OOAK Table Tennis Forum

Just been doing some tinkering with my game, and focusing more and more on the classic defense strategy. And at the sub-2000 USA rating, it seems to work well enough with essentially little to no offense!

Since swapping to 'just putting the ball on the table' game, my record has been phenomenal. Generally going with zero losses at the club games. Pushing, chopping and fishing/lobbing when necessary.

But my question here is, I'm using LP in sponge or OX LP for this style, and it doesn't seem to matter a whole lot. So long as I can return the ball on, you guessed it, the table! But the question becomes, why wouldn't I swap to a short pip on the backhand or even a chopping inverted, so I can vary the pushes and such easier and to a greater degree? Right now, the OX LP is basically sending back deadball returns over and over... but I can keep them all on the table, and place them to most anywhere I want. Meaning, if the person likes to attack on the forehand and I can see them pivoting over expecting a ball there... I just bump it back to the body or backhand side, and they fumble around, more often than not executing a panic push that floats off the table.

And at that level, people CAN do big loops or smashes... now and again. But their consistency isn't too spectacular, and they go for them less and less when the pushing game is kept tight. So I wonder with the short pips, I can afford to lose 2-3 points per game where they actually manage to hit a big shot (and feel good about themselves still being down 6 points), so long as I maintain my cool and keep the other points in control.

Kind of asking the general question -- for people who perhaps used SP or inverted, at what stage did you feel the LPs were needed to really stay competitive? And were the LPs at say, 1200-1900 level games, more of a liability than an advantage?

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SOULSPIN CUSTOM BLADES
Fh: Spinny rubber
Bh: Not so spinny rubber...

I don't think there is a rule here...it's more relative to the user. You can train anything up to a pro level. There are double inverted choppers at pro levels like Satoshi aida, who's technically 2800 in the US, but I think he'd be higher. And his opponents are also his level, therefore any rubber is viable on the BH given training and time with it.
Same with SPs of course.

But I began feeling the spin was becoming nearly impossible to chop back when the opponent was a 2000+ looper. But my personal technique really felt detrimental around 1800. But again, i think that is largely a personal thing. I myself am able to chop those same loops on my Forehand with inverted, so it's got to be a lack of familiarity and training. It's just something you'd need to train a lot.

I actually have a harder time using pips against other people who junk up the ball with low spin....I prefer uber spinny loops to chop, no doubt, even if from a 1900 level looper.

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Blog: "Holy Chtchet!" ⇝

Projects: Player Equipment Grid ⇝ Comprehensive Thin Inverted Chopping Rubbers Grid ⇝ Please send me corrections or new submissions

I'm going to pull a quote from the movie Bull Durham here and tell you.

"Never F with a winning streak". :p

If you're having success and people can't handle your style right now, then don't mess with that. Keep at it. Let them adjust. Don't make it easy on them by changing rubbers or the feel to your game.

That being said, I think in time you'll find that people start to get use to Long Pips. At first the off timing & spins will drive them crazy and you'll get some easy points. But in time as they adjust, you have to use it better & better or in my case, attack back some.

I wouldn't fault you if you ever tried to chop with short pips to have more control over variation. But as you slowly migrate to spinner stuff, so will the chopping become more difficult. Hopefully at some point sooner or later your club will get a 2000+ player so you can really practice your skill in trying to outlast someone who can keep looping it on.

But for now I wouldn't mess with success and just recognize that smart players will typically serve long & dead to LPs. Best to have some tactical answer of what you like to do vs that because you'll see it alot.

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Stiga Clipper Classic
FH - TSP Spectol Red 2.0
BH - Dawei 388D-a 1.5

Yeah, sounds about right. For me currently, I wouldn't be playing people over 2000 until I traveled to a tournament or a random drop in from a visiting player.

Meaning, like 95% of my playing will be against sub 2000 and with spin that I can chop easily enough with the sp.

I've been using the lp for a good while now, so the people here "should" be used to the spins. Still, doesnt stop them from using it as an excuse

Previously my strategy was just return with the lp safely until I can send a walloping forehand winner. Though I'm shockingly more consistent as a pure defender! As in going from closer games as an attacker to 11-0, 11-3 as a defender kind of games.what I think works well for me now is the heavy spin from the inverted, contrasted by dead balls. With sp I feel I can vary from dead to relatively heavy with the same rubber. So it's just a matter of skill instead of rubbers doing it automatically. While the off the table chopping might suffer... in my estimation, around 80% of the points will be won/lost at the table doing pushes and short games. So if I can win the 80%, I can afford to lose the 20%. And I would LOVE if they actually attacked much more often. I can see the wheels spinning in their minds, as they lose the push war, trying to be more offensive with riskier attacks. So far, with the LP I've been able to fend off the loops pretty nicely as well or chopping/fishing from the FH. My immediate goal is to NEVER lose the defensive portion of the game. If they can attack and beat me there, I'd be fine with it. But I'm not seeing their consistency being at that level.

Recently I have really grown to enjoy and relish that 'suffocating' style. Where you can beat them in the push game, and return their attacks more than they can land them... they're left wondering 'if I can't get points by pushing, and he's returning my attacks... what can I do!?!' and then they attempt some strange strategies that they never practice, and get even lower percentages on

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SOULSPIN CUSTOM BLADES
Fh: Spinny rubber
Bh: Not so spinny rubber...