Back in 1987 the Chinese National table tennis team came to UCD in Dublin to play a friendly against an Irish team of Tommy Caffrey, Colum Slevin and Gary Neilson. Needless to say the Chinese team won 3-0. However they also put on an exhibition which I can still remember. One of the standout moments was watching the world class defender Chen Xin Hua doing cartwheels to retrieve balls from the barriers. Never before had an Irish audience got the chance to watch such experts showing there skills to the highest level.

Afterwards I got to meet Chen Xin Hua and was surprised at how good his grasp of the English language was. He was best known for his amazing deception on serve. So I asked him for his autograph and quickly asked how he serves like that. He replied ''Good Coach'' and ''Lots of practice''. Here's a video of Chen doing his cartwheels below.

Blog - Dundrum Junior Section
The new Dundrum Table Tennis Junior section has lifted off with great success. The Club has 18 junior players turning up every Saturday for practice with the emphasis on improving basic shots to a required level. The plan will be to have regular training on a weekly basis and players that show signs of improvement will be introduced to competitions and maybe senior training.

Some of the junior players are between the ages of 6-15. I started TT at 13 and I would have relished that opportunity to play at 7. These players are very fortunate to have a dedicated club and management with the best facilities I've seen in a table tennis club in many years. Our team don't just want a junior section but we want a junior section which will produce top players who can go on and represent the club, Leinster and Ireland.

JB

I started playing table tennis at home on the dining room table when I was 7 years and didn't start to get proper coaching until I was 13. Myself and my brother played so much TT together. Then in the summer of 83 when I went to summer camp, the teacher organised a table tennis tournament for 30 students. I was 10 years and I remember thinking at that stage that the trophy was mine and mine it was. None of those kids had a chance and that was because I played in a defensive style and just returned everything. When I later went to my secondary school I was fortunate enough to have a very dedidcated Table Tennis coach there who taught me how to play defensive in a more progressive way. And for the next 5 years that is how I would play. I used a table tennis rubber (Butterfly Feint Long) on the B/H and a tacky rubber on the F/H. I became very proficient at the style and began to cause major shocks in the junior table tennis rankings.
The Irish table tennis squad got a new coach in 1989 (Harald Mucke) from Germany. He used to call me the great defender and would mould my style in the same way as Korea's Li Gun Sang (watch video below).

During that period of 5 years I went to play at the European Championships in 1988 & 1989 as a cadet and junior. The use of Table Tennis Glue was on the rise amongst players and the defensive style was on the wane. The power of the attacking player with the use of the speed glues made my style of play limited and I was over powered at the higher levels. In 1992 I decided I would change my style of play and try to develop a backhand drive and loop. This was one of the most difficult challenges I ever had to face. When you learn a skill at young age you become attached to that style of play however when you want to completely change it, then that is where your patience is tested. My dad was a great help here and would coach me for almost 2 years. I couldn't have done it without him.

I used TSP Spin Pips on the B/H to slowly move over to a tacky TT rubber. The mental side of the game was tougher for me then as sometimes in a close game I would automatically retreat back into the defensive style. I took a long time to stop that but eventually I overcame that hurdle. They say a leopard cannot change it spots, well I was a young leopard who managed to change. If you put the work in then it will pay off. Practice makes perfect - well nearly;)

JB

Last night I played in my first competition for many years. I made it to the last 4 losing to the eventual winner Ryan Farrel 1-3. I did all I could to prevent Ryan from winning but it was not to be and the best man won on the day. He is much improved since our last meeting a few years ago and it proves that practice is everything. His service and third ball attack are consistent. I make no excuses and will look to work on a few new strategies going forward. My service return and third ball attack need work and I will continue to progress on that.

Overall the organisers of the event, Roman Pszonka deserve some praise as 80 competitors entered into the summer league. It was phenomenal and a great experience. Well done to all!.

Now I shall enjoy some sunshine;))

Have a good day.

JB

Playing a table tennis match is like going into battle. The more artillery you have the better chance you have to win. But it is not always about having all the weapons, it is about how you use those shots to ultimately win the battle. About 15 years ago I decided to analyse my style of play and quickly realised that I didn't have enough in my repertoire of shots to compete. I first began by learning new serves and developing different spins on service. I spent hours & hours just serving. I then had my coach use the multiball technique whereby he placed shots in awkward positions to get me to move and react quicker to a faster topspin or drive balls. I also learned the fade forehand and instead of using the regular topspin fh, I would on occasion fade the ball with an open wrist away from the opponent.

It was incredible to see the difference in my play after that. I jumped up 7-8 positions on the ranking list and found myself contesting finals as opposed to finishing in the last 8. And all this came from hard work, dedication and of course NEW SHOTS!

Thanks for reading and I hope it helps.

Best

JB