When I started playing again about four years ago I noticed something interesting. MOST Chinese rubber is only available in one sponge thickness - MAX (usually 2.2mm). This includes the cheap rubbers which are aimed at beginners. And while pretty much all Japanese and European "Tensor type" rubbers do give you the option of a slightly thinner sponge, you can't get most of them in, say, 1.0 or 1.5mm - even 1.7mm isn't that common - if you want thin sponge, there are a few Chinese sheets with thin sponge, or you'd have to get one of the older Japanese or German sheets (like Sriver or Mark V). This was very different from the old days - back then beginners were advised to start with 1.5mm sponge, and the most just about anyone used was 2.0mm, 2.2 being regarded as too thick, even by most top players.
What's the difference? What changed? The ball. When I played last (late 1990s to about 2001) the ball was 38mm in diameter. The 40mm ball was just beginning to appear. It seems now that to generate enough spin on the ball you need max sponge. Speed follows spin - the more spin you can generate the harder you can hit the ball and still have it hit the table.
I wouldn't worry about "feeling" the ball - that comes with practice. Thin sponge has it's place - pips out blockers/hitters, traditional inverted-both-sides choppers, balsa blades. Otherwise, even for beginners, I'd use the thickest sponge (as I said with a lot of rubbers, there isn't a choice anyway). If the rules allowed it, I suspect the best players could actually make use of even thicker sponge without loss of control - and the rest of us would stick with the current max of 2.2mm.
I think the mods should move this thread to where it belongs - this subforum is actually for complaining about rules changes, ITTF, etc. 
Iskandar
|
