P.E.

and Health: Table Tennis HUMSS-11

Activity 1

1. Have you watched a table tennis game before? What did you observe?
• The way I see it, table tennis is a game that can be played by two or four players. The objective is to hit a light
ball, otherwise known as a ping pong ball. Players strike it back and forth on a table with a small racket. The
game is carried out on a hard table divided by a net. A point is scored when a player is unable to get the ball
back into the game. The game is swift and demands quick reactions. Rotating the ball changes its trajectory and
restricts the opponent’s options, giving the batter a great advantage.

2. How table tennis become popular in the world and also in our country?
• In most countries it is very highly organized as a competitive sport, especially in Europe and Asia, particularly in
China and Japan. Back in its infancy, table tennis started out in the United Kingdom in the late 1800s and quickly
migrated to the USA by 1898. Equipment of the time consisted of ‘battledores’ long-handled, hand-made bats
(or rackets/paddles, as we call them) with a racket head-covered in animal skin. These were used up until
around 1905, but earlier than that (perhaps by 1902), battledores were slowly being replaced by smaller
handheld rackets covered with sandpaper surfaces. ‘Sandbats,’ as they are called, were used up through
approximately 1928 in international competitions – only to be replaced by rackets covered with hard, pimpled
rubber (short pips facing outward).

In the Philippines, table tennis was introduced around 1900 by American soldiers, who were part of the first
American colonization period in the Philippines. They brought with them early table tennis boxed sets and in
their past time between duties, they introduced table tennis to the local natives. It was called ‘ping-pong,’ as
marketed by Parker Brothers Company (creators of the popular game of Monopoly), and the introduction of
table tennis into the Philippines by the Americans themselves, or in other cases, through early teachers known
as the “Thomasites.” After the US service members left the Philippines, the Thomasites continued to introduce
and perpetuate table tennis throughout the islands.

These early efforts were re-discovered by former Philippine National Table Tennis Team member and now table
tennis historian and Liha Ambassador – Peter Cua, from Manila, who learned about this long lost history around
2008, after being forgotten for decades. While the history may have been ancient, Cua discovered that liha table
tennis actually has been kept alive by many individuals playing in private residences and back-alleys for decades.
Sandbat play or liha table tennis in the Philippines is from the native Tagalog word ‘liha’ or sandpaper – and is a
direct descendant of play that existed over 100 years ago. Nowhere else has this been preserved so well.

The first world championships were held in London in 1926, and from then until 1939 the game was dominated
by players from central Europe, the men’s team event being won nine times by Hungary and twice by
Czechoslovakia. In the mid-1950s Asia emerged as a breeding ground of champions, and from that time the
men’s team event has been won by either Japan or China, as has the women’s event, though to a lesser extent;
North Korea also became an international force. In 1980 the first World Cup was held, and Guo Yuehua of China
won the $12,500 first prize. Table tennis became an Olympic sport in 1988, with singles and doubles competition
for men and women.

3. What physical qualities should table tennis player possess? Explain.

• Playing in table tennis competitions is not easy for beginners or amateur players. It can bring but the best or
even the worst in any player. Any form of weakness in your game can be used against you by your opponent in a
tournament. It will take a lot of training and practice to become a good table tennis player. Here are five
essential qualities to make you become a better player.
Speed

As we may already know, table tennis is a fast-paced sport that requires speed. The serves, strokes, and
footwork involve the use of speed and quickness. Professional table tennis players use a combination of rubbers
to enhance their table tennis rackets’ speed and power to have an advantage over their opponents. Before
discovering the sponge rubber racket, the game of table tennis did not require much speed, but with the
introduction of the sponge rubber, the game became a fast-paced sport. If you do not have enough strength to
do your shot, you need to look at how you make the shots. Generally, it is not the problem of the arm. You don’t
need to move your arm when making a shot. It would help if you focused on the strength of your waist instead.
When you hit the ball, you move your waist first and use it to make your arm move. Even though your arm didn’t
exert the force, but it still requires you to move. Before hitting the ball, you need to contract your arm instantly,
rubbing the ball together with the combined force of the arm and the waist so that the ball can have a great
spin. It would be best if you no studied the ratio of friction and impact. Even professional players are not focused
on these. They deal with the ball according to the data. The best way for you to increase your shot’s speed is to
find someone to teach you the skill of playing arc shots. You may search for some tutorial books online to get
some special guides for beginners to learn how to play table tennis the right way and the quickest way for
beginners to develop the right table tennis skills.

