Posts Tagged ‘Learning’

Huge learning curve as twins sample life at top

Monday, February 7th, 2011

Huge learning curve as twins sample life at top
Fresh from the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, the twins, and the rest of the Welsh table tennis squad, were in Sheffield for the biggest competition of their young careers so far.

Read more on Denbighshire Free Press

Learning Spin with Table Tennis Videos

Saturday, August 14th, 2010

If you want to pick up new skills to improve your ping pong game, there are many resources available.  From instructional DVDs, to websites featuring basic instructions, to table tennis videos teaching ways to be better than ever, you can easily find ways to improve your game.  Whether you want to learn a drop shot, improve your serve, or learn how to hit with topspin, it’s easy to pick up a variety of new skills that will make your opponent scramble for the ball.  With videos available all over the internet, you can gain easy access to tips, techniques, and the best of the pros in the game.  When it comes to learning how to add spin to the ball, it’s easy enough to find tips.  Spin is a great way to enhance your game and throw off your opponent.  Table tennis videos can show anyone the best way to learn the various types of spin that will enhance your game.

Backspin will add subtle lift to the ball and let it drop more suddenly, making it more difficult for the opponent to predict the trajectory of the ball.  This type of spin is regarded as a defensive alternative and is an effective way to change the strategy of the game.  Picking up this skill isn’t difficult and can be important to your success in the game.  Topspin is a crucial type of spin that is important to any phase of the game and all skill sets.  It’s harder to learn than some other strokes, but can be useful in creating a winning strategy.  Table tennis videos often feature how-to instructions to help you perform this stroke.  

Sidespin is another common stroke and it’s usually used during service.  This spin causes the ball to spin on a vertical axis, rather than horizontal like other types of spin.  Cork spin is also used in service, but can be added to a lob at the professional level.  Also referred to as the drill-spin, it causes the ball to dart to the right or left after bouncing.  This can be a useful strategy in confusing the opponent.  Table tennis videos are great ways to pick up on the cork spin.    No matter what you might want to learn, it’s easy enough to gain access to any information when it comes to this fun and fast-paced sport.  Because it’s played throughout the world, players of all skill levels and ages enjoy ping pong.

Children With Learning Disabilities Articles – How To Improve Reading Flow In Children With Learning Disabilities

Tuesday, June 15th, 2010

Children With Learning Disabilities Articles

Children with learning disabilities have trouble reading, and it is frequently noted that, even if they know the words, they often cannot flow naturally as they read.

There may be many factors involved in the failure of children with learning difficulties to read well, and I would like to touch on some of these in this article. As a practitioner who has successfully worked with these children for over 20 years, I feel that I have some practical things I can contribute to the debate on learning disabilities, especially with regard to the reading proficiency of these children.

Step 1: Make Sure They Can Concentrate!

If you want children with learning disabilities to improve their reading speed, the first thing you must do is to make sure they are concentrating properly. As a Behavioral Optometrist, I look to the visual system to solve this problem, because I know that and unresolved refractive problems in their eyes, like long sight for example, can dramatically affect a child’s concentration. Also, if a child is lacking in their focus or their eye coordination, this too can decrease their ability to concentrate. Children With Learning Disabilities Articles

In these instances, they put so much effort into just holding the page clear and single, they have very little available for anything else, and tired due to the extreme effort required to perform the task. Reading becomes tiring, difficult and frustrating for children with learning disabilities, and very often a set of reading glasses can be wonderful in these circumstances.

Other practitioners might look to ADHD medication, occupational or speech therapy or natural substances to improve concentration, but as an Optometrist, I believe that the easiest thing to try first is the right reading glasses. in my experience this treatment most often works for improving the concentration span of children with learning disabilities. Children With Learning Disabilities Articles

Step 2: Make Sure They Know The Words!

Children with learning disabilities almost always have a decrease sight word vocabulary, so when they read they are constantly coming across words that they do not know.

The vision therapy I have designed spends a lot of time directly working with visualization and visual memory, and we have had spectacular success over many years increasing children’s ability to retain spelling words.

Step 3: Help Them Control their Eye Movements!

Eye movement control is essential if a child is to flow in their reading. If you find that adding a ruler under the line of words helps their reading speed, then chances are that they have a significant eye movement problem. The ruler helps, sure, but how much more effective would it be to train the child’s eye movements so that they have accurate and adequate control.

In my therapy, I use a variety of techniques to help children with learning disabilities control their eyes correctly. I am able to help you do the same in the comfort of your own home, using balls, string, charts, marbles and a whole host of fun things.

