Rhythm and Tempo in Table Tennis

 By: Kasmono Monex, a fan of healthy living

Sounds like something out of a dancing or singing class, but in fact it's a highly underrated table tennis skill. The ball bouncing off the table and hitting the player's bat creates beats and patterns. If we can get our minds and bodies in sync with that beat, we'll start playing much better table tennis in no time.

Is rhythm innate for every player?

Do we have a good rhythm? It seems that some players just naturally have a better rhythm than others. If it's us, Great!

But what if we know that rhythm is not one of our strengths? Can we improve our sense of rhythm?

Usually when someone says they're rhythmically challenged, they really mean they're challenged by the beat, they can't keep up with the beat of the music. But because beat, rhythm, and tempo are related, problems with one can sometimes cause problems with the other.

So, from the sound of it, it's all about our ability to stay "adapted." There are many ways to improve our "sense of rhythm" in a musical sense. We could try clapping on a different song, I'm sure this might help in general but I think something more table tennis specific would be a better use of the time. That made me think that rhythm and tempo are very important in playing table tennis.

If we look at the way professional players move and follow the rhythm, it's almost like they are dancing. Actually, I was wondering if there was a correlation between how good someone is at dancing and how good they are at table tennis?

In any case, the point to take from that is that there is a clear rhythm or beat to table tennis and we have to be able to tune it.

I remember when I played in a training session with Bambang Blocker (one of Bekasi's senior players), I won the game at that time, and he said that the factor of his defeat was due to being unable to concentrate because there was loud music so he couldn't hear the "knock" of the ball on the ground. table. This shows that the beat in question really determines the rhythm of the game.

Also read: https://kasmonomonex.blogspot.com/2022/12/adakah-korrelasi-antara-kecerdasan.html?m=0

Continue to hone our sense of rhythm so we can raise the level of the game for the better.

Healthy spirit and greetings 🏓