OOAK Table Tennis Forum

I'm not trying to sound conceded, but my name is PipProdigy for a reason xD. I'm going to be training a lot this summer, so if I was going to change to a high learning curve LP, now would be a good time to do it. I intend to attend Seemiller's training camp this summer, which should be fun.

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USATT rating - 1971

Mynamenotbob,
I will be following this thread with interest as I play with D.Tecs OX red on my BH. A big part of my game is FH looping with my Tenergy 05 2.1mm and would like to see how you find the inverted side of this blade's equation.

My only experience with a balsa blade was a Donic Cayman which is generally thought of as a good blade on this forum. However, I did not like it at all and didn't really care for the light weight. If you have played with a Cayman as well, can you provide a brief comparison with the Tachi.

I'm currently playing with a Butterfly Michael Maze blade, which is a Carbon/Arylate composite and rated OFF. I find that it suits my Tenergy 05 FH very nicely and isn't too bad with the D.Tecs OX, although it is faster than I would like on my BH.

If you can also be kind enough to describe your style of play and approximate playing/rating level such that there is a frame of reference. I look forward to following your thoughts/journey with this blade + D.Tecs.

I would also like a comparison between the Tachi and the Barricade/Cayman as far as Vibration is concerned. The Barricade seems to vibrate just enough for me to feel the ball on my blade, whereas I didn't like the Cayman because I didn't get the same feel from my blocks or smashes as I did with the Barricade.

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USATT rating - 1971

Not comfortable advising on looping, since I rarely do it. My game consists of serving, blocking, aggressive pushing with the pips and smashing. On the forehand at the moment I have Tibhar Super Defense 40 (1.3mm), not a looper's dream.

As far as my style, I always stay at the table and don't move much. For the last year I've played with a special brace that essentially fuses my ankle. If you've seen the videos of Wegrowicz Wojciech I post in the video section, that's more or less a mirror image of my playing style.

I'm 53 years old, mainly play at local clubs in hopes of staying in some kind of decent shape and I enjoy experimenting with different table tennis equipment. I've had loads of lessons with top level LP coaches, including a former U.S. Olympian and a former Paralympic world champion. In 2008, I attended Sebastian Sauer's three-day long pip training seminar in Germany.

I've been mainly playing with balsa blades for 4+ years since I began with the Dr. Neubauer style. I have all the Dr. N. blades except for one model, and at least ten blades made by RE-Impact. I also have balsa blades from other manufacturers (Donic Cayman, Joola R*1, etc.) as well as a lot of carbon blades. I've tested almost all of the allegedly good blocking pips and "frictionless-replacement" antis since the ban.

There are a lot of threads about the Tachi on the tt-focus.de and noppen-test.de forums that you can run through Google translator to get the gist of what people think of the blade. The general consensus is that the forehand is terrific.

Many, if not most, of the top blockers who play the Neubauer style use balsa. I have a Timo Boll Spirit, which I believe is similar to the Maze. As a player who hits probably 80% of my shots with the backhand, I would much prefer a balsa blade to the TBS.

The Tachi has a totally better feel than the Cayman, with the best braking effect I've ever experienced on the backhand. The forehand has four plies and doesn't even feel like a balsa blade to me. The overall light weight of the blade can be an advantage with a heavy rubber like Tenergy 05.

Come to think of it, fellow forum member "Attacker" has posted a couple of videos demonstrating the blade. You should ask him what he thinks also.

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The MNNB Blog has had some pretty amazing stuff lately. Just click this text to check it out. | My OOAK Interview
Table Tennis Video Links: itTV | laola1.tv | ttbl | fftt | Challenger Series | mnnb-tv

My whole set-up costs less than a sheet of Butterfly Dignics

Vibration isn't something I ever notice. My impressions are the Cayman is quite hard and pretty fast. The Barricade much slower, better control, better feel, not as hard. The Tachi backhand feels soft due to the thick balsa layer underneath, but the outer layer is hard. Achim Rendler recommends a rubber around 2.0 with a medium to medium hard sponge on the forehand, whereas I have a thin blocking rubber glued on at the moment. I'll have to get back to you on the forehand, although I can say with certainty that it's a lot faster than the Barricade, perhaps similar in speed to the Cayman but with better feel.

