Table Tennis Blog http://www.pingskills.com/blog Passionate Olympians Talking Table Tennis Tue, 14 May 2013 07:12:18 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.1 Powder Coated Steel Surfaced Table http://www.pingskills.com/blog/2013/04/26/powder-coated-steel-surfaced-table/ http://www.pingskills.com/blog/2013/04/26/powder-coated-steel-surfaced-table/#comments Fri, 26 Apr 2013 12:02:58 +0000 Jeff Plumb http://www.pingskills.com/blog/?p=1261 When we heard that a PingSkiller had built a powder coated steel surfaced table we had to find out more so we asked Lou to send us some photos. It was then we learnt that his partner was a photographer and we’d be getting some very good shots to put up on the website.


So without further adue, here are the photos.
Steel Table Tennis Table
Steel Table Tennis Table
Steel Table Tennis Table

Lou informs us that the locals believe the steel table plays faster than wood. The steel surface is on I-beams on concrete slabs, which were done precisely enough that the table is perfectly level. It was designed by Jack Hodge and Andrea Augé. Originally Lou planned to build an all-concrete table, the kind you see in parks in Paris and China, but pouring one table made no sense, so he went for the concrete, I-beam, powder-coated steel design, which is in turn more of an art-piece. The table is designed to stand up to the wet local weather in Seattle whilst the powder coating allows for a chalked center-line. Brilliant!

Thanks for sharing the table with us Lou!

]]> http://www.pingskills.com/blog/2013/04/26/powder-coated-steel-surfaced-table/feed/ 0 Juniors and Ratings http://www.pingskills.com/blog/2013/03/04/juniors-and-ratings/ http://www.pingskills.com/blog/2013/03/04/juniors-and-ratings/#comments Mon, 04 Mar 2013 00:12:27 +0000 Jeff Plumb http://www.pingskills.com/blog/?p=1252 If you’re involved with juniors then you must read a great article by Larry Hodges. He talks about ratings being a cancer on junior table tennis and I couldn’t agree more. In fact I think it can also be a negative for seniors too. Lately I’ve heard a few people mention that they don’t want to play a particular event for fear of losing to a fast improving junior and losing too many points.

Larry suggests that coaches should stress that ratings are not to be taken seriously, that the focus should be on improvement, and that ratings are only a snapshot approximation of your current winning ability in a tournament.

Make sure you read the full article on Juniors and Ratings.

]]> http://www.pingskills.com/blog/2013/03/04/juniors-and-ratings/feed/ 2 Best Instructional Sporting Videos http://www.pingskills.com/blog/2013/01/03/best-instructional-sporting-videos/ http://www.pingskills.com/blog/2013/01/03/best-instructional-sporting-videos/#comments Thu, 03 Jan 2013 11:36:51 +0000 Jeff Plumb http://www.pingskills.com/blog/?p=1243 Hey Jeff and Alois,

I have watched many instructional DVDs on various sports, mainly golf, martial arts, and table tennis. Receiving Secrets Revealed is by far the best sporting instructional DVD I have ever seen! I used to play a lot of A – scratch golf and martial arts and watched their instructional videos. Yours is so much better as you explain everthing very well and it is easy for the lay person to understand. Great work Jeff and Alois. A very helpful DVD. Your dedication to helping other table tennis players is awsome and is appreiciated by us the players. Thank you guys!

Yours sincerely Justin O’Toole.

Receiving Secrets Revealed

Receiving Secrets Revealed is now available online as part of our premium membership.

]]> http://www.pingskills.com/blog/2013/01/03/best-instructional-sporting-videos/feed/ 2 Table Tennis is ….. http://www.pingskills.com/blog/2013/01/03/table-tennis-is/ http://www.pingskills.com/blog/2013/01/03/table-tennis-is/#comments Thu, 03 Jan 2013 06:52:39 +0000 Jeff Plumb http://www.pingskills.com/blog/?p=1236 Panda takes part in this short video showing how table tennis can be fun, tiring, and make you look cool (especially in slow motion).

Fun, tiring & cool

Leave a comment to let us know what you think table tennis is.

