Since it's generally agreed that one training session in sufficient to learn anything I decided to play penhold at the Alameda Sunday round robin today.  I was the top player on table 2 so luckily my competition wasn’t too strong.  I still lost all five matches but did win four sets total on the day, and would’ve won a handful more if not for some deuce losses.

The amazing thing again was how normal it all felt.  Naively you would expect everything to be off, to feel wrong, and perhaps if I was at a higher level it might have.  I suppose it’s a testament to the monumental heights I’ve reached after six years of training and playing tournaments as a shakehand player that I don’t feel all that different playing penhold.  My prediction is that I’ll lose perhaps 300 ratings points each at my two clubs (Alameda, 1229, and Berkeley 1458) and that within a year I’ll get those back (if the experiment lasts that long).  I guess it just goes to show that underneath all that surface technique there's a reservoir of experience and instincts about the game that remain unchanged and I find it comforting in a certain way that despite my modest level I've apparently gained some of that.

So to sum up today: serving was fine, returning serve was ok although I didn't push well and didn't have any touch in the short game.  My backhand was strictly rpb and was actually pretty good, I won a bunch of 3rd ball attacks with it.  I didn't have any feeling for the forehand however and missed many loops (often by shanking the ball off the leading edge of the racket).  The few forehands I did land were very spinny however and usually won the point by themselves.