If you want to reach a high level in table tennis, it's pretty much a given that you need to serve and attack. There are many ways of doing this; it's just a matter of finding ways that match your game. At the higher levels, it's almost all serve and loop, though others serve and hit. You can serve backspin and loop against the likely pushed return, or you can serve topspin and loop or hit the likely countered or topspinned returned.

Should you try to serve and attack with your forehand? Or should you attack with your backhand? That's a question every aspiring player needs to address. And the answer is yes and no.

In general, the forehand attack is more powerful. Therefore, when possible, most players should look to follow their serves up with their forehand. Players who are very fast on their feet and with very good forehands might even force it, running around their backhands to play forehands nearly every time the serve is returned there (at least if it's deep enough to loop). Players who aren't as fast should still look for chances to follow up with the forehand, especially off weak returns off the serve that can be put away.

But even if you can follow the serve up with a forehand, should you do so every time? Probably not. A forehand from the backhand side puts you out of position, and so allows your opponent to block or counter-attack to your wide forehand. You may be fast enough to get to that ball, but it's going to wear you down, and even if you make the shot, it leaves you open on the backhand side. Plus, to cover that wide forehand, you probably have to more immediately after the first forehand, meaning you'll likely be open on your backhand side if the opponent returns the first ball there. The more you attack from the backhand side with your forehand, the more your opponent can get into a rhythm off your attacks, and so he'll get more and more consistent at it.

So rather than become predictable and allowing your opponent to get into a rhythm, mix in some serve and backhand attacks. If your opponent pushes long to your backhand, backhand loop. If you serve topspin and he counters or topspins to your backhand, drive or loop with the backhand. Don't let him get into that rhythm where he knows what you are going to do before you do it. Make him adjust to both forehand and backhand attacks - the shots come out differently, and can cause havoc if you mix them up.

There are advantages to backhand attacks. Besides staying in position, you are facing the opponent as you hit or loop the shot, so you can see what he's doing and where he's positioned right up until the instant you are committed to your own shot. This allows you to more accurately go after his middle (transition between backhand and forehand, usually around the playing elbow), or to switch to a wide angle if you see him out of position. Also, backhand attacks are often quicker and with a shorter stroke, and so will cause timing problems for the opponent, especially if you go back and forth between forehand and backhand attacks. Even the spins are different; most players get more topspin from one side or the other. (A surprising number of players get more spin on their backhand loops than their forehand, causing a lot of balls to be blocked off the end.)

Another consideration is your own serve. If you serve heavy backspin, you are likely to get a heavy push return to the backhand. There's often no huge advantage to looping this with the forehand, so you might as well backhand loop. On the other hand, if you serve with more sidespin or no-spin, and your opponent still pushes it, it's likely to have less backspin and likely pop up a bit. So for those serves you might want to favor the forehand so you can more easily put the ball away.

So develop both a serve and forehand attack and serve and backhand attack. Two guns are better than one. 

I've written about the importance of Grip and Stance, and how getting these wrong is the root problem with most bad technique. If you have a good grip and stance, then all you really need to do is focus on a good backswing. If you have these three right, then like a bow and arrow that's been pulled back, the most natural forward swing is going to be good technique. (For this article, we're focusing on topspin shots, but the same principles apply to backspin shots.)

So how do you make sure you have a proper backswing? Ideally, work with a coach. But you can analyze yours, piece by piece. First, is it too short or too long? You generally want the same backswing each time. By doing this you get a repeating stroke that feels natural to the point where any swing that's too long or too short will feel wrong - a helpful self-correcting tool. If the swing is too long, it'll take too long (and so can't use it in a fast rally) and be too cumbersome (and so hard to control). If it's too short you won't have time to generate force, and so your stroke will either have little power or be too jerky to control.

Second, do you backswing to the right height? For flatter shots, backswing mostly back and slightly below the ball. For more topspinny shots, backswing lower. A backswing to the wrong height leads to all sorts of problems as you subconsciously try to adjust. 

