skilless_slapper wrote:
Tenergy vs skyline/h3... I have to think they're fairly comparable, spin wise. I think the main difference between them is reactiveness and speed. Tenergy has that famous 'spring' action to it, which to me, makes short games harder to play but long distance ones easier. That's why the chinese generally twiddle to smash with the tenergy on the forehand, historically. Skyline is easier to do controlled pushes and the chopping game is more stable, in the sense that fewer balls will go flying off due to speed -- but the spin will still get you.
On a side note, I was using rozena 2.1 today -- played better than ever with it! Great spin on chops, plenty fast for attacks, and easier to touch in the short shots.
And having tried yet another rubber... I can safely say that in the end, it doesn't matter much at all to me!
Once you do a slight adjustment, it is easy to play with any of them. Sure, some might be a bit more spinny or a bit faster or a bit more controlled and whatnot. But I'm finding those are minute points, and so long as I have my basic technique down, I can get along with any of them. In fact, the more I play the more selective I am with the attacking shots. Since I don't mind being attacked myself (and prefer it), I like to "push them down" as it were. And if they choose not to attack, then I wait for a favorable incoming push and really rip into it with a loop. So if I only attack backspin balls (or stupid easy high balls), then I don't gain a ton of advantage from using the faster rubbers. When going offensively myself, I saw that more points were being lost from taking needless risks - aka lack of skill! When I focus on defense and paralyzing them with pushes/chops, then when I do attack the % of winners is much higher, though less frequent.
I just use regular cleaning for the tacky rubbers and slap on a protective plastic sheet to avoid dust bunnies. Some times you can stack some weights/books on the rubber after doing so, and when you peel off the plastic sheet, much of the tackiness will be restored.
I guess it comes down to... would you rather miss some defensive shots because the rubber is really fast and spinny, but make a few more attacks due to the same reason? Or do you want to be a god at returning defensively, but find more of your own attacks being returned due to the slower rubber?
Personally, I don't often see my loops returned when attacking pushes. The change from heavy backspin/floats to having to block a LOADED top spin (perhaps slow and high arced as well) throws lots of them off. Especially if I wait to receive a well positioned push, so I can find an even better angle when looping. I try to force them to move toward the ball, so they must be able to do their loop technique while in motion to reach the ball.
The joo is a pretty peppery blade! Big and clunky, but perhaps because you used the heavy weighted reisman previously it doesn't feel too shockingly foreign. I think the faster blades give your chops a flatter trajectory (more of the net skimming sort), while the slower blades are easier to do slower, heavier, and more arced chops. Of course either blade style can do either shot, but each is oriented toward one. Is that how you're finding the joo?
The p4 is working out wonderfully -- chopping rather dead, or raking under the ball and sending back decently heavy spin when using OX. It is a bit more sensitive to spin, so I'm still missing a few wide chops to the backhand, whereas previously with the slicker pips I could return those and not worry much about the angle. Just some technique changes required, and a more committed stroke.
I'm thinking about going back to juic elite 999 defense or nittaku revspin. Both are much easier to control defensively, but lack the penetration power of tenergy. Maybe even buying a sheet of the 401 to try.
I think a lot of it is in our heads, what we feel most comfortable with (particularly under pressure). Most of these rubbers are capable of some great stuff. I feel more comfortable defending with Feint Long 3 than I did my Yasaka short pips, which has in turn improved my defense. My defense might actually of been technically better with my old Yasaka pips, as max backspin was greater and floats were even lighter (attacks were also faster and flatter), but the feeling with FL3 that I'm not likely to miss means I'm playing more confidently. I want the same level of confidence in a forehand rubber.
With 401, I get the feeling I would be confident defending with it under pressure. It' a really nice, high quality rubber. It's when it comes to attacking that I'm not sure about it. I'll be testing it again when I receive my second Joo blade. If you put 100% into it, the pace was good. The thing is, I don't want to put max effort into my attacks all the time, as I personally feel that I'm more likely to make a mistake that way. Ideally, I want to be able to generate sufficient pace with 70-80% effort. So far, I feel it's possible with Hurricane, but I need to test it against my strongest practice partner. We're at a similar level, so if I feel pressured when attacking him (like I did with 401 but not with Acuda), it's not going to work. Attacking an attacker is meant to be the fun bit (as the tables turn so to speak
). I'd say 401 is worth a go though if you want to try it. For more punch, I'd say go with 2mm (I have it in 1.8mm). Also, there's 402 Double Extra, which is a kind of update to 401 with a little more pop.
Hadn't heard of Butterfly Rozena till now. There are too many rubbers lol.
From what you're saying about your attack ratio, Tenergy is only benefiting you here and there, basically when they push or pop one up. In that case, a more stable rubber for defense might be worth a try. 401 would be a massive step down in power though (it certainly was next to Acuda).
I'm not 100% on what ratio I'm trying to get. With short pips, I would attack as much as I could, but against stronger opponents who good slices/pushes and loops, I didn't get many chances to attack (as it's safest to attack the ball when it's higher than the net I found with short pips). This is why I'm here now trying inverted, to give me more attacking (and defensive) options. It might actually take some time, basically when I've gotten used to inverted, before I know what I need based on how I use inverted on my forehand. Right now, I'm trying to find what I think I need. I'd say I'm being a little more aggressive than I was with short pips, but I'm still chopping more than attacking. Hurricane would appear to be suitable for that.
I guess it comes down to... would you rather miss some defensive shots because the rubber is really fast and spinny, but make a few more attacks due to the same reason? Or do you want to be a god at returning defensively, but find more of your own attacks being returned due to the slower rubber?This is what it comes down to.
If your opponent 'fears' your attack, they are more likely to make bad decisions when attacking your defense. The worst situations I've been in as a defender are when, for whatever reason, I haven't been able to get my attack in and a strong opponent has confidently (and patiently) played my defense. I think this is where sacrificing some defensive control for faster attacks could be worth it. I definitely think a modern defender with a more balanced defense and offense is harder to play than a more straightforward defender. Still, where we do draw the line when balancing defense and offense? I'm not sure yet if I need to go for a rubber as fast as Tenergy to achieve the above balance. As you say, "The change from heavy backspin/floats to having to block a LOADED top spin (perhaps slow and high arced as well) throws lots of them off." It's just as much about the variation, the difference between a chop and a loop, as it is about the speed of your attack. Hurricane seems to fit in the middle between rubbers like 401 and Tenergy, so I'll hopefully know soon.
I haven't used enough blades within a reasonable period of time to really compare. Coming from my Reisman blade though, the Joo blade is light, small, and fast. Some chops are sailing just long at the moment, so yea, it may have a straighter arc. Attacks with FL3 certainly go through the table a lot more. FL3 with my Reisman blade seemed to keep balls in almost all the time. I think it's just a small adjustment though, as it's getting easier to keep the chops from going off the table. The straighter flight path might also be giving the impression of heavier backspin (as it's lower over the net), as I would have thought that my softer yet more stable Reisman would generate more backspin.
Trying to resist getting P4 in 1.5mm and P1-r 1.4-1.7mm right now. I only want to be testing one side at a time, but experimenting is too fun (while also equally frustrating).
Do you get some reversal with P4 OX? Just curious, as it with sponge, I imagine it's similar to FL3 (basically no reversal).
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