**В гостях у Игоря Гиндиса Выпуск 41 Сегодня наш гость Игорь Новак, руководитель школы тенниса — Transcript & Summary | SozAI**
Source: https://sozai.app/transcript/igor-gindis-guest-igor-novak-tennis-school/

Interview with Igor Novak on table tennis, its brain connection, and Jewish heritage of Birobidzhan.

## Key Takeaways

- Table tennis training is deeply connected to brain activity and motor learning.
- The Jewish Autonomous Region of Birobidzhan has a unique cultural and linguistic history.
- Sports careers in the Soviet Union were disrupted by political changes.
- Training methods and attitudes toward table tennis vary significantly by country.
- Table tennis can be practiced and enjoyed by people of all ages.

## What the video covers

- Igor Novak shares his journey from Birobidzhan to Israel and his career in table tennis.
- Discussion on the collapse of the Soviet Union impacting sports careers and coaching.
- Exploration of Birobidzhan's Jewish Autonomous Region and its cultural significance.
- Insight into the preservation of Yiddish language and Jewish community in Birobidzhan.
- Comparison of attitudes toward table tennis training in the Soviet Union, China, and Israel.
- Explanation of the neurological processes involved in playing table tennis.
- Details on how table tennis training develops brain functions and motor skills.
- Igor Novak talks about opening a table tennis school in Kiryat Yam, Israel.
- The interview highlights the invisible mental and physical connections in sports.
- Encouragement for all ages to participate in table tennis and its benefits.

## Chapters

1. 00:00 Introduction and Guest Introduction
2. 01:51 Igor Novak's Early Life and Soviet Union Impact
3. 04:12 Brain and Table Tennis Connection
4. 06:08 Cultural Insights on Birobidzhan and Jewish Heritage
5. 07:57 Yiddish Language and Community in Birobidzhan
6. 09:54 Repatriation to Israel and Early Challenges
7. 10:54 Global Table Tennis Training Attitudes
8. 13:45 Neurological Processes in Table Tennis
9. 20:22 Table Tennis School and Invitation to Join

Answers

## Questions about this video

Who is Igor Novak and why is he featured in this interview?

Igor Novak is a table tennis coach and former player originally from Birobidzhan. He is featured for his unique insights into table tennis training and its connection to brain function.

What is the significance of Birobidzhan in the video?

Birobidzhan is the Jewish Autonomous Region in Russia, notable for its preservation of Yiddish as an official language and its historical Jewish community, which Igor Novak discusses in detail.

How is table tennis connected to brain activity according to the video?

Table tennis involves complex brain functions including reaction time, motor skills, and learning processes governed by brain areas like the basal ganglia, making it both a physical and mental sport.

## Full Transcript — Download SRT & Markdown

00:11

Speaker A

Radio M1. Broadcasting positivity. Hello, friends. This is Radio M1. As always, we're broadcasting positivity.

00:21

Speaker A

As always, we invite people who make this world a better place to visit. But today, I'll start with something classic, many of you know. You find two people with the same name and sit between them. Today, that's exactly the case. My

00:38

Speaker A

name is Igor Gindis, and my guest is Igor Novak. Igor, Igor, you can start making wishes in the middle. Now, we'll begin. Igor, hello.

00:52

Speaker A

Hello. Uh, so look, uh, not only is he my namesake, that's not actually why he was invited here, but we invited Igor here because he's an incredibly interesting person. Today, you'll learn that table tennis isn't just some strumming and twirling, but it's

01:14

Speaker A

directly connected to how the brain works. Didn't expect that? You'll find out. But first, the traditional first question we always ask our guests.

01:25

Speaker A

Buddy, how did you end up like this? Uh, what was your path to this studio, from the moment you were born?

01:37

Speaker A

Uh, I was born in Berobidzhan. Well, uh, I played table tennis since childhood. I trained really hard, practiced.