Third, do you backswing with the right racket angle? You don't want major changes in your racket angle once you start your forward stroke, so you need to get the angle right at the back of your backswing. For flatter shots, the racket should be mostly straight up and down, perhaps slightly closed. (Against backspin it might be slightly open.) For topspinny shots, the racket needs to be more closed. (Against backspin, it's more straight up and down, though when looping with power you should close your racket some even against backspin.) Many players backswing with the racket too open, and adjust by closing the racket during the forward swing, leading to a loss of control.

Once you have these three components of your backswing set, you can just let the shot go like an arrow. Your body's the bow, your arm is the string, and the ball is the arrow that's going to hit a bulls-eye to wherever you aimed it. 

If you want to be very good at table tennis or anything else, it's best to be a perfectionist. But to be a perfectionist, you have to think like a perfectionist.

First, focus on getting it right. In the long run, proper execution is more important than any current result, and proper execution will lead to the best results. So focus on the techniques that are "perfect," and work to replicate them over and over until you can do them in your sleep, as well as at deuce in the fifth.

Second, forget about the incorrect shots as those are the shots you want out of your head. Thinking about them only ingrains them more. Instead, develop a determination to do the next shot "perfectly." If you keep doing the shot incorrectly, then you might have to analyze it to figure out what you need to do, but as soon as you get it right, put the incorrect ones out of your head and focus on doing it correctly.

Third, don't try to memorize the specifics of a "perfect" shot. Instead, once you get it right, remember the feel of the shot. Once you have that feel down, it'll feel wrong anytime you do any part of the stroke incorrectly. Getting the feel right will ingrain the shot not just for now, but for a lifetime.

If you really want to get it right, I strongly urge you to find a coach and have them work with you until you get it right, and have the feel of a "perfect" shot. Once you have that, you can practice the shot on your own without worrying about whether you are doing it right. 

Controlling a match means forcing the rallies to go the way you want them to. In general, that means hitters hit, loopers loop, blockers block, and so on. How to you go about doing this?

There are two basic ways of controlling a match. One is to develop a style where you can force your strengths on your opponent. The other way is to develop an all-around style that adjusts to your opponent so that you can play on his weaknesses. In both cases it is your serve and receive that will often allow you to take control.

• Forcing Your Strengths on an Opponent

First you must develop or identify your strengths. Once that is developed, you need to develop your game, especially your serve and receive game, so as to put these strengths into play. All options have advantages and disadvantages.

For example, if you serve short backspin, it'll often be pushed long, allowing a looper to loop, and allowing a hitter to loop to set up his hitting. But it might also be pushed short, or pushed quick and aggressively off the bounce at a wide angle, or flipped, and any of these three might give the receiver control of the point. So you might vary this by serving short sidespin or no-spin serves that look like backspin, and watch the receiver struggle against the varying spin (or no-spin).

If you serve long (either fast or a breaking sidespin), you might get a soft topspin return that you can loop or hit. But it risks letting the opponent loop, which can put a looper or hitter on the defensive and the receiver in control. But this might set up a quick blocker.

Better still, use both types of serves, and by varying them, completely dominate the poor receiver, who can never adjust to your constantly varying serves.

How do you force your strengths on the opponent when he's serving? See the previous examples, but from the receiver's point of view. Take control of the point against short serves by dropping them short, pushing aggressively, and flipping. Against deep serves, attack. Use placement and variation to take control of the point.

• Playing on Your Opponent’s Weaknesses

The other option is to develop an all-around style where you can adjust to the opponent's weaknesses. For example, if the opponent isn't very fast, you might adopt a blocking game, and quick-block side to side. Use your serve and receive to force these types of rallies, perhaps with deep serves that force topspin returns you can quick-block.

Or if the opponent has trouble blocking against slow, spinny loops, serve short and get ready to loop any long push returns. If the opponent doesn't have a good put-away shot, then you might combine a steady game with sudden attacks, knowing you can take your time and pick your shots since the opponent isn't a threat to end the point. If your opponent has a strong forehand but weaker backhand, you might simply play everything wide to his backhand. If he's the type that plays his forehand from the backhand side, then perhaps go to the forehand first (perhaps with a short serve, an aggressive receive, or a quick block), then come back to the backhand and pin him down there.

