OOAK Table Tennis Forum

I used to play a good bit of table tennis in my "early years"...ie: ages 5 to 22 (currently 51 years young). Once I got out of college I didn't play very much until several years ago (10 or 15 years ago...who knows). I think I played for one whole winter (LOL) before life got in the way. However I found out the other day through conversation that some of my tennis buddies are table tennis players as well and are actually extremely good. Unfortunately since I've taken so many years off I'm probably terrible now but I'm still excited about playing again.

I decided to go into my downstairs closet today and pull out the paddles I used when I played for that whole winter several years ago. Of course it's been a while since I purchased the paddles so I have no clue what I have, why I chose them, if they're any good, for what type of player they are for, etc.

I'm hoping you can tell me about these....

Paddle One: Tibhar IVL, black handle with long thin red stripes down it (stripes look like long barcodes), the rubber on it (black on one side, red on the other) is Tibhar Vari Spin D. TecS and seems to be in perfect condition but not as grippy as the rubber on paddle two

Paddle Two (larger size than paddle one): Nittaku KVL Defensive, light purple handle with some green red and blue on it, the rubber on it (black on one side, red on the other) is Nittaku J.T.T.A.A. Spiral and is in pretty good condition with the black side being perfect and the red side having two small "nicks" out of it near the top

I'd greatly appreciate anything you can tell me about these two paddles I have!

BCubed

Are all the rubbers smooth? Did you play in tournaments? Clubs? Leagues? US? Britain? Elsewhere? If in the US, what was your rating? Haven't seen anyone use the term "paddle" for a LONG time! (Though there is "Paddle Palace"..)

Iskandar

I think some people in the US call it a paddle...

The second racket is meant for a defensive player for both the blade and the rubbers are on the slower side.
The first one is an all-around racket, the blade being rather special - it has 4 plies, all of which are ayous.

LOL...yes I'm from the US.

Remember I'm old, but when I was growing up we referred to blades, rubber, and then if they were already together we called them a paddle. But now that I think about it, when I got paddled by my dad he used a sand paper table tennis paddle, without any rubber.

Yea, defensive sounds similar to my court tennis game...until I got out of shape and had to have knee surgery.

What makes the first one special? What does ayous mean? Is it a good thing or a bad thing? It is so small compared to the Nittaku.

Oh no, never played any tournaments. Just mainly for fun around my hometown and at college (not a college team). No ranking or rating.

The rubbers are smooth on both.

Thanks for your help and advice!!!

BCubed

Ayous is just a sort of wood (various sorts are used for making blades).
What makes it special is that the same sort is used for all plies, and that usually blades consist of an odd number of plies - I don't know for sure why it is so, though.

If it's still in good condition, I would say the IVL is a perfectly capable blade. Grab yourself two new sheets of rubber and have a hit! Rubbers need to change, especially if we are talking years in storage.

So, two blades, one with Spiral, the other with Vari Spin. Quite soft iirc.
Are you a chopper/retriever?

_________________
Red is blogging here >> http://ooakforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=58&t=30522

The reason I was asking all these questions was that those don't sound like typical basement player equipment, they sound like something that came from a table tennis supplier. Basement players usually get their rackets from Wal-Mart - they'd have "well known" table tennis brands like Tibhar or Donic (though 25 years ago, they'd be, perhaps, Harvard or Dunlop) and they often have names of famous players such as Waldner or Bengtsson on them, but we'd know they were "pre-made" bats because the rubbers were, well, not the ones we'd buy to put on our bats. The second one sounds like a defensive player's bat - in table tennis the classic defensive player stands back a few feet from the table and returns balls with backspin so the blades are generally larger and slower and usually one side of the bat has "pips-out" rubber and the other one is smooth. (Search for "Gionis" on YouTube for an example.)

Iskandar

@Red: I'd say my table tennis style mirrored my court tennis style....retriever/defensive player looking for an easy ball to put away. When I played a lot in college I tended to stand close to the table and use my opponent's speed to send balls back quick and low. Once they got frustrated I usually then became a little more offensive. In tennis my backhand has always been better than more forehand. In table tennis I'd say they are about equal.

@iskander taib: Yea, usually when I "get into" something I don't go with the cheapest whatever, I like to at least like to have something that's decent. One of the two has Paddle Palace head tape on it so I know I got at least one from there. So in reading your description of a defensive player it seems like I used to stand too close to the table. I think I had both sides smooth on my defensive blade because I'm just as comfortable with my backhand as I am my forehand.

I appreciate everyone's input....it's helped me understand a lot about my 'bats' and my game!!!

BCubed

Bcubed, welcome back to the game! I think there are quite a few of here who have come back to the game after years. I first played when I was in my teens and early 20s. Got back to it in my mid 30s, and then finally got back to it early this year now that I am 48. And I am still having as much fun as I ever had.

And I agree with the advice that the blades will do just fine, all you need is to replace the rubbers, since they are probably dead now, or close to it. I am still using blades that I bought more than 10 years ago and they are more than capable of keeping up with the modern game. I just change the rubbers.

There are lots of rubbers that will suit your style of play and who knows, you may even want to experiment with pips out rubber. I am mostly an inverted player but I do sometimes play with pips and I can tell you, it can be a lot of fun. You could try Genius Optimum sound or Tackifire Drive in inverted or Giant Dragon Talon or Tibhar Grass Dtecs in pips out. These are just a couple of options for you to look at and by no means the only choice you have!

_________________
1-ply Hinoki Club
Violin/Acoustic Clan
Recreational/Club Player
Local Press Club (Journalists) Champion

The speed of a Rhino and the power of a Gazelle!!!!
http://xtrariter.blogspot.com