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The Definition of Insanity and Its Table Tennis Implications

(by Larry Hodges) Some say that the definition of insanity is to keep doing the same thing over and over and expect a different result. But isn’t it just as insane to keep doing things differently and expect the same result? Each of these have implications for table tennis. First, if you aren’t improving at […]

Be the Lawnmower

(by Larry Hodges) Many players enter tournaments with the primary goal of beating stronger (i.e. higher-rated) players. And that’s an admirable goal. But thinking that way is also a way of making sure you don’t improve as quickly and beat more and more of these stronger players. Why? Central to beating anyone is having a […]

The Laziness of Simple Serves

(by Larry Hodges) When coaching or rooting for a player, why does is sometimes seem like every opponent has nasty serves that your player struggles to return, while your player just serves to keep the ball in play? It’s even worse if you are the player with simple serves, while the opponent is throwing all […]

Learn From Your Easy Wins and Bad Losses

(by Larry Hodges) Players often learn from close matches, knowing that with just a little more, a close loss becomes a win, and a close win becomes a somewhat easier win. And this is good. However, many players don’t learn from blowout matches – but they should. You can learn from either end of a […]

Types of Topspin Contact

(by Larry Hodges) These five tips won’t generally help you win, at least not directly. They won’t score points for you. But they will make certain non-playing aspects more efficient and more fun – and indirectly, may subconsciously intimidate an opponent when faced with these displays of “professionalism”! Picking up ball with feet. If the […]

Start With Your Trickiest Serve

(by Larry Hodges) Many players hold back on their trickiest serve until it’s close. This is usually a mistake. If you have such a tricky serve, you should use it early – probably with your first serve. (This is especially true for deep, spinny serves.) Here’s why. You don’t really know if the serve will […]

Court Tricks

(by Larry Hodges) These five tips won’t generally help you win, at least not directly. They won’t score points for you. But they will make certain non-playing aspects more efficient and more fun – and indirectly, may subconsciously intimidate an opponent when faced with these displays of “professionalism”! Picking up ball with feet. If the […]

Make a Habit of Finding the SS – the Opponent’s Weak Shots and Spots

(by Larry Hodges) Every opponent has a weakness relative to their level. Even Ma Long, often considered the greatest of all time, was “weak” to his wide forehand – but only relative to the rest of his game. I’ve written many tips about how to find and go after these weaknesses. But one common issue […]

Move the Extra Inch

(by Larry Hodges) It’s not enough to move to the general vicinity of the ball. Table tennis is a game of precision, and almost moving into position is the same as almost making the shot. Instead, focus on that last couple of inches. Don’t lean and make a slightly off-balanced or awkward shot. Those last […]

Are You Too Backhand Oriented?

(by Larry Hodges) A common problem for players at all levels is being too backhand oriented. Backhand orientation (BO for short) means that you favor your backhand too much over your forehand, and try to cover too much of the table with the backhand. Some players are better on the backhand, and so should cover […]

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