OOAK Table Tennis Forum

Der_Echte is way overdue to vist Boston area, so you may see Der_Echte Stealth Camping up there this fall.

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Goof-off chopping bat
Gambler All Rosewood
Aurus Soft / Gambler GXL .6 sponge

Status - Out of Business Janitor/Babysitter

Japsican did you ever find an ultrathin sponge ?

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Tsp Black Balsa 3.0 Tenergy 05 1.9 388d ox black

That would be nice -it's been a while indeed.

And yes, it is gradually coming back - I think slower setup helped, but so did extra playing time. Finally had a satisfying game against a pretty strong opponent last night. Lost in 5, but it was fun - managed a bit of everything: chopping, chop blocks, fishing, FH smashes off the bounce (my new favorite shot). Started to move more as well, which probably helped.

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USATT: 1807 | League: 1887

I did a teams tourney in my local city (3 million metro area, and no active full time clubs) and I did pretty well. (Not losing any singles/doubles could qualify for that) I also competed 2 levels higher and consistently at that level in a recent June 2021 teams tourney in Bay Area.

Not only did I come back, thsee last two tourneys showed I even gained base level after going dark so long without any TT.

That means that not only can you get it back, you MIGHT be able to get even more.

Keep at it pgpg - you know what you are doing and what grows level.

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Goof-off chopping bat
Gambler All Rosewood
Aurus Soft / Gambler GXL .6 sponge

Status - Out of Business Janitor/Babysitter

Still in game improvement mode, which mostly translates into "play as much as you can". Feeling much more comfortable against folks at my level or below, but players above me are still a challenge. Yes, it is sort of expected, but it feels like I should be threatening them more, as I used to.

One weird new thing, is that my wrist is all over the place now, especially on FH - I keep opening/closing the paddle in the worst possible moments. Usually gets better after some warmup, but still strange.

Was messing with my FH chops in practice - they have this unique quality of being mostly spin-free. Which by the way is quite effective - opponents send their shots couple meters off the end. May be should try incorporating them in matches.

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USATT: 1807 | League: 1887

New toy

Edit: it is quite fast (Firewall Plus+Dtecs OX+S&T Secret Flow Chop), especially on pips side and is definitely more of a blocking setup. Chops tend to go long. Got expected comments from clubmates about color and sound (it's balsa).

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USATT: 1807 | League: 1887

Fitting that Grass is the first LP available in green.

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Seeking joy and fitness in recreational modern defense.
My blog: "Two rubbers, one racket"
Kill the game against long Pimps with Coach Li!

Currently experimenting with short pips:
VKMO+ Gambler Volt-T + TSP Spectol Blue (1.5)
Joola CWX + Nittaku Hurricane III Pro Turbo Orange + Spinlord Gepard (1.8 )

I've seen at least two other players here in MD switch to this bright green rubber... Myself I am thinking to switch from the traditional red inverted to a blue inverted which has been Victas' new color across their lineup, and keeping pips black. Can't decide. Just not sure it provides any real benefit other than the coolness factor. My hope is it would provide some mental advantage since our opponent may not take us too seriously after seeing an unorthodox paddle.

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Attackers: "All pips players are cheaters who can't loop, move, or read spin"
Me: I beg your pardon?

It probably won't provide a benefit, and I even heard a theory that it might hurt: the idea is that green is so different from your usual red/black combo, so that it would actually raise your opponent awareness. Curious how different blue/black combo is going to be, some blues are pretty dark,

I still get occasional free point from folks not too far from my level simply by serving with pips - they expect backspin or sidespin which is simply not there, so return goes off the table.

My latest tournament confirmed that I am currently a solid ~1700 player . Other pips were the bane of my existence - lost to everyone with LP around my level mostly by crappy control against dead balls. And I don't want to talk about that one match against a lobber either...

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USATT: 1807 | League: 1887

Pretty bright...as can be seen below. To your point, I wonder if it would actually hurt as attacker can easily spot which color is used. I also witnessed our local Joola-sponsored players test rubbers that were purple.. That is actually a lot more deceiving and promising except I don't have any desire to experiment with Joola rubbers.


P.S. your touch will come back. Give it some time...

P.P.S. I couldn't resist... Just in time for the Teams

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Attackers: "All pips players are cheaters who can't loop, move, or read spin"
Me: I beg your pardon?

Perhaps it is indeed coming back - after a bit of a break last week, had a really nice club visit, where I spent most of the time playing practice matches against J, our best LP player. Took quite a few games off him, and losses were very close.

Only got a bit of chop and FH practice later on, but was quite confident there too. Let's see how it shakes out at the local tournament in 4 weeks or so.

Edit: oooh, 1000th post in the thread

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USATT: 1807 | League: 1887

Is LP Warrior Leo still active in Boston TTC?

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Goof-off chopping bat
Gambler All Rosewood
Aurus Soft / Gambler GXL .6 sponge

Status - Out of Business Janitor/Babysitter

I think I know which Leo you refer to (older guy, lefty) and yes, he still plays quite a bit. He does not use LP though, he was always double inverted.

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USATT: 1807 | League: 1887

Did you skip this year's Joola Teams? I did run into Japsican as I was walking around on day 3... he was still chopping strong.

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Attackers: "All pips players are cheaters who can't loop, move, or read spin"
Me: I beg your pardon?

Yup, was in Europe on business/vacation trip, just got back few days ago. Have not had much time to play lately either, so was not too eager to go to the Teams. Did have a few nice matches at the club lately, though, so don't count me out yet.

How did K. do at Teams, I think he was on your team? I practiced quite a bit with him this fall at Boston TTC.

Also, hi @japsican, if you are reading this.

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USATT: 1807 | League: 1887