01:51

Speaker A

There were successes, serious successes, there should have been advancement, but since the Soviet Union collapsed at that time, I apologize, I'll interrupt. Uh, and our cameraman waves through the glass and asks us to speak a little louder,

02:09

Speaker A

if possible, directly. Don't be shy, speak up. So, the Soviet Union collapsed at that time, and I didn't get to advance because I was just 12 years old, just the right time for advancement, and everything collapsed, and the coaches left. One went to

02:31

Speaker A

Israel, the other went to Germany. And so, uh, everything collapsed in that regard. And at 18, I repatriated to Israel. Uh, those were the nineties, very difficult years. And I came here with table tennis. There was a bit of a

02:55

Speaker A

break, and I was involved in all sorts of different activities, including recently computer metalworking. Uh, that's both hands and brains. So. And recently, we came to the point where we opened a gym in Kiryat, uh, together with Matnas in Kiryat. Uh, I don't

03:27

Speaker A

have any regalia, as I said, any successes here, but I know a thing or two about coaching. And I want to take advantage of this moment and your transgression to tell people some secrets that exist, invisible things.

03:49

Speaker A

That is, we see something, but there are also invisible things that drive everything we see.

03:55

Speaker A

Uh, look, I propose we structure the conversation this way. I can't help but latch on to the word Berobidzhan. We will definitely talk about the connection between the racket in your hands and higher brain activity. I won't leave you alone with this,

04:12

Speaker A

because it's truly very interesting. In fact, Igor and I had a preliminary conversation before this interview. And when I heard from him about the direct connection between the hand that holds the racket and the brain, well, yeah, it's logical, but all those years I've

04:32

Speaker A

lived in this world up until now, I've been completely indifferent. So, yeah, we'll talk. But now, look, I want to pick on Berobidzhan. Here's why. Uh, in many people's minds, it's a place where Jews exist solely as a sign. And

04:55

Speaker A

although Yiddish is supposedly the official language there, are there really any Jews there? There are symbolic ones. After all, it's still called the Jewish Autonomous Region. I don't know how it's autonomous there. Well, I think in all matters, even budgetary ones, they're

05:12

Speaker A

probably autonomous. Well, uh, there is, of course, a famous, large synagogue there. Uh, at the entrance to the city of Berobidzhan, it says "Berobidzhan" in Hebrew, but it's Yiddish in Yiddish, but also in Hebrew letters.

05:29

Speaker A

Well, naturally, yes. Yiddish is Hebrew letters, yes. That's why I even once met a man there who married a woman. He's Israeli himself, married a woman. He comes from Morocco, and he came to Berobidzhan to visit his wife's mother.

05:46

Speaker A

I met him at the market. I heard someone speaking Hebrew, and he asks me, "Tell me, what kind of place is this?

05:54

Speaker A

" So, he says, I arrive and I see in Hebrew that it's a very long flight, a very long journey, and not some rude place, some kind of hole, you could say, in Russia. And suddenly I arrive, and

06:08

Speaker A

he says, "I see something written in Hebrew at the entrance." He says, "What kind of place is this?" I had to explain all this to him somehow, that, uh, you have to live up to the name, right? That is, there really aren't

06:22

Speaker A

that many Jews left there. Uh, those that are left, I don't know if they feel like Jews there. That is, only one nationality remains. Well, oh, you know, there is a community there, still a community, not a small one, so to speak,

06:42

Speaker A

and there is even a specially appointed rabbi there, who, uh, oversees all this stuff from here. That is, a large community and, uh, there are some interesting things. There were two newspapers there at one time, Janertern, as I remember it today.

07:01

Speaker A

That's right. Yes. And my, uh, my grandfather's brother was the director of this newspaper, like he was the chief director, there, the editor, excuse me, the editor, yes.

07:14

Speaker A

And sometimes we would subscribe to Berobidzhaner Stern for someone. You could subscribe to this newspaper all over the Union.

07:23

Speaker A

Yeah, I don't know. I thought it was purely for that, that's why I latched onto Berobidzhan. This is the only place in the world where Yiddish is the official state language, where it has been preserved as a state

07:38

Speaker A

language. Yeah. Uh, and the newspaper Berobidzhaner Stern was published in this same Yiddish. You could subscribe to it in any city in the USSR. And people would subscribe to it as a joke, because it cost a measly couple of rubles,

07:57

Speaker A

but in return, they would receive a newspaper in a language they completely didn't understand. And it was such a kind joke. A kind joke. That's how it was, yes. Well, unfortunately, the entire community that was there, they all

08:11

Speaker A

relocated, each to their own place. There are a lot of people living in Ma'ot. I know, scattered across the country.

