Playing table tennis relaxed vs intensely focused
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Topic: Playing table tennis relaxed vs intensely focused
Posted By: SmackDAT
Subject: Playing table tennis relaxed vs intensely focused
Date Posted: 10/01/2015 at 4:08pm
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This is directed at match play mostly - do you think playing relaxed or playing while focusing intensely give you better results? I find that relaxing during service receive helps a lot with softer hands, which gives a higher margin for error, and also helps tremendously in the short game with touch shots and flicks, as well as passive blocks. However, when playing hard topspins, relaxing too much allows the wrist to move too much, creating a hooky, less powerful and consistent topspin, especially on the forehand. Focusing intensely allows topspin play to be more positive, and can help with harder shots, but this may decrease flexibility with out of position shots, and can put unnecessary pressure on yourself, especially if the opponent is also focusing hard. In general, you have a stiffer wrist, and this hinders the consistency of out of position, or with half-a**ed (coughed on) shots, which is more prevalent in match play than in training. Of course, during training, you need to be focused to get the best session and the highest chance of improving, but in a tournament, how does your mindset change? The two paragraphs above are from my personal experience, and are purely theoretical, and I find that having a combination of relaxing and focusing during matches gives my optimum results, even though I haven't found the perfect medium yet. Thanks for reading, - SmackDAT ------------- Zhang Jike ALC AN (88g) Tenergy 05 Hard (2.1, B) Tenergy 19 (2.1, R) https://goo.gl/bFWoxW" rel="nofollow - https://goo.gl/bFWoxW |
Replies:
Posted By: Baal
Date Posted: 10/01/2015 at 4:33pm
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The hardest thing is to achieve both at the same time -- focused but relaxed. That is when I play my best (and why I don't play my best |
Posted By: LOG1C1AN
Date Posted: 10/01/2015 at 4:53pm
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For me, my best results come when I start with what you are describing as intense focus which eventually transitions into a focused relaxation (or what others have called "the zone" or "flow"). If I start too relaxed I never reach that state that seems to be perfectly balanced between intensity and relaxation. |
Posted By: qpskfec
Date Posted: 10/01/2015 at 5:07pm
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Being focused and relaxed is one of the goals of meditation. Many sports psychologists use meditation techniques to train athletes. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/30/athletes-who-meditate-kobe-bryant_n_3347089.html |
Posted By: Tassie52
Date Posted: 10/01/2015 at 5:22pm
| I'm currently reading "Flow in sport" by Jackson and Csikszentmihalyi. The latter is generally considered to be the world's leading authority on flow. From what I'm reading "relaxed" and "intensely focussed" are both necessary for peak performance, and that matches my own experience. However, the OP reads more as if it's about muscle relaxation ("soft hands") or tightness ("decreased flexibility"). Does focussing intensely mean "In general, you have a stiffer wrist"? |
Posted By: geardaddy
Date Posted: 10/01/2015 at 5:36pm
| It's very important. I think sometimes people confuse tensed/focused with "being ready". Yes, you want to try to relax your muscles (i.e. shoulder/arm/wrist etc.) as much as possible. But, that doesn't mean that you have to hold the paddle loosely. At the same time, you need to always be ready to move! Relax doesn't mean stand there idle until your opponent hits the ball. We will naturally tense our wrist/arms/shoulder etc when we execute our strokes. But, getting back to a relaxed state in-between strokes allows us to react better. Problems with our execution arise when we don't release the tension after we have executed our last stroke, and thus we react badly to the next ball. |
Posted By: geardaddy
Date Posted: 10/01/2015 at 6:03pm
YES! We've all been there before, i.e. we're caught behind in a match against someone we "shouldn't be losing to". We heap all sorts of pressure and tension on ourselves, resulting in a "bad loss". What really kills us in this situation is the tension, which we artificially put on ourselves. Not only does it degrade how we execute strokes, it also clouds our thought process. Thus we play below our level. Conversely, we have those experiences where we seem to play great against the opponent that is much higher rated than us. That's because that artificially induced pressure which makes us too tense is missing.
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fatt wrote:
Posted By: wturber
Date Posted: 10/01/2015 at 6:33pm
Exactly! ------------- Jay Turberville www.jayandwanda.com Hardbat: Nittaku Resist w/ Dr. Evil or Friendship 802-40 OX |
Posted By: NextLevel
Date Posted: 10/01/2015 at 7:05pm
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Geardaddy, That's why I tend to consider my best wins in tournaments to be those I pulled off against hungry underrated opponents and not those I had against much higher rated players. The former are the ones I have to throw everything in my playbook at and when they win these days, I usually find out after the event that I didn't lose any points because two other players at my level or higher lost to them as well. On the original question, it is complicated but for me, training hard doesn't work. Maybe it is because I have bad knees but my training is largely about relaxation and consistency. I want any tension built up in a match to leave my consistency mostly unaffected. So 80% plus of my training is relaxed with about 20% or less reserved for upping the ante to see if my median power has moved sufficenrky for me to push harder. I also find that something I read from Ben Larcombe reads true. Relaxed upper body, tense and agile legs. Stroke quality I leave to Mu unconscious. I just track the quality of the output, note a few things and try to produce higher quality output. Things like changing grip pressure I let my body largely correlate to the output and don't try to overemphasize. The exceptions are when a coach is correcting my technique. Then I have to consciously produce the result they desire. ------------- https://youtu.be/jhO4K_yFhh8?t=115" rel="nofollow - I like putting heavy topspin on the ball... Cybershape Carbon FH/BH: H3P 41D. Lumberjack TT, not for lovers of beautiful strokes. No time to train... |
Posted By: smackman
Date Posted: 10/01/2015 at 7:21pm
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I think focus, belief and effort are the main things sometimes I relax a bit more and I can handle pressure other times I'm just helping them get on top ------------- Ulmo Duality,Donic BlueGrip C2 red max ,Yinhe Super Kim Ox Black NZ table tennis selector, third in the World (plate Doubles)I'm Listed on the ITTF website |
Posted By: APW46
Date Posted: 10/02/2015 at 6:31am
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you need to be really mentally focused on what you are doing, but relaxed applying it. confidence in your own ability helps. ------------- The Older I get, The better I was. |
Posted By: CraneStyle
Date Posted: 10/02/2015 at 6:53am
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My current focus is trying to relax when I get excited. I can tense up, though I have had good results when fired up... I've been trying something that I call "Managed Agression"... Professor Charles Xavier (to Erik Magneto): "You know, I believe that true focus lies somewhere between rage and serenity..." ------------- 1. Mizutani Jun ZLC, FH T80, BH T05 |
Posted By: cole_ely
Date Posted: 10/02/2015 at 12:03pm
That's also why you see players play better after they're seemingly out of the match. They give up and go for their shots, and the momentum can turn. ------------- Wavestone St with Illumina 1.9r, defender1.7b Please let me know if I can be of assistance. |
Posted By: Bolterixus
Date Posted: 10/02/2015 at 12:05pm
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What happens a lot with me if I try too much then I fail but when I am relaxed I play quite well. You need to be focused but not intensively I think. I would say both are important so it should be in between. ------------- Blade: Primorac OFF- FH: Bryce Speed FX BH: Sriver |
Posted By: Chicobo
Date Posted: 10/02/2015 at 1:12pm
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I play better focused. Probably something to do w/ my stance/balance being better when I'm focused on the ball. ------------- Stiga Genesis x2 on Nexy Rubicon Galaxy Moon/Air Illumina Alpha on Andro Temper Tech Off- USATT 1620...Learning to play vs long pips |