Dec
10
Final Post
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The main reason why I think ping pong is so great is because no two games are ever the alike. Ping-pong is a very dynamic sport. Experiences in the game often change, so play never becomes dull or monotonous. For one thing, an individual’s playing style can vary greatly from person to person. There are also different types of paddles and many variations thereof that affect game play. There are even different ways to hold paddles. All of these factors combine to make a person’s already individual playing style even more unique. Aggressive styles yield the potential for greater power, while the more defensive styles offer better control over the ball. These variations in the game create greater potential for more diverse competition. To keep up with their opponents, players must often change or adjust the way that they play. Because of this, games between different opponents are always new and exiting. I think all sports have the capacity to be fun and entertaining. I also think that most sports can improve your level of fitness, and I believe that every sport provides a large degree of competition that makes each of them exiting. All sports have elements that make each of them unique from another sport. Because of these differences, it is difficult to make just comparisons. For this reason there will probably never be a sport that carries the title of being better than any other sport. However, I find that because of its high level of entertainment, health benefits, and competition, if any sport is to be elevated above another, I think that ping-pong should win the title of being the greatest sport in the world.
Dec
9
Different ways to play
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Another reason why I believe ping-pong should be considered the best sport in the world is because it offers a more diverse level of competition than any other sport. Most sports are either labeled team sports or individual sports, but ping-pong can be both. In a singles match of ping-pong, you are not dependent on another person’s skill to carry you through the game. The pressure on the individual is greater because if he wishes to succeed, he must do it all by himself. The greater the pressure, the greater the individual’s desire to win. Therefore the level of competition increases. With that said, there is also the doubles game in ping-pong where each team has two players. This gives ping-pong the style of competition not seen in most individual sports. Players now must work together to achieve victory. Teams are not judged by any one player on that team. No matter how good one person may be, if a team can’t function well together, then that team will not succeed. Communication, cooperation, and good coordination is essential between team players. Besides the singles or the doubles games, there are also several other ways play ping pong. In one version of the game, two teams of four players stand on each end of the table. Both teams stand in a diamond formation so that only one player on each team stands in front of the table at a time. Players hit the ball back and forth while each team rotates to allow players to switch positions every other hit during a rally. Another fun version of the game involves at least four players standing on all sides of the ping pong table. Once the ball is in play, players race around the table and try and return each others hit. Game play continues until one person misses the ball. That person must then sit out for the remainder of the game. The game play resumes the same way as before and continues in this manner until only two people remain. The remaining two play a short game together. The first player to reach five points is the victor. These two versions of ping pong I just mentioned are not played professionally anywhere that I know of.
Dec
8
Health benefits
Filed Under Reasons Why | 11 Comments
The physical health benefit of ping pong is that it doubles as an excellent full body workout. In a heated match of ping pong, players are constantly moving back and forth. This style of movement creates a cardio workout that makes good use of all major muscles in your body. These short quick repetitive movements not only provide you with good muscular endurance training, but they also help to increase your range of flexibility without over stressing your joints. Between each point in a game, there is a brief interval in which players can rest while setting up for their next rally. Because of this, it’s very easy to maintain a high energy level. You don’t become over exhausted, and you don’t wear yourself out. Of course there are many other sports besides ping pong that yield good workouts. The difference is that most of these workouts are not as well rounded, and even if they are, they’re most likely to put you at greater risk for sustaining injuries. Besides being good for your physical health, ping pong can also greatly improve your mental health. Playing ping pong can dramatically increase your focus and reaction timing. It also greatly raises your hand-eye coordination. To better illustrate my point, in any given match of ping pong, players often have less then a second to react. As soon as the ball leaves your paddle you must recover from your swing and set up for your next shot. You then have to decide what spin to use in order to effectively counter your opponent’s return. After moving into a position where you can carry out your decision, you must then return the ball while trying to place it in an area disadvantageous to your opponent. This process repeats until a point is awarded to either of the players. The rapid rate at which these decisions take place promotes quick critical thinking and provides good stimulation and exercise for the brain.
