Is my fast blade a “crutch”?

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Just before March I briefly switched blades and had the realization that maybe I’m relying too much on my blade for power and that it’s affecting my technique.

My typical is setup is the JOOLA Nobilis blade with Rhyzer Pro 50 on forehand. (Dan did a review of the Nobilis with LiLy Zhang). I really like the springiness of the Hinoki and enjoy using the blade.

I’m a standard two wing looper offensive style player. One of my equipment junkie friends insisted that my style was more suited towards the DHS Hurricane Long V blade. So I glued my Rhyzer 50 Pro on forehand, did some training, and then played a league match.

I play the same group of people every week in this particular league. My opening loop is usually quite good and overwhelms the opponents in that league. But this time they were able to easily block all of my loops! Even the follow up fifth ball attacks. The HL5 is significantly slower than the Nobilis, but... I should of at least been able to generate a decent amount of pressure with it. I lost my matches but noticed towards the end of a match that I need to come forward more and shift my weight forward more to get good a loop that pressures my opponent.

As a point of reference here is a short clip of me looping with the Nobilis. (To be fair it’s at the end of a training session when my technique was looking better) https://youtu.be/N7WsVZ59IHA

I went back to the Nobilis because I didn’t want my rating to go down. But now that leagues are cancelled I’ve been trying to work on my fundamental technique.

The HL5 isn’t that slow right? Do you think it makes sense to use the HL5 and try to work on generating more rotational force in the forwards direction (instead of directing so much of my energy upward)? I’ve currently got a sheet of tacky rubber on the HL5 (Jupiter II). Not sure which forehand rubber to use going forward. (I don’t like boosting).
 
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Speed is not everything. What other observations did you make when switch to HL5. Did you notice improvements in other areas? Did anything felt worse apart from speed and pressure?

I am in similar situation, I switched to more flexible blade that has less immediate power and makes me work harder. Also, if you are switch to tacky rubber it will feel way slower, until you adapt. Consider whether this switch is worth to you at this time. Inn my case I gotten more feeling and spin so I consider it worth it.
 
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To be honest, your forehand looks better than mine. Mine really sucks at the moment. So I can't really give you advice regarding that.
But one thing I've noticed, is that it seems like you're rushing yourself. I've noticed that higher level players relax more between balls.
Just watched an interview about the chinese national team. It was mentioned the importance of relaxing between balls to reduce stress.
I've noticed that a lot of non-pro seniors have this tendency to rush or what you would call it.
I hope that you can use this advice at least :)

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In short, to answer your thread title "Is My Fast Blade a Crutch?" - the answer is "most likely".

It's so easy to buy faster equipment to make up for short comings in technique and the exogenous but immediate boost in "playing level" tends to impede actual improvement.

From my personal experience, I've found it so helpful to give my slowest setup (i.e., 5-ply all wood) to a high level player. It's always humbling to see what that "slow" equipment is actually capable of - for me, that tends to look like my slowest setup in the right hands being 1.5x faster than what I'm currently capable of with something that's considered a "much faster" setup. The difference in speed is entirely due to technique, which helps me to understand I have lots of room for improvement and even my slowest equipment can produce speed and power that I would be so happy to possess.

In watching your video-clip, it's clear that you've got some decent technique - and, it's also clear that there is a lot of room to increase the speed and power of your shots. To me, it looks like a lot of the energy from your stroke is going into an angle that's helping you spin the ball, but very little energy is going forward to put pace on the ball (something that you're already aware of as you've alluded to it in your post).

In my opinion, it certainly wouldn't hurt going with a slower setup (e.g., HL5....or perhaps even an all-wood 5- or 7-ply to support your two-wing looping desires) and deliberately working on techniques to produce the power and speed you want. My personal experience would suggest an all-wood blade is capable of producing significantly more speed than you've demonstrated in the video - this isn't meant as an insult, but more to suggest that I'm confident that you could obtain blisteringly fast speeds using slower equipment with practice and adjustments to your technique.

At the end of the day, you should do whatever brings you the most enjoyment of the sport since that's what it should be about.
 
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The HL5 is going to be a much more powerful blade (on powerful shots) compared to the Nobilis. But it is also a blade that will give you very little if you hit soft or inefficiently (as you've noted, your stroke could be more optimized in general, not just for the HL5) which is why a lot of lower level players find the HL5 slow. The Nobilis is kind of the opposite - in more powerful play the strength hits a ceiling and leaves a bit to be desired (based on what I've heard from a few very high level players, not my own experience).

I don't know how telling that short video clip is but I don't think you are at the level where your blade is going to be responsible for the power on your shots. There are a few technique things that you could work on to add power, and you won't be lacking with either blade.
 
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Dude, such a fast blade and such a slow ball... I get accused of the slow ball, but not so much the fast blade.

