OOAK Table Tennis Forum

Yesterday participated in our regular weekly league.
Playing very safely for now, FH topspin is almost non-existent for me because I'm afraid to use the leg for now (more like a psychological issue).
Overall played fine, obviously I'm not constructing the points with the correct mindset - A lot of times I was going for a some kind of pivot (this is also fine for me cause when pivoting I use the healthy leg more) and after the pivot in most cases I was not able to return because I was afraid to make a big step/jump to my right leg
The A1 rubber.. It's ok, has power but I struggle to get the quality that I expect. Like the speed is there, but the spin is missing on power loops. On slow/middle loops the spin is great, on the BH the rubber is superb. Will see if I continue with it or just return to B2. The main problem for me with this rubber is that it's hard to generate a lot of power from under the table (when you're late of too far). I struggled to do that with the BH side too. I think this is a technique issue but I can do that with zero problems with a traditional tacky rubber.. So yep - probably will switch back
Also the short game is very different. I basically tried to do one thing that I'm very used to with the B2 and didn't manage to do it even once yesterday. (And I played a lot of different opponents). In short it's serving a short side-under serve and after they touch it short leave it short but with side-top.. So I didn't manage to leave it short with this spin. I could leave it short, but not wih side-top
The most important thing is that after yesterday's play today I feel fine and the leg feels fine. This means that I can start playing again, but always be aware that I need time between such days (I think at least 2-3 days between TT days)

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So basically I feel some regression in my leg condition after playing TT (I could bend it more without pain and now after Thursday I feel pain earlier when bending it). So a decision has been made - continue the rehab and overall do not play TT for the next 2-3 months (cause I've found a program that I followed for 5 weeks and there was some evident progress - will continue with it). Also it's an easy decision to make cause playing without the ability to use your full potential is no fun

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My ooak blog.

I would be really missing the game.

Good luck!

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Forehand Rubber: Yasaka Rakza Z (black, 2.0 mm thickness)
Backhand Rubber: Der-Materialspezialist Scandal (red, 1.5 mm thickness)
Blade: Stiga Allround Classic Cybershape (flared handle)

I might have missed the big announcement, but you switched to anti? Weren't you a TSP P4 user before?
When and what made you switch??

There was no big announcement, I just decided to try Anti while there where no serious tournaments around (that was 7th of December 2020, here - viewtopic.php?f=58&t=32569&start=105#p386323) and basically haven't looked back since (tried different antis though ).
Yep - last LP I played was the P4. The switch was made just as an experiment, but basically I really liked the feeling and it seems to work with me better than the LP.
Last Anti that I played with (and for the longest period too) is the Yasaka Trick Anti..
and currently I'm not playing cause I'm trying to recover from a torn meniscus injury (and it's not going super well ). A fun fact was that I visited an osteopath a couple of weeks ago and he gently pressed+cracked something in my knee and after that the knee's range of motion changed and became better. Also the pain now does not seem to be irregular but pretty linear - if I overuse the leg - it hurts in one specific spot. (before that it was pretty much random - sometimes it hurt in one place, then - in another and I couldn't understand what's going on).. o yeah - this was an interesting experience with the osteopath.. Now I'm giving the leg a break from exercises to see how it feels. Hopefully will be able to play soon, but can't be sure for now..

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So another attempt at playing TT.
It was this Sunday (two days ago), knee support on, the usual opponent - my wife
An hour and 10 minutes session, most of the time I played with the double inverted setup. Some counters and some light topspins, sometimes exercising step arounds so I could check can I commit to my FH leg after a step around..
It seemed much better compared to January - I have more stability and more strength now.
After the session we had a walk for around an hour and a half and the leg started to hurt. Not too much, but it was obvious, that it needs time to recover.
On Monday the leg was almost the same as it was before playing - somehow it felt little heavier (this makes sense really) - the pain levels and the range of motion didn't seem to have changed and what's important (at least I think it is) - the strength that I could gather in it has not deteriorated.
Today, Tuesday, I would say that the leg is pretty much in the same condition as it was the day before playing - I have strength in it, I don't feel pain.
Will search for a sparring partner to have a 1hr session this week. If not - will play with my wife again
Returned my B2 on the FH side (of course) and also slapped a new anti on the BH - TTR-killer. But almost didn't play with it because I need the right opponent for that and my wife is not proficient enough to play against an anti (she can block light topspins and play counters rather well though - we have some long rallies ).
But what was obvious - this Anti is super fast.. Also it has some grip.. I think it has a chance to be an anti-alternative to SP with less grip and lower throw angle .. will see in the future

