Day 26: TT Love

Random Observation/Comment #313: I never thought that I could get in shape playing ping pong. Of course, I play table tennis now… and I’m also not in shape…

I just played at least 8 hours of table tennis today at the monthly Westchester tournament with Will Shortz (the owner of the club) and some buddies from all around.  I am unable to move right now so I guess writing these entries are productive.

The Challenge:
Host an event to play table tennis and play a lot…

The Reason:
I really just want to play table tennis with friends. I do this on a regular basis already, but I needed to make TT (table tennis) a part of this 30 day challenge. I can’t see my life without it, so how could I not include it? It’s in my ideal day for goodness’s sake.

The Result:
The Epic TT match between Johnson and Clemens will occur Monday, 12/17 at SPiN from 5-7PM. Unfortunately, they only have one table available, but I will be recording the match and buying the table and beers for whomever can join.  It’s a fun bar all around anyway.

For a preview of our steady improvement, here is our matches earlier:
U1750 in May – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKuGUCV1A74

Here are some more recent matches:
Clemens vs Johnson – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVYDZLvTKLo
Clemens vs Edmund win – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBCh5ssC5O4
Johnson vs Edmund win 1 – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6C-jldXAmE
Johnson vs Edmund win 2 – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6C-jldXAmE

There’s nothing better than 5:30-6:30PM every day at SPiN when I play TT (table tennis) against Johnson. We improve in our game every day and it seems to get more and more addictive. It is my favorite drug.  We always get a happy hour $3 pint of New Castle and play around 15 games.  Usually, we’re pretty evenly tied, but there’s always one person that’s more on their game.  It forces the other to catch up and come up with new FH and BH shots.

In the past 3 month, I have played with a Jun Mitzutani Butterfly blade with Xiom Omega IV Pro BH (backhand) and short pips Flarestorm FH (forehand).  I tend to flip with my BH shot to set-up for a strong BH or FH smash.  My FH is used for chops and smashes with some no spin pushing tendencies.  I just purchased a new racket today with the Tenergy 05 on both sides on a Michael Maze blade, which I did pretty well with today during practice.

The Conclusion:
For those who are reading the above and have no idea what I’m talking about, the sport of TT goes to the next level of ping pong. We buy blades and rubbers and make our own paddles costing around $200 for an average custom made one. It also comes with special shoes for lateral movement and some pretty cool looking cases…. for storing the paddles.

For those who understand what I have stated above: Let’s play. I’m so ready.

~See Lemons Love TT