Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Ping Pong Is Much More Than A Garage Game

By Stan Derpor

Most people put in a table tennis table in their garage and play a friendly game every once in a while. They never really progress beyond a certain level. The better you get at ping pong, the more you will realize how complex it is and the more exercise you will get. If you watch any ping pong match on TV, you will see the players starting to sweat as the match goes on. Ping pong may not look or feel strenuous to the casual player but once you start playing and progressing to better levels you will find it is a great challenge and work out!

On the surface, table tennis looks like a pretty simple game. You have a table, a net, and a couple of paddles that all can fit nicely in your basement or many other rooms in your house. For the beginning player, ping-pong is indeed simple but for the player who takes it seriously and wants to become advanced, it can be extremely intricate. All of the top players practice many hours a day and put in the same hours as most people spend on their job.

Table tennis rackets or paddles are the player's only weapon and you can spend hundreds of dollars on some of the better ones. Tournament players all have their paddles custom made with special rubbers that are all specific to their type of play. Table tennis is so much more that just hitting a ball back and forth over a net and the variety of paddles and rubbers leads to different levels of ability.

The top ping pong players all have different styles of play and they are able to disguise their shots by putting a variety of spins on the ball. If you want to be able to do this effectively, you need to have years of practice along with the right equipment which is one of those expensive paddles. Table tennis also requires you to have quick reflexes and good hand eye coordination. So, the next time you see a ping pong match on TV between two top players, pause a while to soak in all the talent that is on display.

Getting better at ping pong may depend on whether you have someone to practice with. Much like tennis, you need someone of equal or better ability so that you can practice effectively and get better. If you don't have someone that can challenge you, it is difficult to progress beyond a certain level. So, the next time you see a ping pong match on TV between two top players, pause a while to soak in all the talent that is on display.

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