Chapter 2: The use of brain and strategies in table tennis

     Table tennis is not only playing and trying to hit the ball hard, it needs the use of many brain structures. One basic example is when you normally play with the right hand and you start training with the left hand the result is that the other hemisphere start working and you become more skillful. The main thing in table tennis are strategies and these strategies should be done before playing each point or even the match. Another strategy is watching how your opponent plays so you could make the correct decision in order to win the match. Finally, the concentration is fundamental in order to become a good table tennis player, even in professional players is very important to be a moment alone and imagine how your match is going to be. Mind training in which you apply the strategy to your opponent and see if it’s correct or not; all of this might be done before the match or tournament in order to be prepared.
     The war of strategies is fundamental in table tennis, this determines who win or who losses. Most people who don’t know how table tennis really is think that the most important thing is to hit very hard the ball and that is not correct, in some cases it seems true that games of top 50th table tennis players in the world look that every point is won by hitting hard the ball, but behind that spectacular game there is a strategy inside in order to win a point, that’s why before the match you may “study” your opponent and before each point you may form an strategic move. Mental training is also very important and most done by Chinese players and that’s why they are the best in the world; this consist in before a match you get alone, concentrate, breath slowly do a kind of yoga and then think about the next matches, this means how are you going to play your game and which strategies are you going to use. Finally, in matches comes the real war of strategies in which you form your own strategy during the point but you need to respond the strategy of your opponent in seconds that’s why this sport is considered by the NASA the most difficult and fastest sport to practice. (en.wikipedia.org)
     Apart from the strategies we need to know which muscle is behind all this: the brain; the organ that controls all the muscles is also as important as the others because this is the one that help to make strategies and react in short periods of time. One basic example is when you normally play with the right hand and you start training with the left hand, you are developing the other side of the brain, this means the left hemisphere; this training must be done always, just 3 time per week and 15 or 20 minutes per session of training. The result is that when the 2 hemispheres of the brain work together, more neurons are activated and you become a more skillful player.  Table tennis is kind of similar to chess, and many people think that these activities are not even sports, but truly these 2 sports need a lot concentration, that’s why when you finish practicing this in a professional way you finish exhausted and tired that is recommended to sleep a certain amount of time. "Table tennis is the world's best brain sport."(Amen, 126) .For example in important table tennis tournaments such as world championship and Olympic Games, top players go to sleep a few minutes or hear music after each match, that’s why table tennis is cataloged as one of the most complex sports, because of its use and union between muscles structures in the body.
     Table tennis is a sport of strategies; here there are a lot that must be used in seconds during the match. There are 3 general styles for playing table tennis, the first one is the attacker player, and this one is focused on attacking by the first point starting in the service and in some cases attacking in middle distance from the table or re attacking close to the table. The second kind of player is the passive player, generally a starting player, which is focused on spin and playing close to the table, and in some cases going through middle distance but still focusing on spin. Finally the third kind of player is the defensive one, this player is distinguish by playing out of the table with a special kind of rubbers that allow them control their opponent’s topspin and waiting them to miss the point. For every kind of player there is a special strategy, for example if someone is going to play with an attacker player there are 2 options; the first one is by blocking  and moving rapidly the player, and if you are more experimented you might find the way to start attacking and then re-attacking your opponent shots. In the case of defensive players, the most important strategy is to be patient because these player make each point very long and tired because of the use of these special rubbers or most known as pips out. To make a successful strategy you may vary in each game so any player can distinguish your strategy. 
      Table tennis is a very complex sport because of its use of body and mind. In this chapter I focused on why table tennis is an intelligent sport; and the answer is because of the use of many brain structures focusing on left and right hemisphere. There are also the many styles of playing table tennis and different strategies in order to beat those styles; finally, there  are the war of strategies evidenced especially in professional table tennis players. In conclusion to be a very good table tennis player you need to have a lot of strategies in order to be a changing player and never repeat the same strategy with tour opponent, concentration also plays a fundamental role here where before each match is recommended to make the brain training in which you imagine in your mind how the match is going to be sequence by sequence. This is a form to get relaxed and in the same time being concentrated and prepared for the match. The most but incredible form of training to be most skillful is once or twice a week train with the left hand approximately 30 minutes, this is demonstrated that make use of almost the complete brain, including the left hemisphere.

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