OOAK Table Tennis Forum

So I figured I would post this as a little update with almost all points in, all but service errors/misses. Mostly for learning purposes. When I get another 2 or 3 matches in I'll be editing more points out so it's not a 30+ min video

I'm pretty happy with the direction of my game, but I'm sure you will all notice I keep my bat pretty still for blocks in order to keep the ball on the table. Thanks to Dtecs there is still decent spin reversal but this is definitely a Glanti style block which I am looking to buy for testing (not sure yet although ABS2 Pro just went on sale for this week lol).

I am getting there slowly learning to attack, I'm getting confident vs the long back spin ball (the heavier the better), and the no/light spin balls that are higher than the net long or not. I am still finding trouble vs the no/light spin balls that stay low (especially the shorter ones).

Gotta say as well I'm liking the SPs on FH! Overall I feel its doing me good, but feel free to tell me if you all think otherwise.

On this night I also played top table with all Div1/2 players including the 2 in this video. I kept going from top table to 2nd never losing from there and I was top table a couple of times taking out Semi. There were 7 of us total, 1 of which was one of the only other long pip players who uses Troublemaker OX on a slow ish defensive blade (I forgot the name like an idiot sorry). I played him total 5 games and won all 5, I pretty much exploit the weaknesses I have lol.

I will highlight him who's name is Atanas, we talked a lot after, the last time we played was years ago and he told me my FH was very difficult to handle with the SPs. I found playing vs Troublemaker very interesting considering everything I've read about it. It has decent spin reversal, not like Dtecs (I've also played vs that) but it's decent.

Anyway I'll have a match or 2 with different people on Wednesday and hopefully get some more multiball on Friday plus a match with Anatol if his knee is ok. And on Sunday with the French girl Juliette if I didn't manage to on Wednesday. Should all make some good content to see really how I play in matches vs Variety of Decent/good players

_________________
my youtube
http://www.youtube.com/ndragon88

My Vlog / Blog
viewtopic.php?f=58&t=32572

Had some good matchplay this morning. The other 2 people I was hoping would be there didn't turn up, otherwise would have been some really strong opponents to get on video.

I did play vs another 2 opponents but i won easily. They were both div2 players ladies, 1 usual double inverted and the other uses NSD and Dtecs OX like me (she changed because she liked my blade). I also played Simon another match which I won 3-1

_________________
my youtube
http://www.youtube.com/ndragon88

My Vlog / Blog
viewtopic.php?f=58&t=32572

So today didn't go as planned so I took the opportunity to invite Simon (in the above vid) to play again. And I would use this opportunity to finally test out my Stiga Clipper with the same rubbers. I went back and forth every 15mins or so in drills and matches and also got his opinion on things too.

I'm glad I finally got to test this as it answered 2 major questions in my head. 1. Does this blade produce good reversal. YES it absolutely does. And it's the same as the NSD, at least we both didn't notice a difference.
2. Is it harder to control in terms of rebound speed and bounce height/arc/throw/whatever you call it. What I myself noticed is the arc/throw/whatever you call it was a little higher which definitely resulted in higher balls at times. The rebound/speed definitely surprised me a bit, at the low pace shots/blocks it's slow, sometimes feels slower than NSD even, once you get to the medium pace it starts to get faster than NSD but surprisingly on the harder pace it's not that different to NSD. What I did notice though was the better loops I often blocked high or miss the table slightly. Of course this can be adjusted, just something to note.

The conclusion is no need to touch that bat again and no more curiosity. I also learnt that I can definitely use Glanti on there and the spin reversal will be fantastic so wouldn't need to buy any other blade to try.

However I am not interested in going down that route now (at least for the moment) as I'm hitting quite a bit with my LPs and am worried I will lose that part of my game.

_________________
my youtube
http://www.youtube.com/ndragon88

My Vlog / Blog
viewtopic.php?f=58&t=32572

You mentioned about better loops.
A lot of glanti/anti/lp players have that problem.
blade may be ideal for the b/h but the f/h is compromised.
you can go on for ever trying to find perfection.

Yep you're right. I sometimes think about trying the Defplay Senso since it's so cheap, but I now think that ok I get better shorter more consistent blocks but then I 'think' give up on reversal and FH speed too?

Makes me not bothered to try anything new again lol

_________________
my youtube
http://www.youtube.com/ndragon88

My Vlog / Blog
viewtopic.php?f=58&t=32572

+1 .I suggest you stay away from the flanti route,..... you will never be satisfiesd with the setup,..... instead, you could try modern or classsic defense...... that will always work if you put the necessary work into it .

Look how manufacturers want to mesmerise defenders with the surreal spin reversal and bla bla bla,....in the end, you will need a great Fh,.... which, for that reason,..just pips is enough,... either close or away from the table .......

I would love to get back to modern defence but I gave that up to save my knee.

You know you're the 2nd person to tell me I need a great FH to play with Glanti, and I really wonder why that is. What is it that's different between than and LPs OX at the table? Coz we could look at Amir.....he doesnt use his FH much and yet he plays really well with his glanti

Explain a bit more for me plz so I can understand

_________________
my youtube
http://www.youtube.com/ndragon88

My Vlog / Blog
viewtopic.php?f=58&t=32572

You don't really need a great fh, not any better than if you use LPs etc.