08:23

Speaker A

Basically, it's like that classic joke. The second-to-last Jew flies out of Berobidzhan and says to the last Jew seeing him off: "Izichka, when you leave, don't forget to turn off the lights at the airport." Okay, you've arrived in Israel and experienced

08:40

Speaker A

everything a new repatriate is entitled to. Of course, as usual, yes, especially since those were the days when Israel was, of course, just developing, and a lot of things didn't exist yet, and there were fewer opportunities, and everyone was lumped

09:04

Speaker A

together, as they say. Back then, all the repatriates arrived at the same time and were all stuck in this clutter. Then things settled down a bit, time passed, everyone got back on their feet, a ton of opportunities appeared, a

09:19

Speaker A

ton of, as they say, new things to grab onto. And now we've managed to open a club. We've opened one.

09:33

Speaker A

That's it. Let's now move on to the club itself; we'll even skip this step called repatriate hazing, because, well, there's this thing called, "Live our life," they say, "your aliyah is our aliyah." I came here in the early twenties just

09:54

Speaker A

to understand, yes. Uh, well, we'll skip that and get straight to the interesting part. Straight to the interesting part. Look. I understand that in terms of the rules, table tennis is the same all over the world, otherwise it wouldn't be possible to

10:12

Speaker A

play. Koreans, Israelis, French, Russians, anyone can play it the same way, using the same rules. But is there a difference in attitude toward this game, toward training, toward everything, in the Soviet Union and here? Well, let me tell you. First of

10:35

Speaker A

all, I was in China in 1990. A little closer to the microphone, if possible. Ah, in 1990 or 1991, I was in China, I don't remember exactly, I won't lie. I think it was 1991. I remember that was

10:49

Speaker A

right around the time of the collapse of the Soviet Union. I was flying out.

10:53

Speaker A

It was, I think, the August storm. Uh, I think it was 1991. I was in China at the time, the borders were just opening. Our border with China is just around the corner.

11:08

Speaker A

Yeah,

11:26

Speaker A

China. I saw how kids train in China. I mean, I don't have that experience, I mean, I haven't seen how it works in different countries. Now, of course, I have YouTube and you can watch, but I saw with my own eyes how they train in

11:44

Speaker A

China. And the attitude is completely, completely different. There, kids don't even go near a table for several years.

11:55

Speaker A

Do you understand how? No, the thing is, these are all very complex physical exercises, to run somewhere, do something, hit something, and then take it somewhere. For a child , for a beginner, this is very difficult, because they have to, uh,

12:13

Speaker A

let go of this self-control. That is, the movement consists of some, uh, some parts. It's not a single whole, it's some parts put together. The child needs to understand what it means to lower the hand, approach, lower the

12:30

Speaker A

hand, squat, move the hand, strike, finish the strike. They need to put it all together. And then, when they start all this, uh, all this coordination works, they jump, run, do some coordination exercises, and only then they bring them to the table. And then

12:51

Speaker A

they start working very quickly, that is, developing some kind of automaticity. That is. But here, no one has time for this. The child wants to come, immediately get up and play, otherwise they simply won't leave, as it were. That's why everything happens

13:08

Speaker A

so quickly here, and some things are lost along the way, some are gained, but no one pays attention to it, because you have to take into account the specifics of life, this attitude toward sports. This is also, like,

13:24

Speaker A

sports education, right? We talked about it here, that's what sports education is called here, that is, an approach to sports. If you instill this approach to sports in a child, yes, that they need self-discipline and all that, go to bed early, do what the

13:45

Speaker A

coach says, only then can athletes develop. And this is very difficult for modern children. Their lives are virtual. They come to me, he was somewhere on the computer, killing some dragons there. And then he comes to me, and...he still has all this in his head

14:07

Speaker A

: some actions there, there—running after someone. And he has, ah, a lot of balls in the hall, a lot of people walking there, and he doesn't lose concentration, yes, attention. So, these are problems. There are some problems, but they are secondary, yes,

