body language and what your thought process is like at tournaments.

Once you have studied your holistic character (alongside your coach) you will have the ability and knowledge of how to make necessary changes in certain situations. So the key here is study yourself and then make the changes and amendments need to improve your overall persona.

2. Having a trigger! What is a trigger? A trigger is an individual physical movement that you can personalise which puts you into a positive mind frame. This can include: wiping your hand on the table, a certain word/words, clenching a fist etc. In order for you to tap into this positive mindset you need to be in a negative situation and once you have done a trigger motion, it puts you into an instant ‘memorised’ feel good factor. For example, when you won a tournament, beat a good player or any feel ‘good moment that you have felt in the past and want to reproduce.’

Tapping into a positive mind frame gives you an instant feel-good factor and can aid in changing a match from a losing situation to a winning situation.

3. Why do we play? Because we love our sport so why do we torture ourselves when we are losing or even winning and someone is coming back?

Love Table Tennis

We must remember we play because we love playing (yes winning is nice and no one likes to lose) but ultimately if we play with a mindset of “I play because I love table tennis” surely that will increase your chances of gaining better results.

Smile and enjoy the sport you love.

The Most Important Table Tennis Shot, Table Tennis Serve

March 1, 2017

If you want to win there’s no better way than developing your table tennis serve

I am often asked about my table tennis serve! but the most important table tennis shot in table tennis is the first shot. The answer is yes, the service is the most important shot alongside your return. Statistically speaking the most important shot is the first shot. Both serve and return are as important as each other the difference between them is when you serve you are in full control. You can dictate what spin speed or placement you require

Doubles, return of serve is easier — Return of Serve in Doubles

How do you serve like that?

There is no magic (I often reply) and with some invested time you can also have wonderful service’s.
Like everything in life, if you desire something worthwhile having; YOU MUST WORK FOR IT! You will need to train and be willing to open your mind in order to possess high-quality service’s. I was and still am fascinated by serves, hence why I spent hundreds of hours and thousands of balls perfecting my serve.

Full control of the most important table tennis shot

When you serve you have full control over the power, speed and spin. This gives you the opportunity to potentially be given a weak or missed return. Good Serve’s apply added pressure on your opposition and gives you an upper hand throughout the match.

If you want a good serve, you have to be willing to practice over and over, again and again. In due time you will notice an increase in the amount of spin and your ball placement variation will be even more precise.
You must experiment with different hand movements, before, during and after the point of contact. By using your imagination or watching other world class TT players, you will learn many service variations.

3 key facts to improve your serve:

1. Placement – Three short and three half – long/half serves (down the line, mid-table and crosscourt)
2. Spin – Impart spin by whipping your forearm and wrist just before the point of contact. Try to have a fast movement with a light or thin or contact on the ball. try to maximise your arm speed but please remember the contact on the ball must be as thin as possible. The faster your hand movement is and the lighter the contact on the ball the more spin you will create.
3. Deception – Like magic, you must create an illusion to make your opponent think and see something different to what has actually happened. Simply put, when imparting a backspin serve – quickly move your bat in an upward motion after the point of contact. Make sure the after movement is done as quickly as possible in order to make the service look like topspin, when in fact it was backspin. There are thousands of variations which can be explored, so experiment and use your imagination.

Watch, learn, experiment… Service tutorial, click here

Written by Eli Baraty

TABLE TENNIS TRICKS

March 1, 2017

Click here to see a fun trick shot

Table Tennis is not just about backhands, forehands and serves!! There is an infinite amount of shots and table tennis trick shots that can be implemented.

Explore

Regardless of your playing level you can achieve and do lots of table tennis trick shots, all you must do is explore and experiment. We often focus on systematic training and forget to experiment and fear coming out of our comfort zones. If we explore beyond our current capabilities we give ourselves the opportunity to progress in ways we never knew possible.

Jan-Ove Waldner:

My TT hero Jan Ove-Waldner (widely regarded as the greatest player of all time) was so innovative and ahead of the game. Coming out with what looked like table tennis tricks, it allowed him to compete with the best, for over 3 decades. Waldner demonstrated shots that people had never seen or thought physically possible, not only in practice but he managed to pull them off at crucial times including the Olympic and World championship finals.

As a player, if you wish to progress you must try things and do not fall into the trap of “I can’t do that” structure learning will only limit you.