Skills

There are two types of skills in table tennis, basic and advanced table tennis skills. The basic skills are required to
start playing the game from the beginning to the intermediary level. A good table tennis player must be able to
master basic and advanced skills. When you start to play table tennis, get a pre-assembled racket like the Stiga
Pro Carbon or Killerspin Jet 800. You don’t need to buy blades and rubbers for professional players since you
haven’t reached that level yet. Only when you have played table tennis for some time, and your overall skill
improves and progress well, can you start to consider buying blades and rubbers catered for professional
players. If you are serious about playing the game, you should find a serious partner and practice the basic
strokes with him. It would help if you started playing loop with your partner. Make more loops and play as many
as you can for a long time without losing the ball. By doing this, your playing skill will gradually improve. Then
you can start to train your forehand and backhand with different strokes.

Accuracy

A good table tennis player must be accurate in their techniques. Professional players execute powerful and
precise shots to be able to dominate their opponent. It is one of the qualities of Chinese table tennis players that
makes them the best players globally. To improve your accuracy, you can make use of the table tennis robot to
throw multiple balls. You then move in the corresponding direction. It is to train the collaboration of your eyes
and feet. Your eyes see the ball, and your feet should keep up with the pace, and use your racket to hit the ball.
When the eyes see it, they have the essential judgment, and your hand will adjust to doing the accurate shot.
There are no shortcuts but keep practicing. You can try to hit the ball at the drop point where you want the ball
to drop. Let your table tennis robot oscillating and shoot the ball in a different direction. You can then move and
hit the ball to the same drop point and make sure that it accurately drops to the place where you want the ball
to fall to.

Anticipation

Another good quality of a table tennis player is to be able to anticipate their opponents’ actions. By applying
effective tactics and strategy, a player can calculate and predict their opponents’ action and reaction. A
 professional player always tries to anticipate his opponent’s serves, returns, and strokes. The quick judgment
ability is the premise of fast movement. When it comes to starting the way, everyone knows that the footwork
must be fast, and the action must be fast. However, before moving, you should first develop the habit of focus
on the ball. It would be best if you always observed the other player’s racket’s momentary action and the
direction of the ball. To anticipate the ball’s landing point, move to the most suitable position as soon as the
opponent returns the shot.

Footwork

Footwork is one of the most effective qualities of a professional table tennis player. The modern table tennis
game is full of attacking players, so the ability to return offensive and aggressive shots will depend mainly on
excellent footwork skills. Many players like to practice fixed-point while performing footwork training. For
example, side-to-side speed training is not practical when playing in competition. If you want to develop good
judgment ability to achieve rapid movement in the game, you need to do some irregular footwork exercises. In
the beginning, amateurs can master the primary movement method through fixed-point exercises. After
proficiency, they must consciously practice the indefinite movement.

If you can master the above five qualities, you will be more competitive when playing in table tennis
tournaments and win more matches.

4. What are Forehand Grip, Backhand Grip and Penhold Grip? What are the procedures in executing the following
grip?
• In badminton, a grip is a way of holding the racket in order to hit shots during a match. The most commonly
used grip is the orthodox forehand grip. Most players change grips during a rally depending on whether it is a
forehand or backhand shot. A grip is also the wrapping around the handle of the racket. There are many types
and varieties of grips; the texture, thickness, color, material and surface (flat or waved) are all factors that make
grips unique.

