Butterfly North America: Table Tennis and Ping Pong Accessories

April 14, 2009

Table Tennis: Good for Body and Brain

In-print version will be in the July/August issue of the Well Being Journal

Courtesy of Well Being Journal
By Scott Miners

Table tennis is the world’s best brain sport.” ¹
— Daniel G. Amen, M.D., in Making a Good Brain Great.

As with many other sports, table tennis, or ping pong, started as a pastime. Table tennis was first played in the 1880s by Victorian Englishmen who tried to mimic the game of lawn tennis on a table in an indoor environment. They may not have known it was good for the brain, as Amen mentions, but they reaped the benefits anyway.

Just a Bit of History
The earliest evidence of a game of table tennis is from a set made by David Foster,2 patented in England in 1890. Another game manufacturer (John Jaques of London) got involved and released a table game in 1891. The early rackets they produced had a drum style head, and one ball type the players used was a webbed and wrapped cork ball. Players described the sound made when hitting the 2” diameter ball variously as a ping or pong. The materials on some racket heads were stretched slightly tighter than others, so there was a “ping” sound when batting the ball compared to a “pong” sound from a more loosely stretched head, thus the name for the game of Ping Pong.

The game did not significantly grow until 1900 however, when the celluloid ball was introduced. Jaques then revived the game and used many terms to market it, but the most popular names, “ping pong” and “table tennis” prevailed. Hamley Brothers in England trademarked the name Ping Pong in 1900. Hamley “rigorously enforced the Ping Pong trademark,” and also required use of their equipment in tournaments and clubs.2 Parker Brothers acquired the American rights to the name and also enforced the trademark.

In order for the sport to move forward, “the commercial ties had to be severed,” 2 and the sport of table tennis moved beyond the Ping Pong trademark and game manufacturers. According to columnist Barry Meisel an Englishman named Lou Hoffman invented the now ubiquitous sandwich bat, or racket, in 1952. He came to his club with a piece of pimpled rubber stuck onto thick sponge on his racket. It became the preferred racket, and the Japanese makers marketed this reverse sponge sandwich rubber about a year later.

Table tennis is today a game enjoyed by 100s of millions globally, and it is actually the second most popular organized sport in the world. At the competitive level, such as in world table tennis championships, regional tournaments and the Olympics, players hit the ball with such speed that it can travel over 90 miles an hour. The larger tournaments are usually sold out months in advance for all sessions of play.

The Game
A detailed description of how the game is played is beyond the scope of this article, but if you develop an interest after hearing that table tennis play is good for the health and longevity of the brain, there are many books, DVDs and websites devoted to the game (see below for resources). Nevertheless here is a very brief description.

Table tennis is played by either two (“singles” table tennis) or four players (“doubles” table tennis). Players hit a 40mm celluloid ball with rackets (also called bats or paddles) back and forth on a 9’ by 5’ table or playing surface over a net that is about 6” high. Because spinning the ball is a large part of the game, most new paddles, or rackets have a thin layer of rubber and sponge covering the racket’s batting surface. There are many subtleties to the game in terms of the way the ball is batted, served, spun and returned. Because of the hand-eye coordination, the need to gauge the speed and spin of the ball with focus and the necessity of upper and lower body movement, and, in upper level play tremendous quickness and agility, table tennis is fun and challenging and not only a tremendous exercise for the whole body but also for the brain.

This writer first observed table tennis in the late 1950s as an 11-year old, watching his father and friends play in a backyard. When they would take a break for a drink, I would be invited to hit a few balls back and forth with one of the resting players. All I knew about the sport then was that it was a backyard, recreation room or basement game. The military had table tennis tables in almost all its recreation centers. My father and his friends had learned to play while serving in WWII.

It was in the late 1970s when I first played the game at work with several other fellows during lunch break. We played doubles each day for almost two years. I was very focused and became the best player in the small group. Then I moved out of state, became a family man with a workaholic bent, and never played again—until I learned of a local group in early 2008, and now I play regularly at a local club where some players are rated as high as 2000 (ratings can range from the low hundreds to almost 3000, the higher levels being the world's top players).

Exercise and the Brain
Bodies, even older ones, are designed to move and be active. Because we enjoy being sedentary it’s important to develop a habit of exercise of some form every day. Certainly playing a game is an attractive way to get exercise, and the game of table tennis is an all time favorite.

