This is one of those tips where the title, by itself, should give you a lot to think about.

If you want to improve at table tennis (or most other endeavors), you need to constantly learn. I’ve been playing almost 50 years, and just last week I think I finally figured out how best to block spinny loops with my backhand. That doesn’t mean I was really bad at blocking spinny loops before with my backhand or that I didn’t know how to; it means I wasn’t as good as I could be, and now it’s better. It also doesn’t mean I was dumb because I didn’t figure this out for 50 years; it means I was smart enough to constantly strive to get better. If you play 1,000 years, you should still find things to improve on.

The same is true of all players at all levels. Some players think of themselves as “smart” players, and so they are confident that they’ve figured out, for example, how to play a particular player. If so, then you have just stagnated yourself. Instead of thinking you’ve figured that player out, think about how he could adjust to your game or tactics, and prepare for that – or for a future, similar player who might make that adjustment. Or whatever it is you successfully do against them, strive to do it better, both because that player may improve, or because you may need those same tactics at a higher level against a stronger player.

Is there a shot in the game that you think you’ve mastered? That would be a pretty dumb thing to believe, wouldn’t it? Long ago, after years of regular practice, I “mastered” the fast down-the-line serve to the point that someone once wrote in a published article that I did it better than anyone in the US. I could fake the serve crosscourt so that receivers would move that way, and at the last second I’d flick the serve down the line for an ace or service winner. I was pretty proud until I saw Jan-Ove Waldner do it with even more deception, speed, spin, and even closer to the line, and I realized how much better I could make the serve – and I tried to do so.

It's true that when you first started out playing, you didn’t know much about the sport. You weren’t dumb; you simply were at the start of a long learning curve. If you knew you had a lot to learn, and strove to learn, you weren’t dumb. You were smart!

The only way you were dumb before – or now – is if you stop learning. Now that would be really dumb.

Players with great reflexes don’t have great reflexes.

There, I’ve said it, and you probably think I’m crazy. But they don’t. What they have is early reaction. What does that mean?

If you smash or loop kill against a top player, it’s often amazing how they seem to react to it, thereby allowing them to return them, over and over. And much of that is high-level skill, developed from years or decades of practice.

But here’s the secret – there’s a “cheat” factor. While mere mortals react to the ball coming off the opponent’s racket, the top players react well before that. And so can you.

The key is to make it a habit to watch opponents and learning the clues of where they are going. For example, on most forehand shots it’s the shoulders. While advanced players can sometimes change directions at the last second, the large majority of players are focused on just getting their attack on the table. They may change directions, but they commit to the direction early in their swing. The huge majority of the time you can see where their shot is going by watching their shoulders right as they start their forward swing, well before contact. And THAT is when the top players react. And with that head start – plus a good ready position, proper footwork, and athleticism – allows them to have such seemingly incredible reflexes.

This is reminiscent of the 1995 movie “The Quick and the Dead,” where the bad guy, played by Gene Hackman, was not only a great gunfighter, but in the arranged shootouts in the street, where both shot when the minute hand of the clock reached 12, he also had a “cheat” – he knew there was a tiny click just before it reached 12, and so drew before his opponents. So, be like Hackman – except in table tennis, it’s not cheating, it’s just smart! (The movie also starred Russell Crowe, Sharon Stone, Gary Sinise, Lance Henriksen, and Leonardo DiCaprio. Wow.)

Part of how you serve to these types of receivers comes down to your own playing style. But if you want to be an advanced player, then you need to learn to follow up your serve with an attack. That’s relatively easy against a passive receiver – except that those players are generally better at handling your attack. It’s harder to serve and attack against someone who is aggressive against your serve – but they will make more mistakes. So, what should you do?

Against a passive receiver who will usually push, you can serve mostly long, which gives you more time to react to the receiver’s return. If you can get away with deep backspin serves that they push back, and you have a good loop against backspin, then you can do that over and over – though remember to mix up your serves, varying your spin so that you’ll get some misses or pop-ups. Throw in no-spin serves where you fake backspin, and watch them pop them up. You can also serve deep breaking serves to a passive receiver, and follow up against a likely soft return, whether it’s soft topspin or backspin. While you don’t need to serve short, some passive receivers have trouble with short serves to the forehand, so you might try that. Some also have trouble with a simple short no-spin serve, which they may push back high. Test them out and see what works.

Against an aggressive receiver who mostly attacks your serve, you mostly serve short or half-long. This keeps them from looping your serve. They may still loop the half-long serve, but because the table is in the way, they’ll often topspin weakly. (Half-long means the second bounce, given the chance, is right around the table edge.) Of course, some players attack short balls but have trouble attacking some deep serves – if so, then figure out which deep ones give them trouble and give it to them! Pips-out players often are in this category. If they are going to attack your serve no matter what, then your goal is to force them to pay for this by forcing them into mistakes. Focus on serving very low, with lots of spin and variation. Find out which serves they attack more easily. (For example, in my heyday I was very good at attacking short backspin, but surprisingly, had more trouble with short no-spin.) You may also find serves that they cannot attack, and so you’ll be able to serve and attack with that serve. If they lean over the table to attack short serves, serve long; if they hang back to attack the deep serve, then serve shorter.

But always remember that you need to serve in a way that fits your style. If you like to get into fast, counter-hitting rallies, then you’ll likely welcome an aggressive receiver, who will make mistakes attacking your serve, all for the privilege of getting into the very rallies you want to get into. If you like to serve and attack, then you’ll likely welcome a passive receiver, who will give you a steady diet of returns you can attack.

But remember – this works both ways. Whatever the receiver does to you, you can do it right back when he’s serving! That’s why the game is so tactical as your tactics are based on both your game and your opponents. It’s a game of yin and yang – or more specifically, of ping and pong!

Between players of roughly equal levels, matches are almost always won or lost on one of two things: sports psychology and tactics. Why?

• How well you play is mostly set by your mentality. There's no magic secret about this; if you played great in the past, then unless you are injured or out of practice, the only thing keeping you from playing the same is your mental state. When you play a great match, remember your mentality in the match. If you repeat that, the rest falls into place.
• How well you take advantage of your playing level in the match is set by your tactics. If you use your shots to their maximum tactical value, you'll maximize your chances of winning. Don't get over-complicated; to use one of my favorite sayings, "Tactics isn't about finding complex strategies to defeat an opponent. Tactics is about sifting through all the zillions of possible tactics and finding a few simple ones that work."

So, while most players prepare physically for a match, it's the mental aspect that's more important - both the mentality and the tactical thinking.

This is a simple tip. Do you think you have a better chance of winning if your opponent is confident or frustrated? You actually have some control over this. It's simple, and it's all about how you react when you miss shots or fall behind. Showing frustration is a good way to give your opponent confidence, and a confident player plays better. Showing confidence is a good way to give your opponent frustration, and a frustrated player plays worse. Remember this at all times. Also note that frustration leads to more poor play and more frustration, spiraling downward. Confidence leads to better play and more confidence, spiraling upward. So, next time you feel frustrated in a match, turn the tables by telling yourself you can do it, and with practice, you'll feel confident at all times, even when you are – temporarily – playing poorly, knowing that you will get over it and will start to play well again. Remember, in any competitive match, the game is more mental than physical! (Plus, never forget that Frustration is just an anagram of Furor Taints!)