One of the most impressive things about top players is their machine-like proficiency - they make even difficult shots with such seeming ease and consistency that they make it look easy. They are like well-oiled machines. This is why coaches have players do so much rote practice, practicing their strokes and footwork until they can do them in their sleep. All players should strive for this mechanical proficiency.

At the same time, you don't want to have the dreaded case of being "too mechanical." This means that you have seemingly perfect strokes, but don't adjust to variation well - and so make many mistakes if the opponent varies his shots. Ironically, this is almost the opposite of mechanical proficiency!

There really are two things here: having perfect or near-perfect strokes that you can repeat over and over against predictable shots, and being able to adjust to variation. You need both. (There are also players with bad strokes but who can adjust to variation - and so they tend to be consistent but their shots are not as strong, or they lose consistency if when they play aggressively or when forced to play at a fast pace.)

How do you develop both mechanical proficiency and consistency against variation? This will sound rather obvious, but you do so by practicing. Many players only do rote drills, where every incoming shot is predictable, and so they develop mechanically perfect shots as long as the opponent is predictable. You need to also do match-type drills, where you add variation to the drills and so have to adjust. There are zillions of possibilities. At its most basic, simply serve and attack, where your partner varies his returns. You may have some restrictions, such as he has to push long anywhere, or he has to perhaps push short or flip to a wide corner, or perhaps flip anywhere. Think about what happens in matches, and work out drills that match your game and what you need to adjust to.

One reason for becoming too mechanical is playing the same players over and Over and OVER. You get used to them and only them. Instead, you need to play tournaments and leagues where you play different players, where you are forced to adjust to different styles, strokes, and techniques. It's not a matter of learning to play every style, stroke, and technique - it's a matter of learning the habit of adjusting.

The ultimate goal is to have true mechanical proficiency, against any type of variation - like the top players. Because that is "good" mechanical play - and will turn you into a true table tennis machine!

This could be the shortest tip I've ever written, since it's all in the rather long title, but I'll elaborate. One of the things I always advise players is that if they don't have something that threatens an opponent, you can't beat them. It's a simple as that. Therefore, at whatever level you are currently at, you have strengths that threaten other players at that level. If you want to reach a higher level, you have to turn those strengths into overwhelming strengths, ones that would even threaten those at higher levels - thereby putting you in a position to actually beat those "higher-level" players.

So look at your game and decide what are your current and future overwhelming strengths. This not only includes the strengths themselves, but also - and this is key - the techniques that set up or follow up those strengths. Having a great forehand could be an overwhelming strength, but less so if your serves and receives don't set it up, or if you don't have the footwork to get into position to use it. Having great serves could be an overwhelming strength, but less so if you can't competently attack the weak returns. Even a push can be an overwhelming strength - but only if you are also strong at blocking or counter-attacking against the weaker loops they force. And so on.

Here's the key point. Once you have a foundation to your game, you really need to start developing overwhelming strengths. You can't do that by just practicing those shots a little each session. Instead, you need to spend a good portion of your practice time developing the things you do that can threaten better players, even the best players - and then, maybe, just maybe, you'll develop techniques that threatens everyone, and ride those strengths to the top!

It isn't a stroke, a serve, a receive, or footwork; it's the ability to learn and improve. Most players play "in the moment" - they mostly play matches where they play to win now. They avoid their weaknesses, thereby not improving them; they set up their strengths in the ways they always have, thereby not learning new ways to do so; they try to win with what they currently have, thereby not developing new strengths. They probably use the same serves and receives that they've used for years.

There are times when you need to play to win now, such as important tournament or league matches. That's when you play to win, period. But the ratio of times you could be developing your game versus when you need to win now is probably 100-1. This doesn't mean you play mindlessly or without tactics; it means you should often (or always!) play tactics with the techniques you are hoping to develop, so you can develop those techniques in match situations.

Many times when players from our junior program play practice matches I'll talk to them, asking why they aren't using the more advanced techniques they have been developing in practice. Invariably they'll say they are scared to use them. Invariably I respond by asking if they think they have a better chance of learning to do those shots consistently by using them in practice matches, or by not using them in practice matches. I then say, "A practice match is practice, and if you can't use what you are learning in practice, when can you use them?"

Take a step back and examine your game. What techniques do you need to develop so you can improve? Imagine what your game should be, not what it is. Then practice to develop those techniques that need developing, and use those techniques in games until they become strengths. Continue to do this every step of the way, for as long as you want to improve. When you decide you no longer want to improve, you can always stop!

Suppose you push to your opponent, and he has trouble attacking it. Licking your lips, you push to him over and over and he keeps missing. It seems a winning tactic, right?

Often it is. But sometimes all you are doing is warming up the opponent's seeming weakness and turning it into a strength. It depends on the opponent, but if he's able to loop or otherwise attack some of your pushes, if you give him enough, he'll probably get better, and then that big tactical strength you had is gone. Basically, you are warming up the opponent until that weakness vanishes, and now you have to find a different way to win. The same is true if you have a serve that gives him trouble and you overuse it until he can return it - and thereby losing that advantage. The same is true of most other successful tactics.

Instead, when you find such a weakness in an opponent, space it out so he can't adjust, thereby taking away the tactical advantage you had. Come back to it regularly and at critical points, unless you think he's expecting and waiting on it. But that's usually not the case - usually it's best to come back to what works, even if the opponent might expect it. With experience, you'll gain the judgement of when and how often you should pound your opponent's weaknesses!

If you want to reach a high level of play, then you need a lot of high-level techniques. You don't have to invent these on your own - there are a huge number of top players who have already developed these techniques.

Suppose you want to develop or improve your forehand loop. Then find a top player whose technique roughly resembles the way you want to play . . . and copy it!!! (Ma Long wouldn't be a bad choice, but just about any top player would do. Youtube is your friend, as are table tennis pages that post such videos.) Similarly, for every technique you have, you should have a specific top player that you emulate. That not only helps you improve your shots as you watch and learn how they do it, but also allows you to regroup when your shots are off - just watch the top player do it and you'll be surprised how quickly you'll get your own shot back.

This doesn't mean you can't invent a few things yourself. While you should emulate the technique of top players, you can also have a few personalized techniques. You might add something of your own to a serve or some other technique, just to be "different" - which means an opponent has to adjust to something different. (Serves especially are the "trick" part of table tennis, where you can be extra creative.) You might also be creative in how you apply those techniques tactically. But for the large majority of your technique, copy the top players. Those techniques work. That's why they are top players.