Players with great reflexes don’t have great reflexes.

There, I’ve said it, and you probably think I’m crazy. But they don’t. What they have is early reaction. What does that mean?

If you smash or loop kill against a top player, it’s often amazing how they seem to react to it, thereby allowing them to return them, over and over. And much of that is high-level skill, developed from years or decades of practice.

But here’s the secret – there’s a “cheat” factor. While mere mortals react to the ball coming off the opponent’s racket, the top players react well before that. And so can you.

The key is to make it a habit to watch opponents and learning the clues of where they are going. For example, on most forehand shots it’s the shoulders. While advanced players can sometimes change directions at the last second, the large majority of players are focused on just getting their attack on the table. They may change directions, but they commit to the direction early in their swing. The huge majority of the time you can see where their shot is going by watching their shoulders right as they start their forward swing, well before contact. And THAT is when the top players react. And with that head start – plus a good ready position, proper footwork, and athleticism – allows them to have such seemingly incredible reflexes.

This is reminiscent of the 1995 movie “The Quick and the Dead,” where the bad guy, played by Gene Hackman, was not only a great gunfighter, but in the arranged shootouts in the street, where both shot when the minute hand of the clock reached 12, he also had a “cheat” – he knew there was a tiny click just before it reached 12, and so drew before his opponents. So, be like Hackman – except in table tennis, it’s not cheating, it’s just smart! (The movie also starred Russell Crowe, Sharon Stone, Gary Sinise, Lance Henriksen, and Leonardo DiCaprio. Wow.)