Dec
6
Support For Reasons #1-2
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I have said that ping pong is a sport where anybody can play, and that is true. You don’t have to be a professional athlete or even in moderate physical condition to play well. However, as with anything the better physical condition your body is in the better your chances of being able to overcome your opponent. That being said, ping pong is one of the few sports where you don’t have to be in good physical condition to play a professional level game. You don’t need to be youthful or well toned, and at the same time, you don’t need to be older and well experienced. Ping pong is a game where a persons age and fitness level doesn’t restrict them from being good competitors. A good example is something I saw on the news before the 2008 Beijing Olympics took place. I believe the U.S. table tennis team was holding trials to select who would go on the official team to compete in Beijing, and they said one of the men competing was seventy-nine years old. It turns out he was just a couple points away in the final match from being selected to represent the team. He was seventy-nine and playing professional level ping pong against the top players in the U.S. Besides being a game that everyone can play, ping pong has some very good health benefits. Ping pong can be especially good for you physical health as well as you mental health which I’ll talk more about in my next post.
Dec
1
Reason #2
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Ping pong is definitely one of the safest sports in the world. Every sport has its own equipment and rules of conduct to maximize each athlete’s performance while keeping them as safe and protected as possible. Professional athletes are also trained on how to physically push themselves harder and still avoid injuries. Even with this training, injuries still occur, and people can still get hurt. American Football and Ice Hockey are prime examples of sports where injuries occur frequently. A person could argue that injuries in football and hockey are due to the physical nature of both sports and can’t be avoided. However, there are many other less aggressive, non-contact sports in which injuries are still very likely to happen. Skiing is one such sport, as well as long distance running, soccer, swimming, weightlifting, pole vaulting, baseball, and cycling. Granted all sports have some risk of injury if you misuse your equipment or fail to use proper techniques when playing, but of all the sports out there I’ve never heard of an injury due to ping pong. The movements used to play ping pong are quick, small, and controlled. The area in which you play is a controlled environment, and there is no physical contact from your opponent. The equipment which mainly consists of the paddle is small and light, and the length of time you’re engaged in physical activity is relatively short. Because of this it’s very easy to maintain a high energy level. You don’t wear yourself out, and you don’t have to worry about injuries due to high speed projectiles. If you do get hit in the face with a ping pong ball, even when it’s traveling at top speeds, I can tell you from experience that it doesn’t hurt at all.
Nov
30
Reason #1
Filed Under Reasons Why | 2 Comments
Out of all the sports that I have watched and played, ping pong is my favorite. I have always enjoyed being competitive, and I like the challenges presented by playing different sports. I’ve played everything from basketball to badminton, and I’ve tried everything from skiing to kayaking. I enjoy it all to say the least, but ping pong wins hands down. One of the many reasons I like ping pong so much is the fact that anybody can play the game. You don’t have to be a professional athlete to play and have fun. The simple motor skills required to play make the game inviting to anyone. Some sports demand that you be in top physical condition to play and others require such a developed sense of coordination that it is often difficult for someone just starting out to enjoy themselves. Another reason I like ping pong so much is its accessibility. You can play ping pong just about anywhere at just about anytime. In China and other far eastern countries, if you took a walk through the park, you could expect to see a ping pong table set up and ready to for you to play a game. Besides being able to play indoors or outdoors, the nice thing about ping pong is that you don’t need a lot to get a game started. You don’t need a soccer field, and you don’t have to have nine players on each team. You don’t need a court, shin guards, or a face mask, and you don’t need to rely on the weather or wait for next season to start. All you need is a table, two paddles, and a ping pong ball.
Nov
10
Ping Pong’s International Effect
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I was reading an article about nine members of the U.S. national ping pong team and an invitation they received to compete in China. This took place in 1971 and marked the first time in twenty-two years that Americans would be allowed in China since the communist take-over. The team accepted the invitation and played against China’s best players. The match mostly consited of friendly competition and was more for political reasons than for a championship title. It was regarded as one of the most historically significant ping pong games ever played. By accepting the invitation, the American team opened the doors for other tour groups to visit the country. All of this might not have happend if it wern’t for the game of ping pong. I wonder what would have happened if ping pong had not been invented. What would America’s relationship with China be like today had that game not been played? It’s amazing to think how something so fun and simple as a game of ping pong can have such an effect on the global community, and it’s one more reason why ping pong is my favorite sport. Speaking of reasons why ping pong is my favorite sport, I think it’s time that I mentioned some. The whole point of this blog is to persuade you into agreeing with me that ping pong is indeed the greatest sport in the world. So far I’ve presented you with some interesting facts and a little background information on the game, but I have yet to really explain why I think ping pong is so awesome. I’ll tell the first reason in my next post.
