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With some of the discussion about junk rubbers and twiddlers going on in the Croation player losing his mind thread, I thought I'd post a couple of thoughts regarding junk rubber synergies here, so that I don't derail the other thread.
By synergies, I mean that the players whole table tennis game is more than the sum of it's parts (inverted rubber on one side, junk on the other).
Kind of 1 + 1 = 3 .
Junk Rubber Synergies
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Common mistake (IMHO) made by lower level and some intermediate players: Evaluating long pips and antispin rubbers in isolation, and forgetting that there is much more to their use and effect than just the rubber itself. There are synergies with normal rubber that also should be considered.
Here's an off-the-cuff Level system that some of you might find useful:
Level 1: Player who uses long pip or antispin only (penholder), or the same long pip/antispin on both sides (shakehander).
At first glance, there doesn't seem to be any synergies here - there's no variation between the rubbers. But actually, there still is some synergy. Players like this benefit from the fact that most other players play against normal inverted rubbers. So there is still that effect that some of the junk rubber user's strokes will confuse the opponent because they look like one shot but behave differently. Plus the opponent must keep track of what spin he has just put on the ball, because that generally determines what spin is coming back. This is something that normally players don't really have to do.
Basically, at this level the junk rubber player benefits from the ingrained habits of other players, who aren't that familiar against junk rubbers. They also force players to keep track of what spin they have just used, which is not normal behaviour.
Level 2: Player uses normal inverted one side, junk rubber the other, but does not twiddle.
Now we start getting some obvious synergies, where it is clear that the use of junk rubber provides more than just a look at the properties of the rubber itself would suggest at first glance. In combination with an inverted rubber, you now get changes of pace, and spin creation/reversal behaviour. While the junk rubber is just as limited in its behaviour as in Level 1 above, now the addition of inverted rubber allows the junk rubber player to vary pace, spin etc with minimal effort, depending of course on which side the opponent plays the ball towards. This greatly increases the difficulty of playing against the junk rubber user, since now the attacker must deal with this extra variation, plus pay attention to which side he is hitting the ball.
2a) This difficulty can be increased further by playing up to the table and aggressively with pace, rather than slowly. The faster the ball is hit by the junk rubber player, the less time the opponent has to make his decisions and adjust correctly.
2b) It can be ramped up even more by actively attacking with the junk rubber instead of just blocking and pushing quickly. Again, less time for the opponent can make adjusting very difficult.
Level 3: Player uses normal inverted one side, junk rubber the other, and twiddles.
The synergies now are very large indeed. An active twiddler now has all the benefits of Level 2 play, plus the additional benefits of forcing the opponent to keep track of which side of the racket was used. The same looking stroke on either side could be completely different in result depending on which side has been used, and what spin the opponent has put on the ball.
Additionally, the junk rubber user has the benefit of no longer having a "safe" side where the opponent can play the ball with little spin to the junk rubber to control the point. Additionally again(!), the junk rubber user now also has the option of being able to twiddle to use the junk rubber to handle strong attacks by the opponent.
3a) & 3b) As for 2a) and 2b) above. The addition of more pace when blocking or pushing will make things more difficult, and the addition of calculated attacks from both wings with the junk rubber will make things hugely more difficult for the opponent.
Summary
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When discussing the subject of junk rubbers, keep in mind that the actual playing characteristics of the junk rubber only tell part of the story. IMHO, the junk rubber must be evaluated along with the rubber on the other side, as part of a whole package. The more skillfully and aggressively the combination bat is used, the more synergies the player will achieve by getting difficult deceptions and variations, and the higher the effectiveness the junk rubber will have.
By synergies, I mean that the players whole table tennis game is more than the sum of it's parts (inverted rubber on one side, junk on the other).
Kind of 1 + 1 = 3 .
Junk Rubber Synergies
-----------------------------
Common mistake (IMHO) made by lower level and some intermediate players: Evaluating long pips and antispin rubbers in isolation, and forgetting that there is much more to their use and effect than just the rubber itself. There are synergies with normal rubber that also should be considered.
Here's an off-the-cuff Level system that some of you might find useful:
Level 1: Player who uses long pip or antispin only (penholder), or the same long pip/antispin on both sides (shakehander).
At first glance, there doesn't seem to be any synergies here - there's no variation between the rubbers. But actually, there still is some synergy. Players like this benefit from the fact that most other players play against normal inverted rubbers. So there is still that effect that some of the junk rubber user's strokes will confuse the opponent because they look like one shot but behave differently. Plus the opponent must keep track of what spin he has just put on the ball, because that generally determines what spin is coming back. This is something that normally players don't really have to do.
Basically, at this level the junk rubber player benefits from the ingrained habits of other players, who aren't that familiar against junk rubbers. They also force players to keep track of what spin they have just used, which is not normal behaviour.
Level 2: Player uses normal inverted one side, junk rubber the other, but does not twiddle.
Now we start getting some obvious synergies, where it is clear that the use of junk rubber provides more than just a look at the properties of the rubber itself would suggest at first glance. In combination with an inverted rubber, you now get changes of pace, and spin creation/reversal behaviour. While the junk rubber is just as limited in its behaviour as in Level 1 above, now the addition of inverted rubber allows the junk rubber player to vary pace, spin etc with minimal effort, depending of course on which side the opponent plays the ball towards. This greatly increases the difficulty of playing against the junk rubber user, since now the attacker must deal with this extra variation, plus pay attention to which side he is hitting the ball.
2a) This difficulty can be increased further by playing up to the table and aggressively with pace, rather than slowly. The faster the ball is hit by the junk rubber player, the less time the opponent has to make his decisions and adjust correctly.
2b) It can be ramped up even more by actively attacking with the junk rubber instead of just blocking and pushing quickly. Again, less time for the opponent can make adjusting very difficult.
Level 3: Player uses normal inverted one side, junk rubber the other, and twiddles.
The synergies now are very large indeed. An active twiddler now has all the benefits of Level 2 play, plus the additional benefits of forcing the opponent to keep track of which side of the racket was used. The same looking stroke on either side could be completely different in result depending on which side has been used, and what spin the opponent has put on the ball.
Additionally, the junk rubber user has the benefit of no longer having a "safe" side where the opponent can play the ball with little spin to the junk rubber to control the point. Additionally again(!), the junk rubber user now also has the option of being able to twiddle to use the junk rubber to handle strong attacks by the opponent.
3a) & 3b) As for 2a) and 2b) above. The addition of more pace when blocking or pushing will make things more difficult, and the addition of calculated attacks from both wings with the junk rubber will make things hugely more difficult for the opponent.
Summary
-----------
When discussing the subject of junk rubbers, keep in mind that the actual playing characteristics of the junk rubber only tell part of the story. IMHO, the junk rubber must be evaluated along with the rubber on the other side, as part of a whole package. The more skillfully and aggressively the combination bat is used, the more synergies the player will achieve by getting difficult deceptions and variations, and the higher the effectiveness the junk rubber will have.
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