Chinese rubbers

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Questions about Chinese rubbers

Hello everyone! I've been watching a lot of Chinese and Korean players' matches lately and some of the comments that talked about their equipment made me curious about Chinese rubbers.
I'm relatively new to table tennis so I don't have a lot of knowledge or experience with different equipment, so I'm not really familiar with Chinese rubbers.

**The only time I remember actually using a Chinese rubber was some months ago at my local club, where one person there used one. When I tried his setup out I was expecting the rubber to be really slow, so I used quite a bit of power into the first shot. Surprisingly the ball flew like a rocket. I don't know what rubber it was and what treatment (if any) it had been through though.**

After watching the videos, I made a bit of research, read about the tackiness, speed, boosting, commercial, provincial and national versions, orange sponge, blue sponge, etc... And my interest in this type of rubber grew (I want to try out what some of the pro's are using!! even though that might be pretty stupid).
Not sure if I should actually buy one though. As many people here advise, I'll probably try someone else's setup before buying anything anyway. When quarantine is over, of course.

So, what are the pros, cons and differences of using a Chinese rubber as oppose to tensor rubbers?
Will anything have to change regarding my technique? Will it be a really drastic change or even help me in any way?

Thanks in advance!
 
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You need to have a good varied amount of brush contact with chinese rubbers to fully maximize its usage but it has its rewards if you have. It is not as good as esn or tenergy rubbers when you are far from the table.
 
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Chinese rubbers (hard, tacky ones) like DHS Hurricane 3 NEO, is perfect for brush looping. The harder sponge, the more aggressive style you should play (according to me). These rubbers are very linear. What you give is what you get. To play optimal you'll have to really work hard, bend your knees and swing fast, and if you do it well, you'll get rewarded :)
 
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Surprisingly the ball flew like a rocket. I don't know what rubber it was and what treatment (if any) it had been through though.**

Your forehand technique must be different when you use Chinese rubbers, if your ball flew like a rocket is because you didn't brush the ball enough. Chinese players learn to "hit with their body", especially the hip, your arm/hand are just here to transfer the power. Once you know how to hit with these rubbers you will see that your forehand will be difficult for your opponent to counter/block :cool:
The main advantage of ESN/tensors rubbers is that it is easier to generate power and spin just with your arm.
 
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I also don't understand why people say Chinese rubbers are slower. I have played D05 both sides for about a year. Before that I played H3N. I am comparing a one year old H3N boosted one year ago and a new D05. When using less than 50% of power, the D05 is indeed a little faster. But as long as I am actively flat hitting or looping, they are pretty much the same. They feel different, one feels springy and one feels solid, but the resulting power and spin are pretty much the same.
 
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I also don't understand why people say Chinese rubbers are slower. I have played D05 both sides for about a year. Before that I played H3N. I am comparing a one year old H3N boosted one year ago and a new D05. When using less than 50% of power, the D05 is indeed a little faster. But as long as I am actively flat hitting or looping, they are pretty much the same. They feel different, one feels springy and one feels solid, but the resulting power and spin are pretty much the same.



Try H3N without booster and you will see why people say Chinese rubbers are slower. With booster of course its not slow
 
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Could it be possible the plastic balls have reduced the perceived speed difference between Chinese rubbers and "faster" rubbers? In the past I've felt a large difference but I've since felt that the unboosted Chinese rubbers seems to be less handicapped by it's lack of speed.
 
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That's a good point. More frontal area means more drag, and drag is also proportional to speed squired. There could be some difference in speed at the paddle, but the delta is much reduced at the other end of the table.

Could it be possible the plastic balls have reduced the perceived speed difference between Chinese rubbers and "faster" rubbers? In the past I've felt a large difference but I've since felt that the unboosted Chinese rubbers seems to be less handicapped by it's lack of speed.
 
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With regard to brush, it is true that one can do thin brushing against low spin or top spin incoming balls. But to lift heavy under spin balls, one needs use more forward motion than with tensor rubbers. That's a challenge I observed the most from club members trying out hurricanes. Contrary to what people believe, T05 and D05 are actually better at grabbing under spin balls than H3N. The reasons are 1. H3N is too sticky and the point of contact becomes a good pivot point, 2. H3N's top sheet is too hard to deform to absorb the rotational energy. These two reasons make the ball easier go sideway along with its rotation. So, in order to grab and lift a heavy under spin ball, one needs to hit into the ball to make rubber deformation to nullify its rotation.

Of course, one could also brush faster to catch up with its rotational speed and lift it up. But, that'd be like a chopper to chop a top spin ball only in reverse rotation.
 
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I also don't understand why people say Chinese rubbers are slower. I have played D05 both sides for about a year. Before that I played H3N. I am comparing a one year old H3N boosted one year ago and a new D05. When using less than 50% of power, the D05 is indeed a little faster. But as long as I am actively flat hitting or looping, they are pretty much the same. They feel different, one feels springy and one feels solid, but the resulting power and spin are pretty much the same.

Chinese sticky rubbers will always be slower than non sticky ones because the tackiness reduces the speed of the ball upon contact.
 
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I also don't understand why people say Chinese rubbers are slower. I have played D05 both sides for about a year. Before that I played H3N. I am comparing a one year old H3N boosted one year ago and a new D05. When using less than 50% of power, the D05 is indeed a little faster. But as long as I am actively flat hitting or looping, they are pretty much the same. They feel different, one feels springy and one feels solid, but the resulting power and spin are pretty much the same.

With regard to brush, it is true that one can do thin brushing against low spin or top spin incoming balls. But to lift heavy under spin balls, one needs use more forward motion than with tensor rubbers. That's a challenge I observed the most from club members trying out hurricanes. Contrary to what people believe, T05 and D05 are actually better at grabbing under spin balls than H3N. The reasons are 1. H3N is too sticky and the point of contact becomes a good pivot point, 2. H3N's top sheet is too hard to deform to absorb the rotational energy. These two reasons make the ball easier go sideway along with its rotation. So, in order to grab and lift a heavy under spin ball, one needs to hit into the ball to make rubber deformation to nullify its rotation.

Of course, one could also brush faster to catch up with its rotational speed and lift it up. But, that'd be like a chopper to chop a top spin ball only in reverse rotation.

The main challenge of Chinese rubbers for a lot of people is how to contact or brush the ball. The tackiness helps a lot in looping but it needs skills and with skills are rewards for your correct shots.
 
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