The great news for these children is that, in addition to improving their reading speed and thereby helping their learning disabilities, training eye movements can also help their sport, especially for small ball sports such as baseball, cricket, tennis and ping pong!

But the greatest reward is that, if we train a child’s eye movements correctly, they will begin to flow and add expression to their reading, and they will also become far less frustrated and angry with reading. If it is easy to flow and draw the meaning out of our reading, it becomes a much more enjoyable task.

If you would like more information concerning children with learning disabilities, and what you can do to help your child overcome their learning difficulties, visit our website for tips, ideas and the entire therapy course which costs a lot less than you think! Children With Learning Disabilities Articles

Learning Table Tennis by Using a Video

Saturday, June 12th, 2010

Table tennis, playfully called ping pong, is an exciting sport that can be difficult, but rewarding to play. In table tennis, players, typically one on one, or pair against pair, score by keeping a hollow ball air bound. They do this by hitting the ball with their paddles from one opponent’s side to the other, allowing the ball to bounce on the table or against the back of their rackets. If the ball is not hit while it is in the capacity of one team to hit it, points may be awarded to the opposing team.

Skill in table tennis comes from a player’s ability to hit the ball at high speeds, and to give it a spin that can make its trajectory difficult to estimate. By combining a spin on the ball, high speeds, and knowledge of the opponent’s weak spot, the best table tennis players can win their matches, sometimes by virtue of tiring their opponents out.

If you are interested in learning table tennis, studying the physics behind it, or training to be a skilled professional player, you will need to see the sport being played. Competitions, however, are rare, and can be difficult to go to if you do not have the time or money to watch a table tennis game. As a result, several companies have developed training videos designed to teach the game at different levels.

A table tennis video offers you the opportunity to learn the physics of the sport, as well as to apply this knowledge in training. A table tennis video will be able to give you information on the following aspects of table tennis.

•    The table tennis racket may appear to simply be a paddle with two rubber sides, but its construction greatly affects the outcome of a game. A table tennis video will introduce you to the different kinds of mats or rubber sheets that you can attach to your racket, also known as the bat. By customizing your bat, you can select the surfaces that provide the best spin and speed that you want your ball to have.

•    The racket surface is not the only determinant of a ball’s speed and trajectory. How you hold the bat can also be important, and a table tennis video will show the various ways by which you can hold your bat. For instance, the pen hold method allows you to grip the bat the way you would hold a pen. This gives you great control over your racket, although you will have to train yourself to spin your bat easily should you need to use the other side of it. Other grips include the shake hand and the V-grip, both of which have their own advantages and disadvantages.

A table tennis video will show you how these grips can change the outcome of the game. Although a good grip alone will not let you win, you will need to find a grip with which you are comfortable before you can play table tennis.

•    A table tennis video will also show you how to carry out footwork, maintain your balance, and keep a good table tennis posture. While watching the video, you should practice moving, so that you can warm yourself up for the game.

•    A table tennis video will also explain the rules of the game, as well as modifications to the rules that are used in different countries.

Table tennis is a sport that can be more exciting to play if you know the physics, history, and rules of it. Whether you are studying the sport as a student, or as a prospective player, a table tennis video may help you in realizing your goals.

Learning Ping Pong On A Budget Through Table Tennis Video Clips

Friday, December 25th, 2009

Nearly all sports have their instructional videos. Basketball videos can teach you how to shoot a ball into a hoop while evading oncoming opponents; soccer videos can instruct you how to kick a ball into a goal while skirting fearlessly and easily past coming defense, ala Diego Maradona; and table tennis videos can show you how to send a little hollow ball hurtling and spinning through the air, so that it can get into your opponent’s play but without your opponent hitting it. Instructional videos will show you how to score and succeed, and can even teach you a thing or two of your sport of choice’s history, so that you can appreciate the game better.

Many sports instructional videos, however, can be expensive. This has prompted many entrepreneurs, as well as professional players, to launch their own websites and provide free instructional video clips. Table tennis is no exception: you can find table tennis video clips online, and whether they are free or paid-per-view, they can help you understand table tennis and play the sport well.

Some table tennis video clips will simply show you the history of the sport, along with its rules and regulations, and with the current leaders in the game. Although this can be boring for a player who is not into lectures and classes, it can help you understand why certain rules are made in certain ways. Video clips of table tennis rules can also make you visualize rule violations better, so that you can score games correctly in the future. Moreover, if you see the sport’s current best players in action, you can have some people to look up to in order to improve your game.

