You can become a pretty good ping-pong player quickly with consistent practice. The most important things to practice initially are keeping your eye on the ball, getting a feel for the correct timing, and keeping the ball low. From the very first time you pick up a paddle, you should consciously make an effort to follow the ball with your eyes, from the moment it is served to when it hits your paddle, and so on. Your timing will become better with practice -- you just need to get used to it -- but it helps if you listen to the ball as well as watch it closely. Keeping the ball low -- without hitting it into the net -- is probably the hardest skill for beginners to master. It's also one of the most essential, because a high ball can easily be smashed down by your opponent. Try to keep your paddle as horizontal as possible and use your wrist to impart energy to the ball and to aim it. Generally, the faster the ball is moving, the easier it is to keep it low. You must be able to hit the ball from either side of your body if you want to become good at table tennis, and it's generally not practical to switch hands, so get comfortable with both your forehand and backhand shots. This is done by flicking the wrist side-to-side or up-and-down right as the ball is hit. To counter-spin, put spin of your own on the ball. If you have some downtime, practice this against a wall, experimenting with what works for you. Think of chopping the ball -- undercutting the bottom side as it comes to you on its descent. This will spin the ball, slow it down, and throw it on a new trajectory. Experiment doing this with your forehand and backhand strike. Smashing (also called slamming or spiking) the ball entails hitting it with force so that it goes fast enough to, hopefully, be unreturnable. A slam is a powerful weapon, but it can be difficult at first to use it accurately, and you may find that your slams initially go into the net or well off the other side of the table. Don't be afraid to keep trying them, though. You'll eventually get it. This is similar to volleyball. Once you slam, smash, or spike the ball, it's virtually impossible for your opponent to keep the ball in play. This will be one of your most used skills when you cultivate it -- and the most frustrating for your opponent. A fast serve or a serve with plenty of spin on it can become the key to your game as you face better players. If you give your opponent an easy serve, you'll be lucky to get a paddle on his return. An easy serve gives him time to wind up and blast you with a slam that you won't even see coming. Speed is definitely important as you move up the ranks, but you have to maintain aim and precision. As you get better and better, you'll be able to predict where the ball will go and how it will behave with each strike. As you face better competition, you can't just expect your opponent to make mistakes, even if you're hitting the ball hard. You've got to force errors by taking control of the game and making your opponent move around the table a lot. If you can hit one shot off the right side and then quickly hit another shot to the left side you might be able to prevent your opponent from getting the ball. Tricks, such as giving the appearance of a slam and then dunking the ball, or getting into a right-left pattern and then hitting two or three consecutive shots to the right, can also put your opponent off-balance and in position for a slam.
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One-sentence summary -- Practice consistently. Develop a strong backhand and forehand. Learn to put spin on the ball. Smash balls that your opponent hits high. Develop a killer serve. Outmaneuver your opponent.

If your opponent is trying to fight you, grab their wrist with your nondominant hand and their upper shoulder with your dominant hand. If you're wrestling your opponent, quickly grab your opponent's shoulders and wrap your fingers around their shoulder blades to orient yourself. You can perform a choke hold while you're squared up or standing off-center to your opponent. Apply firm pressure with your hands after you've grabbed them. You will not be able to steady them for long without resistance. The time that it takes to grab and rotate yourself should be less than 2 seconds. You can drag your opponent to the ground to perform this hold or you can do it while the both of you are standing. If you've grabbed your opponent's shoulders, push them with your dominant hand. At the same time, pull with your nondominant hand. This will spin your opponent around so that they're facing away from you. Wrap your dominant arm around their chest or neck to hold them in place. If you grabbed their arm, pull their wrist towards you and shuffle to the side before sliding your dominant arm around their chest to spin them around. If you're smaller or they're resisting your hold, you can place your inside leg behind them and pivot to move behind them. If you're actively being attacked and you've grabbed their wrist, twist their wrist inwards as you pull them to disarm them. Once you're behind your opponent, your dominant arm should be wrapped around their chest. Pull your opponent close to you and adjust your dominant forearm so that it's around their neck. Your opponent will raise their arms to protect their neck. This will give you the opening you need to place your nondominant hand behind their head. When they reach up to protect their neck, your first instinct may be to reach your free hand out to swat their hands. Do not do this. You will lose your leverage if you don't place your arm behind their head. If you're being actively attacked, yank them from side to side while setting your grip up to disorient them and make it harder to fight back.
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One-sentence summary -- Grab your opponent's shoulders or arm to anchor yourself. Pull them while rotating their shoulders to get behind them. Yank them towards you and wrap your dominant arm around their neck.

Estimates point to nearly two million teens and young adults in America who purposely injure themselves in some way. Statistics show that young women are more likely to self-injure than young men. So, know that if you are a young person who has been hurting yourself, you are not alone. There are many others out there who know what you are going through, and you can get help. It might give you hope to visit websites where you can read stories about others who have overcome the urge to self-harm. Self-injury basically means causing harm to oneself on purpose. A common example of self-injury is cutting using a knife, razor, or other sharp object. Other methods may include biting, pinching, burning, hitting, pulling out hair, or picking at wounds. Extreme cases may even result in broken bones. People who self-injure often do so in secret. Your friends or family members may be unaware of the signs because self-injurers often wear long sleeves and pants and focus the injuries on hidden areas like the limbs and torso. Oftentimes, self-injury is a release for emotional pain. You may not have role models for dealing with feelings like anger, sadness, disappointment, or frustration, or you may have been raised to hide these emotions. The harmful behavior serves as an outlet. In some cases, teens might hurt themselves because they feel numb; they just want to feel something. However, self-harm is generally followed by shame or guilt that leads to more self-injurious behavior, a dangerous and endless cycle. Try to pay attention to when you have the urge to harm yourself. What happened before you started cutting, scratching, etc.? What did you feel in your body? What thoughts went through your head? Identifying these triggers can shed insight on how to overcome self-harm when you do seek help. Research has connect self-jury to psychiatric disorders like eating disorders, borderline personality disorder, depression, anxiety, substance abuse disorder, and developmental disabilities, to name a few. You may be struggling with one of these conditions and the self-harm is merely a symptom of a larger problem. However, some adolescents engage in self-harm who do not meet the criteria for any mental disorder.
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One-sentence summary --
Accept that you are not alone. Recognize what self-harm is. Look for triggers. Know that self-injury can be a symptom of a bigger issue.