OOAK Table Tennis Forum

Hi Dear OOAK members,

I have to practicing with a seasoned player Mr. Gold of 20 years experiences since November 2014, at the time I was using my 2nd paddle which is the premade DHS A6006. which I have been using for just a month.

I have been practicing simple rally forehand to his backhand and backhand to backhand, he just blocks the ball back to me and adjusts the speed so its at a normal pace.

Mr. Gold kept telling me that A6006 has no power and a simple block (no stroke) would make the ball fall into the net

He recommends that I buy T05 for both FH and BH, with a least $100 USD butterfly blade. I tried his paddle which is T05 + Bryce on a $500 (what he said) single ply wood. A simple block would land the ball high to the other side.

I think during this time I had control and speed.

To his dismay, I already bought my 3rd paddle, a Galaxy T-11+ with Galaxy Moon 37 deg Max (which is said to be clone of T05, I found false) and 729 Aurora 2mm 40 deg.

I read many reviews (tabletennisdb) before I paid for the setup. They are not expensive, lower than a single T05. (I am broke)

As a result, the super light T-11+ is super fast and Moon is just bad, very lower throw angle, no grip, not much spin. Aurura is a good BH + FH rubber but I was hoping to substitute Moon for T05.

I think during THIS time, I lost way more control and gain speed. I think I prefer cheap tacky rubbers over cheap non-tacky rubbers.

I am giving up on the Moon and will glue the SanWei T88-I on the T-11+ soon. T88-I has a very high throw angle similar to T05 which should be great for simple rallies. The reviews of it are good.

What do you guys think I should do if you are in my shoes going forward?

Update: 4-13-2015:

Thank you all for the feedbacks. I still pratice pingpong weekly and my setup has not changed.

The guy who always complains about my setup is the one who is teaching me the strokes and techniques, he is a 20 year experienced veteran with a custom made 1 ply apple wood blade ($500 according to him) + Red T05 and Black Bryce.

We have been practicing european style (chicken winged) forehand and backhand volleys at spinny strokes (no side spin allowed, only topspin), close to table and low throw.

So far I am able to lock in my position and strokes on the volleys and the ball lands on his corners.

HIS MAIN problem with me is that I cannot do 15 or 20 continuous volleys with him, forehand or backhand, because according to him:

1. due to my cheap setups I generate no spin and a "dead" ball feel to his paddle in the volley.
2. the ball 75% of the time fall into the net because the rubbers I use have no bounce.

I do not agree with #1 because I am not looping fully for maximum brushing but just above the table brushing/looping

I do somehow think #2 is right because I have tried his setup and the ball easily volleys to him with the same amount of energy used. THE BALL GOES TWICE THE DISTANCE vs my setup.

INTERESTINGLY, This weekend I was lucky to try another veteran's new setups. ALSEO Carb 9 + Red BlueFire M2 Turbo + Black XIOM Omega Pro IV ($200 setup) and XIOM Axelo + Red BlueFire M1 Turbo + Black XIOM Omega Pro IV ($200 setup). I was able to backhand flip this veteran's backspins that I was unable to do with my setup.

My blocking speed was increased tremendously compared to my setup (he smashes the ball and I block the ball and the ball shoots (catapults) back right into him with no effort needed, my setup only allows me to either make the ball fall into net or fly out). My forehand stroke quality remain the same still.

After using Veteran #2's setups I think my setup isnt as fast and has more vibration. This makes me very confused as to whether to keep my current setup or to venture out and spend spend spend.
He recommends that I change the blade before buying anything else.

I think I might want to buy a Mark V or an Andro Rasant Power grip to replace the moon rubber or should I just pay up and buy a Butterfly Viscaria-Light first? What do you all think?

Thanks for reading this lengthy experience.

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1st paddle: DHS C pen. premade A6002 + H3 2mm+ TinArc III 2mm - sold
2nd paddle: DHS flare premade A6006 + H3 2.5mm + TinArc 2.5mm - stored away
3rd paddle: Galaxy T-11+ + Galaxy Moon 2mm 37 deg + 729 Aurora 2mm 40 deg - current

In my unused rubber inventory: DaWei 2008 Superpower XP 2.2mm 43 deg, 729 Cream Transcend 2.2mm 40 deg, SanWei T88-I 2mm 40 deg

Your third paddle is fine. DOn't buy Tenergy if you are broke (I say that even though that is the rubber I use). Go with inexpensive somewhat slower Chinese rubber (because your blade is fast). The one thing you don't want to do is get in the habit of constantly changing equipment. It is expensive and at the end of the day, not very helpful. If you stick with something that is decent (and better than the premade) you will learn to be effective with it. I saw many really good players in China who were not using expensive equipment.

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Butterfly Viscaria Black tag
2.2 mm Nexy Karis M on FH and BH

It sounds like this Mr. Gold really sucks.

I just started playing with the Yinhe T-11+. I have Sanwei T88-I on the BH and DHS H3 untuned on the forehand. They were on my previous blade, a Yinhe T-7. So far, I'm liking the new combo more than the old. Lighter, faster, and able to generate tons of speed and spin with less effort. Control is not quite as good but acceptable. I'm still adjusting to it. Tonight, I defeated five 1600-1700 rated players in league matches. Never did that with my previous setup.

The tackiness of a new sheet of H3 is great for serving, pushing, chopping, and starting topspin rallies but not sustaining them. The ball would just die after 3 or 4 rallies. The tackiness also makes blocking more difficult as it is very susceptible to spin. After the rubber is broken in, the tackiness is reduced and the sponge becomes softer, it becomes wonderful to play with. It takes up to two months for that to happen, which is why many people tune it, to skip the break in period. Which brings me to the T88-I. To me, it plays like a broken in H3. It's not super tacky like a new H3 but very grippy and able to generate tons of spin. I've never played with Tenergy but some of the reviews I've read say the T88-I is as good or better in the spin department. So, for a beginner, you may find T88-I to be easier to play with than H3.

I've used the T11 and found it rediculously fast. The best player at our club has one and only brings it out every now and then for fun due to its insane speed and lack of control. His normal blade is an Andro OFF so not exactly slow. Not sure why anyone would need a bat that fast.

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Donic Waldner Senso V1,FH Baracuda Big Slam 2.0mm ,BH Victas Triple Regular 2.0mm

I was thinking that for a new player (one without several years of experience) that the T11+ would be way too fast. I think the moon would work better on a slower blade with more dwell time.
I cannot see anyone saying a new player should buy even a 100 US dollar set up for their first set up after a premade. A lot of more reasonable 40-60 dollar ones out there.

Try a N11. I don't have any problems with blocked balls falling into the net (though I have lots of other problems!).

Iskandar

A very tacky rubber like H3 will do that, at least until it's broken in. You can either adjust your technique or change your equipment. Changing your equipment has the possibility of breaking something else, which leads to EJing.