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As you
might know already, twiddling your racket means rotating the bat so that the
backhand rubber becomes forehand and vice versa. Many players use this
technique in a table tennis game, and do it with considerable skill. Let us
examine why so many players resort to twiddling and why it is a BAD idea.
First of
all, the very act of twiddling is a DEFENSIVE response. It happens frequently
when receiving a serve. If a player finds himself repeatedly overwhelmed by the
debilitating spin in a serve, usually directed to his forehand, he might
twiddle the bat so that he can now receive the ball with his backhand pips or
antispin sandwich rubber. After he has played the ball, he twiddles the racket back
again so that he can now play normally. Twiddling hardly happens for receiving
service on the backhand, for which most players use antispin or pips rubber.
Twiddling
is also done sometimes to gain advantage in an equally balanced game. Sudden
twiddling injects an element of surprise that can prove disadvantageous for the
opponent. The sudden change in the character of an otherwise smooth rally
during a game can catch the opponent on the wrong foot - sometimes literally.
For example, a topspin forehand rally between two players can get disrupted if
one of them twiddles the racket and flicks the ball with his pips rubber that
he uses for backhand normally. By doing this, he, so to say, gains an 'unfair'
advantage.
However,
all things considered, the very act of twiddling is fundamentally flawed.
Firstly, twiddling means you are UNABLE to play your opponent normally. Because
you are unable to play his serves or shots normally, you try to interchange
rubbers to see if your game improves. The point is, if you are unable to play
normally, then something must be terribly WRONG with your credentials as a
table tennis player. Maybe you need to use a DIFFERENT rubber for your
forehand. More likely than not, your core skills as a table tennis player is
questionable. If your opponent has professional experience, he can DESTROY your
game completely if you try to twiddle. For example, he might continue with the
same serves to FORCE you to twiddle. Twiddling DISPLAYS your ineptness and
fear. You want to do something about your core skills before going out to play
professional tournaments.
Secondly,
rotating the bat means you LOSE the comfortable grip that you had earlier. This
can be FATAL in a high-speed game like table tennis. You are quite likely to
FAIL in rotating properly in time to get back your earlier grip. This can put
you in a tight spot when you play against a quality player. Your opponent can
EASILY see that you are uncomfortable with playing his type of game, and
INCREASE the pace in order to give you less time to twiddle.
Thirdly,
twiddling takes your attention away from the game itself - at least to some
extent. Your are so intent on executing the twiddle properly that you lose
sight of the game. This can be advantageous for your opponent. He can simply play
tricky shots or place the ball while you are busy concentrating on twiddling.
If you fail to notice the finer nuances of a game, and just concentrate on
twiddling, you are more likely than not to lose miserably.
Fourthly,
twiddling means you are slowing yourself down. This is because most humans
cannot concentrate equally well on two completely different tasks. This slow
down can EXPOSE you to exploitative actions by your opponent like PLACING the
ball. This will force you to move fast and give you LESS opportunity to twiddle.
You can twiddle and move fast, but not be able to perform both actions with the
same facility.
Fifthly,
twiddling gives you a false sense of security. Instead of worrying about why
you are unable to receive difficult serves and shots, you tend to concentrate
more on how you can twiddle better. This means you are not inclined to devote
more time on intensive practice sessions with your table tennis partner to
overcome your basic shortcomings.
Considering
all these points, take a second look at your game instead of focusing more on
twiddling. The faster you give up this ADDICTIVE and SELF-DEFEATIST habit, the
quicker you will emerge as a skilled table tennis player.
