tennisUSA

May/June 2010

Table

Brazilian Painter Roque SilvaTable Tennis Is Art

Also In This Issue:

US Team Trials

3 Americans in the Top 25 World Juniors: Ariel Hsing, Natalie Sun, and Lily Zhang

Liha: Classic Roots of the Game Preserved in the Philippines

42 USA TABLE TENNIS MAGAZINE • May/Jun 2010 43USA TABLE TENNIS MAGAZINE • May/Jun 2010

manila times, 1952 - archives !!! imagine, americans came 1952 now its us filipinos at year 2010 going back to U.S. - to show something else.that we learned from our" colonial masters".

Vintage:American Table Tennis Roots Preserved in the Philippines

merican and Filipino history have at times been intertwined over the last hundred years. The closest ties were in the first half of the last century while the A

Philipines were under U.S. colonial rule. Full independence was realized in 1945, but cooperation between the Filipino and American people continue today. From 1918, Filipinos fought alongside Americans in World War I. Both countries were affected by the Great Depression, while free trade of Filipino products including sugar and coconuts were important to the economies of both. In World War II, the Japanese attack on Pampanga, Philippines was carried out on December 8, 1941-- just ten hours after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Events in the Philippines were some of the most notable of that war. (For example, General MacArthur’s retreat and promise to return; finally to return two years later; and the infamous Bataan Death March where 80,000 prisoners of war were marched 75 miles on foot – with more than 10,000 Filipino and 1,200 Americans losing their lives along the way.) Today, a bronze statue of MacArthur stands in the Philippines on Corregidor Island, at the mouth of Manila Bay. And the Douglas MacArthur Highway remains one of the major roads in metro Manila. The government of the Philippines is modeled after the U.S. form of government and our societal similarities include the common use of the English language, a majority of citizens with Christian history and values, and both countries are a melting pot incorporating many cultures and immigrants from foreign lands. Even our love of sports seems to be compatible -- including the fondness of baseball and basketball... and table tennis.

With the advent of technology, the use of table tennis rackets has become significant in the development and propagation of the sport where it has greatly affected the speed and spin of the ball, style, and the level of play. Therefore, for modern players-- though many are familiar with the hardbat racket-- little is known about the sandpaper (or Liha as it is known in Filipino terms) racket. Remember that other sports also have their own means of innovations and variations. Take the case of lawn tennis for example. It has a clay, hard, and grass court “variants” highlighted in tournaments like the French, Wimbledon, and Australian Open. Martial arts have karate, taekwondo, kung fu, judo, etc. Nobody ever predicted that mixed martial arts or UFC would become popular. This kind of UFC had its reputation of hiding underground for decades, much like liha has. The point is, sports need to have a “variant” of their own to keep themselves abreast of the sporting world while suiting to one’s technical, physical and psychological capabilities and keeping different types of play interesting. Equipment in table tennis plays an important role in enhancing the performance of a player. At present, table tennis has become such a fast-paced sport that different proposals are being addressed by many for it to be slowed down in terms of the speed and spin of the ball. Many argue that it is becoming more boring to watch since rallies end shorter than those of the earlier times. Liha is a slower game. Both liha and hardbat were popularly played in the Philippines during American colonization. Liha has its own humble beginnings and had great influence over the contemporary game of Philippine table tennis.

The Untold Story of Liha

Excerpts of a study by Prof. Oscar Yoshihiro S.Santelices and Peter Cua

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Roberto Bas Currently ranked first in Liha play, Roberto, nicknamed “Berto”, is from the Cebu City team. He knows hardbat too, and is a product of our former Philippiine liha/hardbat legendary champion - the late Teofilo Ibanez. At 240 pounds, Berto is a heavyweight, but he is still considered to be one of the most graceful Liha players.

Richard Gonzales Currently ranked second among Liha players, Richard is an icon of Philippine table tennis -- whether it be Liha, hardbat, or sponge. He started playing liha as a young child but converted and applied his unique Liha form and style of play to hardbat as well as to the modern sponge/rubber game. He is the top rated sponge/rubber player in the Philippines and was the silver medalist in the Asean Games.

Peter Cua

Part Researcher and also player; leading this liha team is a former national (penholder) player in sponge/rubber racket from the early 1980s. Coming back to play table tennis after a 30 year-long hiatus for health purposes, he switched his interest and focus to serious vintage liha/sandpaper Table tennis play, but using shakehand style. Though he originally chose to play liha for many underlying reasons, he now prefer this vintage play.

Starting from a age, Cua noticed that this unique variant of the sport was kept and practiced underground for decades. he has tried to research where it came from originally.

Now with high hopes and observation, he has alerted all to promote this variant for local and worldwide recognition.The whole new promotion of this liha play in the Philipines started from Cua’s vision of hoping to show to the outside world how good the Filipinos are when it comes to this kind table tennis play. He also wished to showcase the health benefits that can be derived from playing in this style with the liha racket

Attention hardbatters, historians, and students of the classic game. The 2010 US Open will include a Liha Event -- a sandpaper

event that harkens back to the days be-fore sponge (even before pips). But, rest as-sured, this is not just a history lesson. Sand-paper paddles continue to be sold throughout the world and are, in fact, commonly used at recreational center and schools all over the United States. In the Philippines, a neo-classic version of table tennis has emerged using only sandpaper paddles. Like the hardbat movement in the United States, these Filipino players have organized an Association, leagues, tournaments and events, and National Championships. And like our Hardbatters, the Lihadores are vehement supporters of what they see as their artistic and pure version of the sport. Filipino Liha players have conducted exhibitions and seminars across the world including the 11th ITTF Sports Science Congress in Yokohama in 2009. A deligation of Filipino players have been invited to Grand Rapids to showcase their skills in this event at the US Open.

Photos: (top) Peter Cua hosts ITTF visitors from Slovenia, Croatia, and Romania, (background) stock photo courtesy of the Stock Exchange sxc.hu

Liha Players to Watch

Jay Harold P. Logroño Currently ranked third among Liha players, Harold, nicknamed “Okoy”, has a graceful style of play that has been compared to leaping like a frog. Okoy has played Liha all of his life from Cebu and Bohol. He is the smallest built in the group, but he may be the most deadly. In comparison with our heavyweight Berto, its like watching David and Goliath in battle.