OOAK Table Tennis Forum

This month I changed my style of playing.
After the successfull end of the competition with a promotion I thougt this is the moment for changes.
My style is mainly short play, block and smash. I can play FH topspin, but I'm not good at it. For almost 10 years i'm playing with stiga clippa 2.0mm on my backhand. Never changed that.
The forheand is a different story. sriver, mark V, hurricane II, Tackifire Drive, Tackiness D, Mendo MP, Stiga Chop en Drive, Armstrong Hikari Sr7, Stiga Boost and the latest Stiga Neos haven been mounted on my Stiga Clipper CR WRB.
As you can see Í am not very confident with my forehand. Seeking the solution in a new rubber. Although rather fast and good with blocks and smashes, my topspin never works very well.

So after the promotion and the prospect to play aganist higher level players, I thought it is time for a more radical approach. Another change of the inverted won't help.

I kept my Clipper, my Clippa 2.0,but added a Clippa 1.5 black for my forehand.
Played so far four matches.
It works! I am more active and agressive in my play, more confident in my service return. I'm losing a bit in the service spin, but not very much. And it is not less effective because it forces me to serve with more variation.
The only thing that works not very well so far is smashing. I'm losing to many points there. Seems that I can't get the angle of my racket right. Of course I should practise.
Or should I do something else in my arm movement? The footwork is I suppose the same?

Oh, another advantage. My bat is lighter now, which is fine, with a rather head heavy Clipper.

Theo

What made u try 1.5? 2.0 is good on that rubber. I suspect you aren't getting enough spin to land the ball at high speeds. I've never tried clippa in 1.5 though. Keep at it and see if it's right. Most so both sides players opt for more sponge on the forehand. Did u try flipping the blade over to play 1.5 bh?

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-Teddy

I choose the 1.5mm because it was very cheap: 6,- euro.
The 2.0 mm is better for my backhand ( my better side). When i use 2.0 mm on my forehand it is indeed more easier to smash. With the 1.5 you can feel more the frame and the wood.
I have the impression that the 1.5 gives more spin, at least with services. Also the disturbing effect of a block ball with the 1.5 is much larger.

I also have a black 802-40 2.0mm in a shoebox. Maybe I should give it a try on my FH if the common opinion is that 1.5 is not appropriate for fh play

Theo

The 1.5 is probably spinnier because it is new.
This thickness causes problems with smashing because it will not hold the ball like an inverted rubber does, thick SP will be easier to use.
I think you should try the 802-40, but if you plan to keep using SP on your forehand you should also practice SP technique on that side. It is different from inverted.

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Without opponent, no match.