OOAK Table Tennis Forum

Thanks for the update and im interested in the trick anti.what thickness is it.
I am also interested in your league play.
Have you changed your combination(ie blade and rubbers) much during the league ?
Are you still using the same blade.
I play in a number of leagues and use the same comb throughout ie.
best anti/ raystorm pips and stiga hypertech.
i have messed around a little but always go back for league play.

I play with the MAX thickness of the Trick Anti..
I don't experiment with equipment a lot and when I change to something - I use only it. Basically I have only one racket so if I decide to change a rubber - it's done on my main racket
For the last year and 4 months I haven't changed the regular rubber and I've only played with the GD Soft Anti, then Best Anti, then changed to Anti Power and currently with the Trick Anti
I changed the blade from Dynamo to Yinhe N11s when I tried playing with Antis (January last year is when I changed the blade) cause I felt that the Antispin rubber suits my technique better and the blade was too fast for me.. Still playing with the N11s
So on the last club championships I played with the Anti Power and on this one I'll be playing with the Trick Anti.

Well.. this is the 4th Anti and the second blade in the last 15 months.. This seems like quite often though (but let's face it - the Soft Anti was of sh*t quality so I HAD to change it .. So let's settle on 1 blade and 3 Antis for 14 months )

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ill have to try that 11 blade at some point as i will always use anti.i found antipower too fast and i like the best anti for chopping.
i think you have to try stuff until you find the right anti.you may go back and forth and then settle.

Yeah, it's just not so easy(for me at least) to compare your game with one setup to your game with another..
I'm still comparing my game to my game with the PowerAnti.. What I did with it and what shots worked better.. And doubting my conclusions all the time
The blog (although not very big) helps with such things really..
I've re-read it(and re-viewed the videos) a bunch of times and do so if I think that I want to change something..
The N11s is a nice-feeling blade that plays good with the Battle 2. I think that most people won't find it perfect for antispin or pips because the blade is somehow soft and the reversal is not strong with it. But I love this classical wooden feeling and don't care so much about reversal anyways
The Best Anti was really nice for chopping and adding spin to the chops - I remember that well. Chopping with it was very secure. And the chops where definately heavier in comparison to AntiPower (on average I mean, cause with the AP yoi could also make heavy chops, but the additional spin I could impart with the BA was more.
The TrickAnti for me is slower than BA and a little slicker. This gives me greater control over the table and when attacking. Chopping.. Can't say really. Probably still haven't played enough with it. Seems like the BA's chops were heavier, but the Trick Anti's speed makes it easier to make low and short chops.. But I'm not very sure about this.. I really chop a lot less with the TA cause I try to get the initiative with it earlier and continue with the attack after that.

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So another update..
Participated in a monthly tournament, it's an open type so there a lot's of good players there (from the highest leagues in Bulgaria).
Played well, filmed a couple of my losses (pretty much expected though ).
So the first guy.. Never beaten him before.. Somehow today he played weaker than I'm used to but still 3:1 loss. Basically at 1:1 at deuce I made a serve error (like in the most crucial moment) - was going for the kick serve but tossed the ball not very well and couldn't adjust the contact If I had won this set I would have better chances to win the game overall. But still - I think I played well
After that I played a girl - leftie (so the video is bad cause you can't see a lot when she's on the side of the camera).. She's just faster and better in a lot of aspects of the game. What gave me the most problems (after I stopped giving her a lot of opportunities to open up with her BH cause I had a ton of problems with it) was the fact that she had great control over my loops so I didn't feel comfortable initiating the attack. Although the match ended 3:2 it seemed more like her mood swings than my good performance For example after I took the lead at 4:1 in the 5th she basically stopped making silly mistakes and it was very hard for me to take points after that
So here are the matches.. Nothing spectacular I leave all the points - so not very watchable for the most people.. But I like to re-watch and analyze

