MusclePong: I feel compelled to say thank you for posting this open and honest accounting of the kind of nightmare tournament that most of us TT players can relate to. Your funny music dubs and your insightful self-reflections about everything from lackluster preparation, to the tortured psychology of watching a solid lead disappear, to the inescapable mind games of loving a sport in which we always have to be humble enough to acknowledge that almost all of us can be vulnerable in any moment to crying little kids or goofy-style senior citizens!! What a game! Wishing you the best in what I'm sure will be a steady ratings recovery based on your positive outlook, courageous resolve, and good humor. Xiexie. 😂
Really appreciate the detailed comment 🙏 I try my best to document my table tennis journey in a holistic ways since it truly is a mental game that has a lot of ups and downs
hey Josh, don't blame yourself. All the tournaments break us mentally if we lose some patience or "win points". Tournaments are specifically designed to help you on building strategies and calms when it's critically important. I was an umpire when you played with Aahan. I didn't want to interrupt you but wanted to warn you about language. You could be warned with a yellow card immediately in more "official" series like US Open. I was also like a tree this day, didn't have enough warmup, were losing so many points that I usually don't miss on trainings. But all the lessons are taken for improvements. Good luck with your plan too!
That's a great point - in a weird way I'm glad I played this tournament and got humbled since it re-invigorated my passion for table tennis again and has lit a fire under me to train again. Re: umpire - agreed on the callout, during the US Open that would be a yellow card (and so would my paddle throw possible in that point). I was just fired up in the moment and I think had some added emotions from playing really poorly in day 1 as well. That was a big win for me against you since I believe you're underrated as well and I hit a bunch of nets in our match. You were absolutelyon fire against Aahan (and it seems like the rest of the tourney). Congrats on the U1850 runner-up 🎉
@@musclepongyou gotta find other words instead of lfg or "woohooo". I dont know how it is in america but in my country you always hear the same type of choing and the only guy who i saw do some crazy "wooohoo" like frat guy at a party got shunned by all players in the hall because his choing was so unusual and distracting. Due to the prevalence of people doing weird mind games like taking a long time at towel breaks, bathroom breaks, weird serve combinnations, making weird eye contact for dominance, etc. I think a different cho is perceived similarly
Re: Staying focused for clutch points, I think a lot of players (especially pros!) develop a routine/ritual for these special moments! Might be something worth trying out. One bad tournament is not the end of the world though, given that you seem to know already the cause (away from competition for too long), I believe you'll be adjusted back soon right in the next one.
No doubt you’ll regain those rating points. You know what happened and you have a plan to play better so I for one will be watching what transpires. Btw, do you boost your hurricane rubber before each tournament?
Not playing for a while and using old equipment sounds like the perfect recipe for a tournament disaster! Lol And you definitely seem to attack shots better, and looked less flat footed than when you were being "calm". As for the Cho'ing, personally, I've been yellow carded for just saying "$h!t" when I missed a shot in a doubles final at Nationals. So the criticism to watch your language would be valid. But Cho Away otherwise I'd say!
LMAO, calm down when playing the kids? 😂🤣 50% of being an adult table tennis player is figuring out how to beat kids consistently! Once you take your foot off the gas, they start to come back and the pressure is now reversed onto you. These kids are the archnemeses of most adult players. IMO, I think your performance was mostly related to not playing for a while rather than your equipment... once someone steps away from the game a bit, the feeling, timing, and judgment of the ball all become a lot worse. It's normal but also sucks. Don't worry about your rating though, you're going to make it all back if you keep at it.
I was definitely WAY too into it against Aahan... tbh he's actually one of the better kids too. I've played some kids at 888 and let's just say... I don't hold back when I CHO against them Definitely think the equipment part was mental, but agreed that lack of training leading up to the tournament was the biggest factor in how poorly I played
I been playing bad in tournaments for the past 5-years I switched back to short pips on my backhand 2-weeks ago I feel like I just got re-connected with an old friend....testing it in the I.C.C. tournament soon.
@@musclepongI haven't used it but I've played against it, the person who used it (Misbah, I think you've played before) was a bit more defensive with it than you were, she used them to slow down the game and really just tried to block me down on both wings.
