Weight of the blade. Too heavy ?

mihalichtheone · Aug 30, 2019

Hello everyone.
I've found several posts on this forum regarding the weight of the racket and how it affects the feeling/play and most suggest that the heavier the better feeling/power etc.

I have Nittaku Acoustic (85g) and Yinhe V-14 Pro (92gr).
I am OK with playing Acoustic, but I don't really enjoy the sweet spot, it's not so consistent on blocking and lacks power on BH flicks.

This is why I bought Yinhe, ordered online and received a pretty heavy one.
Gave it a try and...everything is amazing, except for me not being able to relax enough to play with such a heavy blade. With Acoustic I can do the full swing, but with Yinhe I am trying to be very careful and therefore cannot relax my arm/forearm.

I play with Hurricane 3 Provincial (orange, 2 layers Falco) / 729 Battle II (1 layer Falco) on FH and Rakza 7 on BH, if that matters.

Any ideas, will I get used to it or should I look for another, lighter ALC blade ?
Thanks!

Brs · Aug 30, 2019

You will get used to it.

lVegita · Aug 30, 2019

mihalichtheone said:
but with Yinhe I am trying to be very careful and therefore cannot relax my arm/forearm.

Why ?

mihalichtheone · Aug 30, 2019

That's a good question. May be because the blade is heavy and I am afraid that ball will go long? Not sure. May be because I have less time to prepare for the next stroke, because heavy -> more effort

lVegita · Aug 30, 2019

For how long are you playing with it?

mihalichtheone · Aug 30, 2019

lVegita said:
For how long are you playing with it?

Couple of months, 3-4 times a week around 2h each training

UpSideDownCarl · Aug 30, 2019

mihalichtheone said:
Couple of months, 3-4 times a week around 2h each training

How old are you? Are you physically strong? When I was a kid I used to swing a 44 inch baseball bat (112cm). A 100 gram blade with rubbers that cause the setup to be 220 grams, to me is nothing. But to someone else, it might be more than that.

However, to me, somehow, it sounds like some of it is in your head if you are "careful" and tense. Why would a heavy setup cause that. The heavy setup should give more inertia to your stroke and make you swing harder to overcome the weight. Try to do a session where you really relax and let the ball rip even if it doesn't go on the table. Throw away the idea of landing the ball on the table.

However, the quality of an Acoustic and the quality of a V-14 Pro should be vastly different even if you liked the V-14.

yogi_bear · Aug 30, 2019

Better with acoustic where you can swing fully than a controlled swing being afraid the ball will go out

mihalichtheone · Aug 30, 2019

UpSideDownCarl said:
How old are you? Are you physically strong? When I was a kid I used to swing a 44 inch baseball bat (112cm). A 100 gram blade with rubbers that cause the setup to be 220 grams, to me is nothing. But to someone else, it might be more than that.

However, to me, somehow, it sounds like some of it is in your head if you are "careful" and tense. Why would a heavy setup cause that. The heavy setup should give more inertia to your stroke and make you swing harder to overcome the weight. Try to do a session where you really relax and let the ball rip even if it doesn't go on the table. Throw away the idea of landing the ball on the table.

However, the quality of an Acoustic and the quality of a V-14 Pro should be vastly different even if you liked the V-14.

The quality is indeed different, since the top ply of the Yinhe torn off (just a little) in some spots. Happened when I removed the rubber, but I don't think that this is a huge problem. Should've sealed it T_T

The advice on trying to relax is a very good one, I will try so this weekend.

I am 27, btw. And I wouldn't say that I am physically weak or something

Thank you!

mihalichtheone · Aug 30, 2019

I actually have a video of me playing with the top player in our region. And on this video I play with Yinhe.
(I am in a blue t-shirt)

UpSideDownCarl · Aug 30, 2019

You are strong. Your technique is solid. You should be able to play whichever racket you like better. Don't worry about the weight. Choose the racket you like more.