There's also a psychology to controlling a match. You have certain tools in your tactical toolbox, i.e. your entire arsenal of shots (serves, receives, strokes, footwork). Think of your racket as your magic wand, and use it to completely dominate an opponent with these tools, and have the confidence to do so. If you don't have the tools to do this, then it's time to think about your game and what new tools you need, and develop them. 

Short pips dominated the 1960s and much of the 1970s. (They are often called pips-out, which can be confusing as long pips is also pips-out, though conventionally speaking pips-out means short pips.) But by the 1990s inverted was pretty much dominating. The last great short pips player was probably Liu Guoliang, the 1996 Olympic Gold Medalist for Men's Singles and the 1999 World Men's Singles Champion. But as two-winged loopers became more and more powerful while playing closer to the table, and with the ball going from 38mm to 40mm in 2000 (which slowed the game down some, a disadvantage for most short pips players) the day of the short pips player pretty much died – there are very few left at the elite levels. At the club level, the style is also dying out as the huge majority players use inverted.

But one of the ironies of this is that since there are fewer short-pips players, inverted players often no longer know how to play them. And so the time is ripe for short pips players to dominate again – at least at the intermediate level, where players not only don't know how to play them, but don't yet have the powerful and consistent looping games of the elite.

I had great difficulty my first few years against short-pips players, but I played against several of them regularly - and then they became one of the easiest surfaces for me to play against. Since I'm used to playing them and know how to do so, I'd rather play a short pips player now than an inverted one any day - you've got a gun and he's using a bow and arrow. (But beware - some of these short pips players are still deadly with their bow and arrow!) 

So how do you play a short-pips player? This is sort of like asking how to play an inverted player; there are many styles of short pips players. But here are some general tips that will work against nearly all short pips players.

1. Keep the ball deep on the table. This both makes things difficult for the short pips player, but also gives you more time to react to a ball that you aren't as used to. Against a deep ball he can't rush you, nor can he create heavy spin.
2. Don't take on a short pips player in a battle of quickness. Find your comfort zone, as close to the table as you are comfortable and consistent. When in trouble (especially if rushed), back up and spin the ball deep on the table. 
3. Remember that than their blocks and hits are deader than you expect since you are used to playing inverted, so if you don't adjust by aiming your loops and drives slightly higher, you'll go into the net. Because the ball is dead, you'll have to use a bit more force to generate the same amount of topspin. (An incoming topspin ball rebounds out with topspin, while you can convert the spin of an incoming backspin ball into topspin. You can't do either with a dead ball.) One problem you'll have to overcome is many short pips players will rush you, and so you have less time to stroke, and yet you may need a longer stroke to generate topspin if you are looping. Or just go with a bit less spin, but control the ball deep on the table. 
4. If you keep looping into the net, don't think of the short pips block as a block; think of it as a very quick push without that much spin.
5. Surprisingly, many players have the opposite problem when looping against a short-pips blocker - they loop off the end. This is because they are rushed, and when rushed, most players lift over-react and lift too much. Perhaps more importantly, they back off the table expecting the ball to jump out to them (as an inverted ball would), and so by the time the ball gets to them, it's dropping, and so the looper has to adjust and lift a ball that's dropping - and they often over-react by over-lifting, and go off the end.
6. Remember that their serves and pushes have less spin than you are used to. The real problem here is that if you are used to playing inverted players, your instinctive reaction is off, as you'll reflexively expect more spin. The only cure is to play against them, and learn to adjust.
7. Most important, play against short pips players every chance you can, and you'll become comfortable against them and soon realize why short pips has almost died out at the higher levels. They are easy to play against once you are used to playing them. They cannot put as much spin on the ball, so short pips serves, pushes, and loops (which they can do against backspin) are less spinny, which is a weakness when you get used to it. They don't have as much topspin to pull the ball down, and so have difficulty against deep and spinny topspins and backspin. Because short pips doesn't rebound the ball out as easily as inverted, short pips players have to stroke the ball more when blocking and hitting, and so they are weaker when they have to move, especially in covering the middle, so attack there every chance. Ultimately, a good looper can turn most short pips players into blockers, and in the modern game, winning by blocking is more and more difficult than by looping. (But there are still some very good blockers out there.)