how to beat players who are good at blocking?

Serve deep (half long) and push deep, I agree, I also agree that looping deep is desirable, but not essential, keeping out of the 'power zones' is important in the short game and is easily facilitated at that tempo, but in quick topspin driving I disagree that pipoint accuracy of depth is possible without risk, by anyone.  I'm not sure how old Larry's book is, but I'm sure its pre 40mm ball, in which case some things have changed, particularly the ability to a certain extent, to force the pace when blocking, and looping earlier with a closed bat face.

one word: corkscrew spin

Variety is key to beating a blocker, especially with service - mix up the spin and placement to set you up for forehand drives. Often blockers are weaker in the middle, so aim your first attack at their stomach.

Danie, I said it was not a good idea to powerloop (with a steparound FH) from the BH corner with a FH, unless you were pretty sure to finish the point right there. Otherwise, it is too easy to fast block it away from you for an easy winner. I don't care how young my opponent is. If they step around and try to blast a FH by me AND I can block fast block it back to the FH, the point is over, no matter how young they are or even if they know exactly what I am about to do. If they put too much "Hot Sauce" on that ball and I fast block it away, point is simply over. That happens to me on attack when I get too greedy and hit it where they are expecting it. The ones who do a safer block... yes, those balls have the chance for the attacker to get to and still attack strong, either with power or spin.

a blocker is a mirror of your strokes.

Edited by ejmaster - 05/05/2011 at 8:44pm

If you ever get outblocked, it means that your placement is not good enough. For the FH, do train the normal sidespin and fade loops, because if you're using sidespin, you can increase the difficulty of the blocker getting to the shot effectively. Make it your goal to have your attacking shots exit the table from the side with sidespin! (Waldner and Ma Lin's the real expert at this). And when you're at it, disguise the shot direction as much as you can and observe your opponent's movement before you make the shot.

Most likely, though is that you're jammed by the blocker with their serves/service receive. I tend to get jammed by balls to the elbow, forcing me to have less options for placement and spin than usual. The only solution for this is to train better footwork and body balance.

i've been there IP. i had to play bob bowlander who is a LP block much like pushblocker here but not as good as him. that was a true cat and mouse game. i had to safe loop, push, safe loop, push, etc....and wait for a good ball to just blast away.

it was a truly tiring match for sure. you must be very good IP if you can go at least 4 games with a 2000 lvl blocker. i should get some pointers from you then =). i'd like to hear more about some strategies you were using.

The blocker I was playing against used a slow paddle but had inverted rubber on both sides.  Playing against a blocker with inverted and playing against LP is very different and I don't think the strategy I used this evening would fair well against your LP blocker.  

You said "Thanks for your answer, if rather patronisingly put, I don't confuse definitions and concepts in TT believe me. I think that you are confusing what I have stated, I do agree that playing deep is a valid tactic, I only question giving advice to 'hit deep' which to an intermediate player invites him to play above what he is capable of."

APW46 wrote: To use the 'quote' option, click on the quote button between 'post options' and 'reply' at the top right corner of the post. A box will appear with the posted contents enlcosed within [quote] brakets, just either leave or delete what you wish within the brakets, then write your response outside the brakets.

 like this.

Infinite.Potential wrote: APW46 wrote: APW46 wrote: To use the 'quote' option, click on the quote button between 'post options' and 'reply' at the top right corner of the post. A box will appear with the posted contents enlcosed within [quote] brakets, just either leave or delete what you wish within the brakets, then write your response outside the brakets.  like this. Got it, thank you very much.

 Its a pleasure

Infinite.Potential wrote: APW46 wrote: ...it is simply easier to attack consistently, and easier to counter attack in a pro-active way rather than re-active. I do agree that the 40mm ball slows quicker through the air, but this is subjective at close to the table play, where the tempo has increased due to the lesser need to respect spin. To try and reiterate for my understanding, you are saying that you (and others) believe that the decrease in spin forced when using a 40mm ball has improved a player's ability (made it easier) to attack and pro-actively counter attack (assuming counter loop and/or offensive block), and it is this enhanced ability that has made the game generally faster?

 Yes. The 40mm ball is also by nature, easier to time and has a considerably higher bounce tragectory, allowing the use of faster equipment without affecting consistency. I believe that TT is slightly slower now than a few yrs ago due to the banning of speed glue, but still the ability to attack consistently has been increased since the days of 38mm, when more care/respect of incoming spin was a limiting factor to the consistency of a counter topspin. This is evident in the top end prevalent playing method emerging as the 'dominator' style being successful (Chinese) over the more 'explorer' style tactical play of the Europeans, particularly the Swedes.

First, You need to let every one know your RATING, then the advice will help you get some point in your game at YOUR SKILL. With some advice up here, I think that is toooooo much for some one  ~1700. With those advice as Fast loop then Slow loop or Loop this corner then loop other corner. Hit on their elbow and kill the shot....ect, that is not easy. If you can do all that then you don't need to ask us because you should be over 2000 us rating and you should know how to hanlde those kind of thing.

ninglei23 wrote: I think I am around 1200 0r 1100

I think there's a lot of great general advice in this thread, but as someone right around that level who has at least three regular opponents (US1200,US1500,US1600) who play a strong blocking game as a cornerstone, maybe I can be of help.

If your opponents are only a level or two above, as my opponents are, then they will still have glaring weaknesses. Both strategically (big picture), and tactically (individual strokes), it's up to you identify their weaknesses and exploit them to win points, or force them to lose points.

I would argue that based on your level, you should focus on placement and  use attacking power when you have a clear shot that will not only land on the table > 75% but also to a position that will win you the point or create a weak return.

So figure this out:
What type of balls do they prefer?
What type of balls do they struggle with?

I encourage you to observe their matches against other players and think about angle of your shot and the spin that will create the greatest discomfort for your blocker.

As you progress and once you get a sense of their blocking habits and preferences, you can also better predict how they will use their block and start to use their strength against them.

For example:
-All three of my opponents have a strong backhand block; it nullifies my strongest shot (FH loop down the line) and against them i will only use this shot if i have moved them over to their FH side. Furthermore, their BH blocks make using BH-BH topspin risky as they can punch block down the my FH side.

-None of them have a stable FH block against heavy topspin.  Knowing that, I prefer to use crosscourt FH's to move them out of their BH corner. During this time when I create movement by hitting wide FH shots, I have an opportunity to hit middle deep to catch their elbow as they cross the table.

-And because my opponents lack a BH loop, I also can get away with pushing to their wide BH and then pick hitting down the line to their FH after I have them out of position.

And when I lose to the US1500 and US1600 players (which happens more often than not), it's not because my strategy or tactics are inherently bad, it's almost always because my footwork leaves me in a weak position to play the point.

But the occasional wins against those players certainly feel sweet :D

Hope this helps!