OOAK Table Tennis Forum

Hi all,

I'm just getting back into table tennis, having found an active local club. I'm also excitedly watching all the Olympic matches!

I've played a bit in the past, and one season in the lowest division of one of the local English leagues, but I'm broadly a beginner, I think.

One thing I wanted to share, and perhaps get some input on, is that the players and coaches at the club when showing me things seem to assume I should be pushed down the standard funnel of super-aggressive fast-rubber power players. My inclination, both in terms of my temperament, what I admire in other players, and what I feel I would like to learn isn't quite that approach. I feel much more inclined to a defensive game with a quick pounce, or perhaps a close to the table counter-attacking game.

To this end, I wonder whether I should say or do anything different, in terms of buying new rubbers (mine are nearly 8 yrs old now - Donic Vario and Tibhar Grass Devil), and communicating with club members and coaches, or whether I should learn the standard game first, and then look at moving to a more defensive aspect, having mastered the main offensive tools?

I guess what I am asking is this - if I decide right away I want to develop as a defensive player, should I start by learning chops and pushes, or should I still start with top spin forehands? Similarly, if I decided I wanted to pursue a closer, more hitting and blocking style than spin-dominated loopy style, would I put in place different foundations?

Hope some of this makes sense, and trusting for a gentle but informative response

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Yasaka Sweden Classic | 802 OX | C8 OX
Check out my blog - LordCope's Latest Learning Log - 10+ years of accumulate mistakes!

Welcome LordCope!

I'm afraid that I don't have much to offer, being just a lowly hacker. But a couple of things to bear in mind: 1. It can never hurt to have mastered the basics, and 2. Who you ask will determine the reply you get.

As far as I can see, virtually every decent coach and every decent coaching manual start with four basic strokes: FH and BH drive and FH and BH push. And it seems to me that every other shot in the book is somehow related to these. So... If you have the best drives and pushes going around, that can't be a bad thing, can it?

Now, because you are asking your question on this forum rather than elsewhere, you should expect a whole load of answers encouraging you to develop your defensive game. Why? Because it's largely a defenders' forum. That doesn't mean the advice is bad, just skewed in a particular direction. I would advise listening carefully to whoever is coaching you and keeping an open mind to everything else you hear (including from me).

Opinions are like noses. Everybody has one.

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"So long, and thanks for all the fish
So sad that it should come to this" Sung by the dolphins in The hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy

Hi!

Thanks for the friendly reply!

Agree about the basic strokes... although I guess maybe a chop is a bit different?

It's interesting that you categorize the forum as one for defenders - I didn't know that. It just seemed full of great content and nice people. I do notice that it tends to cater for, shall we say, the 'maverick' element - which appeals very much to me.

Anyway - I guess I should post again in a more relevant place with a more precise title if I want specific advice

Thanks again!

S.

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Yasaka Sweden Classic | 802 OX | C8 OX
Check out my blog - LordCope's Latest Learning Log - 10+ years of accumulate mistakes!

Welcome to the forum LordCope!

I would not say we're a 'defender's forum' as we certainly have plenty of members from all the different style, but we certainly do have more than an average share of pimple / anti / defensive players as number of our forum members have a special interest in this. So beware of people pulling you towards the 'darkside'.

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OOAK Table Tennis Shop | Re-Impact Blades | Butterfly Table Tennis bats
Setup1: Re-Impact Smart, Viper OX, Victas VS 401 Setup2: Re-Impact Barath, Dtecs OX, TSP Triple Spin Chop 1.0mm Setup3: Re-Impact Dark Knight, Hellfire OX, 999 Turbo
Recent Articles: Butterfly Tenergy Alternatives | Tenergy Rubbers Compared | Re-Impact User Guide

Given that you haven't yet decided which style you want to adopt (defensive and close to the table attacking styles are radically different) I would stick with the fundamentals: pushing, counter hits (including smashing), and FH topspin. These shots will be useful no matter what game you eventually settle on. In the meantime it certainly wouldn't hurt if you also did some chopping practice.

Thanks Carbonman,

I definitely think I'm more inclined to defence that counter-attack - I'm not sure I have the reactions or the temperament, but it's cool to watch. I've seen a few videos of Miao Miao - she has a nice style (pips out FH/BH).

I'm hugely skeptical of beginners worrying about equipment... but I'm seriously considering new rubbers, mainly because mine are 8 years old, and also maybe not ideal for a novice.

I currently have:

Butterfly Primorac OFF-
FH - Donic Vario Soft (not sure sponge width - not as much as 2mm)
BH - Tibhar Grass Devil (very little sponge)

Inclined to get a slow, spinny, controllable rubber (Gambler Reflectoid looks nice, but open to suggestions).

I assume I am fine to keep my blade?

Thanks.

S.