Daniel Amen in Making a Good Brain Great notes that people over 40 who exercise at least 30 minutes per session twice or more a week are 50 percent less likely to develop Alzheimer’s. Exercise protects brain cells from toxins, including free radicals; it helps repair cellular DNA and reduce the risks of cognitive impairment and dementia as well as preserve mental abilities after age 70. One of the most wonderful aspects of table tennis is the fact that many people over the age of 70 regularly play together at various competitive levels.

Senior Groups
There are table tennis groups that meet regularly at senior centers around the country. Often the youngest players are 65 and there are very competitive 90 year-olds playing. Physical disability is not an obstacle. One woman with osteoarthritis who could not move well said that she wouldn’t miss a day of play, as it was an important part of her life. She got a hip replacement so that she could play better. At one tournament for seniors a man in a wheel chair was an excellent player, and he played year around.

Barry Meisel, author of a table tennis column for Costa News is also a member of a club in Costa del Sol, Spain and is a top player. He recently won three gold medals, the maximum, at the senior Olympics in Las Vegas in 2008. He regularly wins medals at many other tournaments world-wide. At age 73 he plays regularly in the top Spanish league in a club that at present is rated number 2.

There are senior Olympic games all over the U.S.A. that feature table tennis, and there is a final senior Olympics competition each year for all the winners in the state games. Too there is the annual Huntsman’s Senior Games in St. George, Utah—a truly international event where over 10,000 athletes between the ages of 55 and 90+ come from around the world to compete in all major sports. There were 179 table tennis players in the tournament at the Huntsman’s 2008 games, about 20% of whom were women players. The level of play was a wonder to watch, and being a participant made it even more fun. There is much companionship and play in table tennis clubs and tournaments.

Table Tennis for All Ages
Those interested in playing who are not seniors may find a local table tennis club that serves all ages. There are clubs nationwide in the U.S. and worldwide (see resources below). The clubs have players of different skill levels and experience as well as ages, from children and teens to seniors. Most clubs have coaches and teachers such as the one I joined last year, the Reno-Sparks Table Tennis Club, where I have enjoyed playing with players of all ages and of many different nationalities.

Equipment
Even though there might not be a local club or senior center in your vicinity, you might have a friend who plays table tennis already, someone with paddles and a table in his or her basement or recreation room. Or, you may want to find some equipment yourself for your own home or in forming the beginning of a club. It’s important to look for companies that value the quality of their products. Avoid discounted products, such as tables as it is difficult to get the net to stay on properly and inferior quality tables start falling apart after a few uses. A quality product will cost more, but it will hold its value, be more fun to play on because of its stability, and because of durability actually cost less through the years.

The more serious recreational players select racquet, or paddle blades and rubbers that are tailored to their skill level and playing style. There are books, magazines, internet videos (YouTube, etc.) and DVDs that variously offer education, information, training examples and a wide selection of table tennis products. An excellent and very thorough 2-DVD set is “Complete Table Tennis,” produced by U.S. table tennis champion Dan Seemiller and national coaching champion Mark Nordby.

Resources
The Butterfly Company, located in Wilson, North Carolina, 1-800-611-7712. I use Butterfly equipment as I have found their products to be of quality materials, and their staff are very supportive of table tennis players from the novice to the experienced. I purchased my first good paddle from Butterfly at the Huntsman Senior Games, and players played on their superb tables there.

DVD: “Complete Table Tennis,” is a superb, comprehensive, from fundamentals to advanced playing segment 2-DVD set by former U.S. champion Dan Seemiller and coach Mark Nordby. My game has improved, and continues to do so, since viewing, and whenever I review the segments on this DVD, such as "Fundamentals"; "The Serve"; "Table Tennis Principles"; the forehand and backhand counter drives and pushes; looping and much more.

For locations of existing clubs as well as more resources nationwide: The USA Table Tennis (USATT) Association in Colorado Springs, Colorado at 1-719-866-4583 as well as the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF), Lausanne, Switzerland at 41 21 340 7090.

Scott Miners is executive editor of the Well Being Journal.

References
1. Making a Good Brain Great, by Daniel Amen, M.D., pages 125, 126; Harmony Books, New York, 2005.
2. The International Table Tennis Federation at http://www.ittf.com/museum/history.html

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