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Went to the nationals..
Wrote a big post about this and accidentally lost everything I wrote
So short summary:
played really well, in singles finished 2nd in the groups and lost after that to a very-very strong 15 y.o. boy - Yoan Velichkov 4:0. But still - played well even against him (like my serve and follow ups where ok )
Doubles: lost to a stronger pair in the second round bu won against a pair from the same level in the club championships in the first round
Mixed doubles: played with a girl that I've never played with and we lost to a stronger pair in the first round (objectively the boy was much stronger than me and the girl was stronger than my partner) but it was very interesting. Even when it seems that we should not have a chance - we actually had some opportunities. - So a fun experience
Overall: great 3 days of training and playing. Before every event I had enough time for warm-up (about 40-60 minutes) so I think I performed the best I could. Conclusions: my serve game is probably my strongest point cause even much stronger opponents had to be cautious and had limited variation when receiving My 3rd ball was pretty good when I had the chance - the spin gave some troubles to my opponents.
Serve receive in doubles - good - received from the FH side but sometimes with the regular and sometimes with the Anti - so lot's of troubles for my opponents.
Serve receive in singles.. Ok, not bad but nothing spectacular - I need to find someone with strong serves.. (that's problematic where I live..)
Rallies - Ok. I felt comfortable in a big hall. Still - nothing spectacular here - need more speed
Well, pretty much that's it A very nice experience. It won't be easy playing tomorrow in my local club where the intensity and the level of play is not the same

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Finished the club championships season overall on the 3rd place I think this is our current maximum as a team
I have some videos but don't know when I'll have the time to edit them. One match is currently uploading on youtube though
Should be available later here (the table was in a bad place so the ball can not be seen very well ):


So I'm changing my job and my colleagues gifted me a voucher for around 100 euros for the TT store from my club (tt-store.eu) and after some thinking I decided to buy a Blade - because I probably wouldn't spend so much on a blade (the N11s is like 10 bucks and is perfectly fine for my level). But yep - bought a Red + Black Ruby blade - a 5 ply wooden blade and today even played a tournament with it (with the same rubbers - Battle 2 and Trick Anti). Overall it has a softer feel and seems like has more flex.. Not sure - it feels softer and definitely with more dwell time. From the Battle 2 I get more spin and more control), the speed seems like slower on low impact shots and almost the same on high impact shorts (I need to use the flex of the blade better and then the ball flies faster). The Trick Anti definitely has more control and is overall easier to use.
I would say that the Ruby gives me more control with the ability to impart more spin with the regular rubber. Over the table flicks were easier with the N11s but that's because it seems harder and has shorter dwell. Also today I played with this blade for the first time in my life and I played really well with it. I even beat a guy that I haven't beaten in a tournament in a non-groups round (the guy from the post from 6th September 2021). And after that I played very good too. The additional control helps a lot with the counterloops and with the passive play
The only downside today was that the pen that we used to write the group results leaked and my hands and partially my absolutely new blade's handle became blue because I didn't see the ink on me in time.. But yeah.. The blade performed well - so who cares about some ugly blue spots on the handle

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Another match from the last club championships
This match was not important, I can't beat the guy but I tried my almost best cause I wanted to kick off my TT engine for the next important matches (and this worked - won both of my next matches and that helped us secure the 3rd place overall)

On the side note - still with the R+B Ruby blade. It has a softer feeling compared to N11s but the speed is the same I think. I can definitely impart more spin with the Battle 2 and also with the Trick Anti - the chopping became heavier and It's easier to play with it.
I have more control with the new blade and it's really surprising for me that this random gift-blade improved my game
The results are still good - I feel in form currently - this even showed in a couple of local tournaments (Open - so I'm not a contender there) - 7th and 4th place (the second one is with lower ranked players). Well, the Ruby stays, the other stuff too

