OOAK Table Tennis Forum

Hardbat player (black shirt) vs sponge player (green shirt) -- 1900 level

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My whole set-up costs less than a sheet of Butterfly Dignics

Thanks for posting the videos.

I was surprised to see just how aggressive the guy in black was. No or very chops and he seldom left the edge of the table. He also had a very fast arm although I can't figure out how he was able to play a topspin or loop looking style of shot and not put the ball in the net ie his racket angle looked closed. When I've done that type of shot with my hard bat, the ball goes straight down into the net! Hitting or smashing his elbow seems to come up and over and his arm looked a lot flatter in it's follow through which is what I was expecting to see. He certainly seemed to be the one dictating the tatics in this match.

Well, that's me in the black. These were posted originally to help answer a question about how to play against sponge with hardbat. Of course, this only helps for this particular style of sponge player.

Some player and match background is in order. The player in blue almost always beats me. I've played him for years and had never won a match. The day prior to this match, I lost a match to him four games to two in the U-2000 single elimination. This match picks up with us tied at two games apiece.

It does appear that I'm dictating the direction of this match. But you should know that this player likes to retreat and counter drive or lob. I think that style works to my advantage since the returned balls tend to be high and relatively easy for me to attack unless they have lots of spin and/or pace.

This match primarily turned on my ability to stop making unforced errors. In game five I made lots of them. In the last two games I made very few and also hit many winners. That, IMO, is one of the keys to using hardbat successfully against sponge - control the ball. The sponge player needs to try to get that control away by using superior spin and speed.

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Jay Turberville
http://www.jayandwanda.com
Hardbat: Nittaku Resist & Dr. Evil

I use a very light blade, an LKT Instinct 5-ply with Dr. Evil on each side. And yes, I think it is arm speed that allows me to get the spin on the ball. I work hard for my spin.

I also think the LKT blade may have a bit more dwell time than most blades. That may allow a slightly more closed blade angle, but I think this is mostly a combination of illusion and the blade speed helping to lift the ball. When I hit those shots, I think about hitting below the ball's center line - even though I know that I typically don't hit it quit that low. Note that my finish is usually near my head. I think the stroke is more vertical than it appears. Note also that the racket is not closed at the start of the stroke and is usually pretty vertical at the end of the stroke.

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Jay Turberville
http://www.jayandwanda.com
Hardbat: Nittaku Resist & Dr. Evil

That sounds like a very cheap and effective blade for anyone that want to give hardbat a go.

The match looks of quite high standard actually, looks higher than 2000 level to me, judging from other videos I've seen. I'm mazed what you can do with that bat!

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Yes, the entire racket costs less than a single sheet of many modern "glue effect" rubbers.

Hardbat is not nearly the limited game that many people assume. It is an easy mistake to make since the racket itself doesn't seem to do much for you. Right now I'm working on improving my blocking and learning to chop when necessary. I think of a hardbat as the jack of all styles, but master of none. So improving with hardbat means being competent at all the styles possible with it. I think this tendency to drive a motivated player to all-round playing capabilities is one of the things that many people like about hardbat play.

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Jay Turberville
http://www.jayandwanda.com
Hardbat: Nittaku Resist & Dr. Evil