USA technique hang up?

 

I like this answer.

 

We are picked on for so many things? I understand it's easy but really i think it's just to make other countries feel better about the chinese being better than them. "We're better than someone, too!" APW I'm not saying that's what your post is... but it does happen a lot on this forum.

 

The first half is because it's barely considered a sport here... it's considered a basement game. Therefore, we get made fun of for being basement ping pong players who have no technique and no game. I think a lot of us look at technique that way because first of all.. at least the way I look at it- using proper technique requires a lot of discipline and having technical discipline is having respect for your craft (just as the rest of the aspects of TT do) and it's one way of making it more serious in a country where it's not taken seriously. Another reason is because of our coaching status. The majority of us do not have coaching. I do not have coaching. All the other things you mention APW take coaching, just like the technical side. But to someone who doesn't know much about what they are doing... technique is step 1 and becomes important. It's a starting point. The other half is just like said above, when we DO have coaching, it's chinese the majority of the time, which favor heavily fundamental technique over anything. I don't see anything wrong with that. There are different schools of thought for every sport and craft... and yours is one school of thought and the technique favoring players are another school of thought. While you raise valid questions and have a valid argument.... some people look at it from the other way- sure there is Schlager. Sure Europeans and other guys focus more on the other things.. But the Chinese players have perfect technique almost all the time, along with all the other tools.... people see the technique most easily.. and the chinese reign supreme. So that school of thought becomes more popular because of who the best is right now. Crowd favor.

 

Also, a lot of people will admit and a lot wont... but presentation and how you look is honestly important to some people. If you look the part, people will take you more seriously. That's how it's thought of. And realistically... i bet this last part is probably the biggest reason Americans try so hard on technique- because we want to look pretty and be taken seriously. Being taken seriously is apparently impossible for american table tennis, huh?

It's not what you're saying, but how and how often you're saying it.  You seem to pop up on every looping technique thread to preach your message, but you don't seem to understand the TT culture in the U.S.

People's reaction here when they hear that you play TT is a snicker and "oh that's cute."  It's like saying you go to the club every week to play hungry hungry hippos.  Thus, players in the U.S., at least those outside of Chinese communities, are under much more jeering peer pressure than those elsewhere, and they have to be much more passionate about the game to continue.  With that, a number of factors change.

For one, you want to show people that it's a real sport, a real and shall I say beautiful sport.  Playing like pushblocker, whom I have a lot of respect for skill and dedication-wise, isn't gonna do it.  Secondly, when you're really dedicated to something, you want to become the best possible, so there's this focus on getting the right technique to maximize one's potential.  Even though you might never reach the "break even" point where your time used on technique is more effective than the time you could've used to be an expert with poor form, the dream of becoming the best is still there.  After all, all pros play more or less alike.

What you need to understand is that for some people, there's more to the game than just becoming a good player.  For people who are passionate about the game, for people who have to constantly cast aside the snickers of their friends and family, a dream to become Ma Long or Timo Boll, or a desire to show people just how amazing and amazingly beautiful one can be at the ping pong table, can be more important.  I'm sure there are other factors I haven't mentioned, but I just wanted to show you some of the culture differences.

 

+1000

 

Well said and does convey the reality.