OOAK Table Tennis Forum

Hi all

Ok my team-mate took some short clips last night of me playing and trying to develop my backhand smash with Bomb Talent that I've been trying to describe. Below are a few videos that might help.

The first and second video are just me playing and trying to practice the shot. I do actually get a good smash in that I was happy with, but I'm still learning this





This next video is my coach Gareth, who is currently ranked number 4 in England. He's not a pimple playing but he was demonstrating the shot he's teaching me.



I hope this helps you a bit more now in understanding what I'm trying to learn and also explain. Finally just as a bit of fun, below is a short clip of me twiddling and hitting with BT on the forehand (BT is the red rubber and the black rubber is Roxon 450). It's not the best angle but hopefully you can see the sort of game I'm trying to play - e.g. aggressive and attacking.

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Blade: Ross Leidy custom blade
Forehand: Butterfly Tenergy 05-FX 1.7mm
Backhand: Dr Neubauer Gangster and Desperado 2 (testing both) OX

Butterfly Amicus Professional robot
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Good videos thanks. You seem to mainly playing a classic 'slap' type stroke .... good wrist and forearm action around the elbow. When Gareth demo'd it looked like he was using more of a punch action forward from shoulder (with lots of wrist at end) ....... quite Prean like I thought. Club looked nice.

If you perservere with the attacking game maybe some sponge would eventually come in handy on the pips ?

Thanks for posting the nice videos! Also what a great looking club! I'd kill to play in that kind of environment as opposed to the basketball games going on next to us and the unsupervised horde of kids running right behind you during rallies.

I guess I’m a little late to the BT party but I’ve been testing the Ox over the past couple weeks. I’ve been very impressed with its abilities and the control. I can chop (and still get nice backspin with a lot of wrist), hit, and block effectively close to and far away from the table. It has plenty of disturbing motion to it and it makes my opponent really have to focus. Pop up's happen often when coupled with twiddling and then you can go in for the kill.

BT is a little faster than what I’d like however it’s upside more than compensates for the increase in speed. I may continue playing with it for the rest of this season. Really nice rubber.

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Blade: Nittaku Violoncello
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Yes, my shot at the moment is more of a slap type shot, but I'm trying to learn how Gareth plays it as he gets a lot more speed and acceleration when he makes contact.

I did consider using sponge but I've found that OX, when hit right, makes the ball skid more off the service and is a harder shot to return. Also I get a lot of effect from OX when blocking and reversing spin. In fact last night I put a couple of instinctive blocks back on the table and then managed to drop one quite short with what I thought was a dead ball. My team mate went to push it and it was loaded with side spin and just flew off his bat. I like that element the OX gives me, so for that reason, I'll stick with it.

I have tried the sponge version and it is easier to hit with, but I think the shots from it aren't as dangerous in that I can't get the ball to dip and skid as much.

Yes, the club is excellent It's a proper TT venue and hosts the British league matches where my coach plays. The flooring and tables are excellent as well, so it's tough when I have to go and play a league match in some rubbish village hall with a dodgy floor and table

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Blade: Ross Leidy custom blade
Forehand: Butterfly Tenergy 05-FX 1.7mm
Backhand: Dr Neubauer Gangster and Desperado 2 (testing both) OX

Butterfly Amicus Professional robot
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Ever tried, Ever failed? No Matter.
Try again, Fail Again, Fail Better!

Hi Chris its very good you did the vids as it helps to explian your shot better. I might try and try that shot with my Meterite .5 sponge ,My trouble is I don't do training sessions for myself so its harder to practice my goals lol etc .But I do hold the level 1 ITTF certficate so I tend to help others

My concern with that shot is one shot that you have to wait and pick the right ball and snap on to it ,but when you (or anybody for that matter) is trying to get it every rally then your strike rate of getting it go on the table (- fast- skiddy-and unexpected) is reduced as you need a right ball so you body ,feet position and contact are all behind the ball.
I have no doubt that in a game that shot will be very effective and will such a good weapon for you


As a side note if I was training someone that shot, I would tell them which ball to hit ie the third or fourth one and put it a little higher so they could get thier feet,body and arm right rather than them trying the shot if it was not on (if you know what I mean ) similar to if I was showing someone a forehand smash (as in topspin,topspin,topspin then smash) and then vary the shot more . Please know I'm not saying anything against your training or anthing like that.
(Its more of a note to myself to have it structured in a way for a player to learn a new shot such as that one in a method where I knew when and where they would hit it rather than If they tried it when the ball was too long or on the forehand side etc etc) What I would want is to reduce the learning time and help them selecting the right ball
and s- s-s-n-a-p lol
I also never charge lol so they have to learn quickly

Thanks Chris again for the vid

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Hi Rodderz



Yes, you're absolutely right, you must pick the right ball. It's hard to see in the videos, but off service I'm rolling the ball more - brushing up against it and lifting it over rather than driving through it. This is purely down to the fact that there isn't the pace on the ball to drive it easily. When the ball is high enough (e.g. the right ball) then I'm trying to come down onto the ball. My coach says "get over the ball and lean onto it". By coming down onto the ball you force it back towards the table and with this, you can use a lot more power without the ball going high and long.

