OOAK Table Tennis Forum

I have one more uncertainty, so if anyone knows, please write... I've always preferred the FL handle over the ST handle. Somewhere I read that the FL handle on Dr. Neubauer blades is slightly shorter than the usual length? Is this true or not? If so, would it be better to order the Matador Texa blade with the ST handle? I don't have a large hand, but I wouldn't want the FL handle to be inadequate.

Addition... here's the source, if we can trust the second review on this link. Although this is a link for the regular Matador blade.
https://revspin.net/blade/dr-neubauer-matador.html

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1979-1991 Butterfly Gergely Gen 1&2, Butterfly Gergely Carbon, Sriver L

p..a..u..s..e 24 years

2015...

2023
Blade Matador
FH Tibhar MXP Max
BH ABS 2 Evo

I don't know if the FL is shorter than ST, but it is also another reason to buy ST.
With FL handle is very hard to twiddle, and for me is mandatory, that's why I always buy blades with ST handle.
When I tried Matador Texa carbon, I bought it with anatomic handle by mistake, but it was very good for twiddle as well.

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Stiga Cyber-shape carbon CWT 6g
BH - DMS Scandal 1.2 - RED
FH- Tenergy 05 Hard - 2.1- BLACK

Everything has been ordered, I hope it arrives within a week. Thank you all for the advice, recommendations, and help with choosing the equipment. I'll keep you updated on my progress or "progress" from time to time.

_________________
1979-1991 Butterfly Gergely Gen 1&2, Butterfly Gergely Carbon, Sriver L

p..a..u..s..e 24 years

2015...

2023
Blade Matador
FH Tibhar MXP Max
BH ABS 2 Evo

Good luck with that! Definitely update us!

As for twiddling, twiddling is possible with all handles. Usually the straight one is considered to be the easiest the handle with. I've learnt to twiddle with a flared handle, it is easy for me. I've never liked the straight handle actually, so I learnt it with the flared handle!

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"Spin is my only way, haven't got else to say. Have you checked your anti? Let it all for you untie!"

Blade: Dr. Neubauer Matador (flared handle, 7-ply, allwood, OFF-)
Forehand Rubber: Butterfly Dignics09C (2.1 mm, black, hybrid)
Backhand Rubber: Der Materialspezialist Scandal (1.2 mm, red, frictionless)
Playing Style: Modern Defender

Hello everyone, the equipment arrived yesterday. So, let me share my first impressions, which aren't exactly great .

The Matador blade (I didn't order the Texa version) shines on both sides like a polished car

The ABS 2 Evo 1.8 mm rubber comes with a factory-installed glue sheet. I've never been a fan of glue sheets . I tried to peel it off from the sponge on one edge of the rubber, using a magnifying glass and a scalpel, very carefully, but I didn't succeed. It seemed like I would ruin the sponge. Then, following your advice, I removed the paper film from it and applied a thin layer of Revolution 3 glue on both the glue sheet and the blade. I dried it with a hairdryer, and then I glued it...

On the other side, which wasn't as heavily coated, I applied the glue 3 layers, both on the blade and on the Tibhar MXP rubber, and then I glued it as well. Then I went to practice with the new racket.

First, I practiced my FH for about 20 minutes. The feeling was very strange. And every minute it got stranger and stranger . The response of the rubber was very weak, and my FH loop was very poor. It was only after 15 minutes that I realized I should check the rubber. It was literally about to fall off the racket . I removed the MXP rubber with just one finger in one second . If I had hit the ball for another 2-3 minutes, I probably would've hit the opponent with the rubber. Definitely, I need to sand down the blade a bit.

I continued the training with only one rubber. For the first time in my life, I tried the anti-spin rubber for about 40 minutes. The feeling was awful at the beginning but got a bit better later on. I realized that I'll need a lot of practice and that I should engage an opponent with a good FH loop more often during training. The first time, I was basically just pushing and flicking the ball; I didn't even attempt any more complicated shots because this was already quite challenging . Interestingly, the gluing of the ABS Evo turned out more successful than with the MXP. I didn't notice the rubber peeling even a little at the edges.

I'll write periodically if anything interesting happens .

_________________
1979-1991 Butterfly Gergely Gen 1&2, Butterfly Gergely Carbon, Sriver L

p..a..u..s..e 24 years

2015...

2023
Blade Matador
FH Tibhar MXP Max
BH ABS 2 Evo

Trying an anti for the first time is always strange. For a long time, I never wanted to try anti, because I kept thinking it is a shame of table tennis. But later, I realized it is not a shame actually, only a different way to play. Tried it, loved it. Of course, the very first test left me speechless, because I could do nothing. So I started practising with that and got better and better, but not good yet.

Point is, don't give up and keep training, because this is something you can't learn quickly or easily. The anti, so as the pimples, require loads of practice and technique. Not degrading the inverted, but that is a different story.

