OOAK Table Tennis Forum

I'm a penhold LP pushblocker. Recently I got a sheet of DMS Reflection 0.9 and practiced on the robot for a few days (blade: Stiga Sense 7.6, rather stiff with carbon glue layers).

Just when I finally got a hang of the rubber, with errors reduced, today I played with my wife who's a low level rec player ... Woefully, it didn't give her much trouble at all. There wasn't much spin reversal and she never had to push, just that the ball was pretty slow and "comfortable" and my hits were "easy to return" (her words in quotes). She's also a traditional penholder, one sided inverted. Not spin-oriented.

Then I switched to another setup I practiced with recently (signature), with Dornenglanz. Immediately she started blocking balls into the net. She had to push my backspin balls. Bumps on her backspin also had huge reversal.

I'm really confused why my flanti gave way less reversal than a somewhat grippy LP?

Interestingly, when I had dtecs on the same blade as Dornenglanz, it didn't reverse spin as much either e.g. if we started with light topspin, she was able to block my balls back consistently. Contrary to popular opinion that dtecs has at least as much reversal?

I don't really twiddle other than when serving. Tried that before a few times and wasn't for me. One weakness in my LP game is dealing with paddy cake high-ish balls on FH. I've studied some high level penhold pushblockers (e.g. Li Zhi-Ming) and he actually also had trouble with this if it's a surprised one. If they keep feeding him high balls he can block them back pretty well though. But not killing it..

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USATT 1502.
Long pips pushblocker, inverted RPB.

Blog (Ramblings of an ordinary penholder...): http://ooakforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=58&t=32694

Hi there,

Well long pimples are generally more disruptive than glanti against no spin balls. But when it comes to heavy spin, glanti are a lot better

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Setup 1
Blade - Gerry Viscaria Super ZLC
FH - Tuttle G20 President
BH - Slick antispin

Thanks. Makes sense. Not sure I understand the physics tho.

How would you play against someone with low spin then? Is penhold glanti not viable?

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USATT 1502.
Long pips pushblocker, inverted RPB.

Blog (Ramblings of an ordinary penholder...): http://ooakforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=58&t=32694

You need to vary a lot the placement and try to keep the ball low and short. But keep in mind it won't be possible to finish the point with it.

I'm presuming you're playing the glanti on the forehand side ? And on the backhand you have an inverted rubber ? To finish the point you'll need a strong backhand or either twiddle to topspin the ball with your forehand.

It's a common issue for people who are relying a lot on their glanti (like me lol) you need to create an opportunity where the opponent push you long on the side you want to attack.

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Setup 1
Blade - Gerry Viscaria Super ZLC
FH - Tuttle G20 President
BH - Slick antispin

The frictionless anti's will, in my experience so far, perform better against better players. Low level players don't have the spin or pace of higher level players. With no grip of its own, it relies on what your opponent gives you. Against a good looper, I can say without hesitation that a rubber like Reflection or Scandal will give you significantly more spin reversal, and it's not even close. But because pips can bend and grip no spin balls, they have more of an ability to create their own spin against no spin.

I've worked a bit on how to handle no spin. In the spring, when I could train regularly, I played against a player that used hardbat rubber on his forehand. At first, he killed me because of the lack of spin he gave me. But then I learned, as Rinforzando notes, you need to vary placement (both side to side and depth). With the anti, even against a hard flat ball, you will be able to drop balls short. It takes a lot of practice to get the touch, but it's possible. Stay away from placing balls in the middle of the table. Try to place them either really short over the net or really deep. Stay patient. And if you get a higher dead ball, try to attack it with a firm wrist and just give the ball a punch. If you get the angle right, it will be tricky for them to return.

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"The greatest teacher, failure is"
USATT Rating: 1725
Blade: Stiga Cybershape Carbon
FH Rubber: Butterfly Tenergy 19 2.1
BH Rubber: Dr Neubauer ABS3 1.5

Yes, I have the glanti on forehand and inverted backhand. My RPB is pretty decent but I tend to only use it for finishing off a high ball.

By pushing you long, you mean a backspin push? My loop against backspin is non-existent



That's a great explanation of spin in LP vs Anti! Def agree on the difference between stronger and less strong players too. Against someone like my wife, I can beat them by playing mainly inverted. Then as their level goes up I can use anti more to reverse their spin and disrupt.

Ball placement and touch I can probably do okay with. Especially touch - relatively easier for penhold. Thanks for the tip.

I practiced twiddling again today, and I found my bat is more balanced due to both sides with "inverted" kind of rubbers compared to when I had LP OX. My FH "loops" are better as a result - good speed; spin is never my strong suit maybe cuz I don't have proper technique, but this is by far the more consistent way to attack topspin for me.

Also got some inspiration from a video where someone has a pseudo "loop" kind of movement using anti. I find that to my surprise, I can do the same with Reflection using a upward slow-ish brushing - I think because the sponge is very soft it does have some grip. Hits on the other hand couldn't use the sponge much. This "loop" may let me stay in the rally and twiddle to inverted.

Anyway, will keep experimenting and report back

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USATT 1502.
Long pips pushblocker, inverted RPB.

Blog (Ramblings of an ordinary penholder...): http://ooakforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=58&t=32694

Yes. Well then it is something to focus on I think.

https://youtu.be/iS05Tfx1Y6E

Do you know Ni Xia Lian ? Long pimple on one side and inverted on the other. She twiddles a lot

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Setup 1
Blade - Gerry Viscaria Super ZLC
FH - Tuttle G20 President
BH - Slick antispin