OOAK Table Tennis Forum

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Blade: Libero TTL (Hand made)
Forehand:SPINLORD Marder 1.2 (Black)
Backhand: Sword Scylla (Ox+ 0. (Red)

Very interesting. It's funny because, though I obviously don't play on anything like Cherepnin's level, I've had many players tell me, "Oh, you should switch back to inverted, etc.," but when my own approach has been exactly what Cherepnin said: look at my own results, and see the difference. After switching to short pips on my forehand (I use long pips on my backhand) in June 2016, after just five months of practice, my rating shot up from 1954 (I'd been in that 1900 range for a few years, creeping up slowly through that range) to 2037 (USATT). And the reason is that people kept making mistakes against my short pips that they never would have against my inverted rubber. I still remember that my best victory to date, which came against a 2148 player, went down to a fifth set, and while I won most of my points with my awkward backhand blocks/aggressive pushes, with the score at 10-9 in my favor, he hit a big cross-court forehand loop which I just barely managed to block back with my short pips. He went for another big forehand but misjudged the amount of spin on the ball and, as a result, overshot the table, and that was the end of it. With my inverted rubber, I'm not sure I'd have made that block, and I'm pretty sure he would've won the point on that next forehand and evened up the score. That's just one big point, but I've had that experience in matches over and over again since switching to short pips. I'm still learning to hit with the kind of accuracy I want, but the improvement is clearly there.

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I. Re-Impact Tachi Plus 2019; FH: Nittaku FastArc G-1 1.4mm; BH: Saviga 77 Monster OX
II. Re-Impact Turbo; FH: Spinlord Sandwind 1.5mm; BH: DMS Kamikaze OX
III. Re-Impact Smart; FH: TSP Spinpips RED 2.1mm; BH: Dr. Neubauer Gangster OX
IV. Sauer & Troger Firestarter; FH: Spinlord Waran 1.8mm; BH: Giant Dragon Snowflake OX