Where the Game Is REally Played

Alot of people think that sports are physical.  That is a naive mentality, and kind of a joke to me.

To me, it’s all in your head. Literally.

Back in the office, my buddy asked me what it is about ping pong (or probably table tennis is more familiar to you) that I like the most. His argument was about my long arms and legs, saying I can easily make it to the college basketball team. He also added that ping pong can cause me so much trouble because the table is quite low. Next on his list is about the playing are. According to him, there is less reach, height, speed, and strength advantages because of the limited, small playing area. Lastly, his impression about the game is that it doesn’t require a lot of thinking and strategizing. Poor guy, he doesn’t know that this sport is really a physically and mentally challenging game.

Having long arms and legs for ping pong players is not a handicap, but actually an advantage. In an advanced game, a player must react to a fast moving ball. Long rallies and powerful sets of smashes are inevitable, thus your long arms and legs can be an advantage in order to reach the ball faster.

Like any other sports, your physical attributes can give you leverage over your opponents. Although it is not the same as sprinting in a 100 meter dash, speed and agility are absolutely needed in table tennis. Imagine shuffling left and right chasing after a 60mph ball from end to end of the table. That definitely requires an outstanding lateral movement and exceptional balance to be able return the ball properly. But that’s not all, being able to return the ball properly means you have a good lower body strength to maintain your balance and also upper body strength for a powerful return.

What’s more, this game involves a lot of strategy. To gain control of the game, you must have a sense of timing. You should be able to manipulate the ball to the opponent’s direction with spins and drives and also make good decisions quickly with every shot. 

Tiger W. is the man.  He has it figured out.  The reason he’s the champ is because he’s got the mental game part figured out, and he executes it time and time again.. to perfection.