14:27

Speaker A

I think, in fact, they are very good children, very talented. Now they are much more talented than before, and there are many of them. I don’t know why. Maybe because they have more opportunities, they learn quickly, they know languages, they—some children—

14:48

Speaker A

already know two or three languages, that is, they are literate, but exactly , uh, that’s the problem, uh, exactly , uh, they don’t have...with time, they can’t, they need it now, that’s what they want to achieve, yes , they couldn’t wait, they want to

15:06

Speaker A

achieve it now. Give it to me now, I want it now. That’s it. And that’s how it is. Uh, that’s the only problem. But basically, in principle, uh, it's possible to come to an agreement, it's possible to explain to an impatient

15:25

Speaker A

Israeli teenager that, buddy, everything will be simple, well, now you need to do this, this, and this, or a lot depends on the, uh, relationship in the family, on upbringing, on what the parents say, on, uh, how they

15:41

Speaker A

explain to him, why he needs it. Uh, there are many, many nuances, like each child is an individual, yes.

15:54

Speaker A

Yes. Well, here it's impossible to approach him as an individual personally. There's simply not enough time. You see, like I studied for three hours, yes, and then waited, sat for more, uh, will they let me play with the adults, right? That is, there is

16:12

Speaker A

this understanding of 10,000 hours. After 10,000 hours of practice, the child begins to play professionally.

16:21

Speaker A

But now imagine what 10,000 hours is if he only plays twice a day, uh, an hour a week. Well, if you do some calculations, you'll realize he'll play for 100 years and never learn. So, you need to immerse him in it. For that,

16:40

Speaker A

you need parents 'support and interest. So, I came here, basically, to explain the trick, how this can help a child get their parents interested, and how they can also, uh, somehow, if they want to come for themselves. First and

17:00

Speaker A

foremost, I'm interested in children, generations, yes, ours, who are our children, who are starting here, well, growing up, yes, and advancing in life.

17:12

Speaker A

And here I want to change the subject. Look, uh, you said there is an absolutely clear connection between a piece of plywood in the hand, well, a hypothetical piece of plywood, yes, and higher brain activity. Oops. Ah, and this is the story that a young

17:39

Speaker A

person begins with in adolescence, childhood, youth, yes, actually, maybe even in adulthood, adulthood, maybe it's not too late for me either, for example, right? Uh, and where will he end up in terms of brain function and health? Let's talk about this, because

18:05

Speaker A

it's really interesting. Well, let's start with how it all happens, yes, it happens, you could say , in hundredths of a second. All these actions that I'm about to tell you about, the brain, all this is the brain's reaction and the person's

18:23

Speaker A

subsequent actions. That is, we talked before, I told you that the body does what the brain tells it to. That is, this is our main control center.

18:34

Speaker A

It is very complex, yes, everyone knows this. So complex that it is considered the most difficult organ to study. It is very complex. There are, uh, many brain centers in a person, all working together. All together. They cannot

18:54

Speaker A

work together there, they work together . That's it. And when something happens , the brain reacts and sends signals.

19:05

Speaker A

Let's say we have a picture. A man is standing in front of me, hitting a ball with a racket at some moving target.

19:16

Speaker A

Pew. Yeah, I gave him something before, hit him, and he's standing in front of me and returns it to me. Now I see what he's doing. This comes to my brain through my visual apparatus, is processed through the subcortex, and

19:37

Speaker A

other centers come into play, which... Yes, such as the basal ganglia, there is a brain center called the basal ganglia. What are they, excuse me? The basal ganglia. Let's say this way, yes, it's precisely these centers, the basal

20:17

Speaker A

ganglia and the basal ganglia, they are the most involved in learning table tennis. So, look how it works. Uh, I received information that a strike is coming towards me. I have to evaluate, uh, what the speed is, what the spin is

20:34

Speaker A

, what the angle of the sword's departure is. I have to jump there, perform a certain procedure, squat here , uh, strike there. You also understand how difficult this all is for me. I'll just give an example. And

20:51

Speaker A

guys, look, Igor said, I just timed it on my watch for about a minute and a half or two. Describing this process, right? Now imagine the game. Bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang. This is really happening, these are unique things. Yes

