Want to also learn Long Pips playing

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Hello,

I'm a table tennis player with some training and have played 3-4 years with smooth rubber both sides. I play mainly against men who usually overpower my shots to the backhand. I am a great natural receiver, hence, I do exceptionally well in doubles, which there are people who hate doubles and those who love them.

But I want to try long pips; I've played with it a few times and find it enhances my natural receiver capabilities and setting up my very strong forehand. Usually, the men will hit just very soft to my backhand. I had training from Sean O'neal, so I know footwork, but I am shorter and taller players tend to just reach to get the ball. I find the long pips to give better control and I can get back shots without always having to be right in front of the ball like with smooth rubber and hence, I too can reach like the taller players.

I'm not going for the olympics and/or I'm also no longer in my early twenties etc. I want to improve my game, but also want to enjoy playing it. I like playing long pips, but I find there is alot of abuse and name calling, including "cheating" by those not experienced with it. Some will refuse to hit with me. There are those who will, but why isn't there respect for this type of rubber? When I was a beginner just learning my strokes, I thought this was a joke too, but now that I have learned spin and know the various strokes, it is just another variable and/or element in the many different types of rubber, blades, etc that already exist.

Miriam
 
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Because long pips will change the spin when returning a ball (back spin to top spin, top spin to back spin) all by the character of the rubber, not your ability, so those who don't know how to play with it has the excuse. Ittf has set strict rules on the kind of long pips allowed to use in formal tournaments since 1997, regulating the long pips should not be too long (the ratio of the length to the diameter should not be larger than 1.1:1, if I remember it correctly). The most famous player using long pips was Deng Yaping. As we all know, she is short, with a strong smash on fore hand and ball control and direction-changing on the back hand. She retired in 1997 at the age of 24, partly because her long pip rubber didn't fit the new requirement. Anyway, it's really rare rubber, good luck:cool:
 
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says 2023 Certified Organ Donor
says 2023 Certified Organ Donor
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Haha all long pips are junk and not real TT! Only Non-Skilled jokers wanna try that stuff! Using LP is copping out on macho TT! Pips are for sissies! Pips should be banned illegal and do not support TRUE TT!

Well, those are some of the lines you will hear, not right, but what attitudes you will face from some jokers who are simply haters of LP. Most cases, these are payers who never learned to read spin and achieve much of a level. Ignorant and not very open minded, perhaps not very brave to struggle, learn, adapt and overcome come to mind. Just be ready to deal with that with your judgment. If someone gave me that crap, I would either ignore them, display three fingers and tell them to read between some lines, or invite them to drink a cup of STFO, maybe chew on a knuckle sandwich if they got in my face. As much as we don't like it, no one really is required to play every time we ask them, everyone is free to think what they want about whatever style, no matter how unfounded, so just not playing some players and walking to the next TT opportunity is what we prolly do.

As for getting serves back with LP, maybe you get to do that, maybe you get to do it better than you did before, maybe you find new ways to get it back that trouble your current opponents, however, there will come a time when just getting it back with LP will not get you an advantage and we must learn to do better. Heavyspin has discussed this with his LP adventure.

If playing with LP is fun for you and you can continue to learn/grow and hopefully enjoy even more, then great, you are doing better than a lot of us.
 
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Haha all long pips are junk and not real TT! Only Non-Skilled jokers wanna try that stuff! Using LP is copping out on macho TT! Pips are for sissies! Pips should be banned illegal and do not support TRUE TT!

Well, those are some of the lines you will hear, not right, but what attitudes you will face from some jokers who are simply haters of LP. Most cases, these are payers who never learned to read spin and achieve much of a level. Ignorant and not very open minded, perhaps not very brave to struggle, learn, adapt and overcome come to mind. Just be ready to deal with that with your judgment. If someone gave me that crap, I would either ignore them, display three fingers and tell them to read between some lines, or invite them to drink a cup of STFO, maybe chew on a knuckle sandwich if they got in my face. As much as we don't like it, no one really is required to play every time we ask them, everyone is free to think what they want about whatever style, no matter how unfounded, so just not playing some players and walking to the next TT opportunity is what we prolly do.

As for getting serves back with LP, maybe you get to do that, maybe you get to do it better than you did before, maybe you find new ways to get it back that trouble your current opponents, however, there will come a time when just getting it back with LP will not get you an advantage and we must learn to do better. Heavyspin has discussed this with his LP adventure.

If playing with LP is fun for you and you can continue to learn/grow and hopefully enjoy even more, then great, you are doing better than a lot of us.

A lot of men world Champions in the old time were using pips (most are short pips). The age of smooth rubber's totally overtaking pips is no longer than 20 years. Spin overwhelmed speed today. Long pip is of no advantage in both spin control and speed. It disappeared for many years even in women's TT world. It relies on people not adaptable to it, once people at a same level are more familar with it, it's harder for long pip to win.
 
says Ok. If you're interested tell me something. Regards
says Ok. If you're interested tell me something. Regards
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With LP you won't be able to receive with top spin, and the technique to hit tha ball flat is also different.
The changes you need to make in your backhand as huge just like your footwork. But if you like it you should try it.
If you can adapt and receive well it may give you lots of points.
But remember, it takes a long time to have a good control on LP and the rubber won't do miracles :p
 
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As a long pips player myself, I enjoy the easy returns for my opponent's service, but I've also learned to vary receive with forehand. As with what Der_Etche said, at some point, there will be players who have learned how to play lp, so it becomes increasingly difficult to trick them with spin. In that sense, you might expect their services returns to consistently work, and possibly after service, slightly longer rallies and of course, spinnier loops and returns from your opponents to lift an lp chop. That's when you work with offensive or defensive strategies. I, for one, am a defender, so I have some margin for error with my return, and I just have to work my way through a rally. On the other hand, since you have quite a strong forehand with lp on backhand, just like my coach, you can use the lp for pressuring the opponent when returning the ball in order to set-up for a strong topspin. I guess the only problem might be changing the muscle memory strokes and body movement for backhand, but it can really be worthwhile!

It's sad truth how people discriminate against lp, especially those who cannot play very well against it or have a hard time playing with it, and I can't help but show them that lp can be used offensively, not just for setting up an attack but even for directly attacking the ball with backhand. Although I use TSP Curl P-1r, a lp rubber that is almost always affiliated with defense, I can pull of a backhand that's not as fast as with pips-in, but it is lethal enough to kill the ball properly on an unsuspecting opponent. I find this backhand stroke very similar to antispin, in that it requires a very good amount of timing and brush, but as with any other motion, it can become a muscle memory movement. Basically what I believe I was able to get from lp is not just the basic defensive strokes, but I think that it opened up more possibilities for my backhand as well. It's not a rubber for the weak, rather, it's a misunderstood rubber for tactically inclined players.
 
says 2023 Certified Organ Donor
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At most any level below semi-pro, a combo LP/inverted style can be very successful by many people if they train to use it. Yes, it has some disadvantages, but at levels below semi-pro, not many are consistent enough to win vs a good LP operator of similar level.

Most of us are below semi-pro level, so I wouldn't discount the playing style just yet. if that style allows him to have fun, and also grow (which is entirely possible), then that dude is doing two things at the same time that a lot of us TT players don't have going for us. I say lets support cheerlead this dude and not discourage him. What he is trying to do at his level and 5 levels above him is easily achievable with the opportunity, training, and time.
 
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