My Low-Budget EJ Journey

perham · Dec 13, 2017

After 4 years of playing garage-style table tennis as a young highschooler, I stopped playing table tennis altogether for 10 years. I started to play again by joining a local club since February, and focussed on improving my technique in training sessions of the club by asking the coach every time what I was doing wrong. Since then, I’ve improved greatly in my technique; but I also learnt that not everything can be improved. I have problems with my knees and hip due to my extra weight, so the improvement in my footwork is quite limited. Nevertheless, I think I have reached at least a level to recognize where I’m going wrong, and what habits I need to correct to improve. I’m now playing a lot of competition games, but I look at them as practice opportunities. So even if I don’t score very well, I try to do the correct stroke rather than the safest stroke. One aspect of the game that I was interested in was to try different equipments and see which of them seems to be more fun playing with. I already got some very useful advice here in my previous threads, and I knew which setup would be best to help me improve my game. But still, I was itching to know firsthand what the difference between each particular setup is. To reduce the financial burden of EJing, I limited myself to Chinese blades and rubbers, and anything I can find in a sale. In total, I spent around 250€, which I assume is a good budget to learn the basics of equipments. I will post my impressions in this thread little by little to (i) share my experiences with others, and (ii) keep a diary for myself. Here’s a list of equipment I’ve tested, and will test once they arrive by post:

Blades:

Yasaka Max Carbon 3d
Andro Trunom Aratox
Sanwei CC
Palio CAT
Friendship C-5
XVT Dragon Wood
Yinhe Y-13 (to be received)
Yinhe N-11s (to be received)
XVT Rosewood Nano 7 (to be received)
XVT Ebenholz 7 (to be received)
HRT Red Crystal (to be received)
Huieson Arylate Carbon 7ply (to be received)
Huieson Hybrid Carbon 7ply (to be received)

Rubbers:

Donic Barracuda (2.0, MAX)
Stiga Calibra LT (2.0)
Palio CJ8000 (2.0)
Kukotaku 868 (1.8)
Friendship 729 Cross (2.0)
Artengo 920S Speed (MAX)
Cornilleau Drive Spin (1.8)
Stiga Calibra LT Sound (2.0)
Yasaka Mark V (2.0)
Yinhe Mercury II (2.0)
Palio AK47 (to be received)
DHS Hurricane NEO 3 (to be received)
Zeus Long Pimples (to be received)
KTL Pro XP (to be received)
KTL Rapid Soft (to be received)
Huieson Training Rubber (to be received)

Reviews coming soon! (I try to record some videos, but I can’t promise since our club is not very camera friendly!)

shinshiro · Dec 13, 2017

Hi perham, looking forward to your impressions!
When I started EJ (just a few months ago actually) I also wanted to go low budget with chinese rubbers and chinese clone blades from the famous brands.
But a little later I realized that it would not be sufficient to satisfy my curiosity and that I would have to go for the more expensive ones to calm down my EJ desease...but I hope it wont happen the same to you hehe

perham · Dec 13, 2017

shinshiro said:
Hi perham, looking forward to your impressions!
When I started EJ (just a few months ago actually) I also wanted to go low budget with chinese rubbers and chinese clone blades from the famous brands.
But a little later I realized that it would not be sufficient to satisfy my curiosity and that I would have to go for the more expensive ones to calm down my EJ desease...but I hope it wont happen the same to you hehe

Hehe, true. Controlling EJ is a discipline requiring strong internal kung-fu powers, but so far I managed to keep the daemon at bay (barely)!

Tinykin · Dec 13, 2017

The fun journey begins

Simas · Dec 14, 2017

perham said:
Hehe, true. Controlling EJ is a discipline requiring strong internal kung-fu powers, but so far I managed to keep the daemon at bay (barely)!

Fighting the same battle here too

The last time I started changing the rubbers every second week it didn't go well to my game play, so this helps with my urge to find something "perfect for me" every time.

perham · Dec 14, 2017

Simas said:
Fighting the same battle here too
The last time I started changing the rubbers every second week it didn't go well to my game play, so this helps with my urge to find something "perfect for me" every time.

What l learnt so far is that "the perfect" keeps changing as I train more and get better. For example, since I corrected my topspin stroke, my preference has changed towards harder rubbers on forehand and slower blades with more feel, because now my focus has changed from power to placement. I do believe EJing a little is not necessarily a bad thing, because it allows one to know what they want from the equipment, and also it's kinda fun. But too much EJing would definitely hinder learning performance.

Sent from my Ramos M7 using Tapatalk

Simas · Dec 14, 2017

perham said:
What l learnt so far is that "the perfect" keeps changing as I train more and get better. For example, since I corrected my topspin stroke, my preference has changed towards harder rubbers on forehand and slower blades with more feel, because now my focus has changed from power to placement. I do believe EJing a little is not necessarily a bad thing, because it allows one to know what they want from the equipment, and also it's kinda fun. But too much EJing would definitely hinder learning performance.

Sent from my Ramos M7 using Tapatalk

Well I wouldn't be so sure if that's equipment junking you are talking about or progressing

For example in my case I am regressing (had tennis elbow, now I strained my ankle

) and still putting plans what should I buy next: short pips for my FH, blade with hinoki outer layers (thinking about Cornilleau Hinotec OFF), maybe a TSP balsa blade (postponed at the moment after some feedback in the forum..) and the list goes on. And that's having in mind that generally I am pretty happy with my current setup

perham · Dec 15, 2017

I don't think EJing and looking for a better setup are mutually exclusive. I don't consider EJing a bad thing to be honest. It is definitely a fun part of the game. If you have enough budget to EJ, I say all the more power to you! It's not going to be a very productive way of spending money, but I know Magic the Gathering players who spend 5 times my total budget for a single card. So I'm not sure table tennis is the most expensive hobby that is out there

.