Breaking barriers

As humans we break barriers by doing something out of the norm and by doing so we develop and progress.
Limitations are in your mind so don’t allow your mind to say its not possible until you have tried it, don’t be scared to be different…

We are all unique so why mould yourself like everyone else?

The Power of Words – Coach to Player

March 1, 2017

We are all victims!

We forget the power of words, I took a group of players to a tournament today and I received a phone call from an assistant coach. He Said, “Eli, tell the kids not to stress, don’t worry and just play their game” I replied NO!!! Obviously, his intentions are/were good and he did not realise the power of words, but if I tell you… I don’t want you to think about the colour red, what colour pop’s into your head? red of course!

Telling your students not to stress and not to worry, subconsciously triggers stress and worry!

Every word counts — Choose your words wisely

Try to only use positive words when mentoring and coaching your students.

Football VS Table Tennis – Which Sport is Harder?

February 11, 2017

Over the years, I’ve had debates with many people regarding football vs table tennis. Both I and my good friend Louis Lancaster, (currently coaching a national men’s football team) often discuss which sport is harder to master – Football, or Table Tennis?

We are both very proud coaches and pride towards our beloved sports goes without saying which naturally leads to heated debates.

Which sport is harder to master?

Personally, I don’t enjoy every sport but I do respect them all and appreciate each has their own set of special skills. I have provided a personal list of, Pros & Cons for both Table Tennis and Football. Let’s try and come up with a conclusion as to which sport is harder.

I play Sunday league football and have spent a lot of my time watching Watford FC train alongside joining some training sessions. But I am not an expert and can only draw upon personal perspective. Therefore, this blog may be viewed as slightly bias which is why I have opened it to a discussion.

Table Tennis vs Football

Football Pros:

• Multiple skills required: The player needs to be able to control the ball with many parts of their body (obviously excluding hands and arms, unless you are a goalkeeper!)
• The physical aspect: Those who play need to have speed, endurance, strength and balance to play at the highest level
• Awareness: A player requires a special 360-degree playing awareness, unlike table tennis.

Football Cons:

• Size of the ball: Due to a much larger ball compared to a table tennis, this provides players with: more reaction time, ability to control the ball more, and less spin. A young child can quickly control and develop their ball skills due to a larger contact surface and reduced speed and spin.
• Team sport: There are 11 men on both sides of the pitch compared with 2 (singles) or 4 (doubles) on a TT table. A football team can win even if they have weak links, fewer men/women, no goalkeeper, unlike table tennis where you must rely on yourself to win.
• Positioning: In football, everyone has a given position or role to play, making their task slightly more simplistic compared to table tennis (where they must cover all roles to enable a positive performance).

Table Tennis Pros

• Reaction speed: Table tennis has been scientifically proven to be the fastest reaction sport, with balls reaching over 100kph at a short distance. Furthermore, you are unable to stop the ball and then make a decision. As soon as you connect with the ball it’s gone. Make the wrong decision and you will incur a fault or an opportunity for your opponent to capitalise.
• Spin: Table Tennis, produces more revolutions than any other sport (up to 120-revs per second). Controlling the spin is extremely hard which is followed by understanding spin. Even then once you have read what spin is on the ball you must identify approximately how much spin is on the ball. You are challenged to do so after a player disguises their shot.
• Playing surface: Table Tennis is the only sport which has the ball off the ground and then comes off the playing surface. A unique element which the ground is not used as the playing surface and you legs are based on the ground, producing an element unseen in any other sport.
• You are at fault: There is nowhere to hide! you are 100% responsible for your personal game.

Table Tennis Cons:
• Not as physically demanding as football: Football includes a lot more strength. Players are at constant risk of being brutally tackled which can end careers. Table Tennis does not face such risk, thus allows more freedom to express oneself.
• Awareness: Table tennis does not require 360-degree awareness unlike football makes playing more simplistic in that aspect.
• Equipment: Table Tennis constantly develops new high tech materials; blades and rubbers providing huge advantages over those who don’t have access to them or struggle to adapt. The equipment creates many variations of play allowing certain styles to overcome players who are technically better. In Football the equipment used only offers small marginal gains, which allows clear skill-based players to shine instantly.

