OOAK Table Tennis Forum

Hi all,
So I'm making the switch from hardbat to sponge with inverted, and it's my first match tonight. Any advice?

I play A-Grade in my local comp. Have played 15 singles and won 12.
I'm an aggressive hitter. The three players I've lost to all hit with more spin than I can hit through, so I've decided to switch to the dark side (light side?) in the interest of improving. I do think I'm limited by my current setup.

I got a coach, who, having watched a few of my matches, recommended a blade and rubber. Donic Persson Powerplay Senso V1, with Donic Desto F1 in max both sides.

I had a lesson with it, hitting against a robot with the coach down my end. As long as I know the spin coming at me, I managed some good loops off both sides fine. But obviously I'm not going to know what spin is coming up at me tonight, and I have almost zero experience reading spin. I think what's worrying me most is the short game. I can imagine sticking my bat out for a push or a chop and just shooting it long in some uncontrollable fashion.

I guess I'm wondering if anybody else has been through this transition and can offer any advice?

I'm definitely expecting to lose tonight, but hopefully in the interest of learning.

Thanks for reading.

Well, it didn't go well! I won my first match, but really struggled against an opponent I usually beat comfortably. And then got spanked by a guy that I beat last time. Found myself stuck in pushing contests, where I would normally hit through that stuff. And just had no control over my shots. Everything flying long, or dunking in to the net. Very, very frustrating. I've clearly got a lot to learn!

Why not short pips with sponge as a stepping stone before full inverted?

_________________
Chasse Patate

Thanks for the reply. I considered that, but am I just delaying the inevitable? As in, would I then just have to learn how to play with inverted in the end anyway?

I think it's just going to take a lot of time. One practice session with the robot's not going to cut it. You probably won't reach the same level as you were with hardbat for maybe 2-3 weeks if you practice a lot. To exceed it would take one or two months at the very least. Changing to inverted and then expecting to play the same level in a matter of days is very unrealistic - the strokes are different, for one, and you'll probably need to learn to loop to get better. It's possible to play very high level table tennis with a hardbat - I knew someone who played around 2000 level table tennis with a hardbat, he was a chopper, though - and Marty Reisman could probably beat 2100-2200 level players using a hardbat even at 80+ years of age. So I'm assuming you were probably pretty good with one, and to exceed that you'll need to thoroughly get used to the new equipment. Advice? Just stick with it and ignore the losses for now.

Iskandar

Use a combination bat with hardbat on one side and sponge on the other. Even more deadly if you learn to twiddle. Best of both worlds.

_________________



The MNNB Blog has had some pretty amazing stuff lately. Just click this text to check it out. | My OOAK Interview
Table Tennis Video Links: itTV | laola1.tv | ttbl | fftt | Challenger Series | mnnb-tv

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

ive tried this a few times-antispin on one side and dr evil or butterfly orthodox on the other.works fine and flipping is easy as the hardbat rubbers are slowish.
red atlas i would start very slow mate and work up.use tackiness chop in 1.5 or go for a cheapo like gambler reflectoid.

_________________

igorponger wrote:

Day -by-day inhalation of the speed glues is not any good for health..

I'd actually counsel against using Tackiness Chop or any other slow rubber, since you're an attacking player. I don't think there's anything to be gained from them, just do a lot of practice and drills and get used to the inverted. Aside from strokes you'll also have to work on serves and serve returns.

The combo bat, sure, that's another way to go, but if you want to learn to play with inverted on both forehand and backhand you're not going to learn to do so quickly that way either. Maybe you could go to the combo bat AFTER you've learned to handle inverted on both sides, since you will know how to use inverted AND hard rubber on both sides by then and can twiddle.

I guess you need to make a choice - do you want to continue winning games now, or are you willing to suffer a drop in competitive level for a while until you learn to play with inverted, for the future promise of higher level play? (I suppose a third choice would be to see if you can increase your competitive level while retaining the hardbat - perhaps learn some new defensive skills or faster footwork.)

Iskandar

I think you're right on the money here. And I'm now leaning towards the 3rd option. There's room for improvement in my hardbat game. I could be fitter and hit more balls. And tactics. I reckon I'll do that. It's not like I'm going to the Olympics or anything!