21:10

Speaker A

, a robot can't stand on skates, can't do a triple twist. You understand that the human brain is unique. It's impossible to make a robot, a robot that will, like a gymnast, spin, spin, spin, do your somersault, and then

21:31

Speaker A

stand on the mat, raise its hands and say, "Wow." There is no such thing. It hasn't been invented yet and never will be, because it's unique. What is it? If you look at it, it's some kind of piece

21:46

Speaker A

of meat, yes, but it works like a whole computer of some kind, yes, which regulates our life processes. And there are vital functions that we, uh, uh, sort of, we don't control, right? It's the autonomic nervous system, we don't

22:02

Speaker A

control it. There are things we control . And we control this game. Some kind of learning takes place for the person, right? So what do we do? We first have the child do certain things, so they're uncontrollable for him. That is, he has

22:22

Speaker A

to make a strike, and the strike consists of certain parts. That is, you tell him: "Come here, raise your hand, do this, start from here, finish here, make such-and-such an angle. Sit down, land there. That's it. And when he does

22:37

Speaker A

this, he more or less understands that he doesn't need to control it. It's done automatically, as if by coordination. We start working with him with thousands of swords. The same thing. He does the same thing.

22:51

Speaker A

And so, as I said, the basal ganglia are like a library. Every time, every strike that he makes, it is recorded there in a person, yes, and he has a million different strikes there. And every time the right strike happens, it

23:09

Speaker A

is precisely the choice of this brain center. It chooses and says:" Do it like this. "And it is precisely from this situation that it gives me an accurate strike. That is, the brain itself tells me what to do. For this,

23:24

Speaker A

it needs to be trained. And this brain center, it, uh, requires dopamine, Yes, it works on dopamine. So the child is, uh, happy with life, and everything is good for him, and he's calm, he goes to bed on time, and he predicts certain

23:45

Speaker A

things for the future, and he becomes decisive. He quickly chooses the speed of response in life, what to do. It increases greatly. He doesn't doubt much, because it is this center, it is responsible for, uh, reaction speed, no, for choosing,

24:09

Speaker A

uh, the right movement, it filters out something. So it says:" You don't need to do this movement, do this. "That would be unnecessary. So it gives a choice for a specific stroke that he has in mind.

24:28

Speaker A

And that's exactly what you do. Uh, look, but this is a specific applied task, yes, hitting a ball with a racket. Uh, but when we talked before going on air, it wasn't just: hitting a ball with a racket, uh, it's

24:53

Speaker A

concentration, it's coordination, This is the whole story of the" hand-brain " connection—ultimately, your words ultimately lead to the fact that a person basically lives better, longer, and healthier. And this is, in fact, what I think would be interesting for

25:16

Speaker A

everyone to hear. Yes, indeed, this is so. A person develops, that is, they train by training this center, the person himself learns, as it turns out, that is, not his center in the brain, but himself. That is, this gives him a lot.

25:35

Speaker A

We can talk about this for a very long time, but the little brain responsible for coordination develops. That is, a person becomes more even, quicker, more coordinated, uh, he becomes easier to make decisions, because every shot is a

25:58

Speaker A

decision for a person. That is, in everyday life, when I don’t have a racket in my hand, let’s say, tennis helps me quickly navigate some situation. Yes, there is a life situation, there is you throwing a ball , there is some situation

26:17

Speaker A

while driving, there is something else, in something else, in There will be another reaction. That's right, faster. That's right. Just imagine, you're driving, someone cuts you off, yeah, they slam on the brakes. You're a serious table tennis player. You've had this happen

26:33

Speaker A

to me more than once. Uh, I reacted very quickly. And at first, I reacted, and then I thought about what I wanted to do. It's the same in table tennis: first comes the strike, uh, for trained people, first comes the strike, then he

26:48

Speaker A

, uh, realizes that he wanted to make this strike, but it's like this, you know, it's very interesting like that, right? That is, it's all automatic, and the decision is made instantly. And you don't even have time to think that you

27:03

Speaker A

want to make a decision. That is, you understand how it works, right? Yes. That is, first you work the muscles on autopilot.