Forehand Grip

In order to understand the grips, it is important to know that the handle of a racquet always consists of 8 sides,
or in other words, has an octagonal shape. A square shape would hurt the hand, while a round shape would not
give enough friction to gain a firm grip. The eight sides of the handle are called levels. The levels can be
numbered from 1 to 8; with the racquet surface perpendicular to the ground, the bevels are numbered from the
top anti-clockwise. So bevel 1 would be the narrow bevel at the ‘North’ position, bevel 2 would be the diagonal
bevel at the ‘Northwest’ position, etc.

The badminton handle should be held as if the player was lightly shaking hands with it. For right handed players,
the right bottom side of the thumb should be touching the 3rd bevel while the left side of the index finger should
be resting on the 7th level. The index finger rests on the 7th bevel above the adjacent location of the thumb on
the 3rd level. The finger is shaped like a hook and holds onto the handle near the top section. The other fingers
are wrapped around the lower sections of the handle.

Backhand Grip

The backhand grip, also known as the thumb grip, is similar to the forehand grip except the complete bottom of
the thumb is in contact with the 3rd bevel and the index finger is lowered down to a position below the thumb.
 Penhold Grip

5. What is Push stroke and Backspin? What are the procedures in executing the following serves?
• The short push return makes it difficult for your opponent to play the first attacking stroke in a rally, so it can
be an effective return stroke to play.

1. Stand very close to, and facing, the table and take a low stance.
2. Keep your arm relaxed and your wrist loose. Your free arm should point towards the ball to assist with your
balance
3. Lean over the table and, using a very short stroke, hit the ball before it reaches the top of the bounce.

The purpose of this return stroke is to stop your opponent from playing an attacking stroke, so you should try to
make sure that your stroke is also played short over the net. You should ensure that the ball would bounce at
least twice on your opponent’s side of the table

• The objective of the short backspin serve is to make it difficult for your opponent to play an attacking stroke on
the return. You should try to impact as much backspin as possible onto the ball and make it bounce close to the
net. A short backspin serve can be very effective if your opponent has difficulty returning backspin sstrokes
1. Stand close to, and facing, the table and take a low stance. keep your arm relaxed and wrist loose.
2. Throw the ball upwards, as near vertically as possible, so that it rises at least 16cm (6 inches) after leaving
your hand.
3. Allow the ball to drop and then, with a fast forward motion, strike the. ball with a brushing action underneath
the ball so that it imparts maximum Backspin onto the ball.
4. You should use as short a stroke as possible and keep your body movement to a minimum. You must ensure
that the ball bounces on your side of the table and then goes over the net and bounces at least twice on your
opponent's side of the table. By ensuring that the ball would bounce at least twice on your opponent's side of
the table (If your opponent didn't strike it after the first bounce), you're limiting your opponent to playing a
return with their racket over the table. This usually results in a weaker return than a stroke they play away from
the table with a full swing. (Remember, if your opponent doesn't strike the ball before the second bounce, you
win the point.)

6. What is the governing body of table tennis?

• The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) is the governing body for all national table tennis associations.
The role of the ITTF includes overseeing rules and regulations and seeking technological improvement for the
sport of table tennis. The ITTF is responsible for the organization of numerous international competitions,
including the World Table Tennis Championships that has continued since 1926. By its Annual General Assembly
on May 1st, 2018, in Halmstad, Sweden, the ITTF decided to establish a non-profit organization with the name
“ITTF Foundation” to continue the long-lasting, worldwide implemented solidary commitment under the roof of
a non-profit foundation. ITTF and ITTF Foundation are aligned and working closely together: With the ITTF being
responsible for the governance and development of the sport for the benefit of over 30 million competitive
players, as well as representing the 226 Member Associations. And with the ITTF Foundation aiming to promote
and use table tennis for purposes of development and peace, where competition and excellence as well as social
responsibility and recreation are linked by the passion for table tennis.