My coach is trying to get me used to just returning the ball with a backhand pimple shot rather than chopping or blocking it back. You're absolutely right again that feet, body and contact position are all behind the ball. My coach uses a phrase "belly button ball" where he gets me to make sure that my belly button is directly behind the ball. This is a simple concept but effective as it gets me into the right place each time.



I agree Picking the right ball is very important. Again, it's hard to see in the video but I'm doing about three different types of shots. I'm rolling / brushing the ball off service, punching the ball more softly and then really trying to hit through it hard. Which one I use depends on the ball I'm given and especially the spin on it. If you look in one of the videos, my coach puts quite a good loop in that I manage to come in and drive (using his spin) and I get a good shot off that doesn't come back.

As with any shot, be it forehand or backhand, you've got to pick the balls that are on to be hit. In a match, I won't try and loop everything, but if I get a decent ball that I can loop, then I'll go for it. It's the same principle with my backhand pip drive shot....it's just that I need to work on it a bit more to improve my consistency

_________________
Blade: Ross Leidy custom blade
Forehand: Butterfly Tenergy 05-FX 1.7mm
Backhand: Dr Neubauer Gangster and Desperado 2 (testing both) OX

Butterfly Amicus Professional robot
-----
Ever tried, Ever failed? No Matter.
Try again, Fail Again, Fail Better!

Yes I did see you doing this and even the roll backhand can be effective If your opposition are not watching your shot (as a looks like a gift) but it can make a mishit occur , I like what you are trying and those three types of backhand LP shots that you are evolving,It will give you great confidence especially against good players rather than the push push pop up thing I do lol.
Ill try the more attacking shot at my next club night (and try no to worry about the score lol)

I think its just about being proactive ,(a mindset thing of making you get into position) rather than being lazy with the pips

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Blade Ulmo Duality| FH Tibhar mx-p Black, Dawei 388D-1 red OX
NZ table tennis selector, ask a question
My Blog here..How table tennis objects are made
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You've hit the nail on the head when you said "it's just about being proactive rather than being lazy with the pips". This is where I lost so many games last season. The game would go as follows - Serve, get into a rally, my opponent would keep everything on my backhand because they didn't like my forehand loop and because I was just pushing, they were getting easy slow balls without spin. Eventually they would hit it past me or I would have to try and move around to take the shot in my forehand.

With this new proactive approach, when they push it to my backhand, I can now roll it with a bit of speed or punch into it. A rolled ball looks more aggressive than a push and I've found that when I do this shot, the opponent tries to attack the ball more rather than push it. Because of the lack of spin, they normally push it into the net!

A lot of points I've been winning recently have been because of playing more aggressively. By pushing with my pips I encourage my opponent to push back to them. They know it's safe and they have all the time to pick the right ball. By attacking it opens up the rally and encourages them to attack back, normally resulting in them not reading the lack of spin and dumping the ball into the net

My coach said to me "keep practicing being aggressive". He said "if you miss the first 20, look to get the 21st on. Eventually it will come good and you'll be a difficult player to play". So with that in mind, I'm just going to persevere and keep at it. What I can't afford to do is play a passive game because as soon as I do that, I lose control of the game and am forever chasing the rally to try and get my forehand in.

_________________
Blade: Ross Leidy custom blade
Forehand: Butterfly Tenergy 05-FX 1.7mm
Backhand: Dr Neubauer Gangster and Desperado 2 (testing both) OX

Butterfly Amicus Professional robot
-----
Ever tried, Ever failed? No Matter.
Try again, Fail Again, Fail Better!

Great advice from your coach. Practice till it's a natural reaction. It will be! Then, you'll be quite the difficult opponent.

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Viscaria. H2 Neo 2.15. Tenergy 05 1.9.

I don't know if this question belongs in this thread but I'll give it a go.

I've been trying out Bomb Talent for a little while and I find that a game close to the table fits me best since I can use my strong FH-attack better this way. That means no chops unless it's necessary. I kinda like Bomb Talent but thinks it's just a bit too fast.

I would like your opinion on how Hallmark Phoenix (with and without sponge) compares to Bomb Talent in blocking, pushing, reversal and speed since I don't want to buy a rubber that expensive if it's completely useless.

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I think BT (OX) is better to play at the table than Pheonix (OX or 1mm sponge). Slower than BT is Meteor 8512. This may be more suitable to your style.

Yes i agree... Meteor 8512 or Yining 979 are both slower, but have less spin reversal.

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Is Xiying 979 and Globe 979 in OX the same rubber? If not, what's the difference?

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Read about my adventures to perfect my style and the ever-present battle against the evil EJ virus!

They are totally different. Globe 979 has shorter pip and is quite lively... a great chopping rubber with sponge IMO. Xiying 979 pips are really slow and is better on OX for close-in games...

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I'm really impressed by your shots Chris. I didn't realise it was even possible to reliably hit balls (using OX semi-frictionless) that had were loaded with topspin. The whole concept of using the resulting underspin to give the ball direction- meaning it can also have speed, is new to me. There will be less margin- because the ball will try to loop up rather than down, but wow what a shot to be mixing into a game.

Thanks for posting the vids.

PS In your vid of Peter v Gareth, a couple of Gareth's serves are just sensational.

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