For the first few times, don't expect anything very good. You will need some time to get used to it, but you will eventually with enough diligence.

I like to say, "'Till you live, you learn.". By that I mean you will always learn or experience something new with things you think can't show you any new things anymore. So, even if you learn your anti very professionally, you will still learn something new about, sooner or later. As an advice, don't ever think you are perfect, because you will not be, no one will ever be. You can be very good of course.

_________________
"Spin is my only way, haven't got else to say. Have you checked your anti? Let it all for you untie!"

Blade: Dr. Neubauer Matador (flared handle, 7-ply, allwood, OFF-)
Forehand Rubber: Butterfly Dignics09C (2.1 mm, black, hybrid)
Backhand Rubber: Der Materialspezialist Scandal (1.2 mm, red, frictionless)
Playing Style: Modern Defender

... edit...
I managed to regain access to my account ..

Hello everyone.
... I managed to regain access to my account, so now I'm writing again as "returnee"

It's been a while since I last checked in, so I decided to do so tonight. The equipment arrived more than a month ago, as I mentioned before.

Let me start by describing the Matador blade. I can say that its craftsmanship is decent. The ST handle is quite comfortable, although I don't have large hands. Both sides of the blade are heavily lacquered, making it challenging to glue rubbers properly without some light sanding on the FH side. I use Revolution glue, which doesn't have very strong adhesion. With a stronger glue, you might be able to attach the rubber without sanding the lacquer. After lightly sanding, the MXP rubber glued perfectly. I used 400-grit sandpaper and applied three layers of glue to both the blade and the rubber.

Regarding the BH side of the blade, it's even more lacquered and smoother. However, after 40 days, the ABS 2 Evo 1.8 rubber is still securely attached. This anti-spin rubber comes with a factory adhesive sheet with very strong glue, but I added a thin layer of my glue (normal viscosity) to both the blade and the glue sheet, and it holds the rubber excellently. So, I didn't sand the BH side of the blade.

As for playing FH with this blade and the MXP rubber, I can say it's not exceptional but still good. Short game and blocking are excellent, but I feel a lack of rotation and speed when doing FH topspins and loops. However, I expected this. If I were to describe it numerically, let's say with the Nittaku Miyabi blade, I could easily get at least 10-15-20% more rotation. The parabolic trajectory with the Matador is also a bit lower. Overall, it's a good blade, and I can adapt to it. I'm writing all this based on my limited knowledge of the game. Additionally, I haven't been training much during this time because I had a cold for almost two weeks.
Maybe I still don't have the right feel for the Matador, and I'll get used to it over time.

Regarding the BH side and how the Matador performs with the ABS Evo, I can't provide an assessment because this is my first time using such a rubber, and I haven't put it on another blade. I promised myself not to change rubbers until I at least grasp and attempt to master basic strokes to some extent.

When I trained with a real live sparring partner 2-3 times, I realized that both of us were wasting time. So, I tried practicing with someone who would have patience for my mistakes. That new playing partner is called ... Amicus

I had my first serious training session with the Amicus robot a week ago. Here are some video clips of how it went and how many mistakes I made. Note that the block against the Amicus's topspin wasn't recorded because the camera battery ran out. Anyway, there wasn't much to see because it was three times worse than this.

Also, it seems like the Amicus has some technical issues because it sometimes delivers a few balls with strong spin, and then a few with weak spin. Sometimes, it even stops working altogether. It's a club robot, but unfortunately, we don't use it much. I'll try to fix it if it's a minor issue or something similar.

I deliberately set up the simplest exercises in one spot to try to understand the basic movements with this rubber. On each video, it states in the title what kind of balls the robot is sends

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlVzucgkwYc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsyqzx_3I50
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_q9vHmIFK8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KvxH6jzMnQo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfTy9s9N13M
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFYpCqheD9E
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQPQJRblqDE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hiwfDTWoVto

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zlBlDx0rVI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwWJN0R2S3Y

I apologize for posting a large number of video clips on the forum. I intentionally didn't want to shorten anything; this is the entire recording while the camera's battery lasted ... I'm listening to your critiques, and I'll continue to report on developments....

_________________
1979-1991 Butterfly Gergely Gen 1&2, Butterfly Gergely Carbon, Sriver L

p..a..u..s..e 24 years

2015...

2023
Blade Matador
FH Tibhar MXP Max
BH ABS 2 Evo

With flanti, you need to focus just on three things: push/hit vs backspin, active/passive block vs topspin and how to attack flat balls.
From your videos I saw that the best adaptation for you is the push vs backspin.
In my opinnion, vs flat balls, the best is to twiddle or pivot and hit with your forehand.