7. What is the governing body of table tennis here in the Philippines?

 • The Philippine Table Tennis Federation, Inc.(PTTFI) is the national governing body for table tennis in the
Philippines. It is recognized by the Philippine Olympic Committee, Southeast Asian Table Tennis Association, the
Asia Table Tennis Union, and the International Table Tennis Federation. The Table Tennis Association of the
Philippines(TATAP) was formed in 1951 as a governing body for table tennis in the Philippines. In 2016, the
Philippines Olympic Committee(POC) defunct TATAP as member of the National Sports Association(NSA).
Philippine Table Tennis Federation, Inc.(PTTFI) replaced TATAP, which was later certified as a regular member of
POC and the recognize by NSA as the sole governing body for table tennis.

8. Why there is a governing body of every sport in the world? Explain.

• A sports governing body is a sports organization that has a regulatory or sanctioning function. Sports governing
bodies come in various forms, and have a variety of regulatory functions. Examples of this can include
disciplinary action for rule infractions and deciding on rule changes in the sport that they govern. Governing
bodies have different scopes. They may cover a range of sport at an International level, such as the International
Olympic Committee and the International Paralympic Committee, or only a single sport at a national level, such
as the Rugby Football League. National bodies will largely have to be affiliated to international bodies for the
same sport. The first international federations were formed at the end of the 19th century.

Every sport has a different governing body that can define the way that the sport operates through its affiliated
clubs and societies. This is because sports have different levels of difficulty and skill, so they can try to organize
the people playing their sport by ability and by age. The different types of sport governing bodies are all shown
below: International sports federations are responsible for one sport (or a group of similar sport disciplines,
such as aquatics or skiing). They create a common set of rules and organize international competitions. The
promotion of the sport are also a task of an international federation. Trusts are organizations or groups that
have control over money that will be used to help someone else, such as the Youth Sport Trust. National
federations have the same objectives as an international federation, but within the scope of one country, or
even part of a country, as the name implies. They support local clubs and are often responsible for national
teams. National Olympic Committees and National Paralympic Committees are both a type of National
Federation, as they are responsible for a country's participation in the Olympic Games and in the Paralympic
Games respectively. However, a national governing body (NGB) can be different from a national federation due
to government recognition requirements. Also, NGBs can be a supraorganization representing a range of
unrelated organizations operating in a particular sport as evident in the example of the Northern Ireland
Federation of Sub-Aqua Clubs. Multi-sport event organizers are responsible for the organization of an event that
includes more than one sport. The best-known example is the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the
organizer of the modern Olympic Games. General sports organizations are responsible for sports related topics,
usually for a certain group, such as the Catholic or Jewish sports groups. General sports organizations can also
exist for the army and other groups, but they usually are medium-sized, as they do not have that much of a
budget to work with. Professional sports leagues are usually the highest level of play in sport, specifically if they
consist of the best players around the world in a certain sport. Because of this, they usually work with national
or international federations, but there is usually a separation between the different federations. Most North
American professional leagues usually do not have amateur divisions, as the amateur divisions are mostly run in
separate leagues. In addition, most professional leagues are related to other leagues, as players usually attempt
to play in the league with the highest level of play. Because of this, promotion and relegation can occur; or, in
league systems without promotion and relegation, clubs in professional leagues can have a team in the minor
leagues. This enables them to shuffle players who are not doing well to the minor leagues, which will inspire
them to contribute more to the team by playing better.

9. Why there are a rules and regulations to follow in every sport?

• As Hobbes (Thomas Hobbes was an English philosopher, considered to be one of the founders of modern
political philosophy. Hobbes is best known for his 1651 book Leviathan, in which he expounds an influential
formulation of social contract theory) explains, without a set of rules, everything turns to chaos. Hobbes is right
that without a sovereign state, everyone would merely be self interested and not follow any type of rules, as
seen in the basketball fight. Every sport needs some type of rules, as chaos would likely ensue if there are no
rules and watching sports would simply not be entertaining, but rather disturbing. Sports are a huge part of
entertainment; therefore, sports cannot just follow the state of nature. All sports truly need rules to function as
a fair and competitive environment. Hobbes provides a brilliant analysis on why society needs to be sovereign
and it even applies in the arena of sports. Sports need to be sovereign for there to be safety and order for both
the participants and fans.