I had our third week of competition, and this time against a tougher team, with more aggressive players, ie they'll try and attack most balls. Having lost all 3 of my matches this week, I spend some time reflecting on what was happening, and I realised two things about the equipment I was using.
1. I absolutely love the Victas blade (VKM) for looping (with the 401), but mainly when players allow me to attack, ie looping their pushes. When players are more aggressive and topspin most balls, I tend to go in a more defensive mode as I cannot keep up with them in a fast aggressive game, and only by slowing down the game I can beat them. Chopping with the VKM on the forehand is really still in a development stage for me, as it does not come natural (while it does for my backhand) and it requires a lot more practice to get to a level when I can use it against aggressive player in my grade. Blocking on the forehand has always bean a weakness of mine, so I try to avoid that as well. In other words, the aspects that I love the VKM for, I can't really utilise against these types of players, so I've lost the advantage.
2. The VKM has quite a bit of a harder feel compared to the balsa Smart blade that I'm, used it, and the harder feel makes it less forgiving. This was more noticable against aggressive players, and it caused more unforced errors. I'm keen to try the VKM with Dtecs with a 0.5mm sponge, as this would bring back the much softer feel that the Smart gives because of the balsa, although adding a sponge would obviously make it more bouncy for the short game.
So I decided to spend yesterday's practice session to compare the Smart to the VKM again, and after playing quite a few matches against decent players that like to attack, it was clear that the Smart suits me a lot better. I think the VKM will be a lot better with a sponged long pimple, where the chopping part of the game really excels. Similarly for those that chop on the forehand, the VKM would be very suitable, but since I do very little of this, I don't get the benefits from it.
So I went back to the Smart, and after quite a few game, I got my feeling back, and got reminded how much control the Smart offers. As several people already reminded me off, I had my best season ever last year with the Smart, so why would I change?
I will return to the VKM after this season finished, and will try it with a sponged Dtecs (0.5mm).For me the Smart offers something quite unique...in the short game I get really good reversal as you would with a hard blade, but when chopping away from the table the soft feeling makes the LPs feel quite soft and you can generate similar spin compared to a sponged LP. The balsa almost seems to act like a very thin sponge when you're chopping loops.
So I continued yesterday's practice session withe the Smart, and re-gained a lot of confidence, and most parts of my game fell back into place. Next competition night, which will be against a similar team to last week, might tell me if this is the right decision....
vid Alex and team and club!
