Nima Yousefi asked 3 years ago
Hi my name’s Nima . I’m from Iran . I always love table tennis from my childhood . I do love modern defensive style. In fact because of chopping I always follow up all the matches and try to train as a chopper too much but I really have so many problems here in Iran . Coaches don’t have the knowledge that much about this style of playing and tactics about it . I have to train with youtube videos and watch the matches on it myself and it doesn’t have that effects on me . I can’t analyze and I don’t know what to do . I use long/medium pips on my backhand and doing backhand chops far from table and I use the forehand rubber for topspins ( hoo sae hyuk , ruwen filus, hou yingchao ,… Style ) . I’m trying to improve my fitness and body work out training but I don’t really know how much I should really do them and what should I focus on to improve as a modern defender player . I don’t know the correct foot work and tactics of modern defensive style . It will be perfect if you could help me please . Thanks so much
Best regards
Nima
Tom Lodziak Staff answered 3 years ago
It’s a shame that defensive playing styles are less common these days, especially at the professional level. But you can still enjoy a lot of success with a defensive style at the amateur level.
As you correctly point out, there aren’t many coaches who focus on a defensive style and there aren’t many online tutorials either. Here’s a decent video from PingSkills which may help.
So it is a tough challenge for you to keep developing without the help of others. But you can still improve and become a very good modern defender, even without a coach.
The best advice I can give you is to focus on your spin variation. So when you push and chop, you should vary between heavy backspin and light backspin. When you attack, you should vary between heavy topspin and flatter hits. This spin variation makes it hard for your opponent to find a rhythm and he/she will often make many mistakes.
You can also focus on your ball placement. In particular, focus on getting your shots close to the edge of the table, both wide and deep. When you combine spin variation with very good ball placement, then you will be a very effective modern defender. Good luck!