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Yasaka Sweden Classic | 802 OX | C8 OX
Check out my blog - LordCope's Latest Learning Log - 10+ years of accumulate mistakes!

You should definitely get new rubber - your current stuff is way past it's use by date! Your current blade is ok I guess but if you decide to defend it could pay you to get something slower a bit further down the track. Perhaps ask your coach re which rubber to get but most are fine.

I guess your blade will work nice with Reflectoid for a controlled FH game. However, I guess, like Carbonman said, it might be a little fast for lp, unless you use a very slow one. I have a friend who uses that blade with MP 563-1 1,5 mm on bh for blocking, chopping, pushing, drives and a few attacks. He is the one in yellow t-shirt in the film here: viewtopic.php?f=39&t=20911
I think he uses CTT National Hero 2,2 on FH or something similar. Since I play somewhet defensive I guess he normally blocks more and play more of a disturbing game againtst others that me
If you want a slow LP i can recommend what I use (TSP Curl P-4 1.1 mm). But I guess it is way more grippy than what you are used to...

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Def-attack's attempts to find balance between defence/attack | Getting better - health and game |
My Youtube

Wow, isn't it funny how life runs in circles. My very first post:

Me: Should I learn the basics with double inverted and then specialise?
Carbonman: Yes

<fx>time passes</fx>

Me: Should I learn the basics with double inverted and then specialise?
Carbonman: Yes



Incidentally it was Grass Devil, not Grass Dtecs... boo.

_________________
Yasaka Sweden Classic | 802 OX | C8 OX
Check out my blog - LordCope's Latest Learning Log - 10+ years of accumulate mistakes!

_________________
OOAK Table Tennis Shop | Re-Impact Blades | Butterfly Table Tennis bats
Setup1: Re-Impact Smart, Viper OX, Victas VS 401 Setup2: Re-Impact Barath, Dtecs OX, TSP Triple Spin Chop 1.0mm Setup3: Re-Impact Dark Knight, Hellfire OX, 999 Turbo
Recent Articles: Butterfly Tenergy Alternatives | Tenergy Rubbers Compared | Re-Impact User Guide

Hey Lordcope, what of your progress? Or have I missed something in one of your other posts? It's just funny when old threads suddenly pop up and they feel like new.

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Weapon 1: Andro Kinetic Supreme Hinoki/Zylon OFF-; Andro Hexer HDs (FH 2.1/BH 1.9)
Weapon 2: Ross Leidy 'Smokey'; Friendship 729-5s
Club1: Daylesford - since 2010
Club2: Ballarat - since 2011
Blog: A Naked Bear

My progress is extensively documented here: viewtopic.php?f=58&t=24452

This popped up because someone asked about finding an old Grass Dtecs, and I thought "I'm sure I had that on my blade when I first started playing again.". I was sure I'd mentioned what I had in my first post, so I dug it up, and was amused to see my early conversations - advice to which I have returned some 2 years later!

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Yasaka Sweden Classic | 802 OX | C8 OX
Check out my blog - LordCope's Latest Learning Log - 10+ years of accumulate mistakes!

And looking back, Haggisv just mentioned that Grass Dtecs used to have a glue sheet.... and I thought back.... right back.... and I had Grass Devil (0.5 I think) on my first ever custom bat! In fact, it's what I had when I started playing again, more than four years ago.

Looking over the last 4+ years, I've spent the bulk of that time with LP of some sort on my BH, and very very little with 2 x inverted. My style has settled into modern defender, and at the moment I use SP on my FH rather than inverted, but that may change next season.

And, in full cycle, this week I've changed my LP to Grass Dtecs!

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Yasaka Sweden Classic | 802 OX | C8 OX
Check out my blog - LordCope's Latest Learning Log - 10+ years of accumulate mistakes!

And looking back again, because I had a deeply buried memory. I've just this week gone back to inverted on my fh - but with a slow and spinny FH rubber. The rubber I have is a bit old and doesn't perfectly fit my blade, so I'll probably get a new replacement. I'll very likely get the same one, but I thought I'd have a window-shop for alternatives, and came across Donic Vario Soft, which triggered a memory! I don't think I'll get it, but if I did, I'd be back to almost the same rubbers I had when I made my first ever post!

I wish I still had my Primorac OFF- - my coach uses this, and it's such a nice blade.

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Yasaka Sweden Classic | 802 OX | C8 OX
Check out my blog - LordCope's Latest Learning Log - 10+ years of accumulate mistakes!

Many of us travel in circles equipment wise! In your case your game has developed a lot so you can extract more from the equipment / handle it better than you could before. So something that was too fast/ too reactive may no longer be so.

Sent from my LG-D855 using Tapatalk

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Timo Boll ALC ST
FH Tibhar Evolution MX-P Max
BH Tibhar Evolution FX-S 1.8
185g