]]> http://www.pingskills.com/blog/2013/01/03/table-tennis-is/feed/ 3 Merry Christmas for 2012 http://www.pingskills.com/blog/2012/12/24/merry-christmas-for-2012/ http://www.pingskills.com/blog/2012/12/24/merry-christmas-for-2012/#comments Mon, 24 Dec 2012 11:25:14 +0000 Jeff Plumb http://www.pingskills.com/blog/?p=1231 It’s been another big year and Alois and I would like to thank you for your support during 2012. May 2013 be a great year for you and your family!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

]]> http://www.pingskills.com/blog/2012/12/24/merry-christmas-for-2012/feed/ 0 Table Tennis in Slow Motion by PingSkills http://www.pingskills.com/blog/2012/12/24/table-tennis-in-slow-motion-by-pingskills/ http://www.pingskills.com/blog/2012/12/24/table-tennis-in-slow-motion-by-pingskills/#comments Mon, 24 Dec 2012 02:13:37 +0000 Jeff Plumb http://www.pingskills.com/blog/?p=1225 Here’s a video we shot using the Super Slow Motion setting on our camera. Enjoy!

Sit back and relax while watching this short video

Leave a comment to let us know what you thought of our video “Table Tennis in slow motion by PingSkills.”

]]> http://www.pingskills.com/blog/2012/12/24/table-tennis-in-slow-motion-by-pingskills/feed/ 6 Come on Panda http://www.pingskills.com/blog/2012/12/07/come-on-panda/ http://www.pingskills.com/blog/2012/12/07/come-on-panda/#comments Fri, 07 Dec 2012 09:21:47 +0000 Jeff Plumb http://www.pingskills.com/blog/?p=1216 We got this great message from Kobán Richárd which I thought I’d share with you all.

Hey Alois and Jeff (and Panda ), you’re making great, and helpful videos, I’ve watched almost all of them… there are a few, that I’ve replayed many times, because they were so funny, like when you taught Panda, or when you showed what we’ll see, and won’t see in the Olympics. Keep up the great work!

BTW I’ve made an illustration, send it to Panda, and plz say hi for me.

]]> http://www.pingskills.com/blog/2012/12/07/come-on-panda/feed/ 4 PingPod #34 – Can You Escape the Ping Pong Zone? http://www.pingskills.com/blog/2012/12/07/pingpod-34-can-you-escape-the-ping-pong-zone/ http://www.pingskills.com/blog/2012/12/07/pingpod-34-can-you-escape-the-ping-pong-zone/#comments Thu, 06 Dec 2012 23:40:04 +0000 Jeff Plumb http://www.pingskills.com/blog/?p=1210 Table Tennis is a strange game. It’s not like Diving or Gymnastics where you are judged on how your technique looks. What matters in table tennis is keeping the ball on the table one more time than your opponent. There is an area that one PingSkiller refers to as the ping pong zone. Watch this video to see what we are talking about and how to escape it.

Find out about the ping pong zone

Have you entered the ping pong zone? Leave a comment to let us know about your experiences.

]]> http://www.pingskills.com/blog/2012/12/07/pingpod-34-can-you-escape-the-ping-pong-zone/feed/ 6 Show your picture in Ask the Coach http://www.pingskills.com/blog/2012/11/23/show-your-picture-in-ask-the-coach/ http://www.pingskills.com/blog/2012/11/23/show-your-picture-in-ask-the-coach/#comments Fri, 23 Nov 2012 11:43:07 +0000 Jeff Plumb http://www.pingskills.com/blog/?p=1205 Have you ever wondered why some people have their picture in ask the coach and some don’t? It’s all because of a great service called Gravatar. In a nut shell, you can create your own avatar (a small picture) associated with your email address. All you need to do is create an account using the same email address you use for PingSkills, and upload a picture. Then when you add a question or a comment, we’ll look up your avatar based on your email address and show it for everyone to see.

Millions of sites use Gravatar so by creating an account you’ll not only be able to use it for PingSkills but for plenty of other sites too. So what are you waiting for? Create a Gravatar account today. It’s completely free!

]]> http://www.pingskills.com/blog/2012/11/23/show-your-picture-in-ask-the-coach/feed/ 0 Become a Premium member and pay in your local currency http://www.pingskills.com/blog/2012/11/22/become-a-premium-member-and-pay-in-your-local-currency/ http://www.pingskills.com/blog/2012/11/22/become-a-premium-member-and-pay-in-your-local-currency/#comments Thu, 22 Nov 2012 11:48:41 +0000 Jeff Plumb http://www.pingskills.com/blog/?p=1200 We can now accept payments in the following currencies for our Premium membership:

Canadian Dollar
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Thai Baht ]]> http://www.pingskills.com/blog/2012/11/22/become-a-premium-member-and-pay-in-your-local-currency/feed/ 0