Like it or not, mind games are a part of all sports. They range from "stare downs" in boxing to starting arguments in any sport to force an opponent to lose his focus. The best way to deal with most of them is two-fold: 1) ignore them and keep your focus, and 2) call for the referee if it goes too far. Here are the most common mind games you might face in table tennis.

• Intentionally showing up late for a match. This can irritate an opponent, leading to him not playing as well. If an opponent does this, smile to yourself and do your best to stay focused and ready. Do not be afraid to ask for a default if the opponent takes too long - check with the referee on how long you have to wait. (Some players are notorious for this. I'm tempted to name names!)
• Stalling. This can also irritate an opponent. There's no problem with slowing down to a degree to keep your focus or to rest, but there are limits. If an opponent does this too much, get the referee.
• Playing overly fast. This can trick the opponent into playing points before he is mentally or even physically ready. This you can easily control, especially on your serve. When the opponent is serving, not only should you not go to the table until you are ready (though you shouldn't stall), but you might consider holding your non-playing hand up as you get into your ready position, signaling you are not yet ready, so the opponent can't quick-serve you.
• Praising an opponent. This gets an opponent to think about the very shots that he is doing well - and that's the quickest way for the shots to fall apart. The best play is almost mindless (other than tactical thinking between points), as you let the subconscious do what it's been trained to do. In general, other than keeping score and other game-related issues, you shouldn't talk to an opponent during a serious match nor should he talk to you. If he does in a distracting way, either give short, quick answers or just ignore him. If it gets out of hand, call for a referee. (In the final of Men's Singles at the Nationals one year, one player was winning relatively easily. The opponent began chanting the player's name between points, punching his fist into the air in unison, and motioned for the crowd to do so as well, which it did, over and over. The player who was winning fell apart and lost.)
• Staring. Some players are infamous for just staring at their opponent, especially as they are about to serve. If they take too long doing this, call a referee.
• Intentional minor infractions. They are done to cause irritate an opponent, thereby hurting his focus. These include toweling off at improper times, talking to people on sidelines (that might be coaching), arguing over the score or who serves, kicking the ball away, or walking around opponent's side of the table. When an opponent is losing, he may decide his best chance of winning is to distract the opponent so that he won't play as well - and it often works if an unwary opponent isn't ready for it. Ignore it, knowing opponent is desperate. If it gets too bad, call for the referee. (The classic case of this was the Men's Final at the 1987 World Championships, when, after coming back to reach deuce in the fourth (up 2-1 in games in a best of five to 21), China's Jiang Jialiang walked around the table, walking between his opponent and the table on the far side, pumping his fist the whole time. This seemed to distract his opponent, Jan-Ove Waldner, who lost the game and match.)
• Screaming. Sometimes this is done innocently, especially by junior players, as a way to release tension - and most coaches, including me, encourage this, to a degree. Other times it is done to intimidate. Sometimes it is both. Since this is generally allowed, get used to it. In fact, you might consider doing it yourself so that it's not all one-sided and to release your own tension - some of it from the opponent's screaming! (For classic example, go to Youtube and pull any video of Japan's Harimoto Tomokazu.)
• Outright cheating. Call the referee immediately.

Some players would say that you aren’t really playing table tennis until you learn to loop. A loop in table tennis is an offensive stroke with the primary purpose of producing lots of topspin. Table tennis is a game of spin, and the loop is the primary example of using spin during a rally.

Many players (and some coaches) feel a player should be able to hit lots and lots of forehands & backhands, and reach a relatively high level of play, before learning to loop. Nothing could be more outdated. By the time a player has reached a relatively high level of play, the player’s strokes and major habits are set. If looping isn’t among those habits, it’ll be more difficult to learn later on. The moral is: it’s rarely too early to learn to loop. (For this article, I will be mostly discussing the forehand loop. But you can and should loop from both sides.)

This doesn’t mean that a beginner should be looping on his first day. However, once a player can hit a moderately good forehand with moderately good technique, he’s ready to begin the process of learning to loop, even as he continues to develop his other basic strokes. A player shouldn’t think of a loop as an advanced shot; it’s simply another shot, one that should be taught shortly after learning the basic forehand and backhand drive (also known as counter or counter-drive) strokes. The shot also adds excitement and variety to a player’s game, turning a basement player into a dedicated table tennis addict.

A beginner should start out looping against backspin, for three reasons. First, it’s more natural, as you are simply adding to the spin, rather than trying to change it. Two, the ball is traveling more slowly than a topspin (usually), and so is easier to learn against. Three, any player with sponge should learn to loop at least against backspin (even pips-out players), so this shot will be part of any player’s arsenal eventually. A player should learn to loop both forehand and backhand against backspin.

Once a player can loop against backspin, he’s ready to loop in a rally, against blocks and topspin. You no longer lift; instead, you go mostly forward, spinning almost the top of the ball.

Many players learn to loop well against one type of spin (topspin or backspin), but not the other. This usually has to do with the shoulders. Against backspin, drop the back shoulder (right shoulder for right-handers, left shoulder for left-handers) when forehand looping. Against topspin, shoulder should only drop slightly, if at all.

Against topspin, footwork is more important. The ball is coming at you faster, so you have to move more quickly. This is a primary reason why older players and those out of shape may not loop against topspin as much.

But if you want to really terrorize an opponent, learn to loop against all spins!

To play table tennis effectively, you need to have a calm, clear mind, which allows your training to pay off effectively. How often have you actually played a tournament where you entered every match with a calm, clear mind?

