This is a quick post on one of the basic tenets of being a chopper... very often, beginning choppers find they are not able to get into any sort of chopping rally resembling anything close to what they see on youtube -- this happens for a few reasons. First off... your opponent's aren't good enough to loop! Not much you can do there aside from train them to a proficient level.

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Moving onto the next problem (assuming you are facing players who can loop): the biggest issues new choppers face is being caught at the table. They turn into blockers! The reason for this is they lack the anticipation on when to move in and when to move away from the table. This is the KEY element to being a proper chopper -- not finding yourself stuck at the table! Otherwise you're just going to be a pusher/blocker.

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Choppers need to move in when they push and immediately move out, anticipating an attack from the looper. If the looper pushes, then you run back in to push again, followed by... you guessed it, move back! Against more passive/lower level players you know won't be attacking, it's fine to stay closer to the table unless you want to practice your footwork.

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Take a look at this timestamped video for a clear example: https://youtu.be/57HZPE4Zc8o?t=33

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The reason why professional choppers are so pleasing to watch (aside from facing heavy loopers) is because they are essentially NEVER caught at the table having to block. An attacker needs to move side to side preparing for loops and such -- a chopper needs to move in and out preparing for pushes/chops/loops.

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So if you wanna be a chopper, get those feet moving! Move in and out, in and out like you're having sex with that table! Always pull out when the big shot is coming!