My guess is, there are other reasons you could not get used to the weight besides the weight. If you loved the racket and it felt great and amazing to you, if it fit your hand just right, if it was the perfect speed for you, or whatever other details, the weight would have been something you did not even notice after a few hours of play.

mihalichtheone · Aug 30, 2019

UpSideDownCarl said:
You are strong. Your technique is solid. You should be able to play whichever racket you like better. Don't worry about the weight. Choose the racket you like more.

I will continue playing with Yinhe then, because in matches I really won a lot of games just because the blade has more power than 5ply wooden Acoustic. May be I just need more time to get used to the weight.
Thanks for the tips and help!

thot · Aug 31, 2019

You play well.
How much is the total weight of the setup with rubbers?
I'm not sure if you fail to hit the ball a few times at serve receive because of the weight or because you misread the spin and/or speed. I had the same issue when I was using a 190+ gr setup. After I had shoulder pain I switched to a lighter setup and my shoulder was better, also I've stopped missing the ball. With a heavier setup I felt that I have small delay when I hit the ball. All my reactions were slower, even my usual partners noticed this, they also noticed when I switched to lighter setup: less unforced errors from my part.
I haven't bought this blade exactly for the problem you have. I saw a picture with the top ply coming off.

mihalichtheone · Aug 31, 2019

thot said:
You play well.
How much is the total weight of the setup with rubbers?
I'm not sure if you fail to hit the ball a few times at serve receive because of the weight or because you misread the spin and/or speed. I had the same issue when I was using a 190+ gr setup. After I had shoulder pain I switched to a lighter setup and my shoulder was better, also I've stopped missing the ball. With a heavier setup I felt that I have small delay when I hit the ball. All my reactions were slower, even my usual partners noticed this, they also noticed when I switched to lighter setup: less unforced errors from my part.
I haven't bought this blade exactly for the problem you have. I saw a picture with the top ply coming off.

I actually don't have any scales available now.
This is the exact feeling I have now as you had.
I will play a month or so with this setup and if I am not able to adjust to it...well, will spend some money on another ALC blade.
Local shop has Butterfly Kenta Matsudaira 80g and Timo Boll Spirit 88g, which are both kinda not what I want. At least I think so

yogi_bear · Aug 31, 2019

Is the racket really heavy or just head heavy?

mihalichtheone · Aug 31, 2019

yogi_bear said:
Is the racket really heavy or just head heavy?

Nope, not head heavy definitely.

UpSideDownCarl · Aug 31, 2019

yogi_bear said:
Is the racket really heavy or just head heavy?

mihalichtheone said:
Nope, not head heavy definitely.

This is an interesting thought. If the blade was center balanced or handle heavy it would actually feel a lot lighter than it is.

What makes you sure it is not head heavy?

mihalichtheone · Aug 31, 2019

UpSideDownCarl said:
This is an interesting thought. If the blade was center balanced or handle heavy it would actually feel a lot lighter than it is.

What makes you sure it is not head heavy?

Well, this is only what I feel.
Acoustic is head heavy, but lighter in general.
On this blade I think it's somewhere around the center. Also some time ago I gave this racket to other players and they said the same thing - center heavy.

yogi_bear · Sep 1, 2019

With your swing, I do not think you really need a faster blade.

thot · Sep 2, 2019

In the video both you and your opponent are trying to open the game and quickly start the rallies far from the table and the slow reaction isn't as obvious. Far from the table you have time to get into position and hit the ball properly.

The slow reaction time was most obvious for me when I:
- play close to the table - against (fast) serves and long/short pushes
- play against people standing close to the table blocking and hitting fast using the arm and not the whole body, I know a guy which can hit very hard with a very short arm movement
- had to quickly adjust the bat angle/speed against weird balls: nets, edges - is much easier to return these balls with a lighter setup

Basically, whenever you need fast reactions a heavy setup will make you slower, unless you are in a very good shape.
In all the above cases the heavy setup affects my game and I make unforced errors. With a light setup I feel the paddle like a continuation of my arm, no latency present.
Most of the recent rubbers are very heavy IMO, MAX MX-S and MX-P 50 are 75 gr uncut, that's why I try to buy blades under 85 gr.

If you decide to buy a new blade you can try tabletennis11 and ask for a specific weight.

Weight of the blade. Too heavy ?

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