Some table tennis video clips will show you the physics behind the game. They will explain how different playing surfaces can affect the trajectory of the ball, or the ability of players to play a game well. They will explain how the two different paddle surfaces can send the ball flying in different directions, and with varying spins. Watch such video clips very carefully, as they will show you all the things you need to strategize successfully for a great game of table tennis.

Other table tennis video clips will show you how to play the game: you need to know the different ways of handling the table tennis paddle, and how each handling method affects your play; you also need to know how certain postures and movements on your part can lead to injury if you are not careful during your table tennis game. Have a paddle on hand while you are watching table tennis video clips. As this is an instructional video, you need to watch it on your feet, and in player’s position, as though you were ready to play a game.

Still other table tennis video clips will show table tennis games in action. Watch how the game swiftly changes, and how the pace is frenetic throughout. You need to maintain this level of energy in your table tennis game, so watch how the players utilize their energy so that it stays up throughout their play. If you can, slow down the video so you can see how certain successful shots are made. This way, you can fully appreciate the difficulty of the game, and perhaps be pressed to learning even more about how to play table tennis even better.

Table tennis video clips provide a cheaper alternative to buying whole videos. You can skip parts that you fully understand and appreciate, and you can watch the parts that you like and need over and over again. There are many sources of table tennis video clips online: all you need to do is search for them through your favorite search engine, and look for sites that offer credible table tennis video clips for free, or for the lowest price. With practice and observation, you can turn your table tennis game around, thanks to table tennis video clips.

Watching A DVD, Learning Table Tennis

Wednesday, December 16th, 2009

Table tennis can be a great way to build endurance, train one’s wits, and even lose weight. Often referred to by ping pong, its trade name, table tennis entails skill and strength, and learning it can be difficult. The constant footwork can make one’s body more adapted to stress. The high speeds of the ball can sharpen one’s eyes, and make one anticipate and adapt to an opponent’s strategies. The activity associated with table tennis, moreover, can make anyone sweat and slim down.

Table tennis is played by either two opposing players, or two opposing pairs. These opponents are positioned on opposite sides of a low table, with a low net separating them from each other. Players hit a hollow ball from end of the table to the other, with the use of rubber matted rackets, keeping the ball in the air. Strategies come when the ball is spun, creating an unusual trajectory that can be difficult to follow and counteract. If a ball is not hit while it is within one team’s qualifications and capacity to hit, the opposing team may be awarded a point.

The two main skills a table tennis player has to learn are speed and spin. There are two aspects to speed in table tennis: a player has to be able to think quickly and anticipate the opponent’s moves, which can be difficult in a high speed game like ping pong. Skilled table tennis players, moreover, can hit balls at extremely high speeds, so that opponents have very little time to make their counterattack.

Spin, on the other hand, is the ability of a player to use the appropriate rubber side of his or her racket to hit the ball, and send it on an often bewildering, distracting trajectory to the other side of the table. The rubber mats that compose the two sides of a table tennis racket have their own uses: depending on their texture and composition, they can change a ball’s direction, spin it, or send it bouncing onto the table. The ability to know which side to use, what spin to use, and how to keep the ball in the air all come together to make the best table tennis players.

Thanks to recent technology, table tennis enthusiasts can train using table tennis DVDs. Through a combination of lectures on the physics of table tennis, along with hands-on prompts, DVDs can assist trainers in their classes, or can allow you to learn how to play table tennis at home.

If you are interested in learning table tennis through a DVD, then take note of these aspects of table tennis that a DVD may teach you.

? The table tennis DVD can teach you to customize your paddle. Also known as a bat, the tennis table paddle or racket can be customized to fit your needs and skills.

? The table tennis DVD can also teach you how to hold your paddle comfortably. For instance, if you wish to have a greater grip, but less control on shifting from one side of your racket to the other, then you may want to hold your racket in the pen hold grip. On the other hand, if you wish to have more shifting control, but a weaker grip on the racket, you can try the hand shake grip. Last, if you want to combine the advantages of both grips, you can try the experimental V-grip.

While these lectures and demonstrations are being shown on the DVD, you may want to hold the racket in your hand and try what position you are most comfortable with.

? A table tennis DVD will also demonstrate the different strokes associated with table tennis, and how these strokes change the speed, spin, and direction of the ball. You may want to place your TV and DVD player near the ping pong table if you want to experiment on these strokes. Be careful, however, of sending the ball hurtling toward the TV!

These are only a few of the aspects tackled by a typical table tennis DVD. You may also be taught footwork, proper posture, and defensive play. If you carry out your training meticulously, and if you watch the DVD regularly, then you may be able to play table tennis and enjoy the sport better.