You would do well to get a rubber that is softer sponged dynamic for now and stick with it for a couple years along with your lessons.

You could keep that fastish blade, or get one more appropriate for looping... so many around you would take forever to list 10% of them. Prolly better to get a looping blade, suck it up and drive on with the "Slowness" and learn feel... and touch... and how to make your own power.... then explore faster stuff later when you have the tools to do it.

That isn't the only way to go, there is no set exact one correct way in TT, but the way I explained is well tested and true.

You judge for yourself, but i would ask you to consider whatever you do, stay with that stuff for a couple years with lesons.
 
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Best thing I ever did was switch to Nexy Karis rubber*. It goes fast when I put effort into it, it goes slow when I want it to go slow, and it is totally predictable. It allows me to really swing hard when I want to rip and then the ball rips. After 10+ years of Tenergy 05, nothing improved my technique more.

If the day ever comes when I can actually PLAY again, it will be interesting to see if I still feel that.

* Stiga Mantra has many of the same characteristics
 
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If you win more with the "faster" blade then just use that one and improve from there. Having what you feel to be an unfair advantage is exactly what you want in any sport.

HL5 (well HL5x which is similar) is super fast though, especially if you're putting a tensor on forehand, then the speed on mid-high power shots feels like you're cheating, but you lose the easier touch play you get from Chinese rubber that's still ridiculously fast if you want it to be.

It doesn't appear that you're trying to hit hard in your video, which is understandable, I consider it wasted energy when practicing, but you should have it when needed.
 
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The Nobilis has a Hinoki top ply which really grabs the ball well. If you wanted to use something slower for a few months, to a year to force you to use more legs, hips, core roation, weight transfer, you might get a blade that is slower but has a Hinoki top ply.

Using a slower blade for a while can actually help you improve the mechanics of your stroke and then when you go back to the faster blade you keep the good mechanics and add the extra speed from the faster blade to the fact that the slower blade will also help you learn how to increase the amount of spin you generate.

So, there would be nothing wrong with taking a certain amount of time with a slower blade. The slower blade may also get you playing more tactically. Der_Echte often talks about how he takes periods where he uses a slow blade and always finds when he goes back to his normal blades he has improved. So, nothing wrong with doing that. But, if you like Hinoki, some of your loss of power with a blade as fast as the HL5 may be due to the fact that the blades are very different and Hinoki grabs the ball much harder than a Limba top ply will. So, you may have been generating less spin with the loss in speed.

Different kinds of wood will just require a different kind of touch and contact with the ball for you to get the most out of it. So, some of it really may have been how different an HL5 is in comparison to the Nobilis you are used to.
 
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Changing equipment has costs not only benefits. Changing to a slower blade won't force you to improve your technique, you could just play slower shots.

If your mind decides it is time to change your technique it will happen as fast or faster with the blade you are already accustomed to.
 
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If you want a slower blade with hinoki top-ply, then maybe J-Tech from Avallo AVX looks ideal. They rate it as being off, but it's a 5-ply. So maybe it's really off-

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Part of the situation with the Nobilis is that it has a certain springiness that shoots the ball out quickly during weaker strokes and blocks relative to other blades in the same category. (Dan mentioned that in his review). I think this causes my slow (but big upward motion) loop to get a bit more speed then it would with the HL5. This seems to be why I didn’t realize that my looping technique (against backspin) needs more forward motion and rotation.

@UpSideDownCarl seemed to pick up on the second issue about being used to the feel of Hinoki. The Hinoki has a certain grabbing effect (or ball hold?) that I’m accustomed to. I also think that the ball hold is what makes the Nobilis seem to have more control like Yogi mentioned. Going to a slower Hinoki outter blade might be an option. But... I actually really like the HL5 on backhand. I seem to be more consistent on backhand with it.

Also: My spare blade is an Xiom Fuga (which is basically and Avalox P500 clone). Thin OFF- blade with koto outer. @Der_Echte Does that fit your definition of a “looping” blade?

Regarding forehand rubber: I dislike how medium sponged tensor rubber performs during touch play. 50 degree tensors gave me extra control when pushing short because the sponge doesn’t engage as much. The somewhat harder “Pro” topsheet of Rhyzer Pro 50 also seemed nicer when brushing. So far I prefer either 50 degree tensor rubber or hybrid tacky rubber on forehand. But I could consider medium/medium hard sponged rubber if there is something out there that doesn’t suck at touch play. Mantra M maybe? Karis?

For now I’m practicing a more forward motion loop (with three different bats) while filming in slowing motion.
 
