Tenergy for "BEGINNER"

Hey all! I have another question! A month or so ago I asked my coach if I could use tenergy for backhand, but he seems very strongly against it, and gave me this speech about how utterly and terrificly fast it is and how he only started playing with it very late in his carrier. He also told me I will not be able to do a full stroke and if I "touch" the ball it will fly out super fast. he made it seem like some sort of crazy future next level rubber. I was bummed out but a week ago my rich friend (lol im poor AF) brought his racket with tenergy 64 on both sides, which is supposed to be the fastest tenergy rubber. And when I tried it, yes it was fast and took a little time(literally 1 minute) to adapt to it but then I was doing full topsin strokes on both forehand and backhand. So does anyone seem to know why people are so against it? My coach isn't the only one on other websites i've also seen people disscuss how bad it was for "begginers" but I clearly am not one.

Yea that seemed like a huge hassel XD
 
This user has no status.
This user has no status.
Member
May 2016
119
36
230
The better you get the more you'll realise Tenergy is not for beginners or even intermediate players imo
 
  • Like
Reactions: anchorschmidt
says 2023 Certified Organ Donor
says 2023 Certified Organ Donor
Well-Known Member
Sep 2011
12,821
13,210
30,388
Read 27 reviews
perhaps the coach believes that your basics arent solid enough to fully utilize the likes of tenergy

I know a player 2-3 levels better than I who refuses to use Tenergy stating he isn't god enough to use it. I believe he IS good enough to make good use of it, but the problem is, this player likes a linear control rubber for most of what he likes to do.

I think you response is concise and a correct summary. I also believe that right out of the gate a player doesn't need to get the spinniest fastest stuff, middle of the road to low end OFF equipment give a player a much better chance to develop feel and control to learn what they will become and later select equipment more suitable for it.

The pundits and I have major disagreements on defining these things, but in concept totally agree. I think it is more of a wide range within a concept that is possible, also more than one way possible, but the asbestos underware wars ignite on this.
 
says 2023 Certified Organ Donor
says 2023 Certified Organ Donor
Well-Known Member
Sep 2011
12,821
13,210
30,388
Read 27 reviews
Another forum member who is likely a level+ better than I ditched Tenergy and MX-P for a linear modern rubber. We have had enough talks about that to get into all who/why.

One good point mentioned or referenced is some players CAN use Tenergy well and are at a good enough level to make great use of it, but discover they can also do what they want with other equipment.

I believe enough data exists to support the mantra that there is more than one way. Kim Jung Hoon literally says this every damn time each time he makes a vid coaching an amateur player.
 
This user has no status.
In my club the youngster squad play with the old pros' tenergy rubbers - less spin, less catapult, but yet tenergy.
The faster advancing youngsters go to knew rubbers. The squad has a lot of regional and national league prizes and even national champions.

Thats an idea. At my club the starter racket is friendship blade with 2 friendship rubbers. Once they've conquered the basic technique, they get something like vega or europe or el-p on the forehand and donic big slam on the backhand.
 
This user has no status.
I honestly believe with a solid ALL+ blade with Mark V/Sriver/Mendo/friendship 729fx/DHS Neo commercial etc you can start from beginner and go all the way up to challenging premier league players or 2000+ players quite easily before ever feeling like you need certain equipment to advance further.
But if there is a tenergy more suited to 'beginners' its going to be an FX version, probably T80FX or T64FX.
 
This user has no status.
This user has no status.
Well-Known Member
Dec 2010
3,779
4,569
16,162
Depends on what kind of player you want to become .. if you want to become close to the table attacker ... somebody who takes every ball as early as possible and topspins it ... you have the fitness to do fast footwork and want to play that kind of bang bang table tennis ... I think you can even put tenergy 05 and start training smaller strokes right from the beginning .. of course you will need coaches who can and will teach this ... this is an effective way to develop quickly but it has some limitations ... for example your understanding of spin and adaptability may not grow as much as you might want them too ...

... however, if you want to play with feeling and touch and want to develop as an all round player who can control the pace the game and don't necessarily have the footwork or agility to cover the entire table staying close ... there are other options to choose from ...
 