Simas said:
Well I wouldn't be so sure if that's equipment junking you are talking about or progressing

For example in my case I am regressing (had tennis elbow, now I strained my ankle ) and still putting plans what should I buy next: short pips for my FH, blade with hinoki outer layers (thinking about Cornilleau Hinotec OFF), maybe a TSP balsa blade (postponed at the moment after some feedback in the forum..) and the list goes on. And that's having in mind that generally I am pretty happy with my current setup

shinshiro · Dec 15, 2017

A good way to EJ without loosing too much money is to buy used blades at good price (or new blades with a good discount) and then reselling them at the same/ similar price. With rubbers it is more complicated because they loose value much quicker, but the idea is the same. I always keep an eye on 'for sale' section to see if there is a very good deal

perham · Jan 25, 2018

I’ve been playing for at least a month now using my new setup: Yinhe (Galaxy) N-11s and Stiga Calibra LT Sound on forehand and Yasaka Mark V on backhand. So far, I must say I’m impressed. First of all, the blade is amazing. I would rate it on the upper side of OFF-. It has a nice and large sweet spot, and has a great feeling to it. Combined with the softness of Calibra LT Sound, I have all the time in the world to create a super spinny opening loop against heavy backspin balls. The blade is a bargain considering its price, but needs a little bit of finishing touches to be really good. I used hairspray to seal it, and a bit of sanding of the handle to make it more comfortable.

When compared to my previous setup (carbon blade + hard chinese rubber on the forehand) I noticed that my forehand loops are slower, but way more consistent now. I can place the ball more accurately now. Granted that the rallies take longer since the loops are not as fast, but I get more points from being consistent than before, so I’m improving a lot in the competition games. The only downside to Calibra is it’s bounciness, which means I have less spinny serves now. I need to improve my technique to reach the same level of spin as before (which is a good thing).

On the backhand, I’m happy with Mark V. I can’t say it’s exceptional at any certain aspect, but what I can say is that it is consistently good. I can play the flicks quite easily, and it’s not very spin-sensitive like Baracuda was. All in all, I noticed that now I play closer to the table since the overall speed of the setup kinda demands it, and my game is improving since I can clearly see where I lack the correct technique.

Lightzy · Jan 25, 2018

Try Palio King Yue with Palio AK47 Red

Budget EJ holy grail!

UpSideDownCarl · Jan 26, 2018

I think rokphish should make the High Budget EJ Journey thread.

rokphish, if you read this, how many blades do you have at this point?

[emoji2][emoji2][emoji2][emoji2]

Hopefully rokphish doesn’t mind me being a joker.

Sent from The Subterranean Workshop by Telepathy

thomas.pong · Jan 26, 2018

UpSideDownCarl said:
I think rokphish should make the High Budget EJ Journey.

rokphish, if you read this, how many blades do you have at this point?

[emoji2][emoji2][emoji2][emoji2]

Hopefully rokphish doesn’t mind me being a joker.

Sent from The Subterranean Workshop by Telepathy

I've got too many expensive blades myself. Your advise on the Korbel has calmed my EJ a whole lot, my wallet also thanks you!

perham · Jan 26, 2018

UpSideDownCarl said:
I think rokphish should make the High Budget EJ Journey thread.

rokphish, if you read this, how many blades do you have at this point?

[emoji2][emoji2][emoji2][emoji2]

Hopefully rokphish doesn’t mind me being a joker.

Sent from The Subterranean Workshop by Telepathy

Then we can compare the two journeys

perham · Jan 26, 2018

thomas.pong said:
I've got too many expensive blades myself. Your advise on the Korbel has calmed my EJ a whole lot, my wallet also thanks you!

One thing that compelled me to keep the budget low was understanding the fact that most of the problems in my game have a lot to do with footwork and much less with the equipment. So now I'm not really looking for a "perfect" setup per se, but in fact I'm just trying to satisfy my curiosity.

thomas.pong · Jan 26, 2018

perham said:
One thing that compelled me to keep the budget low was understanding the fact that most of the problems in my game have a lot to do with footwork and much less with the equipment. So now I'm not really looking for a "perfect" setup per se, but in fact I'm just trying to satisfy my curiosity.

It definitely has just about everything to do with technique rather than equipment, especially since the equipment can be kept simple. The equipment is a detail and a refinement once technique is acquired over time.

But it's super fun to source and try different blades and rubbers! And I myself am super curious about the differences and subtleties, and am also a collector by nature once I'm passionate about something. Most blades are beautiful objects and some have history. (I actually kept my rubber EJ low, as I turned to MX-P early on and loved it).

Your low budget EJ journey is a great idea! One I would have pursed myself had I known more about some of these brands and their quality originals and clones when I first got started. I probably spent way too much money on expensive blades but I don't regret it and don't intend to part with many if any of them in the near future, and I'll keep accumulating some (mostly used or clones) little by little over time, and get some of them signed when I run into some pros. Once thing that was helpful was to stick with one main blade for long periods of time, and never try more than one or two on the side here and there for comparison as I refined my search for what felt good and was appropriate for my game, level and improvement. Now that I found a blade I absolutely love to play with, it's more curiosity and collector bug than anything, I'm not looking for something "better" or "perfect" for me anymore.

So I think by keeping your budget low, you can have fun with it, try quality blades that are not overpriced, understand the differences and subtleties while accumulating equipment knowledge, and refine your personal search for what feels right for you. And you'll be able to share valuable knowledge and experience with the TT community and forums that will be helpful to those seeking new equipment!

My Low-Budget EJ Journey

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