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[729 fx]

Blocking, one of the stroke in tt, is underrrated. Especially at lower levels, many players are so busy trying to emulate the top players, they forget that simple blocks can win matches.

The upside of a block is that it does not require any stroke production, so is easy for a lower level player to do consistently. The downside is that it can be a rather negative tactic, and ultimatelty a players downfall if overused. It is an important part of most players games tough if used in conjunction with an allround game.

Many blocks, if used correctly can get your opponent out of position. When practicing your block, you need to also practice placement. You need to be able to hit the corners and the middle and you need to do that from different positions on your end of the table ... and with different paces.
And, of course, practice blocking. It is an important skill.

Your thoughts on this?

[ejunkie]

For most people who don't do any physical training besides playing table tennis and who don't play more than 10 hours per week, try avoid blocking as much as possible because unless you are dead tired, one should not block simply because you want to win. Your focus should be on more offensive strokes for exercise and your health first. This will lead to good productivity. For those who are more competitive and trains a lot, blocking is a sure way to victory. My $0.02.

[lexlibris1299]

Your focus should be on offensive strokes. It is better to be an attacker rather than a defensive player. A counter-attack puts your opponent under pressure. And yes, block can also leads you to a point if you know how to use it well. Not just blocking your opponent's attack, it should have a good placement to put your opponent off-balance and become defensive rather than offensive.

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[ejunkie]

Totally in agrement. It's best to learn active strokes than passive ones.

[729 fx]

Good comments by both ejunkie & lexlibris.

With the introduction of the 40mm ball, it is better to be on the offensive, in my opinion, than defensive. One should use the blocks occasionally either to neutralise the opponents stroke by placement of the return or as a counter offensive stroke.

[729 fx]

Sometimes a block do not seem to be defensive, but more of a "counter-attack", using opponent's speed on the ball to return it back to him by good placement with the block.