Conclusion

Of course there is so much more to cover and I would love to see a scientific viewpoint but currently, that’s unavailable. I am interested in hearing your thoughts and opinions. I will gather will gather further information hopefully provided by the readers. From there, I will publish another article. with a more conclusive answer to the question.

written by Eli Baraty

eBaTT (Eli Baraty Academy of Table Tennis)
Coach Me Table Tennis
Instagram: _elibaraty
Twitter: @elibaraty
FB: Eli Baraty
W: www.coachmetabletennis.com
E: elibaraty@hotmail.com
M: 07900401144

Can China’s Table Tennis Team Be Beaten?

February 1, 2017

CAN CHINA’S TABLE TENNIS TEAM BE BEATEN?

One of England’s best young table tennis coaches says they can, and believes he has the recipe for success.

Every time I tell people that I’m a table tennis coach and former top player, their response is invariably this: ‘The Chinese are the best. Can you beat the Chinese?’

Coaching empowers — A top coach changes your game a great coach changes your life

The Dream Began

I started playing table tennis in the ’90s and was fortunate to witness three Europeans win the men’s world singles title (Swedes Jorgen Persson in 1991, Jan-Ove Waldner in 1997 and Frenchman Jean- Philippe Gatien in 1993) as well as an Olympic singles title (Waldner in 1992). I also saw Sweden become the last nation to beat China in the men’s team event at the 2000 World Championships.
I dreamed of becoming a world champion myself but that was too far-fetched, having only started playing the game when I was 14 years old. So I turned to coaching as a profession and I am still a full-time coach 16 years later. I have produced countless national team, doubles, male and female singles title winners. But my ultimate goal is far greater than national success.

My vision is fixed on defeating China.

I previously played in Germany, France and Belgium and saw the best table tennis set-ups in Europe. I believe they all lack the full infrastructure needed to develop Olympic and world champions. There are various full-time centres but they are not structured in a way that allows players to develop their game throughout their career, especially beyond the age of 18.
Even for those with a structured system, there seems to be lack of innovation, passion and most importantly motivation. They have a defeatist attitude: “China is too good, so what’s the point?!”
Where’s the gap?

Table Tennis Centre/Club

I currently run a table tennis academy in Harefield in the London borough of Hillingdon which caters for students aged 11-19 (it also has on-site boarding allowing players from all over the world to stay there while they study and train). Here they receive regular table tennis training alongside their education. But we also need top-level coaches from the grassroots level who can develop players from the age of five through to 10. They are then technically well developed and can build onwards from these solid foundations.
Only then should they be passed on to a full time set up such as The Harefield Academy, which has a full-time coaching team including myself. Here, they are able to train regularly before, during (in PE lessons and during classes on subjects that they are not taking further) and after school.

Personal Table Tennis Attention

They get personal attention on either a one-to-one basis or in a small group of up to four players. After school, they can then join a larger group comprising the whole table tennis squad, for a few hours. This is where teamwork, ethics and personal development are encouraged and a variety of styles is integrated into the coaching.
It’s an effective set-up but what happens before kids join the Academy and after they leave? This is where my attention are now focused. I am collaborating with The Harefield Academy to try and establish a dedicated table tennis centre of excellence within the school grounds. While we are still in the early planning stages, this is an exciting opportunity. The centre would host local, national and international players and cater for national and international training camps and European matches. Such a facility would provide a clear pathway for young aspiring players, fulfil their needs from a young age and crucially allow them to continue their development even after they leave school.

Englands current table tennis situation:

The here and now currently in England, we have many exceptionally talented players who dream of pursuing a career in table tennis. Sadly, they either quit before the age of 18 or at the end of their junior years. In some cases they leave home to chase their dreams elsewhere, heading to the likes of Germany, France, Poland etc. Why should this talent have to go abroad? Clearly, I believe they shouldn’t.

Englands Men’s Table Tennis Team

England’s table tennis team have actually performed exceptionally well over the past two years, resulting in three men now being ranked inside the world’s top 100. They also finished third at the 2016 World Team Championships and reached the quarter-finals at the 2016 Olympics, losing out to China.

Despite the system

All three players in the England team left the country in their teens, in search of a higher level of training and a more financially rewarding table tennis system. It’s a sad indictment on a country that not only invented table tennis but has also had three World Champions: Fred Perry (1929), Richard Bergmann (1939, 1948, 1950) and Johnny Leach (1949, 1951). Indeed, throughout those years the World Championships were often held at Wembley with tens of thousands spectators flocking to watch.
Back in trend: Away from the competitive side of things, the sport is actually thriving in England. With tables popping up in more and more public spaces and bars being themed around the sport, table tennis has become trendy. It is also being celebrated for its long-term health benefits, with the increased blood flow to the brain while playing said to help conditions like Alzheimer’s.