@@musclepong It seems to be bothering them similar to a long pip rubber the second and 3rd shots are bothering them they are hitting my shots into the net..I can drop topspin shots like crazy it spins very well w/2.0 thickness I used to play with 1.5 pips for years. recently I spent 5 years developing my backhand with tacky rubbers so I could take this step into the next level it's hard to improve at 65 age.
gain or lose points depending on win or loss. the points are an even exchange. You gain 5 pts means someone loses 5. Beating someone the same level as you is an 8-pt exchange. Maximum point exchange is 50 pts, so that's why he was so bummed out losing to the 1200, he loses 50 points. That occurs if you beat someone who is 238 points higher than you are. If you beat someone 250 points higher, or 300, or 1000 points higher, then you still only gain 50 points. The system suggests that you should not be able to beat someone over 238 points higher (if the rating of both players are accurate and up to date). There are also two ways of getting re-rated higher if you gain more than 50 points per tournament, or if you gain more than 75 points per tournament. There is no way to get re-rated lower. I think most people gain between -30 to 30 points per tournament.
you just have to train your table spacing again. Look at your matches and your table spacing was horrible for being a forehand dominant player you were putting yourself at the wrong place at the wrong time and blocking yourself from easy forehands due to where you placed yourself in the table.
What are you trying to get out of short pips. I ask this because you hardly utilize it at all and nowhere its full potential. I know your new to the rubber but you not shown much have shown at he very least a blueprint for how you want to play with it moving forward in your matches For example your are forehand dominant player that I get but hardly try to open the attack with the short pips or use the rubbers in unison to back up your forehand or backhand. I have seen your training videos with the short pips so you seem to know how use it at basic level but in matches you hardly use it much less use it the same way you train That's fine as most players that are learning the game have said this phrase "I play so well in practice but when I play matches I play so poorly". Its is normal habit and goes away with time, more focused practice/match play and honest not overthinking it/ making excuses like shoulda coulda woulda. Enjoy the journey and everything else will fall into place
That's a great question - so I originally switched to SP after the May SPTTC tourney because I felt like my serve receive cost me a lot of points and in general I wasn't even doing much with BH aside from pushing and blocking. SP BH feels a lot better for me on all strokes... probably because I could never get the mechanics for inverted BH down properly but I agree with you that I'm not using it to it's fullest potential at all. I'm actually not sure how best to use it as a FH dominant player, for me just being more stable on BH shots is my main focus but I should also think of ways I can set-up my FH with different type of balls.
I asked a few people, I feel like it goes both ways. On the one end you can argue that the score keeper isn't the ref (which in that case shouldn't say anything). But I asked coach Richard last night and he said the ump can say what he wants lol
Agreed, scorekeepers should be keeping score and nothing more. Unless you're an actual umpire, you shouldn't be doing anything to influence the outcome of the game. I've seen "scorekeepers" calling out supposedly illegal services and I think that is completely uncalled for.
@@unpoulet6859 USATT 3.5.2.1 Players and coaches or other advisers shall refrain from behaviour that may unfairly affect an opponent, offend spectators or bring the sport into disrepute, such as abusive language, deliberately breaking the ball or hitting it out of the playing area, kicking the table or surrounds and disrespect of match officials.
Uncle Tom is low key a sand bagger... he doesn't enroll in any events over U1850. At first I thought it was because he doesn't like losing, but I maybe he just likes to get the best bang for his $ since he can play more matches 😂
USATT 3.5.2.1 Players and coaches or other advisers shall refrain from behaviour that may unfairly affect an opponent, offend spectators or bring the sport into disrepute, such as abusive language, deliberately breaking the ball or hitting it out of the playing area, kicking the table or surrounds and disrespect of match officials. Your profanity certainly transgresses this USATT regulation. Getting intense is one thing, shouting "LETS FUCKING GO" at a child as you throw your racket on the table is another. You are somewhat lucky that he only gently asked you to tone it down, I would have alerted a tournament official.
I agree but in this case I wasn't saying it at my opponent... although there's not much benefit dropping the f-bomb mid-match unless I actually get into it with the (adult) opponent
MusclePong: I feel compelled to say thank you for posting this open and honest accounting of the kind of nightmare tournament that most of us TT players can relate to. Your funny music dubs and your insightful self-reflections about everything from lackluster preparation, to the tortured psychology of watching a solid lead disappear, to the inescapable mind games of loving a sport in which we always have to be humble enough to acknowledge that almost all of us can be vulnerable in any moment to crying little kids or goofy-style senior citizens!! What a game! Wishing you the best in what I'm sure will be a steady ratings recovery based on your positive outlook, courageous resolve, and good humor. Xiexie. 😂
Really appreciate the detailed comment 🙏
I try my best to document my table tennis journey in a holistic ways since it truly is a mental game that has a lot of ups and downs
hey Josh, don't blame yourself. All the tournaments break us mentally if we lose some patience or "win points". Tournaments are specifically designed to help you on building strategies and calms when it's critically important. I was an umpire when you played with Aahan. I didn't want to interrupt you but wanted to warn you about language. You could be warned with a yellow card immediately in more "official" series like US Open.