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Regarding forehand rubber: I dislike how medium sponged tensor rubber performs during touch play. 50 degree tensors gave me extra control when pushing short because the sponge doesn’t engage as much. The somewhat harder “Pro” topsheet of Rhyzer Pro 50 also seemed nicer when brushing. So far I prefer either 50 degree tensor rubber or hybrid tacky rubber on forehand. But I could consider medium/medium hard sponged rubber if there is something out there that doesn’t suck at touch play. Mantra M maybe? Karis?

stiga mantra M is pretty good in the short game, but as dan mentioned in his reviews the ball will pop up a bit if you're not careful

i think baal mentioned somewhere that mantra M and karis behaves similarly, but not having used karis im basically parroting his words

edit: derp moment, baal said it way above this thread
 
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Having used Rhyzer Pro 50 on HL5x (thicker core), I would say that you should be able to produce much faster ball and also at least as spinny with the 'amount of effort' from the clip you linked.

If you are using the HL5 with a very upward stroke and the brush is not propelling the ball forward, then the HL5 will behave more like a all-wood blade because you are not allowing the carbon or the natural 'flex' of the blade to get engaged as much.

It's totally fine to brush quite upwards like you do (on the 5th ball) but you need much more forward acceleration. The Rhyzer Pro 50 you 'can' brush loop with mainly the topsheet, but to get the best of that rubber with more power & spin (using spin to control the ball) you need engage the sponge more.

I'd develop two sets of looping technique...one that is more control oriented like you are doing in the clip (but put the placement much deeper on the table) and also one where you are brush looping with a much more forward path and acceleration, using slightly more sponge than you are now. Think, [Sharon Alguetti's technique](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUilRxPBM18) rather than a Harimoto or Chinese National team.
 
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Xiom Fuga is in the zone of appropriateness for a developing player like a thousand other blades. An added plus of this blade is that it will play better closer to the table on aggrssive shots... although it is still possible to play at distance with feel and control over raw power. None of that is a national crime for anyone trying to grow strokes. Pair with appropriate rubbers for your impact and stay with it a while.

So many possible things that fall under appropriate I would get blue in the face before I get through 5% of them.

You have many "camps" of thought... majority old school get real sow stuff and train and train... then swith later... some like to get somethng offensive oriented if a player is gunna be offensive player and train with that... both ways can work given guidance correction and training.

The big winning arguement many of the old school crowd have is that the slower equipmment will make you feel ball more and use more of you to get the same resultant ball... so that when you get faster gear, you have feel, touch, and biomechanic to make that jooker really sing.

That isn't such a terrible crime either, right?
 
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The agruement Baal is making in switching to a near totally LINEAR rubber is that you are not relying on raw catapult, the output is nearly directly correlated to input. The benefit of that is control under pressure. Other benefit is directly related to the theme of the thread and (why I think Baal mentioned it) is that you KNOW what is going to happen if you do 20/30/40 or whatever percent power to the ball... that predictability is confidence to make the shot and it increases performance.

On a seperately totally different tangent, the newer gen ABS ball is so easy to banana flip difficult underspin serves, but also, it is easier to counter attack incoming topspin balls. With a modern, dynamic SOFTER sponged rubber on my favored wood (or oeven some composit ones) I have a LOT of confidence to counter an incoming topspin... I almost crave it sometimes... a big change from before... I just have more confidence sometimes.

Confidence comes from seeing the ball go in.. the more you see it go in, the more confidence you have as a player. it is mental and it is real.

One thing to do under the pressure of a match is to gear down, soften the hand, go for less and place it a little more... but above all, land the ball and keep landing it. This gives you a calmer mental to get aggressive again and still make the shots.
 
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I switched from a fast blade to an all-around for almost a year and it was great for working on my technique. It forces you to use the body’s power to generate a powerful shot. Then, if you switch back, you may not need to use so much of the body as often, but when you do you have the technique and power.

I don’t know if the fast blade is a crutch for you, but I know a few people using fast equipment that really can’t use it to its full potential because of incorrect basic technique. I also know a few who like slow equipment but can hit blistering fast shots because of great technique.

My guess would be that it can’t hurt to give it a go with a slower blade for a while. I’ve seen more points won with good placement or other tactics than with power.

A quick note about the video. Your loops look like they have too much upwards effort and not enough forwards. It’s the difference between contacting the back of the ball or contacting a little closer to the top. Looks like you engage the body well, but don’t really have much racquet speed going on. Something to do with arm swing and bent elbow, probably need to relax your whole arm more, let the body twist bring the arm around in a fast swing.
 
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Also, it was harder for me to adapt to a new slower blade. My body for some reason needed more time to learn to put more effort into shots with slower stuff. It usually took about 20hrs to get same ball. Maybe it has to do with that I limited myself with faster stuff to not overshoot the table or something along these lines.

If now is the time that you don't lose ranking maybe its time to try something new.

BTW if what I said, is the case for people than me, than that barrier is only ones head. There is no need for blade or rubber change. There is only need for training and pushing your limits :/ Although using gear you feel is safe might also be helping to convince yourself you can hit/brush harder and use your body more efficient (efficiency is the name of the game in terms of table tennis).
 
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