Training Tips
Submitted by Rowden on Mon, 04/17/2017 - 14:47Rowden April 2017
● Every practice session should be tough and should extend your limits. In this way when you play matches it becomes easier
Injury - Chance to Refine/Retune
Submitted by Rowden on Mon, 04/17/2017 - 14:36Rowden April 2017
● A time of injury is actually an ideal occasion to sit back and have a rethink about your game. It’s a chance to get off the endless roundabout of training, the daily focus on technique and perfection and the pressure and stress of competition and the emphasis on winning
Table Tennis and Reaction Times
Submitted by Rowden on Mon, 04/17/2017 - 14:22Rowden April 2017
● Factors affecting reaction time include age, sex, left or right hand, peripheral vision, practice, fatigue, breathing cycles, exercise, personality, focus and intelligence. Many scientific studies in different sports have proved that men have faster reaction times than women in both the audio (ART) and visual (VRT) categories.
The Science of Women's Table Tennis
Submitted by Rowden on Mon, 04/17/2017 - 14:11Rowden April 2017
● The last European woman to win a World Singles Championship was Angelica Roseanu in 1955. This was over 60 years ago and should indicate to coaches in Europe that we are not working in the right way with women’s development in our sport.
Technique only Half-way there
Submitted by Rowden on Thu, 01/05/2017 - 19:50Rowden Jan 2017
The table tennis player in the early stages should work at developing conventional strokes to the best of his/her abilities. What the coach must bear in mind is that some of this process will entail unlearning habits inherited from other sports, whether this is in the areas of movement, technique, tactics or even the mental aspect.
Spin Efficiency with Plastic
Submitted by Rowden on Sun, 11/13/2016 - 15:33Rowden November 2016
When changes occur in the fabric of our sport it’s not only crucial to consider changes which will occur in tactics and strategy, but also to look at the implications from a scientific viewpoint. Unfortunately the science of table tennis is an aspect to which we often do not attach enough importance.
Plastic Ball and Balance of Basic Elements
Submitted by Rowden on Fri, 11/04/2016 - 21:10Rowden November 2016
Speed and power are now the basic elements, spin is dramatically reduced and is no longer a prime component, rather it enhances the other elements. If you watch two men both hitting at a distance off the table, even though they are initiating topspin, the ball does not have the same forward momentum after the bounce as the celluloid ball did, instead it tends to kick up and comes through higher. As rallies are longer, consistency and accuracy are also important in the total equation: power without control is largely wasted and shot selection is vital.
Speed the Essential Component
Submitted by Rowden on Wed, 05/11/2016 - 09:55Rowden May 2016
Speed is the essential component of the game. There are 4 types of speed required at international level:
Danger of Boxes
Submitted by Rowden on Wed, 05/11/2016 - 08:55Rowden May 2016
Not only our sport of table tennis but life itself and our progress through it, is to do with change. Nothing stands still and if we try to stand still we stagnate: we stop developing and progressing and lose and/or resist the ability to adapt. Developing, improving, growing, evolving are all about moving forward and adapting to new situations and challenges. As soon as you put players into ‘style boxes’ you restrict their ability to both adapt to different opponents and situations and indeed to themselves develop to higher levels and reach full potential.
Plastic Ball and Connecting Areas of Strength
Submitted by Rowden on Sun, 03/27/2016 - 17:29Rowden March 2016
An important aspect which many players even at a high level overlook or do not fully understand is the principle of connected areas of strength.