This user has no status.
This user has no status.
Active Member
Dec 2011
533
89
623
After saying what I just said, I have seen Korean coaches coach new players that use Schlager Carbon and T05 both sides... and these players quickly develop the required at the table drive strokes quickly in Korean fashion.

that might be decent strategy if the coaches give enough attention to their students. ive seen coaches kinda milk their students. but then again that might be the student being really slow at progressing
 
says 2023 Certified Organ Donor
says 2023 Certified Organ Donor
Well-Known Member
Sep 2011
12,821
13,210
30,388
Read 27 reviews
that might be decent strategy if the coaches give enough attention to their students. ive seen coaches kinda milk their students. but then again that might be the student being really slow at progressing

Korean coaches do not milk the students. They are very consistent, seem to have the same playbook. Lessons in USA from a former pro player cost 80 USD an hour, broken into 20 minute segments, that would be 12 of those a month for a total of $240 USD. In Korea, it costs around $150 USD or so for the same 12 lessons of 20 minutes for the entire months and that includes unlimited play at the club anytime. There is no financial incentive to milk.

Milking the player seems to be a USA thing from foreign coaches. It is also the fault of the person taking lessons. If I was average USA club level of a not so good 1400-1500 USATT level, AND I paid 80 freeking USD an hour 2-4 times a month AND did not move up 3 levels in 1-2 years, then something would be seriously wrong and it would be my fault.

Some players don't care and just want to cherry pick the flashy things they want to impress folks at the office at lunch or sometimes the player just isn't going to develop like a child does with the same training... result is same, many do not measurably progress and it is a bad situation.
 
says 2023 Certified Organ Donor
says 2023 Certified Organ Donor
Well-Known Member
Sep 2011
12,821
13,210
30,388
Read 27 reviews
Korean coaches all seem to wait until the joker taking lessons reaches some defined milestone so many times or to a certain quality. It might be 250 consecutive FH to FH at high speed close to the table for that stroke or whatever, you get the idea, coaches firmly have a measuring process they all know before they move the training to another level. They will not let you cut corners or skip step. They individually and collectively are very insistent. If you do not show the required consistency or whatever they are measuring, they do not advance you.

Der_Echte might be the only player in Korean TT amateur history who progressed not even coming close to meeting standards. Der_Echte does NOT by any measure do a FH to FH fast speed close to table (called a HWA in Korean) very well, I really suck in consistency on that stroke, I rarely use it for only 1 or 2 times in a rally only occasionally in a game. I average 5-12 of those high speed exchanges and I break down. However, since I can make a really heavy opening topspin and can topspin again heavy or fast, they made an exception for me and moved me up. They knew I would never play amateur Korean style TT and just moved on in the different things in the lessons.
 
  • Like
Reactions: anchorschmidt
This user has no status.
Hey all! I have another question! A month or so ago I asked my coach if I could use tenergy for backhand, but he seems very strongly against it, and gave me this speech about how utterly and terrificly fast it is and how he only started playing with it very late in his carrier. He also told me I will not be able to do a full stroke and if I "touch" the ball it will fly out super fast. he made it seem like some sort of crazy future next level rubber. I was bummed out but a week ago my rich friend (lol im poor AF) brought his racket with tenergy 64 on both sides, which is supposed to be the fastest tenergy rubber. And when I tried it, yes it was fast and took a little time(literally 1 minute) to adapt to it but then I was doing full topsin strokes on both forehand and backhand. So does anyone seem to know why people are so against it? My coach isn't the only one on other websites i've also seen people disscuss how bad it was for "begginers" but I clearly am not one.

Yea that seemed like a huge hassel XD

Maybe I'm not a beginner but more of a lower level intermediate player but when I started out with TT again as an adult I rapidly moved from Mark V (too bouncy) to Bluefire M2 (wore down too fast). I then went to the main TT shop in my area (TTex) and basically told them that "I'm an adult, I can afford it - which Tenergy shall I use?" fulfilling my old dream of playing with the best stuff there is. I realized that "best" is a relative term but I still wanted to try.

I was surprised when the TTex guys (reluctantly, but still) adviced me to go for T64 or maybe T64fx. Being marketed as the fastest Tenergy that suggestion surprised me. But my finding is that "fast" is very much based on the fact that it has a lower trajectory than the other Tenergy's. It is far more forgiving and holds the ball longer than e.g. the T80 which I have been using now for six months on my forehand. Being in the wrong position (and at my level that is more common than being in the correct position;)) I still land more balls on the table with the T64 than with T80. It grabs the ball so that I can stand in an outrageouos position but still, with just a wrist movement, land the ball just over the net with huge amount of spin.

So if you want to try out Tenergy I would say there is a surprisingly large difference between, in my case, the T64 and the T80 and the T64 is what I would suggest to begin with. But I guess it all comes down to playing style and level of play, of course.

That said, I will always be curious of what would happen if I went for something completely different. As I said, I've tried the Mark V, which didn't suit me at all, and Bluefire M2. Maybe something really controllable. Or something just different? Or... Or... I'm fighting that EJ guy sitting on my left shoulder.:rolleyes:
 
  • Like
Reactions: bobpuls
Top