OOAK Table Tennis Forum

So. Table tennis took off in our school about 2 years ago when we got a table. Since then it's mostly me and a few classmates left playing. We are using my rackets to play which are: Atemi 900 and Cornilleau Nexeo X90. Atemi is a light racket with a lot of grip and not so bouncy rubber. While the Cornilleau is heavy, has a lot of grip and rubber is super bouncy (Because it has no sponge). My main problem when playing Cornilleau is that when you receive a harder than average shot and you don't stand back the ball is guarantied to fly too far. That is a strategy used against me. I sometimes use it when friends play Cornilleau. So anticipating the next school year I removed the back (I don't know what it's called properly) rubber and I want to replace it with something to receive a sudden hard and spinning shot while not stepping back from the table.

Try an anti-spin, such as Tuttle prevention arc, or Friendship 804. Not sure if it will make a difference though as the problem is strategy and technique, not equipment. You should try not to get into that position in the first place, where you need to receive a harder shot. Don't give them the opportunity to make that shot.

Maybe something like Mercury 2.
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000577841018.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.0.0.25065cfdogwtT0&algo_pvid=6bd8960c-5ced-4f82-8ecd-7ec9e43f5438&algo_exp_id=6bd8960c-5ced-4f82-8ecd-7ec9e43f5438-0&pdp_ext_f=%7B%22sku_id%22%3A%2210000015313897113%22%7D&pdp_pi=-1%3B4.99%3B-1%3B-1%40salePrice%3BUSD%3Bsearch-mainSearch

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Smile in the mirror. Do that every morning and you'll start to see a big difference in your life.

Yoko Ono

Get something "normal" to begin with - you can decide, after you've been playing a while and have learned the strokes, whether to use anti or long pips. Don't get these just because you haven't figured out how to return serves yet - use them as tools, not crutches. On the other hand, if you're 60 years old and have been playing for 10 years and STILL can't return serves - then it's time to get a crutch..

What's normal? Something like this:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4001186948615.html

or this:

https://gamblertt.com/product/gambler-s ... o-rubbers/

On the other hand - avoid Grocery Store Bats. You'll find Grocery Store Bats at Target and Wal-Mart, or Amazon, or even sporting goods supply stores. They will have "well-known" brand names like Donic and Butterfly and Tibhar and Stiga, they come in nice plastic packaging with names and photos of famous players on them, but no who knows anything about table tennis bats (meaning people who post on this forum) will touch them. In general, they're slow and heavy. The only bats worth getting are ones from actual table tennis suppliers - Gambler, Paddle Palace, Table Tennis 11, etc.

Also avoid carbon blades. Way too fast for beginners, and to be honest, for most people. Also no sense in getting expensive rubbers, though they won't actually hurt your game (they might, however, be harmful to your wallet).

I think the Cornilleau bat has what it called "hard rubber" - the problem isn't that it's "too bouncy", it's that it can't produce spin. When you're blocking back a ball you want a rubber that grips the ball and turns the incoming topspin into topspin - this makes the ball dip when you block the incoming topspin drive. With the hard rubber, the ball goes back with backspin, and this is what causes the block to sail off the table.

Just put a sheet of normal smooth rubber on the bat (both sides) and learn to use it properly. You should easily be able to block back fast balls with it. Better yet - rather than do surgery to the bat, buy one of the two options I linked to above.

Iskandar

If anything its likely to be the blade rather than rubber. Just tap a ball up in the air a few times with both bats and if one has a significantly higher tone then its likely a much faster blade which the ball is coming off a lot faster and going long. Lots of variables in this but could give a clue.

Most likely technique though. I only guessing but I'd think a good club player would be able to return these shots with your bat.

Edit, just re-read and see its an outdoor bat with no sponge. I think you will struggle to glue a normal rubber on that and I'd suggest to simply get a starter bat from somewhere so you know you have something that can do all the shots therefore no excuses. Stay away from Walmart and sports stores. Let people here know a budget and we can go from there.

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Donic Waldner Senso V1,FH Baracuda Big Slam 2.0mm ,BH Victas Triple Regular 2.0mm

Trying to guess if you took the sponge (part that connects to the wood = blade) or the top sheet (that has pips on it) off.