Structured system

All we need now is a structured system to not only keep our players on home soil but also help them to compete with the absolute best. My vision is to create a bulletproof infrastructure by raising the funds to build a centre that will provide a complete pathway for the table tennis players of tomorrow.
Despite being a coach with limited resources and access to only a small window of a player’s career, I have been able to produce many of today’s top England players. I believe that with a good team and infrastructure in place, China can be beaten and England can be crowned world champions once again. I’m looking for help, not only to make my vision come true but also to make table tennis great again, inspire our youth and give them the best possible chance of becoming the world’s best.
If you’re interested in helping make table tennis great, get in touch: @EliBaraty

Written by Eli Baraty (Published in various other location ‘Sport Magazine’ ITTF)

ELI BARATY | @elibaraty

The Most Important Shot in Table Tennis

January 17, 2017
April 4, 2024

The most important shot in Table Tennis is the same as most sports, it’s the first shot!

Serve or Return

The first shot is the most important and is either a Serve or a Return of Serve. I’m sure many saw Hugo Calderano this weekend beating three players (Timo Boll, Lin Gaoyuan, Harimoto Tomokazu) in a very convincing manner.

Many of my players and coaching compatriots contacted me asking if I was seeing Hugo’s backhand and forehand bombs? I said, ‘yes, of course, he’s a modern-day Kalinikos Kreanga. But what impressed me more was HOW he could unleash his BH and FH rockets. Most national and international players have big shots but the difference between them and world-class players is the ability to play those shots when your opponent finds ways to stop you!

The most important shot - serve or return — Backhand Return of Serve

It’s not about the big shots

I was explaining to everyone I spoke to, what’s impressive is not his big shots but his serve and return. A few years ago, I noticed Hugo when I saw him beat Timo Boll in the Bundesliga with big ripping backhands. Back then Timo was not in great shape as he is today and seemed to allow Hugo free rein to unleash his backhand. I never really saw Calderano produce much after that (although he did have a good Olympic Games).

So what has changed with Hugo, from a past top player to a world-class player, capable of beating anyone?

Hugo Calderano has developed the most important shot in the game.

His serve is varied with little or lots of spin. Hugo has a lovely variation with his service, his high and low ball toss. He also has a great variety of different striking points on the ball and good ball placement. All with minor adjustments which are very hard to read and see. This development in Hugo’s game provides him exactly with what he requires to deliver an explosive forehand or backhand attacking shot.
Hugo has taken it one step further by developing possibly the best backhand flick on the planet. He’s not only flicking most balls but he manages to put such venom on the flick that often players watch the ball sail past them. This is due to a wonderful change of timing with the same body language. He keeps his body facing in one direction but takes the ball slightly late for down the line or earlier to execute a wide crosscourt angle.

It’s clear to see Hugo has a huge backhand and forehand but he has worked on developing ways of introducing those weapons by enhancing his first ball (serve and receive).

Hugo has a few elements he can develop further and potentially he could also crack the no.1 world spot!

What can he do better?

Develop a short backhand counter-top when there’s limited time to play a big backhand topspin it would allow him to still put pressure on his opponent and reduce unforced errors or pressure put on himself via a fast oncoming ball.
Forehand flick: Fan Zhendong clearly exposed that weakness and Hugo has a wonderful disguise of pretending to flick but instead does a side-spin drop shot, creating an illusion of an oncoming flick but its kind of a chop block flick, which drops short.
Develop a more technically sound forehand simply for efficiency and reduction of errors. And again look at a shorter stroke over the table when counter-top spinning an on coming fast topspin ball.

A wonderful lesson learnt, you may have the biggest backhand and forehand in the world but if you’re unable to play them, they mean nothing. Find a strategy which enables you to execute your weapons.

Written by Eli Baraty
eBaTT (Eli Baraty Academy of Table Tennis)
Coach Me Table Tennis
Instagram: _elibaraty
Twitter: @elibaraty
FB: Eli Baraty
W: https://ebatt.co.uk

E: elibaraty@hotmail.com
M: 07900401144

Who is the Greatest Table Tennis Player of all Time? JO- Waldner or Ma Long?

