OOAK Table Tennis Forum

Well, over the last week or two, I've begun to notice that I play a much more powerful and more consistent game if I pretty much only hit and block instead of my usual looping. That got me thinking; maybe I should just change to short pips. If I'm playing better while hitting with a medium-slow Chinese rubber, playing with short pips specialized for hitting/blocking would probably help my game considerably.

I need to ask a few questions, however. First, would a single ply Jpen work well for this style, specifically my 982? If not, would a DHS H-WH be a good blade, since I can get one very cheaply? Also, what are some good pips for nothing but fast hitting and blocking (I don't care much about spin, as long as they're very fast and reasonably controllable). Last, should I go back to using RPB if I do end up making the change? I'd be fine with doing that if SP are somewhat lighter than average inverted, or even if they aren't if I end up using a Cpen.

Edit: Quickly glancing through the shop and some reviews, the Galaxy Uranus looks quite nice. Would this be the right kind of SP for the style of play that I've described?
Edit #2: Globe 889 looks nice as well.

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Jpen: Galaxy 982 juniper 8mm- Darker Provine Tension-50 2.2 or Tibhar Torpedo Soft 2.2
Shake OFF: Galaxy T8 ST- FH: Darker PT-50 2.2, BH: Juic Varites 1.5
Shake DEF: modified Joo- FH: Reactor Corbor 2.2, BH: Globe 979 1.5

Galaxy Uranus being medium sponge and higher throw should work well on a 1 ply blade. On a harder blade, the 889 has a softer sponge.

Don't know much about the Wang Hao blade but generally I prefer harder 7 ply blades for short pips use, not softer 5 ply blades. I started using a 1 ply Japanese style hinoki blade though so it will work fine. A harder blade like the Senkoh-5 or similar might be better if you stick with it.

Chinese style blades, if actually gripped in the Chinese style allow more wrist flexibility so are easier to generate spin with, especially on serve.

Spinnier short pips, like Uranus, 802-40 or 889-2 are easier to adapt to as they still allow you to complete "inverted type" strokes pretty easily.

-- Andrew

Thanks for the tips. My 982 is very hard and stiff, more so than a hinoki, so do you think I should go with 889? The 1.8 sponge seems like it would give me a bit more control, but I'm afraid that it may not be fast enough when putting away high shots, since the sponge is softer. Am I just being a worrywart here? I don't care about spin as long as the rubber is fast enough. I can play fine without my inverted shots.

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Jpen: Galaxy 982 juniper 8mm- Darker Provine Tension-50 2.2 or Tibhar Torpedo Soft 2.2
Shake OFF: Galaxy T8 ST- FH: Darker PT-50 2.2, BH: Juic Varites 1.5
Shake DEF: modified Joo- FH: Reactor Corbor 2.2, BH: Globe 979 1.5

If it's hard and stiff, then the 889 or the spinnier 889-2 will work fine with their softer sponges. I wasn't sure if juniper was closer to hinoki (soft) or Ayous (hard) but with hard blades I prefer softer sponges.

With pips I prefer thinner than 2.0 sponge and generally use 1.8 soft sponge myself. As you hit directly into the ball on smashes the blade makes more of a difference in speed than does the sponge.

-- Andrew