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I also encountered the same problem as you

Doesn't sound good
Hope you have more available and capable professionals that can help you in your area (as this doesn't seem to be the case for my city.. or at least I wasn't able to find them )

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Had a proper sparring session today with a friend - mostly some exercises but also played a couple of matches (BO5).
Not sure, but the B2 feels stiff.. the sponge feels pretty dead (maybe it died while waiting ) - will see if this is my feeling problem or really the life of the rubber has gone out (it waited basically since july without matches..).
The TTR-Killer.. For a first session - not bad. Definitely feels like a medium pip, but in the form of Anti. One can block, punch-block and also ignore part of the rotation that's coming.. I need to play more with it, but overall feels nice.
The short game is a problem for me currently - it seems too bouncy on my blade.
So yep - currently I feen fine and the leg seems fine but we'll see tomorrow

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My ooak blog.

How about the reversal and disruption?

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Forehand Rubber: Yasaka Rakza Z (black, 2.0 mm thickness)
Backhand Rubber: Der-Materialspezialist Scandal (red, 1.5 mm thickness)
Blade: Stiga Allround Classic Cybershape (flared handle)

Reversal - not so much if any at all.. At least I didn't feel any
Disruption - definitely there on hard blocks (the ball sinks on flat blocks) and on some spin shots. Very similiar to medium pips I would say. You can attack some under/side pushes and some residual spin is still there and the bounce on the opponent's side is strange.
Definitely not yous typical Anti and in most cases it seems like it doesn't provide what people look for in Anti rubbers.. at least that's what I think so far.. but it was only one session.

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My ooak blog.

So yesterday made the wise ( ) decision to go and play the evening league..
Played ok, definitely overhitting a lot of stuff currently. I can feel the B2 absolutely fine now (the feeling seems back). Because of the fact that I played multiple different opponents I had the chance to get more used to different aspects of the TTR-K anti. It's very interesting, but as usual, will need time to get used to. On thin contact it can feel the opponenent's spin and on higher impact it ignores it. I didn't see any reversal in the anti - confirmed again. It really is somehow like a MP but with a regular rubber's feeling.
The knee felt fine - I really didn't spare it in any way I think . Today it's a little bit sore but nothing serious.. I think this is absolutely fine as I played 7 matches yesterday and had some games inbetween those
Overall - everything's great this time and it seems I can finally slowly start playing (like 2 times a week max and with very carefull observation of how my knee feels)

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My ooak blog.

Another sparring session today - very tough
I was pretty tired mentally and because of that my game was bad. The excercises where fine, but the match play after that - auful.
And also I felt that with the TTR-Killer Anti playing passive and trying to change the pace is not an option - the anti is fast and not disruptive enough. So basically when you don't feel the game very well (like I was today) - it's hard to change the rythm.. this (and the fact that I still make a ton of mistakes)got me thinking about returning to the TA.. I'll see

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My ooak blog.

So yesterday and today I watched my old matches with the Yasaka TA and decided that I shouldn't have changed and slapped it back
Played for 2 hours today and it felt much-much better. More short game because the Anti is slow and a lot of changes of the pace of the game - definitely what I want.
The only current problem is the knee - it doesn't hurt while training/playing and can hurt sometimes afterwards.. but still - it feels ok. The problem is mental - I feel that I try to keep it safe while training/playing and because of that there are lot of misses/mishits happening. And each time it's because I haven't stepped enough to the right or haven't bent the knee enough.. Well.. this will need some time.. but still - the good thing I'm playing again and that's what's important

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My ooak blog.

I also start having some minor problems with my left knee. Sometimes during training or matches, when I do a patricular and presumably sudden movement it somehow starts to feel painful when trying to squat a bit down to receive or serve. I do not know if it is a result of the joint woring out or a wrong move which puts the joint a little off its appropriate position. Luckily it is only occasional and not frequent, lets hope it stays this way.

Also, for the TTR-Killer, I am not surprised.

Also, how does your Trick Anti work so far?

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Forehand Rubber: Yasaka Rakza Z (black, 2.0 mm thickness)
Backhand Rubber: Der-Materialspezialist Scandal (red, 1.5 mm thickness)
Blade: Stiga Allround Classic Cybershape (flared handle)