A good fh helps ANY style! With pips/anti, you get a lot of setup balls -- and without a good fh, those are essentially pointless (classic/terrible pun). Having a powerful FH keeps the other player from relaxing and being too casual in how they return to your junk side.

The other route is to go SUPER defense mode... push, push push 100 times if need be EVERY point to win it. Block and push on the fh as well. Extreme consistency, excellent placement/anticipation and controlling ball height are the key factors there IMO. You really only need a 'deterring' attack, if you wish to call it that. Something to scare the opponent so they're not able to fall asleep. You might find some super-duper defensive guy... easier as a chopper on both wings. Even the wondrous PUSH BLOCKER began going for many more attacks on the FH in recent years. If that ain't a sign of the times, I don't know what is!

_________________
SOULSPIN CUSTOM BLADES
Fh: Spinny rubber
Bh: Not so spinny rubber...

Your pip hits were looking good, but probably a bit too 'loopy' in height and trajectory. On the same token, when you play the lower level people in your videos, your blocks are often too passive. Ball ends up going mid long on the table, not too low in height. Against better players, if that becomes your go to block... DONE! They will eat that alive and might even leave a thank you note in your bag If you watch some of the higher rated blockers, you'll see they always (when possible) give the ball some energy to increase the speed and control the height. None of those C arc blocks. It's a to b, going right to a place their opponent doesn't like to see the ball!

_________________
SOULSPIN CUSTOM BLADES
Fh: Spinny rubber
Bh: Not so spinny rubber...

You make some good points. Especially the blocks thing, on the same note vs the lower lvl players though those blocks being a little all over the place tend to cause more trouble as they go for loops and don't judge so spin so well. Vs the higher rated players my blocks have a little more oomph to them due to their spin.

But what do you think about vs Simon and Semi. I can see Semi almost always puts them away though but I feel like that's just on me to be quicker and read the game better no? But if it becomes something where I just cannot handle these these what would your advice be then?

_________________
my youtube
http://www.youtube.com/ndragon88

My Vlog / Blog
viewtopic.php?f=58&t=32572

I would love to get back to modern defence but I gave that up to save my knee.

You know you're the 2nd person to tell me I need a great FH to play with Glanti, and I really wonder why that is. What is it that's different between than and LPs OX at the table? Coz we could look at Amir.....he doesnt use his FH much and yet he plays really well with his glanti


As your level goes up , you will face better opponents.You do not get as many points from the glanti as the level goes up so you need a good fh to kill the point .
Flantis are just mere shields that yield points at lower levels, with pips you can do many more strokes, you are more versatile in a word.

Lps can do many more things than just block or chop with the anti-although the strong point of an anti is not chopping-

Amir uses his fh flat kill to kill the point many times.If he had a stronger fh, he would be playing in better leagues.DMS only shows the sets and points where he shines so as to be able to mesmerise defenders, just marketing.Amir did get a good level with anti, yes,..... but he is a rare case ....the amount of time invested in a flanti plus the ridiculous money you have to invest is not worth imo.

Watch this girl

https://youtu.be/KOC_RWwL-XI

To me, she has a pretty ideal style. Notice how long, low and skimming her long pip blocks are. The energy is going forward! She doesn't give those high slower blocks, unless relying on a short ball attempt. It's really about the bounce height after hitting their side of the table. Trying to always keep it below smash height.

Against the people in your videos, I would say they don't have speedy enough footwork to capitalize on the slower, higher arc returns. So you can get away blocking to good locations, even if the shot isn't so crisp. The first thing I noticed myself playing vs better people was their sheer annihilation of those higher shots!

_________________
SOULSPIN CUSTOM BLADES
Fh: Spinny rubber
Bh: Not so spinny rubber...

This video proves my point.She uses the pips to kill the point with the fh.Likewise,you will have to do the same with flanti at a decent level,so investing in flantis is expensive and limiting whereas the pips offer more variety.

I know a flanti player about 2100 usatt, using Dr neubauer. He has a good forehand as well. It's rare that someone would attain a pretty high level with just blocking, especially with flanti or even long pips. You see them quite a bit at lower ratings where opponents lack consistency and put away strokes.

I'm sure there are others, but Oliver mader the pushblocker was one of the one trick block ponies over 2200. I've seen maybe 2 others in videos playing a similar style, though usually with penhold.

Whether you use fh kill or twiddle and backhand kill... just need a weapon to clean up and force mistakes. Without one on an equal playing level, the blockers game is too low pressure and essentially any opponent at the same level or even below, will be able to wait out the blocker and pick his kill shots with patience.

Having said that, I think dragon uses his fh a good bit to attack. He doesn't look like a desperate bh blocker if he practiced more setups and got used to the transitions, should be a good style

_________________
SOULSPIN CUSTOM BLADES
Fh: Spinny rubber
Bh: Not so spinny rubber...

Exactly this! At 0:40 is what I need to learn ASAP. But watching her is exactly what I want to achieve. Although she had 2 balls that she could have LP loop killed like I do but she instead pushes long and fast which although didn't win the point it did force a weak high ball which she finished.

Tomorrow I'm training again with the top 300 French women's player who smashes all my long non low balls. I will film the match at the end and show you all, I'll hopefully get another game off her if possible, but we will see.

Btw whether I play LPs or Anti I am looking to improve my FH to go from bad to great (fingers crossed I can do it within 2022)

_________________
my youtube
http://www.youtube.com/ndragon88

My Vlog / Blog
viewtopic.php?f=58&t=32572