OOAK Table Tennis Forum

Hi All,

First time poster, I've really loved reading the threads here, now looking for some specific advice.

My wife and I have been playing for about a year regularly. We started with a pre-made racket set from Double Fish and following some advice I read here, have stuck with them and focused on developing good form and footwork. We've now worn out the rubbers and it's time to get something new/more interesting. Using long pips seems like something we'd like to try.

So the question is, are we better off just throwing long pips on one side of our existing rackets, or upgrading rackets at this point?

It seems like we'd learn a bit by seeing the difference that just changing rubbers on a blade makes, but since these rackets are obviously not what we'll be using long term, is it better to just switch the whole setup at once?

Any advice welcome, thanks

-Moseph

If you're learning table tennis the standard way (your average 2-wing shakehand looper), don't even bother with pips lol. If you're diving into the world of defensive play (Joo Sae Hyuk, Wang Xi, Hou Yingchao, etc.) Or you are trying to learn the way of the pushblocker, I still wouldn't bother with long pips. In fact, unless you have acess to proper coaching, just stick with your current setup or get one that's slightly better

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Blade: Victas Koji Matsushita Offensive FL
FH: Victas VS > 401 2.0
BH: Victas Spectol S1 1.5

Rating: Recreational Player

Within this thread http://ooakforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=30962&p=332876#p332876 there are valid suggestions on new bats, I guess. I don't know what Double Fish premade you're using but I guess the rackets in this thread are still an improvement. Just order 2 standard ones and add a custom one like this http://www.eacheng.net/Tulpe-Training-blade-Long-Pips-Out-In-Rubbers-p11742.html with long pips to check it out without beeing stuck to a bat you might dislike.

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

Thanks for the suggestions!

I should have mentioned that I've already ordered some Neptune LP rubbers. Too bad as the premade Tulpe would have been an even cheaper route, although I'm not super concerned with price, mainly with wasting time and natural resources (hate to see beautifully crafted wood laying around unused).

@Danthespearton - The thing that attracts me to defensive play is the subtle "TT as Chess" aspect, I have no desire to become a great looper (seems like the world has enough of those right now) Honestly I find the play of Wu Yang to be the type that inspires me.

The local club has a Donic Defplay Senso for a reasonable price. Would it be unwise to purchase a racket like this? Alternatively it seems like the Xiom Aigis has good reviews regardless of whether LP are used. Do these rackets limit a person to a certain style of play?


Thanks,
Moseph

For a beginner, the Donic Defplay is an excellent choice if you want to start your TT journey as a defender Wu Yang is indeed a very good player

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Blade: Victas Koji Matsushita Offensive FL
FH: Victas VS > 401 2.0
BH: Victas Spectol S1 1.5

Rating: Recreational Player

Definitely ignore the nay-sayers! If you feel like you'd like to try LP, just get on and try it. It'll take a long time to get the hang of, and you'll need access to some expertise, whether that's local LP players, a coach, or just videoing yourself and posting it here. However, definitely worth doing. Do be prepared to give it a long time though - like a year at least. And expect your results to dip initially.

As for blades - you might find that getting the rubbers off your pre-made is tricky, but if it isn't, there's certainly a case for only changing one variable at a time, so you can learn how things feel. But then you can start to think about changing the blade and FH, a bit at a time.

Or the other route is also perfectly valid. The DDS is a very highly regarded blade, so you won't go wrong with that. Stick something sensible on the other side, and you'll be set.

I'd recommend a beginner-friendly LP - I like 755 or National Pogo, but anything will do. I'd probably start with thin sponge - 0.5-1mm for now, and then you can decide in the future if you like chopping and varying spin (in which case keep or increase the sponge) or playing closer to the table, and chop-blocking (in which case consider losing the sponge).

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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!

Thanks LordCope, that seems like solid advice.

Whatever choice is made, I plan to stick with it for one year minimum. Like just about any sport, there's the trap of becoming a gear-junky, forever in search of the "holy grail". So my goal now is to make a solid choice of platform, so I can develop for as long as possible without needing to change it out.

The local club also has the Donic Appelgren Allplay for the same price. Given my goal of becoming a defensive player (hopefully using LP), do you think the difference between this and the Defplay Senso would be meaningful at all? (or am I "straining gnats" at this point?)

Thanks again for all the Input folks, really appreciate it!

Honestly both are great quality blades. If you can have a go on a team mate's, you might form a preference.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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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!

Yeah, you should definitely try out both of those blades if you can, and see which one you prefer. Neptune is a nice lp to start out with, you won't go wrong with that with the way things are now. I personally think you should get as much help as you can; videos, coaches, and this forum are excellent resources to help temper your skills. Expect frustration and hardships! There will be tears, sweat, and blood (if you train really hard), but if you can master the skill, it will be soooo worth it. Persistence and determination is key! And always remember; dont get too stressed about it! Have fun learning!

PS: Who are your favorite players?

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Blade: Victas Koji Matsushita Offensive FL
FH: Victas VS > 401 2.0
BH: Victas Spectol S1 1.5

Rating: Recreational Player

Appelgren Allplay and Defplay Senso at the same price? I've thought the Defplay to be around 2x the price of the Appelgren Allplay - at least when the type is correctly written here since there are several All- and Defplays around.

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

A good long pip webpage to read. It has lots of info and links.

North Little Table Tennis Group Timeline Page on Facebook

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Panda Drive / 4H Xiom Sigma Pro 2 2.0 / BH Xiom Omega IV Elite Max / Play right-handed
XVT balsa carbon 10mm / 4H Xiom Sigma Pro 2 2.0 / BH Globe 979 Long Pips OX / Play Left-handed shakehand
Stiga Def Wood / 4H Xiom Sigma Pro 2 2.0 / BH GD CC LP OX .. Play Left-handed
Cpen SOS Wood / 4H 729 802-40 2.0 / BH GD Talon use righthanded shakehand grip
HARDBAT / Shakehand Hock 3 ply / Friendship Dr Evil OX .. Play Right-handed

I am somewhat biased (own 3 Defplays), but I suspect Defplay is slower and has larger head. Would be a better fit for defensive play, I think. A little more expensive if I go by tabletennis11 prices.

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USATT: 1807 | League: 1887

I think the defplay is a great place to start with something like 755 0.5. Forehand rubber doesn't really matter on that blade.

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-Teddy

Thanks again all for the advice.

Upon further reading about defensive blades (not a terribly long list), I ran across mention of the Dornier Defense blade from Estonia. It doesn't have many reviews, but the people who use it seem to love it. It really inexpensive and reportedly works quite well with LP.

Anyone here have any experience with it?

If price is a major consideration, sure - it's ~22$ at tt11, and Defplay is ~33$. Tibhar Cos 3 is equally inexpensive. I would say don't overthink it. Just to try out pips you can put them on pretty much any ALL blade. Just get something - you might like pips or you might hate them, but you won't know until you try.

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USATT: 1807 | League: 1887