I was also like a tree this day, didn't have enough warmup, were losing so many points that I usually don't miss on trainings. But all the lessons are taken for improvements. Good luck with your plan too!
That's a great point - in a weird way I'm glad I played this tournament and got humbled since it re-invigorated my passion for table tennis again and has lit a fire under me to train again.
Re: umpire - agreed on the callout, during the US Open that would be a yellow card (and so would my paddle throw possible in that point). I was just fired up in the moment and I think had some added emotions from playing really poorly in day 1 as well.
That was a big win for me against you since I believe you're underrated as well and I hit a bunch of nets in our match. You were absolutelyon fire against Aahan (and it seems like the rest of the tourney). Congrats on the U1850 runner-up 🎉
Best wishes on US Open and great performance from the upcoming trainings! See you in the Spttc and US Open
@@musclepongyou gotta find other words instead of lfg or "woohooo". I dont know how it is in america but in my country you always hear the same type of choing and the only guy who i saw do some crazy "wooohoo" like frat guy at a party got shunned by all players in the hall because his choing was so unusual and distracting. Due to the prevalence of people doing weird mind games like taking a long time at towel breaks, bathroom breaks, weird serve combinnations, making weird eye contact for dominance, etc. I think a different cho is perceived similarly
@@GaoyuanFanboy123 I will need to add "cho-ing" practice to my training regimen in preparation for the US Open 😂
bro, you'll get it back. even a few days off and you'll lose your feeling. the carnival / circus music was a nice touch. haha.
Haha glad you enjoyed the clown music
Re: Staying focused for clutch points, I think a lot of players (especially pros!) develop a routine/ritual for these special moments! Might be something worth trying out. One bad tournament is not the end of the world though, given that you seem to know already the cause (away from competition for too long), I believe you'll be adjusted back soon right in the next one.
That's true, table tennis is such a mental warfare in those moments. Gotta figure out how to stay focused during high pressure points 🫡
We all have rough tournaments. You’ll get those points back once you’re in the groove
No doubt you’ll regain those rating points. You know what happened and you have a plan to play better so I for one will be watching what transpires. Btw, do you boost your hurricane rubber before each tournament?
Appreciate the supportive words William! Yeah I use 40 degree blue sponge and usually boost 2 layers
Not playing for a while and using old equipment sounds like the perfect recipe for a tournament disaster! Lol
And you definitely seem to attack shots better, and looked less flat footed than when you were being "calm". As for the Cho'ing, personally, I've been yellow carded for just saying "$h!t" when I missed a shot in a doubles final at Nationals. So the criticism to watch your language would be valid. But Cho Away otherwise I'd say!
Honestly normally I don't drop the LFG (in full length)... I think my "cho" was out of practice 😅
LMAO, calm down when playing the kids? 😂🤣
50% of being an adult table tennis player is figuring out how to beat kids consistently! Once you take your foot off the gas, they start to come back and the pressure is now reversed onto you. These kids are the archnemeses of most adult players.
IMO, I think your performance was mostly related to not playing for a while rather than your equipment... once someone steps away from the game a bit, the feeling, timing, and judgment of the ball all become a lot worse. It's normal but also sucks. Don't worry about your rating though, you're going to make it all back if you keep at it.
I was definitely WAY too into it against Aahan... tbh he's actually one of the better kids too. I've played some kids at 888 and let's just say... I don't hold back when I CHO against them
Definitely think the equipment part was mental, but agreed that lack of training leading up to the tournament was the biggest factor in how poorly I played
I been playing bad in tournaments for the past 5-years I switched back to short pips on my backhand 2-weeks ago I feel like I just got re-connected with an old friend....testing it in the I.C.C. tournament soon.
Good luck in the ICC tourney! Which SP are you using?
@@musclepong Tihar Speedy Soft D.TecS 2.0 red...
@@masterspin7796 what type of SP is it? Like disruptive or more normal
@@musclepongI haven't used it but I've played against it, the person who used it (Misbah, I think you've played before) was a bit more defensive with it than you were, she used them to slow down the game and really just tried to block me down on both wings.