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Quickest and shortest update ever.
The R+B Ruby blade broke Funny thing is that I did not hit it. We speculate that it was somehow broken while being in my blade holder. Maybe somebody sit on it - don't know. But yep - it's a fact - it's broken (after two months.. Haven't broken a blade in years..).
Will change it to something - still thinking to what - but I need a blade fast so another Ruby is not an option (and it's pricey )
Overall - playing really well - beat some people on tournaments that I've never beaten before. So - yep - need a new blade and continue with the Battle 2 and Trick Anti cause I really like them

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Tried the Nittaku Septear (7-ply Hinoki) for two training sessions.
It was very light (77g) and rather slow for my taste. The spin and control were great, but the speed, especially on flat hits and over the table flicks was low.
I think it does not pair well with the Battle. The Anti played very controllable but nothing special.
So glued back to the N11s. Still not sure how I feel about spending a 100 Euro for the Ruby blade again (and we don't have it in our local store here).. I played really well with it - beat people that I haven't beaten before.. But I watched my videos and the results seems similia with the N11s.. Will think about it for some time now

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Finally was able to edit an important video for me.
Against a blocker/pusher with the Dawei pips
The guy has lost around 15 kgs so he's changed quite a lot and that adds some variation to his game. Previously it was 95% BH with the pips and 5% weak FH (and I still struggled with him every time). Now it's not the same, he also moves much better, twiddles sometimes, attacks.. well, his game evolves. I would say he has not adjusted to his changes yet and that's why I still have a chance
The anti helps a lot against such players.. Also more attacks with the BH with the regular rubber helped a lot (like setting it up with the anti from the FH side and then doing a good attack with the regular).

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So played a training session and a tournament with the N11s.
Ok, the N11s is harder and faster than the Ruby (was ). The results were good - I beat the people I could and even some equal opponents, got a game of a boy that usually beats me 3:0, so yeah - because of the harder touch the Trick Anti plays faster with more reversal. But the feeling is so dull.. Compared to the Ruby. It was such a joy playing different shots with it and it's so much harder to do this with the N11s. Basically the results with the N11s are good but the pleasure is questionable. I know I've played with it (N11s) for a lot of time but still. Now that I can compare I prefer the softer touch of the Ruby. The N11s with the Battle 2 is a superb counter-looping counter-hitting machine. The throw is very low and countering topspins is really easy with it. With the Ruby I needed more hand control for that
But yep - results are good, pleasure - moderate. I want to try and balance this. I know I could hust buy another Ruby.. But why not try something else
Well, I had some promo vouchers from the tournament so I was able to use them and get a blade to test - got the Joola Xylo 7. It cost me 35 Euro so even if I don't like it I'll just sell it. But I've already glued the rubbers and I'll check it today but from the start it seems softer than the N11s but not slow. Also not as soft and as slow as the Septear.. So I think it'll fit But we'll see later today

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Ok, so yesterday was the first day with the Xylo 7 blade.
First impression: very comfortable handle, good balance, nice touch
I need to play more with this blade but it plays like it a blade that is going to be used
It has a harder touch than the Ruby or Septear but softer than the N11.
Somehow can't describe well the feeling, like it seems that it is soft on the soft touch but it's very easy to engage it more. Like it's hard on the medium touch. I mean - soft short touch feels soft, but if you decide to touch a receive long - you'll feel it. You don't loose control, it's just like the blade helps actively (and the spin on pushes/chops is very good). It was very strange - I could use the Battle 2 for chinese-type shots but also could perform more european-like shots somehow - need to feel this out more.
The speed is good - definitely has the power and has some flex - I just haven't adjusted to it yet (haven't played enough).
Overall first impression - this will fit me. It seems like somehow in-between the Ruby and the N11s: a touch harder than the Ruby and softer than the N11s.
After 3 days of everyday playing I'll take a break till Thursday now

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Today assembled a the Xylo 7 with a fresh Battle 2 (the previous has already lasted for 7 months) and a new Trick Anti.. Just so it's a new-new and tomorrow will arrive a new Tibhar Alu Case so this racket should feel welcomed

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above vid is good and he looks tricky.
i also change my anti yearly-it seems to play better-prob just in the mind