OOAK Table Tennis Forum

Well, my friend is able to play as a chopper, but his chops are not as spinny as mine are (although they do have a nicer arc... I wonder how people do that?) so I can over power him very easily, even with a recreational paddle So if you can over power them, go for it!

EDIT: I just realized that you have a Defplay as part of your setup Is is the Classic Defplay or the Normal one? If it's the normal one, I can imagine how hard it would be... in that case, you'd have to use tactics (which I am not very good at )

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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

THere is plenty of power in the Defplay, but that's not usually the best tactic.

As a chopper, I hate no-spin to the LPs and low pace balls. I like working with pace and spin. Not all choppers are like that, but many are, so try this and see.

A common tactic is to give no spin to the LPs, which means you are going to get a no-spin (or very low spin) ball back, and then hit the ball or loop the ball accordingly.

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Blog: "Holy Chtchet!" ⇝

Projects: Player Equipment Grid ⇝ Comprehensive Thin Inverted Chopping Rubbers Grid ⇝ Please send me corrections or new submissions

Cat and mouse the chopper, bring him in and out. Loop hard one direction, then loop soft to the other. Always keep him moving. If you push, push as short as possible, but know that this is a ball we like to attack so be prepared with a block.

Most loopers will loop 1 or 2 chops in a row, then push the 3rd one short to keep the spin managable.

If the chopper can't attack very well, I like to slow loop to the LPs, and wait for the right ball to hit (by slow loop I mean high and with very little spin).

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Blog: "Holy Chtchet!" ⇝

Projects: Player Equipment Grid ⇝ Comprehensive Thin Inverted Chopping Rubbers Grid ⇝ Please send me corrections or new submissions

At lower level,

We chopper hate another chopper. Eventually, we must attack. [FACE WITH TEARS OF JOY]

Sent from my i5E using Tapatalk

I agree, any blade can have power when used properly; what I meant was that since the Defplay is very soft and flexy (from what I remember), it is more sensitive to spin compared to, say, a Firestarter

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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

That's quite a hard question you ask cause choppers are the best
But if, for example, you can start a loop/chopping rally you could try spinning a ball to his pips once and after that a slow and spinny loop to his forehand and see how he handles this (I know a lot of amateur choppers have problems with slow spinny loops).

If slow loops are not your strong point or you can't lift his second chop you should try starting the rally in another way, for example: long serve with some underspin to his pips, then a medium strong flat hit to his pips (cause after the serve you'll probably get a no-spin(or a little topspin) in return and it's quite easy to just flat hit it with control and not too much power), and after the flat hit be ready to play a strong loop cause you'll get a chance from him chopping the flat ball. The ball that'll be coming after your flat hit won't be very heavy underspin and it should be easy to play a good loop from it.

Also you can play a loop after that a push and a loop and a push ... and until someone fails. In that case your loops must be placed in different places or be different in length and the push may be the most stressful element for the chopper. If you push once to his FH, once to his BH, once with pace and once much shorter then it won't be easy for him to always give you hard balls in return, he may actually play a weak return from your push and then you should use the opportunity.

But all of this depends on what you CAN do and what you CAN'T. If you can't loop a second chop - just don't try to do it. Or do it when it almost doesn't count (you can lose a point or two when you're 10:4 up for example), but if you decide to try to do a thing that is hard for you - control your mind! If you try and fail - stop doing it (I know some attackers tend to try and try until they loose, but what's the point?). Control your emotions against a chopper and play with a clean mind and use the strategy that works, don't loose yourself in looping every ball if this way he wins the points - there's no point in that

These are some common problems for amateur choppers(from my experience) and you should try and explore where are the weak points of your opponent:
Slow no spin 'loop' (not a flat hit but a ball with an arc but with little spin) to the pips
Slow spinny loop to the FH when you opponent is already in defense position (so the loop should become short for him and hard to return well)
Some choppers have problems with high slow and spinny loops to their pips
Fast no-spin serve to the pips
Some have problems with short (ant not very high) nospin serves to the pips
Flat hitting is a problem for choppers most of the time
Some amateur choppers have problems when receiving with their FH (try a heavy under or some side with top to the regular rubber and see what the return will be)

These are some things you can try and see which create problems for your opponent and which in the same time are ese for you to perform(the list is filled with only some basic things - there's a lot more that can make your opponent unconfortable, but your task is to find it and use it to the max).

P.S. If your game plan against a chopper consists mostly of long no-spin or up-spin serves you should try (maybe once in a set) using a half-long serve with heavy underspin to the pips(because this change of spin and pace often forces a mistake).
P.S.2. If your game plan works - don't change it.
P.S.3. All of these things could not work too because choppers rock

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My ooak blog.

Yeah, all of these are very true; I can especially relate to the slow, high, skinny loops to my BH (ARGH! ) If the chopper is not afraid to attack, then you better watch out if you slow loop to his FH! A opportunistic defender WILL try to catch you off guard in that situation if they are aggressive and skillful enough to do so, especially if their FH is super powerful.
EDIT: Not all defenders play the same, so if you can post a video, we'd all be able to give a lot of insight, especially the wiser ones!

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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

You advice givers seem to be assuming that the chopper has long pimples on their back hand. What if they don't?

OP, is this true in your adversary's case?

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Moderator, Inverted Retriever Technique sub-forum - http://ooakforum.com/viewforum.php?f=74

Fake going wide and instead Play to the chopper's body when you have a decent ball to score on. No room for them to backswing as the body is in the way and they have a hard time to do a high quality chop from in front of their body.

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OSP Ultimate cpen
Acuda S1 Turbo
Hallmark Phoenix ox

I have to play such a person in about an hour! Incidentally, he doesn't use pimples.

My coach and I worked on some tactics for this earlier in the week. Bottom line - this is nothing new. You have a game plan which is based around a set of shots and scenarios, and transitions between these shots. Think about what those would be against a person who pushes and chops on both sides.

Tactically, variation and movement is the most critical thing. Don't play the same shot more than twice - by which I mean to the same place with the same spin, speed, and rubber (if you have a mixture).

Defenders thrive on rhythm - break the rhythm. Play short and long, two wide and one middle, one with heavy spin, one with float. If you use pimples, use a pimples push or block to reset the spin, and then try a different combination.

Above all, be patient. A defender thrives you you getting annoyed and going for a shot that isn't safe. Be consistent, place and spin the ball, and bide your time. As Japsica says: cat and mouse.

This is what I will be trying this evening - cup final! *fingers crossed*

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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!

My first strategy would always be the Jeremy Clarkson (might be a UK joke)......speed and power! If you can impose yourself then do so but also remember that choppers tend to be good on the wings so consider attacking the body/elbow. If they have pimples or anti then think of the spin (or lack of) that you want to feed them to get an attackable ball. Also, draw them in and out. Above all fight for every point!

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Timo Boll ALC ST
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