OOAK Table Tennis Forum

Hi friends, I have spied on your forum for a month, and just joined today! It is a much better forum than another I had joined. You guys know your stuff!

So.....I ordered my first ever pips out rubber yesterday. Milky Way Pluto. It will take 10 days to arrive. I read a 4 page topic in this forum on the rubber, I will analyze it deeply, and break it into a few usable approaches to start with the rubber.

After reading, I think that MP is a good place for me to start. I want to block, chop and hit. I'm going to be unusual, because my FH is where I will mostly use the MP. I hit well with my backhand, and use a grippy Coppa 1.1. I'm 53 years old, and have a nagging long term pain behind my shoulder blade on my hitting arm. I took a year off, and the problem came back. I don't play at that high of a level, so I want to avoid full arm topspin swinging with my FH because of the injury. I also prefer to play mid distance, so LP defence does not appeal. My strength is control, mixed with chops and a decent BH smash. I have learned to mid distance counter hit.

Question: if Pluto is not what suits me, what pips rubber model would you gentlemen recommend? I'm playing with a DEF+ blade.

Hi glennholder.

Welcome to the forum. I'm sure that you'll gets lots of useful advice about pips - you're quite right: they really do know their stuff. I'm a noobie to pips so I don't have much to offer. I've been playing with Gambler Peacekeeper on my forehand for a little while now and quite like it. I too was looking for something to chop and hit with rather than loop, and the PK works quite well. It's very different from the inverted on my backhand, which is where I'm looking for speed. As for your Milky Way Pluto, there's a whole topic on PK which makes for interesting reading. I hope Pluto works well for you. Keep us informed.

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"So long, and thanks for all the fish
So sad that it should come to this" Sung by the dolphins in The hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy

Thanks Tassie for the advice. I went to the web and read about PK. It sounds good and it could be an option as I learn. Also, I ordered Reflectoid (1.0) and it has not yet arrived. Can you tell me what you think about this rubber?

Welcome to the forum glennholder!

What sort of blade are you using? If you have a lot of shoulder troubles, a light balsa blade might help...

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You spotted that I have Reflectoid on my second setup, yes?

I like it. It's an inverted with lots of control, if you like to play defensively. I find I can do quite a bit with it - more in fact than with the PK. The PK is a little two dimensional, I think - chopping and flat hitting are both really good, but not much beyond that. With the Reflectoid I can chop and hit, but it generates more spin which someone more skilful than I could turn into looping and fishing and sidespin. And all with really good control. You've ordered yours in 1.0 which will save you a little in weight as well.

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"So long, and thanks for all the fish
So sad that it should come to this" Sung by the dolphins in The hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy

Thanks for the greeting Haggisv and the response Tassie52.

Thanks for the advice on my shoulder problem. I've been using light blades. BTY Feth 70 gr, I didn't like it, too much vibration. I have an LKT Instinct on order and a Gambler oversize kevlar. All are light. I used a Donic Cayman but I found it lousy for control. And my rubber choices are with thin sponge. I'm going to do some major experimenting, will try Galaxy Pluto on FH, and Reflectoid 1.0 or Geo Spin Tacky 1.5 or Dr. N Special Defense 1.2 or Cream Transcend 1.5 on BH. I got a little crazy with the credit card one night when the wife was asleep.

Tassie52, I'm looking forward to trying the Reflectoid. I will keep all posted on how it plays compared to Dr. N Special Defense.

This forum is VERY good for advice. Haggisv you have very insightful insight. (pun on words)

I also play a lot of tennis. Tennis is such a SHALLOW game compared to ping pong. There is 87 times more conceptual variety in ping pong than there is in tennis. Us married guys can't have dates with 15 different women, but, we can try 15 different kinds of rubber.

if my wife would allow me I still would prefer the first option, but I agree with your alternative

back to the topic: welcome to the forum as our new 'noppen bruder'!

I think it is a good choice to switch to start with the pluto. It is not that expensive and it will give you a first idea on what pips can do for you.
But as you mentioned your playing style I would recommend the Curl P2 as one of the other 14 pips to try
I had two training sessions with it and it is really amazing in the attacking game. None of the pips I tried (and I did try a bunch of them) were that nasty for the opponent when used actively! Note that this pip plays almost as a short pip and is perfect for this kind of game.

now I stopped playing with it as I didn't manage to get the loads of backspin in my chopping game. As I play pips on my backhand next to an attacking forehand I prefer a more defensive long pip (now playing with Octopus 0.5)

good luck and keep us informed!

Gybe!

Pluto is good for FH flat hitting. It enjoys the same late ball path drop as 563.

Thanks Nathanso for pointing out that Pluto enjoys the same late ball drop as 563. I'm looking forward to trying it! I have a question about terminology used on this forum: Someone said, when talking about MP's: The most effective attacks with a rubber like 563 use a flat, rolling stroke; not a brush or drive stroke like inverted. Use an inverted stroke with MP and you're back to playing with a semi-spinney inverted.

WHAT DOES A FLAT ROLLING STROKE MEAN? (I intend to use this MP rubber for FH flat hitting. What must I learn to avoid using this rubber like it was an inverted?)

Thanks for the teaching here!

And thanks Gybe! for the entertaining message. All these ideas add up to a positive understanding of one's options.

Good question - I'm hoping someone can answer it so both of us can work out what we're supposed to be doing! (And a link to a video would be extra nice )

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"So long, and thanks for all the fish
So sad that it should come to this" Sung by the dolphins in The hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy

I think a more direct stroke is meant here. The idea is to hit it as directly as possible. So no brushing upwards or downwards is applied here.
With such a SP/MP/LP hit you can realize very nasty balls for your oppenents.
Note that if the incomming balls did drop below the net height you need to open you paddle a little bit and 'carry' the ball over the net. If the ball is above net height you can hit the ball in a more direct line to the location on the table you want the ball to land

During practice it's a good idea to keep your paddle above the table between the strokes. This will prevent that you will make a more topspin like stroke which happens when you start too low with you paddle. (as what is often my mistake )

hope this helps?

Gybe!

@Glennholder,

We have a player locally who despite having turned 70 is still playing top-division (local league only) and is extremely successful in his age group more widely. His style is not exactly what you describe as he will operate at distance more often but he does have his pips always f/h and inverted b/h.

He uses Tackiness "C" in 1.1 and Feint - and delivers some mean chops with the Feint.

The point of my post is that it is perfectly possible to use the combination that way around and also to hit with the thin inverted on backhand if the stroke is quite flat.

I think your thought process about protecting your shoulder is very sound - unfortunately we all have to make adaptations as we get more miles on the clock !!

Good luck and do let us know how it goes.

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Timo Boll ALC ST
FH Tibhar Evolution MX-P Max
BH Tibhar Evolution FX-S 1.8
185g

Thanks so_devo for the details on that man's style. It is great to hear what players do, and how they play with what equipment. It gives options and ideas for the future!

Hi ilikepie,

YES! I AM jealous of the fact that you only live 20 minutes from Paddle Palace. They have the best selection of equipment I have seen anywhere on the net. Has anyone seen a supplier with that many choices? I've seen some in Britain that have 50% of PP's selection. Most suppliers don't even have 20%.

Oh....to be a kid in a candy store....