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The MNNB Blog has had some pretty amazing stuff lately. Just click this text to check it out. | My OOAK Interview
Table Tennis Video Links: itTV | laola1.tv | ttbl | fftt | Challenger Series | mnnb-tv

My whole set-up costs less than a sheet of Butterfly Dignics

MNNB,

Do you do any smashing with your LP? How does the Tachi handle this with the D.Tecs against underspin and dead balls? How would you say the Barricade and Palio do for this? Is D.Tecs a good hitting LP in general?

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USATT rating - 1971

Mynamenotbob,
I think I'll go ahead and order one of these blades. do you use the standard size? I'm used to playing with Dr N. Bulldozer which may be closer to that middle size. What do you think?

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Blade Render Taichi
FH BTY Flarestorm
BH Tibhar Grass D Tecs ox
USATT Rating 2105

Don't really smash with the LP unless it's really high and short. It's more of a hard punch stroke against underspin. Against no-spin it's generally a sideswipe, roll/kick, passive block off the bounce, punch, lots of options. I guess I'm not much of a hitter because I don't think I've ever broke a pip other than when I accidentally dropped my paddle on the corner of a table.

Both rubbers are great against underspin with an edge to the D.Tecs. Against the robot, the D.Tecs seems a little better against no-spin also (but on the Tachi only).

So what's so great about the Palio and the Barricade? Really good control and really reliable. A wall. You know they're going to make a mistake before you.

On the other hand, D.Tecs is more dangerous to the opponent -- and unfortunately also to you. You can make some extremely nasty blocks and hope they make a mistake before you. I'm thinking the Tachi's amazing control will cut down on a lot of the unforced errors.

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The MNNB Blog has had some pretty amazing stuff lately. Just click this text to check it out. | My OOAK Interview
Table Tennis Video Links: itTV | laola1.tv | ttbl | fftt | Challenger Series | mnnb-tv

My whole set-up costs less than a sheet of Butterfly Dignics

Yes, I have the standard size. From what I've seen on your videos, I think this would be the perfect blade for you. You'll marvel at the backhand. And with the lighter weight (probably 25-30 grams in your case with the Bulldozer), you'll be able to really snap your wrist on those no-spin balls to your backhand.

I might try one of the larger ones also.

EDIT: The Tachi is 157mm wide/152mm high in the standard version, 162x162 in the medium version and a 162x168 in the large version. The Bulldozer is 163x167, so the large version would be the closest in size. I believe the bigger they get, they slower they get, as well.

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The MNNB Blog has had some pretty amazing stuff lately. Just click this text to check it out. | My OOAK Interview
Table Tennis Video Links: itTV | laola1.tv | ttbl | fftt | Challenger Series | mnnb-tv

My whole set-up costs less than a sheet of Butterfly Dignics

MNNB,
Thanks for the helpful reply.

Thanks MMNB,
I appreciate your input. I think I'll go for the largest size

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Blade Render Taichi
FH BTY Flarestorm
BH Tibhar Grass D Tecs ox
USATT Rating 2105

I'm interested in trying it out too with the D.Tecs. So Tachi is the way to go rather than the Taipan for the D.techs?

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BTY Joo Se Hyuk | BTY Tenergy 64 2.1mm | TSP P1R 1mm

Chop til you drop baby!

Absolutely. Tachi is way better.

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The MNNB Blog has had some pretty amazing stuff lately. Just click this text to check it out. | My OOAK Interview
Table Tennis Video Links: itTV | laola1.tv | ttbl | fftt | Challenger Series | mnnb-tv

My whole set-up costs less than a sheet of Butterfly Dignics

Any chance of getting a video demonstrating this particular technique?
tOD

In the youtube videos, is that the slightly oversized blade?

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BTY Joo Se Hyuk | BTY Tenergy 64 2.1mm | TSP P1R 1mm

Chop til you drop baby!