Shin coaches “best brain sport” to maintain elderly’s faculties

It used to be called “ping-pong” and was often viewed as a fun game for the kids on wet weekends or when away at holiday camps.

However, there’s no better sport than table tennis for maintaining the mental faculties of the elderly, lifelong player and accredited coach Shin Nakazawa says, believing it is the ideal way for reducing the impact of dementia.

He would like to see the game — described by experts as “the best brain sport” from a number of authoritative studies — introduced to all of our residences for the elderly and infirm.

Shin, semi-retired and fit-as-a-fiddle, is a walking advertisement for the benefits of the sport which he has played since a child growing up in the Japanese city of Hiroshima.

“In Japan it is called ‘Takkyu’; I played from when I was 12, that’s 50 years ago, I’m now 62. I played at high school and was the junior high champion,” he said.

He said that the sport offers a range of health, physical, and mental benefits that are unsurpassed in other sports. “The enjoyment is, it’s a high-speed sport, that’s good for the reflexes and fine-motor skills.

“It’s been found that, due to these attributes, it’s the best sport to prevent dementia and mental decline,” he said.

Typically associated with the world champion Chinese players, he said that the sport is becoming increasingly popular in Japan with its ageing population. “It was very minor, but player numbers are now very high.”

A modified sport known as “Aerobic Table Tennis” has been developed by British researchers for a type of activity known as “Table Tennis Therapy”, Shin explained.

He said that neurological studies have shown that the sport activates numerous and almost unprecedented decision-making skills in rapid sequence from deciding which side to serve, whether to use top or back-spin and similar decisions on every return.

“From the moment you start, the brain is activated… it activates five different parts of the brain, it activates parts of the brain that no other sport can,” he said.

“Working on your bat (racquet) skills also improves eye-hand coordination,” Shin said.

A computer designer who worked in Sydney for a number of years, he recently received accreditation for coaching from the Australian Table Tennis Association. His new academy currently operates under the auspices of the local club, but Shin has big plans for expansion.

“I set up ‘Shin’s Table Tennis Academy’ at Orange Table Tennis Club but, with Council support, I’d like to see it independent within five years,” he said

His business plan for the Academy states: “The low-impact sport of table tennis stimulates many areas of the brain simultaneously and offers a huge range of mental benefits even for patients who suffer from Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and dementia.”

Another benefit of the sport, he said, is that the change of direction required by players improves the ability of the elderly to remain mobile and active.

“Table tennis improves balance, thereby lowering the risk of falls — falls are a leading cause of death in the elderly,” he said.

Shin trialled his Academy at the Benjamin Short Grove Centre in 2020 and has since been approved for coaching at another of our care facilities from April.

“I was there in 2020/2021, but stopped because of COVID. Last week, I went to an interview at Bloomfield Hospital and will be coaching there from next month,” he said.

“It’s an ideal sport for the elderly, it’s indoors, it’s cheap, you don’t have to move around too much, and it’s great for your mental wellbeing,” he said.

 Those interested, he said, can simply give him a bell. “My door is always open,” Shin concluded.

●    Shin Nakazawa, M. 0413 232 583. Email: shinnakazawa@optusnet.com.au