@@musclepong It seems to be bothering them similar to a long pip rubber the second and 3rd shots are bothering them they are hitting my shots into the net..I can drop topspin shots like crazy it spins very well w/2.0 thickness I used to play with 1.5 pips for years. recently I spent 5 years developing my backhand with tacky rubbers so I could take this step into the next level it's hard to improve at 65 age.
Hey does rating works?
Elo system similar to chess
gain or lose points depending on win or loss. the points are an even exchange. You gain 5 pts means someone loses 5. Beating someone the same level as you is an 8-pt exchange. Maximum point exchange is 50 pts, so that's why he was so bummed out losing to the 1200, he loses 50 points. That occurs if you beat someone who is 238 points higher than you are. If you beat someone 250 points higher, or 300, or 1000 points higher, then you still only gain 50 points. The system suggests that you should not be able to beat someone over 238 points higher (if the rating of both players are accurate and up to date). There are also two ways of getting re-rated higher if you gain more than 50 points per tournament, or if you gain more than 75 points per tournament. There is no way to get re-rated lower. I think most people gain between -30 to 30 points per tournament.
you just have to train your table spacing again. Look at your matches and your table spacing was horrible for being a forehand dominant player you were putting yourself at the wrong place at the wrong time and blocking yourself from easy forehands due to where you placed yourself in the table.
That's great feedback - I felt like my footwork and feel was off but couldn't really pinpoint why aside from my equipment and being out of practice
What are you trying to get out of short pips. I ask this because you hardly utilize it at all and nowhere its full potential.
I know your new to the rubber but you not shown much have shown at he very least a blueprint for how you want to play with it moving forward in your matches
For example your are forehand dominant player that I get but hardly try to open the attack with the short pips or use the rubbers in unison to back up your forehand or backhand. I have seen your training videos with the short pips so you seem to know how use it at basic level but in matches you hardly use it much less use it the same way you train
That's fine as most players that are learning the game have said this phrase "I play so well in practice but when I play matches I play so poorly". Its is normal habit and goes away with time, more focused practice/match play and honest not overthinking it/ making excuses like shoulda coulda woulda. Enjoy the journey and everything else will fall into place
That's a great question - so I originally switched to SP after the May SPTTC tourney because I felt like my serve receive cost me a lot of points and in general I wasn't even doing much with BH aside from pushing and blocking.
SP BH feels a lot better for me on all strokes... probably because I could never get the mechanics for inverted BH down properly but I agree with you that I'm not using it to it's fullest potential at all.
I'm actually not sure how best to use it as a FH dominant player, for me just being more stable on BH shots is my main focus but I should also think of ways I can set-up my FH with different type of balls.
I feel like the ”umpire” really should not have said anything…his job is to flip the score board and not have an opinon.!
I think that was because of the f word
Agree with you. Bro is hyped he won the point there isn’t anything aggressive towards the kid. And honestly who cares if he said fuck.
I asked a few people, I feel like it goes both ways. On the one end you can argue that the score keeper isn't the ref (which in that case shouldn't say anything). But I asked coach Richard last night and he said the ump can say what he wants lol
Agreed, scorekeepers should be keeping score and nothing more. Unless you're an actual umpire, you shouldn't be doing anything to influence the outcome of the game. I've seen "scorekeepers" calling out supposedly illegal services and I think that is completely uncalled for.
@@unpoulet6859 USATT 3.5.2.1 Players and coaches or other advisers shall refrain from behaviour that may unfairly affect an opponent, offend spectators or bring the sport into disrepute, such as abusive language, deliberately breaking the ball or hitting it out of the playing area, kicking the table or surrounds and disrespect of match officials.
I feel like incle tom should be 1800
Uncle Tom is low key a sand bagger... he doesn't enroll in any events over U1850. At first I thought it was because he doesn't like losing, but I maybe he just likes to get the best bang for his $ since he can play more matches 😂
USATT 3.5.2.1 Players and coaches or other advisers shall refrain from behaviour that may unfairly affect an opponent, offend spectators or bring the sport into disrepute, such as abusive language, deliberately breaking the ball or hitting it out of the playing area, kicking the table or surrounds and disrespect of match officials.
Your profanity certainly transgresses this USATT regulation. Getting intense is one thing, shouting "LETS FUCKING GO" at a child as you throw your racket on the table is another. You are somewhat lucky that he only gently asked you to tone it down, I would have alerted a tournament official.
I wasn't directing my LFG at Aahan... although I do agree the racket throw could probably be a yellow card
Shouldn't say f word against kid or anyone
I agree but in this case I wasn't saying it at my opponent... although there's not much benefit dropping the f-bomb mid-match unless I actually get into it with the (adult) opponent