January 12, 2017

Some may say this is a tough comparison and extremely debatable. But for me, who is the greatest table tennis player (currently) remains clear and he holds the current GOAT Title!

Ma Long

Ma Long has reached a level never seeing before in table tennis. He looks technically perfect and at times he seems to be unbeatable.

Ma Long has won every major title, has the longest unbeaten streak in history and is the only player in history to have a winning ratio against every player he has ever competed against. Including his arch-rival Zhang Jike with a head to head ratio of 31-10.

Ma Long was unfortunate not to have been granted a place 2012 Olympics and lost in the Semi-finals of the world champions to his teammate (wang Hao) on numerous occasions. If those titles were on his CV, it would have been tough for me to argue that Ma deserves the GOAT trophy.

The Greatest Table Tennis of all Time

But on this occasion, I believe as of now, Waldner is still the greatest of all time!

Waldner like Ma Long has won the grand slam title in TT. So if both have won all titles and Ma has reached the highest TT level ever seen, why is Waldner still ahead for me?

: Table Tennis GOAT

Time plays a huge factor here and I grew up watching both these Table tennis icons.
Waldner currently edges this contest for me, because:

Waldner sustained a world-class level for 3 decades. Facing 3-4 breeds of new and world-class players from China plus the rest of the world and defeating them all.
Waldner faced massive game-changing factors including; Speed glue, change of ball size, new high tech rubbers, new scoring system and adapted to all with great success.
Waldner also reached the highest-level TT had ever seen in his prime and raised the level a few times.
Waldner was far more creative and constantly developing his game by reinventing himself. This gave him the ability to beat world class players and compete for major titles up until he was 45 years old.
Waldner did not come from a nation of 200 million TT players. He did not have the best infrastructure such as China and yet from a small TT community in Sweden he enabled himself to become the greatest player anyone had ever seen back in the ’80s-’90s and early ’00s.

Taking all these factors into account, currently, Waldner is the greatest TT player in history (in my opinion). Now looking at the facts you can decide whether you agree with me or not!

Begin your journey to becoming the greatest possible player you can be…

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Finding the Best Table Tennis Coach

April 5, 2016

Growing up, I was inspired to become a great table tennis player and in doing so I researched a high level in the sport. This included; finding the best table tennis best coach, players and top clubs. It was a simple theory, knowing if I could watch and learn from the best then I would be heading towards my personal best.

I travelled all over and around London seeking players, clubs and coaches for my personal development. I was willing to go anywhere and pay any price for the best coach, I clearly remember working as a Domino’s pizza delivery boy and spending my hard earned cash on TT.

Top Table Tennis Coach

Michael Gadal came to England after coaching, Jean Philip Gatien (1993 world champion) and I decided I wanted him to coach me. I managed to get his phone number and so-called him, begging Michael to coach me. His answer was a clear no because he was the national coach and it would be a conflict of interest. I offered him £40ph, back in 1997, in today’s money it would be approximately £80. For me personally, it was around 12 hours work at Domino’s but I was more than willing! Just so I could gain some words of wisdom form a coach who produced a World Champion.

Today I would do it all again as I believe commitment towards your passion is one few people have in today’s world.

But…
Six months ago a young man contacted me saying he has been following my coaching. He has been reading my blogs, watching my videos and seeing my players develop. At that current moment in time, I was focused on providing solely for players based at THA TT academy. External coaching was not out of the question and I was not willing to compromise.

Commitment:

Until!, this young man showed me his commitment level. He was willing to travel 130 miles and pay my coaching fees for one hour of my time. I quickly recalled myself as a kid begging Michael and decided I wouldn’t let commitment go unrecognised. The young man explained that he had a friend and they would both commit to the travel and training. I decided to test their commitment by agreeing to a one-off session. That session has become a six-month commitment with no sign of stopping anytime soon.

They entered a tournament after our initial coaching sessions and the results were a mixed bag. Nevertheless, they seemed even more determent to achieve and develop their games. Training continued and I noticed big steps in both in their games and personalities. Two weeks ago they entered London Grand Prix where they both came out with around 100 points each, progressions were clear to see.

3 key points:

Commitment is a beautiful thing and if you have it, the journey to success is inevitable
Be committed alongside other committed people and it will drive you to your goal at a faster pace
Be willing to invest in yourself to reap the rewards

Written by Eli Baraty

eBaTT (Eli Baraty Academy of Table Tennis)

Coach Me Table Tennis by Eli Baraty