Your opponent is attacking your short serve and you are frustrated that you can’t stop him from attacking your serve.
 
What should you do?
 
Well, you must realize that with modern equipment and modern strokes, he will likely be able to attack all of your serves, regardless of how spinny, how low, and how short you serve. 
 

 
In tournaments, do you notice any trends to your wins and losses?  You must be like a detective and figure out why.  Figure out if there is anything that you can possibly do to fix these losses. 
 

 
 
 
Samson, I have a question.  Where should I contact most of the balls – when the ball is rising, when the ball has reached the peak in the trajectory, or as the ball is falling?
 
 
 
Good question.  I’ll give a separate answer for each stroke.
 
When blocking, it is important to contact the ball on the rise; this will help you to keep your block low and give your opponent less time to react.
 

I once had a student who was very ambitious about learning to attack.  Prior to taking lessons, he had only developed a pushing and blocking game.  For 9 months, I taught him to attack.  He said that he was using his attack against other players at the club.  Finally, the day arrived that I was ready to watch him play against another opponent, instead of just giving him a lesson.  Before the match, I told him not to worry about the score, but merely to focusing on using the weapons that he had been trained to use.
 

What do you think about after you lose a match?
 
 
Are you angry?
 
Do you make-up hundreds of excuses?
 
Do you feel like a loser?
 
Do you learn from your losses?
 
Do you grow stronger through the trials?
 
The former world champion (Jean-Philippe Gatien) gives us some helpful insight on losing…
 

Through my articles, I have often described how to overcome problems and how to develop game-winning strengths.  Strengths in your game are important because they allow you to possibly win 5-6 easy points.  Without strengths, you might need to battle for each point through long rallies.
 
HOWEVER
 

Last weekend, a couple of my students made big mistakes at the Newgy Cincinnati Open.  I asked Hesam about his strategy against Tapabrata Dey in the open quarterfinals.  He responded with, "Oh, I think that it will be easy.  I won easily last time and even Ali has beaten him twice."  Without thinking strategy, he went out and lost 3-0.  Tapabrata had been thinking strategy and played excellent the entire match.  Hesam was shocked and couldn't perform at his best.
 

I often ask my students to analyze their tournament matches.  Our conversations often sound like this...
 
Samson:    "William, why did you lose to Bob?"
William:     "Because Bob is a good player."
Samson:     "Could you be more specific?"
William:     "I lost because Bob has an amazing forehand."
Samson:     "Could you please be more specific?"
William:     "Everytime Bob hit a forehand, I couldn't return the ball.  Is that specific enough?"

Learning table tennis begins with…   starting the right way.
Before you develop many bad habits, consider hiring a professional coach to guide you on your journey.  The coach will give you the needed tools to reach a high level as well as advice on tournament, practice routines, and physical training.  It is much easier to start learning a new stroke than it is to change an old habit.
 
Developing solid strokes starts with…   moving the right way.

Because many of you will be playing in the Newgy Cincinnati Open this weekend, I thought that I would summarize some of the mental strategies that I’ve been writing about over the last 8 months.  Here are some things that you must remember…
 
1. Watch your opponent in a prior match and study his style, his serve, and his serve return.  Before beginning a match, also make sure to check his racket.