Players often strategize on how to beat their rivals.  They spend endless hours studying video clips of the strategies that their opponents will be using against them.   Instead of focusing merely on your opponent, try to get into your rival’s head and think what he is thinking…
 
Write up a detailed game plan on how to beat yourself!
 
1. What are your main strengths and weaknesses?
2. What are some common game patterns that you use?
3. What kinds of serves do you commonly use?
4. What is your preferred way to return serves?

At the Arnold Challenge last month, I got demolished 11-3 the first game by Yichi Zhang.  I had previously beaten him 4-2 in our last encounter, but this was a totally different opponent that I was facing.  If I pushed, he hit a winner.  If I blocked, he went right through me.  If I looped, he counterlooped with extreme power.  It seemed that he countered everything I did with extreme ease.  I realized that I could not play my normal game and win; I had to go for more if I were to put enough pressure on him.
 

Did you ever wonder what a 2500-rated player was thinking during a match? What thoughts were going through his head? What were his initial game tactics and how did his tactics change during the match?

 
 
 
 
 
Winning tournaments isn’t merely about having fast footwork and a powerful loop.  Winning is often determined by how poorly you can make your opponent play.  In many other sports like swimming or running or weight lifting, you compete and your opponent competes.  Your job in running is to perform well yourself.  However, your job in table tennis is to hinder your opponent.  I’m going to be very blunt here…  If your opponent doesn’t miss, then you can’t score a single point! Think about that for a minute…
 

 
 
 
For those of you who are preparing for our Sep 26-27 tournament, I would highly recommend that you carefully read this article and takes notes in order to mentally prepare for the competition.  I posted this article in the past, but decided to re-post it as a refresher...
 
 

 
“There is nothing I can do!”
“He is just on!”
“It’s like he is on fire!”
“There is no shame in losing to this guy!”
“He is playing out of his mind!”
“He never misses!”
These are some of the common expression that I hear from low-rated players at tournaments.  When I hear these comments during matches from a student, I know that the student has already mentally conceded the match.
 

If you are an offensive players, there are 2 aspects of the game that you need to master.
 
 
The first aspect is…   Creating the opportunity to attack first.  I hear many club players telling themselves throughout the night, “Just use your attack!”  Well that sounds nice, but how are you going to create the opportunity.  There are several ways.
1. Try to loop long serves
2. Try to loop half-long serves
3. Try to serve short and push short so that your opponent can’t easily loop first

The Fastest Way to Improve
 
     If you would like to improve your game 50-100 points in the near future, focus on improving your ball placement.  To make stroke changes, it takes persistent coaching over an extended period of time.  However, if you can take the strokes that you currently have and improve your placement, then you should see instant progress.

 
 
 
When playing a tournament, you might not be familiar with your opponent.  In this blog, I am going to list a few quick things to look for in the first 30 seconds of a match.  Implement these ideals, and you will be able to immediately form a game strategy.
 
#1 Rubber