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Stiga Cyber-shape carbon CWT 6g
BH - DMS Scandal 1.2 - RED
FH- Tenergy 05 Hard - 2.1- BLACK

I agree with you. Although I wanted to first understand how to strike with an anti-spin rubber when the robot sends empty balls. To get a basic feel for ball placement. With this rubber, you can almost practice a regular drive in training. It's not that difficult. It seems, at least from video footage, that the backhand stroke on an empty ball is almost the same as with very worn smooth rubber. The only difference is that, in my opinion, this way you give your opponent very easy balls for their attack ... if the drive is slow.

_________________
1979-1991 Butterfly Gergely Gen 1&2, Butterfly Gergely Carbon, Sriver L

p..a..u..s..e 24 years

2015...

2023
Blade Matador
FH Tibhar MXP Max
BH ABS 2 Evo

ABS 2 EVO is an allaround flanti, therefore you can do all strokes. If you want more spin reversal, your hitting against dead and topspin balls will decrease a lot, will be more difficult to hit and the balls will be slower, but for you should be easy to twiddle. Your anti will help you to slow a bit the rallies and your MXP will do the points.
My advice is that, after you are confortable with blocks and pushes, to practice 5 minutes(at the beginning) on every trainning with your MXP on backhand vs dead and topspin balls.

_________________
Stiga Cyber-shape carbon CWT 6g
BH - DMS Scandal 1.2 - RED
FH- Tenergy 05 Hard - 2.1- BLACK

I agree with you. Although I wanted to first understand how to play with an anti-spin rubber and send empty balls from the robot. I aim to get a basic feel for the hand positions, especially for certain shots, as it's quite different from playing with a smooth rubber. Later, I'll decide whether to purchase something like the Barna Super Glanti, which, in my opinion, is much more challenging to learn than the ABS Evo. And I thank you for the recommendations I received here to purchase that anti-spin rubber at the beginning.At the beginning of my training with the robot, I did some standard drives, both forehand and backhand with smooth rubber , just to warm up, but I didn't record those. I understand that over time, it would be beneficial to learn how to twiddle the racket and, especially, attack empty balls with backhand loops using a smooth rubber .... or to block my opponent's loops with both anti-spin and smooth rubber. However, for now, my priority is to become as confident as possible in the basic movements with the anti-spin rubber. Twiddling the racket is something I've never done before, so it will be a unique challenge to learn. But, I have time as I'm not yet 60 years old

_________________
1979-1991 Butterfly Gergely Gen 1&2, Butterfly Gergely Carbon, Sriver L

p..a..u..s..e 24 years

2015...

2023
Blade Matador
FH Tibhar MXP Max
BH ABS 2 Evo

I would also recommend chopping with the flanti. I chop pretty much with my flanti and it is exceptionally disruptive (if it wants to be ). It depends on how spinny balls you are dealing with, but the chop can be loaded with spin, can be moderate spin or dead. Some of the players are not able to return it, they either dump it into the net or hit it high enough to kill it.

I know chopping with frictionless rubber might not seem a winning tactic, but believe me, it might worth doing, as it sometimes gifts you with points (especially if it is flat and well-placed). It is also capable of dealing with very high spin balls without losing too much control, as the touch is rather short, thus the spin won't affect the direction as much and because of the short touch, most of the spin is going to be kept, thus it will be harder for the opponent to return.

Depending on the spin, the chops can produce those distinctive funky and wobbling balls, where the trajectory is odd and the ball has a mind of its own. If there is backspin, chopping will make the ball suddenly sink mid-air and move unpredictably. If there is a simple block, the ball might get a kick which also gives less time to react for the opponent. Chopping topspin will make the trajectory pretty straight and low, so here you have to watch out for the right touch and the appropriate height.

_________________
"Spin is my only way, haven't got else to say. Have you checked your anti? Let it all for you untie!"

Blade: Dr. Neubauer Matador (flared handle, 7-ply, allwood, OFF-)
Forehand Rubber: Butterfly Dignics09C (2.1 mm, black, hybrid)
Backhand Rubber: Der Materialspezialist Scandal (1.2 mm, red, frictionless)
Playing Style: Modern Defender

You are right, but for me, choping came natural, like a block far away from the table. The move is indeed not the same, but I didn't practice it and I could say that I am choping decently.

_________________
Stiga Cyber-shape carbon CWT 6g
BH - DMS Scandal 1.2 - RED
FH- Tenergy 05 Hard - 2.1- BLACK

That's okay. The chopping for me came almost naturally when started playing anti back then. Then I realized I was born for the modern defender style, not the all-out attacking one.

_________________
"Spin is my only way, haven't got else to say. Have you checked your anti? Let it all for you untie!"

Blade: Dr. Neubauer Matador (flared handle, 7-ply, allwood, OFF-)
Forehand Rubber: Butterfly Dignics09C (2.1 mm, black, hybrid)
Backhand Rubber: Der Materialspezialist Scandal (1.2 mm, red, frictionless)
Playing Style: Modern Defender