Welcome to table tennis buddy.

If your shots are going long sometimes but not always, don't change your equipment. You lose out every time you gain something... A never-ending cycle.

Practice while you are young and new to the sport making strokes that will land. There is no equipment that will do it all. There is stuff that helps but mostly it is practice.

If you just want to beat your friends and never attempt to go up the ladder of playing, sure you can get a long pimple on one side and they will have no idea what is going on... but the novelty will probably get boring than just being able to do every shot you want with smooth slightly grippy on the outside rubber.

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Watch me playing TT

It seems like there are three assumptions (or at least opinions) beneath this statement:

1) Beginners using long pimples will never attempt to (or be able to) climb the ability ladder
2) Beginners using long pimples will get bored
3) Beginners using long pimples won't be able to do every shot they want

As a beginner I decided to use long pimples. Every person and their canine best friend said: learn to use regular rubbers first, learn your shots, it's just a crutch, you'll never improve, etc etc etc. I ignored them, persisted with LP, and learned how to play with them. I attempted to and successfully climbed the ability ladder, going from bottom division of local league to top of local league, to holding my own at national level, in leagues and tournaments.

I have never bored of long pimples. I am still able to learn new tricks, through watching and playing with experienced vets, and I still find it fascinating. Sure, there are things I can't do with LP, but there are many things I can only do with LP. I find the cat and mouse of using pimples, either to defend, to provoke, or to set up an attack one the most enjoyable aspects of the game.

As I improved I started to learn how to twiddle. This meant that not only could I do every shot anyone else could do on FH or BH, I also had a range of extra shots with LP on FH and BH that double inverted players didn't have. This means I can inject spin when I need to, or take advantage of generic "anti LP" advice such as "just give them no spin" or "just hack a backspin serve at their pimples and smash the return". Far from being boring, this added even more interest to the game.

I've now been playing with LP for nearly 10 years. I twiddle often, and can comfortably drill with people without them ever needing to worry about pimples. I am confident in all the "basic strokes" on FH and BH with inverted, plus I have a range of SP and LP shots I have learned.

I am not at all convinced that the age old mantra of "learn to use inverted first" makes any sense at all. LP play is specialised and difficult, and the more time/experience you have the better. And, as a beginner, yes, I did find some crutch-like benefits from LP, especially on serve. And it kept me playing, kept me interested, and helped my confidence grow. As I grew to be a better player I still learned how to read spin and serves, as anyone who uses LP will attest, you can't just blindly stick your bat in the way and hope for the best, and as you progress, you may want or need to return serves with inverted for tactical reasons. I just learned in a different order.

Of course I have no idea if I would have become a better player by sticking to inverted for a few years, because I didn't do that. However, I don't regret that for a moment, and as a result of my experience, I would not automatically trot out the "don't use LP yet" line, and at least from my own story, I think the three assumptions in the above statement can (and perhaps should) be challenged.

As for the OP (who it seems asked this more than 6 months ago, and hasn't written a single post since), I'm categorically not stating that they should use LP - not at all. I'm just offering a different perspective on the notion that beginners shouldn't use LP.

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Yasaka Sweden Classic | 802 OX | C8 OX
Check out my blog - LordCope's Latest Learning Log - 10+ years of accumulate mistakes!

How would anyone using "normal" rubbers "decide" whether to use LP or anti? Why would "learning the strokes" (whatever that means) help them decide that?

The best way to decide whether you want to use anti or LP is to try it. And be prepared for some pain while you learn how it functions. It's still "learning the strokes" - they're just different strokes.

As for not using LP or Anti because returning serves is an area of struggle, why not? Some people find certain parts of the game harder that others. Using LP to help with service return is no different from using a fast blade and fast rubbers to help with attacking shots. If a player wants to try using LP to help with service return, there's no reason to discourage this. It's just a trade-off conversation.

As for crutches - there's a thin line between crutch and a tool, and what starts out as a crutch can become a tool. And the sooner/the more you use it, the better you get at using it.

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Yasaka Sweden Classic | 802 OX | C8 OX
Check out my blog - LordCope's Latest Learning Log - 10+ years of accumulate mistakes!