27:11

Speaker A

On autopilot, and then it's like:" Oh, right. Uh, and look, uh, this is something that definitely needs to be said, it seems to me, uh, the words Parkinson's, something else, epilepsy were mentioned , in my opinion, this organ, when it is trained,

27:32

Speaker A

well-trained, uh, the basal ganglia, they, uh, help. The thing is, they have several functions. One of the functions is to stop movement or allow them, uh, on the contrary, to move. Allow them to move, well, to be carried out by

27:50

Speaker A

movement, right? That is, if I raised my hand or, let's say, my hand or I didn't raise my hand, this organ, it tells me: "Either raise it, or don't raise it." That is, it filters out all unnecessary movements

28:05

Speaker A

and does what you need to do in life, right ? Let's say there is a patient with Parkinson's. What is their problem?

28:14

Speaker A

Their cells that, uh, produce dopamine die. That is, this center, it lives on dopamine. That is, inside it there is a little factory, so to speak, yes, it produces dopamine for all this. But these cells that produce dopamine, they

28:32

Speaker A

die for one reason or another. There are no more of them and they are no longer restored, because from birth, like a child, it all started to be built in the mother's womb, it all started to be built, it was built, and

28:45

Speaker A

then there is no regeneration. That is, they die off. But there is such a thing as neuroprosy. If you develop such a, uh, that is, if it is in a very, well, initial, let's say, stage—there are still a few cells, say, up to 80%still

29:09

Speaker A

alive—then these living cells, they, uh, take on all the work, and the person can, uh...and those that are about to die—they, they...But for this, he needs an external signal. What does an external signal mean? He needs to train, yes, constantly give him some

29:35

Speaker A

kind of task. Here, for example, the green light, do this, there the red light, hit this. Some signals are triggered there. And when an external signal is triggered, then we start making our brain work.

29:53

Speaker A

That is, it’s impossible to cure, but it’s quite possible to prevent and make a person’s life easier. The initial stage. For example, someone has tremors, someone feels some kind of initial stiffness. You know, sometimes even in older people, their hands shake

30:13

Speaker A

. Uh-huh. That’s the initial stage of Parkinson’s. That is , it’s possible, yes, and if a person comes and trains and if you develop some kind of small program for him, it can actually help him a lot.

30:30

Speaker A

Okay. Uh, oh, what are we going to talk about for half an hour? Igor asked me before the broadcast. We're already starting to exceed our allotted time, so let's try a question and answer session right here. Question and answer

30:47

Speaker A

. Uh, look, there's a school in Kiryat'yam, who is it for? Just for kids, or, for example, but what if I'm an adult and I want to, yes, please, we're building a group now . We welcome everyone who comes, yes,

31:05

Speaker A

come and play. If someone wants to create a personal program for themselves, what should they do, uh, day after day? We can come up with some interesting things. Uh, there is a group, uh, there are separate groups for children, a separate group for

31:24

Speaker A

adults. Uh, that is, there is absolutely no discrimination. And women, and of any age, girls, language, uh, it's all unimportant, uh, it doesn't matter at all. What do you mean by "language"? Russian Hebrew.

31:41

Speaker A

Well, that is, if they come and speak in Nai, it's a little more difficult, but we'll explain with gestures, right? With gestures. I can't write it down, but, you know, yeah, they don't have an alphabet.

31:55

Speaker A

Never thought about it. Okay. Uh, so, my friends, Igor Novak, our guest today , surprised me personally. I hope you also found it incredibly interesting.

32:12

Speaker A

Igor, thank you so much for the conversation. Thank you. It's a pleasure to meet you and get to know each other. Likewise.

32:18

Speaker A

Likewise. Uh, my name is still Igor Gindis. Don't forget to subscribe to the channel, if you haven't yet. Find Igor, I think, Facebook, Telegram, all the classics.

32:33

Speaker A

Uh, and if you're interested in table tennis, now you know where to find him.

32:38

Speaker A

And, I think, that's it for today. Thank you all, good luck. Bye. Radio M1. Broadcasting positivity. Ah.

Topics: Igor Novak table tennis brain function Birobidzhan Jewish Autonomous Region Yiddish language Soviet Union collapse sports coaching Israel mental training

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