OOAK Table Tennis Forum

Hey there, my name is Sam Coombes and im 15 yrs old from Coventry, England.

I play a defensive game with inverted on my forehand and long pimples on my back hand. My equipment consists of TSP balsa 2.5, TSP Triple Spin Chop 1.0mm and TSP Curl p-1r 0.5mm.

As I play defensive I have been standing out from the other lads in my age group. I have recently picked up a sponsorship with 'Custom Table Tennis'

At the moment I am 65 in Mens in Coventry, 112 in under 15's in England and 262 in under 18's in England.

I am currently playing for Phoenix table tennis club, represent Coventry and play for my county Warwickshire.

I have joined the forum to gain advice off much more experienced players than myself and to give my own advice to those I can help. I've made this blog in the interest of another user and i'd love to hear what everyone thinks about my game and possibly hearing some advice for how to improve my game

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Main:
Blade-TSP Balsa 2.5
FH-Dawei SUPER POWER~1.5
BH-Globe 979~1.0

Backup:
Blade-TSP Standard Allround
FH-Kokutaku 868
BH-Globe 979~1.0

Welcome to the forum, Sam! I'm quite interested in following your blog. How often will you update it? And are planning to play a classical defensive game or a more modern one?

Thanks lorre!

I will update it whenever I can, if something interesting has happened or a new ranking list has came out.

I play a more modern game but I'm trying to practise a few extra shots like the chop block so I've got some more tricks up my sleeve

Also if anyone asks any questions about how im getting on etc I will answer them along with maybe a new update

_________________
Main:
Blade-TSP Balsa 2.5
FH-Dawei SUPER POWER~1.5
BH-Globe 979~1.0

Backup:
Blade-TSP Standard Allround
FH-Kokutaku 868
BH-Globe 979~1.0

Great to see you start a blog Sam! I'll bet that a 15yr old chopper with long pimples is rare... most coaches push players to double inverted at least to start with, so I'm very keep to hear how you go and how you develop!

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Check out my huge 'for sale' thread here | My OOAK Interview

Thanks haggisv, I'll keep the blog going the best I can

_________________
Main:
Blade-TSP Balsa 2.5
FH-Dawei SUPER POWER~1.5
BH-Globe 979~1.0

Backup:
Blade-TSP Standard Allround
FH-Kokutaku 868
BH-Globe 979~1.0

How did you get onto long pimples? Had you been playing for a while already, and someone suggested you give this a go?

_________________
OOAK Table Tennis Shop | Table Tennis Reviews / Articles | Table Guide | Robot Guide
Re-Impact Blades | Avalox Blade Overview | Table Tennis Robots
My setup: Blade: Re-Impact OOAK Dark Knight | BH: Dtecs OX red | FH: JUIC 999 Turbo 2.0mm blk
Check out my huge 'for sale' thread here | My OOAK Interview

I went to a few tournaments and won games chopping so I thought I'd give LP's a go. I bought a sheet of kokutaku 911 OX because they were cheap and easy to get hold of. I instantly picked up the technique and later I got a sheet of TSP curl p-1r 0.5mm. From then on I've been using LP's trying new techniques. I'm fortunate to have a coach whos been chopping for years in Coventry who goes to my games and tournaments, coaching me new tricks with the LP's

_________________
Main:
Blade-TSP Balsa 2.5
FH-Dawei SUPER POWER~1.5
BH-Globe 979~1.0

Backup:
Blade-TSP Standard Allround
FH-Kokutaku 868
BH-Globe 979~1.0

Welcome Sam!

Great that you started a blog and nice to have such a young and promising defender at OOAK!

Your LP choice in your set-up is interesting. I played Palio CK531 ox in the league season that has just ended and I had good results with it. As a result, I will be playing in a higher division and I intend to focus more on chopping. At the moment I'm experimenting with some Joola long pips (Octopus OX/0.5, Badman OX) which I bought for a bargain price, but I also bought a red TSP Curl P1r 0,5 for the upcoming league that starts in September. I will mount it on my competition blade (Victas Koji Matsushita) and will probably combine it with Stiga Calibra LT Sound 1.8 inverted. Since you're also playing the P1r with 0.5 sponge, I will be very interested in reading your experiences.

I read you are sponsered by a TSP-retailer, do they also sell Victas? If so, you should definitely try Koji Matsushita blade which is awesome for chopping and looping imo. TSP also sells a Defence Classic blade. I think it has a Carbon layer and that it's pretty fast, have you ever heard from it or even tried it?