Shortly before your match starts, simply go off somewhere where it's quiet. Close your eyes. Blank out your mind. Relax. Do this for perhaps 10-30 seconds and you're ready to play. (There are more advanced techniques for doing this - Google "sports psychology table tennis" - but for many of us, this is sufficient. Some do it longer or listen to music.) Corollary: when you're at the table and the warm-up is over, and the match is about to begin, take 5-10 seconds to do the above again, and perhaps every now and then during a towel break or other timeout.

This doesn't mean you should be lethargic. Some players (including me) need to get "psyched up" to play well. But you can do that while keeping a calm mind. Before the match, perhaps do some exercise to get the feet going, perhaps jumping up and down lightly or shuffling side to side - but only a for a short time as you don't want to go into the match tired. During the match, do the same sometimes between points, as you'll often see world-class players do. (Older or out-of-shape players might do this less to save energy.) Keep encouraging yourself each point to move and take your shots. If you celebrate after winning a point, that often helps relieve tension, but make sure to clear your mind before starting the next point. A cluttered mind leads to klutzy play. A clear mind allows your training to take over.

Many beginning and intermediate players want a blazing fast racket, not realizing how much this is hurting their games. There are three problems with using a super-fast racket. First, it is simply too fast for most players to control. Second, since the ball flies off so fast, you get less spin, which makes your own shots, especially loops, less spinny. And third, since the ball shoots off so fast, players tend to stroke less, and end up developing poor stroking habits.

In general, only highly advanced players should use super-fast rackets, and even few of them choose to do so. (They generally prefer fast, flexible blades for looping, but not super-fast.) Instead, try one in the medium to fast range, but lay off the super-fast ones. Slow ones are for beginners and defensive players. (But even beginners should start with at least a medium-fast blade – you don’t want the ball dying off your racket.)

While most players should avoid super-fast blades, this doesn't mean you should avoid highly advance sponges that give extra spring to your shots. They actually make looping easier and can lead to rapid improvement. This is especially true if you are working with a coach, at least initially, who can make sure you use these advanced sponges properly.

On the other hand, if you are addicted to speed and are willing to lose a few matches in return for this exhilarating speed - then go for a super-fast blade and have fun!

If you aren't sure what racket to choose, ask a top player, coach, or a dealer. The major dealers all have equipment experts to help you with this. Ask to speak with one!

In 1967, Nobuhiko Hasegawa shocked the table tennis world by not only winning the World Championships, but by using the lob as a primary weapon in doing so. Since then, the lob has become the most spectacular shot in table tennis for both players and fans. It has also become one of the least understood shots in the game.

Many players lob far too often. A lob is a defensive shot, but it is unlike all other defensive shots in that it invites the opponent to smash. Only against a weaker player or a very poor lob-smasher will you score a majority of points while lobbing. Therefore, it is advisable to lob only when absolutely necessary, unless your opponent is very poor against the lob. The advantage of a lob is not that you will win most of the points with it, but that you may score a few points that you otherwise wouldn’t – and those points are often all it takes to win. (Another advantage is that by lobbing, you learn to move to and react to hard-hit balls – which is just one step away from counterlooping.)

The theory of lobbing is essentially this: If you lob the ball high and deep, the ball will bounce very deep, and your opponent will have to smash the ball from a good distance from the table. This not only forces errors on his part, but gives you time to react to his smashes which, due to air resistance, slow down quickly.

A lob, done properly, is basically a very high loop. A good looper can often learn to lob well very quickly because the strokes are similar. When lobbing, first get to where the ball is going as fast as you can. With experience, you can anticipate the direction of the smash by watching the opponent's stroke. On both forehand and backhand you should be turned at least slightly sideways, just as you would for looping. Drive the ball mostly upward, dissipating the ball’s speed by sending it upwards. Sink the ball into the sponge at an angle so you can spin it, like looping, with both topspin and sidespin. Use your legs and upper body in a sweeping motion, as when looping. (Perhaps go to Youtube and search for “table tennis lobbing” and watch how the top players do it.)

When a ball is smashed straight at you try to turn sideways somewhat, taking it with either forehand or backhand, rather than standing square to the table and lobbing with the backhand, using only the arm. You may have to do this sometimes, but then the lob will have little spin.

The three important aspects of a lob are its height (for control), depth, and spin. Depth is most important of all, since without it your opponent can smash at very wide angles, giving you no chance of returning the ball. A good lob should land deep on the table. Good height and depth make the ball bounce deep. You can also do a lower lob, which is called fishing.

Putting spin on your lob can be difficult since you have very little time. It takes practice. Learn to mix topspin and sidespin, making the ball jump as well as break sideways when it hits the table. The idea is to force your opponent into a mistake. When lobbing, you should always be looking for a chance to counter-attack to get back into the point. A sudden counter-drive, chop, or loop return will often change the rally in your favor. Counter-smash or loop if you see a chance, especially on the forehand side where you have a bigger hitting zone. If your opponent doesn’t force you to lob, don’t.

Placement of lobs is also important. Some players are slow on their feet and will make mistakes if forced to move side to side too much, even off a lob. If you lob best from one side, a deep, spinny lob to the side diagonally opposite will make it difficult for your opponent to smash to your weak side, down the line.

One final advantage of lobbing is that it tires your opponent. This can be a critical factor against anyone not in good shape. When way behind, some top players actually lob intentionally to tire their opponents out for the next game. Also, after smashing a series of lobs to win a point, many players get careless on the next point, as well as a little out of breath.

So . . . get lobbing!!! You'll win a few points and have a lot of fun.