As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, I’m back playing Table Tennis. The group I’m playing with now is the best I’ve ever been exposed to, and my drive to improve my game has never been stronger (it’s hard to get motivated to excel at technique when no one can even return your serve). With this group I get beat more often than not; it’s an excellent environment for me to grow in.

Anyway, my main focus now is on properly generating power, i.e. using the correct technical movement to do so. The study of how to do this is precisely why I love the sport so much. Effectively generating speed (and especially spin) is euphoric.

My latest realization, or re-realization actually, is that tension kills power.

This is a “re-realization” because this is the sort of concept that I already “know”, but am unable to transfer into action. Basically, when I see my serve come back long with underspin (just how I wanted it), I immediately tense up as I get into position to loop.

After I execute I realize immediately that my shot was neither that fast nor that spinny. Why? Because I was all tight and restricted. I know this, I kick myself for it, but the next time I get back a return where I want it I do the same damn thing.

I have the same problem in Golf, actually, which makes this more than a post about Table Tennis. It’s natural for people to associate power with tension. I find with my Golf shots that when I “don’t try” — especially with my short irons — I can hit some incredible shots. I am at the point now where I tee off for most par 3’s with no more than a pitching wedge. That’s roughly 150 yards or so (the tee helps) with ease. I am not tight, I don’t swing hard, I just do the motion.

When I do this it feels absolutely amazing. I get the perfect Titleist click with no vibration in the club and my ball goes flying like I wound up and swung as hard as I could. Of course when I try to swing hard, I can’t get half of that power. But over and over I have to remind myself of this. I go for entire days struggling with consistency and power until I force myself to “start over” with the basics and relax.

So that brings me to Table Tennis. I am doing the exact same thing there, only my loop form probably isn’t even as good as my 9 iron shot — which is sad since TT is my favorite sport.

Ultimately the problem is simple — I’m still associating power with tension.

Once I can break this mental link I’m going to become very dangerous. I am starting to see the power of a relaxed grip in practice, but once I get into a match I tighten up to generate power. I simply have to figure out how to make a full turn, a full uncoil motion, and remain loose during the entire process.

The frisbee throw is really a good analogy for the backhand. Imagine trying to throw a frisbee a long distance if you kept your throwing hand tight and controlling. You couldn’t. The power of the throw comes from the ability to release fully from the coil. Once I subconsciously make that connection in Table Tennis my rating’s going to jump by a few hundred points almost overnight.

I realized something about myself tonight that’s worth noting.

It seems that when I approach a skill (say Table Tennis) I focus so much on being a student of the discipline that I almost ignore the element of competition altogether. That may not sound bad, but it is.

Essentially, when I study things, I study to master my technique. I don’t study to win. I want to win, or at least it would be nice to win, but it is far more important to me that I flawlessly execute my movements.

One could argue that I am not focused on the right thing for competition. I noticed this in my last tournament. I was working on doing x or y in my game, and I was losing. After one of the games a guy came up to me and said, “Why do you keep going to his forehand? He’s got a wicked shot on that side and he almost never misses! Don’t go over there!”

It was quite profound. I realized then that I wasn’t even paying attention to how to beat the guy. I found myself thinking, “Yeah, maybe I could beat him if I did that, but I should be able to beat him going to his forehand.” In short, in my mind I wasn’t winning because I wasn’t playing good enough.

To put it another way, finding the other guy’s weakness isn’t attractive to me. What I want to do is develop my own strengths instead — and subsequently overpower my opponent doing what I want to do. It’s utterly inefficent to do this without also attacking places where your opponent is weak.

I contrast this to my buddy Ken. He’s a competitor of the highest caliber. He’s the type to finds a new hobby and is competing in it at the regional level within a few months (when others would take years to do the same). He focuses directly on victory in competition. He masters technique as well, but the whole time he’s studying it, he’s studying with one goal in mind — winning. So if an opponent presents a weakness, he’s going to see it and be able to take advantage. I don’t seem to do that by default.

Perhaps I should do so more. I don’t want to do it so much that I lose what I love about my sport, but perhaps it’d be fun to win more often.

Well, it’s been humbling. I got to play with a large University team tonight and it was a masacre. I’m quite sure what was done to me is illegal in certain places. If it isn’t, it should be.

I might get into hackeysack.

So as one can tell from a recent post, I’m back into my favorite sport — table tennis. As can be expected, I’m hitting some sites and seeing if I can pick up any perls of wisdom. Well, while I was doing so just now I made a stunning realization.

The last time I studied table tennis, i.e. when I got started, I was not on the Internet yet!

Was there ever such a time? No Internet? Inconceivable. I honestly am unsure as to how I made it so long without it.

Well, I’ve found a club and am now able to get back into my favorite (participation) sport. I’m highly enthused.

I’ve been out of the game for like 8 months due to my move and everything, but I didn’t seem to have much rust when playing for the first time last night (and I didn’t even have my own paddle). I’ve ordered a new paddle and some accessories to herald my return:

• Donic Waldner Dicon Blade (my all-time favorite)
• Butterfly Sriver G2 Rubber (both sides)
• Table Tennis bag (Butterfly)
• Paddle case (Butterfly)
• Rubber cleaner (Butterfly)
• Cleaning sponges (Butterfly)
• Ball containers (Nitakku)
• Three-star balls (Nitakku)

Good stuff.

So evidently, based on my performance last night, I’ve been invited to a private club in some guy’s basement. He supposedly has three tables and tons of room, and is rather selective about who he lets join his little group. So that should be cool.

It seems there’s enough TT activity in this city to play seven days a week if I wanted to (I don’t), so that’s excellent. My intention is to make this a regular thing, i.e. at least 3 nights a week. That’s probably a good thing since this group goes to about a tournament a month.

Anyway, I’m happy to be back, and the competition I’ll be facing off against is several levels above what I have been exposed to in the past. I’m looking forward to what this’ll do for my game.

**By the way, just in case you’re confused, table tennis != ping pong. See to it that you don’t make that mistake. :)

Hunter power-touch blade with Juic 999 Elite. My next setup.