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Current setup: Babolat Pure Drive GT 135th Anniversary Edition + Luxilion Big Banger Alu Power 16/19 26k

OOAK Interview with Joo Saehyuk

Hello pipsy,

Yes I really like the Curl p-1r its so effective!

No they don't sell the victas but they do sell the defense classic but I dont want to change my blade, I love the balsa 2.5 its such an amazing blade for my game.

Its the forehand inverted rubber im after, I need something faster that the triple spin chop. I've been advised to go for a 1.8mm sponge but I still don't know what rubber would suit my game, any recommendations?

_________________
Main:
Blade-TSP Balsa 2.5
FH-Dawei SUPER POWER~1.5
BH-Globe 979~1.0

Backup:
Blade-TSP Standard Allround
FH-Kokutaku 868
BH-Globe 979~1.0

You should ask Steve at Custom Table Tennis for a rubber recommendation,although he`s a blocker not a chopper he supplies the best choppers in the area ,I presume your rubbers are free?

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defplay senso ,tenergy 05 fx1.9,feint III 0.5

It would help a lot if you wrote some more about your game Sam, for us to know what FH rubber may work better for you. The balsa blade you are using I imagine would be quite slow, so speeding things up will depend a lot on the type of strokes you use. If you generate a loop, using a tackier rubber may increase the spin. If you hit flatter, then you may need to go to a max sponge with a tensor to get much more speed. Anyway welcome to the forum and bloggers world!

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I'm always in the dark, but the Dark sheds lights upon everything!! Beauty is only pimple deep! Beauty is in the eye of the pipholder!
S/U 1: Blade: Bty Gergely . FH Black Andro Rasant 2.1 . BH Red National Pogo Ox
S/U 2: Blade: Bty Gergely . FH Black Hexer+ 2.1 . BH Red Tibhar Grass Dtecs Ox
S/U 3: Blade: Bty Gergely . FH Black Hexer+ 2.1 BH Red Dornenglanz Ox
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I will do dazzler! I haven't contacted him in a while.

Haha thanks reborn I loop more than smash so I will take your advice for a tackier rubber, would a friendship rubber suit a chopping game aswell as an allround attacking game?

_________________
Main:
Blade-TSP Balsa 2.5
FH-Dawei SUPER POWER~1.5
BH-Globe 979~1.0

Backup:
Blade-TSP Standard Allround
FH-Kokutaku 868
BH-Globe 979~1.0

Real tacky (Chinese) rubbers usually do not support FH chopping very well...

From what I've read, Xiom Yanus DF would be good for combining a chopping and looping game. A classic rubber is Tackiness-Chop (or Chop II which has a significant higher throw). I would go for a 1.8 sponge, certainly if you loop more than you chop.

Have you ever tried fast and spinny tensors (like Tenergy, Xiom Vega, Calibra, ...) with 1.8 sponge? This could also be an option if you are mainly focused on FH-looping attacks instead of FH-chopping. I can imagine these rubbers are 'tamed' a bit on your TSP blade.

I played the black KTL Pro XP (max) last season which must be in-between the two options I've just mentioned. Good control, spinny and not so fast. Although it's Chinese, it's not a typical Chinese rubber; it's light, rather soft and middle-tacky (in black). Very all-round in a positive way, and cheap too.

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Current setup: Babolat Pure Drive GT 135th Anniversary Edition + Luxilion Big Banger Alu Power 16/19 26k

OOAK Interview with Joo Saehyuk

I havent tried anything like tenergy as they are too expensive for me. Im currently trying out a sheet of Dawei Super Power on a 1.5 sponge, its a very nice rubber but still a bit slow. I'm going to try it on a 1.8 and maybe it will be the rubber for me

_________________
Main:
Blade-TSP Balsa 2.5
FH-Dawei SUPER POWER~1.5
BH-Globe 979~1.0

Backup:
Blade-TSP Standard Allround
FH-Kokutaku 868
BH-Globe 979~1.0

Just ordered a sheet of Butterfly Tackiness Chop 1.7 and TSP Curl P-1r 1.0. I will glue these on my TSP Balsa 2.5 blade and see what happens...

_________________
Main:
Blade-TSP Balsa 2.5
FH-Dawei SUPER POWER~1.5
BH-Globe 979~1.0

Backup:
Blade-TSP Standard Allround
FH-Kokutaku 868
BH-Globe 979~1.0