Oct
19
Ping Pong Balls (Response to a Blog)
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I was reading a blog post on table tennis balls and how they were made. The blog was fairly short, but it was very interesting. I personally never knew how the balls were constructed, and I was suprised to find that they are made up of the same material as the picks I use to play guitar. All ping pong balls must be perfectly round and are created so that the outside of the ball is seamless. The inside of a ping pong ball is filled with a gas very similar to regular air. The balls are polished and then coated in a very fine powder. The official size of a standard ping pong ball is 40mm. The blog mentioned that the official size actually used to be 38mm, but the smaller ball made the game too fast for spectators to watch. The ball also moved too fast for the cameras to pick up, so televised games were very hard to follow. The 40mm ball was introduced to slow the game just enough to allow viewers a better chance to see what was going on. The blog also talked about different color ping pong balls. The traditional color is white, but ping pong balls can range from blue to pink. The reason for the white ping pong ball is because the playing surface on a ping pong table is usually black. The white color creates the most contrast and is therefore the most easily seen. Some other popular colors are orange and yellow, but tournament games are almost always played with a white ball. Overall I think the blog was interesting and worth reading, but I wish the writer would have gone into just a little greater detail on how the balls were physically made.
Oct
13
An Introduction To Ping Pong
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Ping pong has been around for many years and is ranked as one of the most popular competetive sports in the world. Many people believe that the game was created by the Chinese, but the game actually originated in England during the late nineteenth century. Ping pong quickly spread to Japan, and then to China and Korea. Although the Chinese didn’t create the game, they were responsible for several radical changes in the way the game was played. Ping pong was later introduced to the United States, and continued to spread throughout America. With the growing popularity of the sport, there came greater international competition. World tournaments were soon being held under the supervision of the International Table Tennis Federation. The ITTF, as it is also called, was founded in 1926, and was formed to govern all national table tennis associations. The ITTF also manages the game’s rules and regulations. The name table tennis comes from the fact that the game is actually a table sized version of tennis. The name was adopted by the ITTF as the official name for the sport because at the time, the name ping pong had already been trademarked by an English manufacturer. In 1988, Ping pong became an olympic sport. The game became one of the most played games in the world, second only to soccer. In a regular match, two players will face each other while standing at opposite ends of the table. The table is divided into two equal halves by a net, much like a tennis court. The net is roughly fifteen centimeters high, and each side of the table is about four feet long. Each player has a racket or paddle. Using the racket, one player serves the ball to the other, and the opponent returns the ball by hitting it back. The players continue hitting the ball back and forth until either of them miss the ball or make a mistake. When one player misses or makes a mistake, the other player receives one point. The object of ping pong is to be the first player to receive eleven points. You must also win by two points. Sometimes players will both achieve ten points before either player gets to eleven. This situation is called a deuce game. A deuce can occur many times in a single game. Whenever this happens, the play continues as normal until one player wins by two points. These are the basics of ping pong.
Sep
28
My Reasons For Choosing This Topic.
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Ping pong is without a doubt my favorite sport. I have been playing ping pong ever since I can remember. However, this is the very first time in my life that I have ever created a blog. I chose ping pong as my topic because it is something that I didn’t foresee myself losing interest in anytime soon. I am very familiar with the game so coming up with material to write about shouldn’t be too difficult. I also figured that this would make a very good persuasion paper to write since I am quite sure that not everybody shares my love of the sport. I believe that by writing about ping pong not only will I learn new things about the subject, but I may also find a new way to enjoy my favorite game. In order for you to understand why I think ping pong is the greatest game in the world, you’ll need to know a little bit about where the sport comes from and how it is played. The first few posts in this blog will give you an introduction to ping pong. I’ll show you where the game started, and where it is today. I’ll also cover some basic ideas such as the object of the game, and the rules of the game. Hopefully over the course of this semester, my blog will give you a new-found appreciation for ping pong, and maybe even inspire you to pick up a paddle and try it out for yourself. Perhaps I might even persuade you into agreeing with me that ping pong is indeed the greatest game in the world.