Ball Tactics

Not all players see the game in the same way. Many play within the rules most of the time but occasionally circumvent the rules to gain advantage at a crucial point in the match. i.e they sometimes cheat.

One very obvious cheat in today’s game is not throwing the ball directly upwards but lifting it higher than the obligatory six inches and dropping it onto the bat. Others shield the ball despite the recent change in rules that discourages this.

Still others throw the ball backwards onto the bat making it possible to get a good length serve while remaining close to the table. This last particular tactic happens at all levels of the game and some of the world’s greatest players do this.

Keep an eye out for these tactics.

Tantrums

You’ve just been soundly beaten and just to ensure that the spectators see your frustration you decide to kick the barriers, swear and throw your bat onto the table.

This behaviour is similar to a tactic that a puffer fish employs when vulnerable. They enlarge themselves so that they appear to their prey much bigger than they really are.

Losing is part of learning table-tennis. Loosing sometimes hurt if you you have been playing at less than your best. Throwing a tantrum does not, cannot and will not change the score or the outcome of the game. Children do it when they can’t get their way. There is no place for this behaviour in the modern game and should be challenged whenever it occurs.

How do winners deal with tantrums? They pretend the tantrum didn’t happen; they avoid eye contact with the opponent, and get on with the game at the earliest opportunity. If it ever occurs to them that they feel like kicking the hell out of the opponent, instead of doing that, they win the match; with the bat!

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