Dear friends,
Just watch the first 3mins & 30 secs will do. I keep missing my FH and I have no idea why. Pls help. Opponent is the type that uses Long-Pips on his BH and uses 90% long-pips even on the FH side. He hardly use his smooth rubber side.
Idk, it doesn't really seem like a LPs issue to me. I watched the first 2 sets. In the 1st set you were 5-4 against his LP returns, you were 1-3 against his inverted side, only one was a loop by him, then you missed 3 service returns and 1 unlucky net. In the 2nd set, you lost 5 points on service receive alone, 3 of them from his inverted side. You lost one more from a smash, which was off of a LP shot but it was a lob of a no spin shot from you so it shouldn't have been an issue. I only counted 1 point lost by you against his LP return where LP would've affected things.
after watching the video above, I self diagnose what ails me is being too rushed. Now I know the Rx, I will self medicate and hopefully get better at facing long pips.
after watching the video above, I self diagnose what ails me is being too rushed. Now I know the Rx, I will self medicate and hopefully get better at facing long pips.
Your BH is looking real good, a ton of improvement there! That FH power is awesome as always. I think his inverted side gave you more trouble overall, because your more hitting style doesn't give him a lot of spin to reverse with his LP side. His switching between LP and inverted probably gave you more trouble than you'd usually have against inverted because you're paying so much attention to his LP.
I agree that some more patience would've done it. You can just redirect his inverted returns to his LP side, then destroy the next ball that comes to you. It'll really simplify your attacks as well as you can just focus on one type of rubber to play against.
On the equipment side, my current rubbers are wearing out, so perfect time to make a change! I thought the current rubbers can last a while longer, but I think the recent FH focused training has really done a number on my FH H3. I just re-boosted it 2 weeks ago so the sponge is still OK, but the topsheet is crap now. So many "tssss" when brush looping, and drives against half-long backspins which require a bit finess keep having instances where everything felt good but somehow I didn't catch the ball well and there's no arc to the ball.
This time I decided to boost a bit lighter than usual, just 2 fairly light layers. I also shaved my Q968's head down ~2mm, resulting in ~2gm weight reduction and much better balance.
Dear friends,
Just watch the first 3mins & 30 secs will do. I keep missing my FH and I have no idea why. Pls help. Opponent is the type that uses Long-Pips on his BH and uses 90% long-pips even on the FH side. He hardly use his smooth rubber side.
Your forearm usage is now better and you are committed to using it to drive the ball on both sides which is good. It's not the best way to play but it is one of the good templates for amateur players at a certain level and mastering how to use it to spin and drive eill take you far as long as you practice both (you are pronating and supinating to drive on both sides but again do the physical work to make sure you dont get injured or have shoulder issues with this style).
Yes the issue is rushing but I prefer to call it trying to play inverted timing against a pips ball without adjusting to the pips timing. You need to have gears to play with against all styles and then continually tune the gears until you find the one that works against your opponent. Work on placement and consistency so that it doesnt end up as either your kill your opponent or you kill yourself on every shot. You will find that as long as you are playing offensive shots, you will get 90% of the same high even if they are not devastating kills all the time. And with pips, the ball gets heavier after a couple of control shots and for me, it is a bit easier to kill heavier balls than to kill no spin balls. Everyone is different though, it depends in your style.
watch this MD; specifically at six minutes and seven mins fifty seconds. The opponent in red return a high floaty ball with his pip side and I FH it long. Why?
If it is inverted, it would have gone in. This is the problem I need to address. Why long? What can I do to make it not long?
Pls assist. Tq.
NB: Both opponents are having smooth and long pips combo. While me & my parter are botb smooth rubber.
Dear friends,
Just watch the first 3mins & 30 secs will do. I keep missing my FH and I have no idea why. Pls help. Opponent is the type that uses Long-Pips on his BH and uses 90% long-pips even on the FH side. He hardly use his smooth rubber side.
You often serve long side spin, with a lot of spin, to his LP. All your spin goes back in ugly form, and that ball, while possibly high, is not that easy. I'd try serving with less spin and a bit shorter to his LP. The ball you get back should be easier to attack... Well you can try... And also short serve to his FH, with good spin, either top or bottom, but so that he can't get it with his LP - he sometimes takes the serve on the FH with LP too - so you might step a bit more to your FH side during serving to increase the angle... Easier said than done... But experimenting with serve I'd try that... We have a LP player in our division, higher ranked than me, he always destroys me...
watch this MD; specifically at six minutes and seven mins fifty seconds. The opponent in red return a high floaty ball with his pip side and I FH it long. Why?
If it is inverted, it would have gone in. This is the problem I need to address. Why long? What can I do to make it not long?
Pls assist. Tq.
NB: Both opponents are having smooth and long pips combo. While me & my parter are botb smooth rubber.
The lady discusses it but a high level, your partner has served a backspin ball so no matter what your opponent does to it with long pips, it will have light to heavy topspin on it on the return. The worst is that it will come back dead. You take it late and lift it off the table. The simplest thing is to take it early and get on top of it or if you take it late, accept that adding topspin with a lift is too risky and you need to reduce the height you are swinging towards. In general, I encourage people to stop trying to hit the ball hard all the time in practice in a way that doesnt teach them how to adapt to different incoming spins. You are an experienced player by now so you should have practiced your strokes against enough balls to tell what is happening when you miss the ball and how you misread the spin. Players who make their misses all about their stroke and not about the match between the ball they read and the stroke they used to match their read never get better. Players who get better over time learn to adapt to the ball their opponent is giving them over time so their reads get more accurate and their possibilities for offense get wider.
You often serve long side spin, with a lot of spin, to his LP. All your spin goes back in ugly form, and that ball, while possibly high, is not that easy. I'd try serving with less spin and a bit shorter to his LP. The ball you get back should be easier to attack... Well you can try... And also short serve to his FH, with good spin, either top or bottom, but so that he can't get it with his LP - he sometimes takes the serve on the FH with LP too - so you might step a bit more to your FH side during serving to increase the angle... Easier said than done... But experimenting with serve I'd try that... We have a LP player in our division, higher ranked than me, he always destroys me...
The ball is easy, but the read has to be adjusted to and you don't adjust to it by assuming it is a ball you know and then trying to kill it. You adjust to it by seeing what happened the first time and rather than repeating that, taking something off it or taking it earlier or later at a lower height or hooking it with control to a better spot on the table. But Gozo wants to kill or be killed so...
The ball is easy, but the read has to be adjusted to and you don't adjust to it by assuming it is a ball you know and then trying to kill it. You adjust to it by seeing what happened the first time and rather than repeating that, taking something off it or taking it earlier or later at a lower height or hooking it with control to a better spot on the table. But Gozo wants to kill or be killed so...
For me, because I don't get these balls often during practice, they are hard, I mean harder than they look like... I certainly don't blame myself anymore for missing such balls... And generally I try to give as less spin as possible to the LP's... Still needs variation...
Your forearm usage is now better and you are committed to using it to drive the ball on both sides which is good. It's not the best way to play but it is one of the good templates for amateur players at a certain level and mastering how to use it to spin and drive eill take you far as long as you practice both (you are pronating and supinating to drive on both sides but again do the physical work to make sure you dont get injured or have shoulder issues with this style).
Yes the issue is rushing but I prefer to call it trying to play inverted timing against a pips ball without adjusting to the pips timing. You need to have gears to play with against all styles and then continually tune the gears until you find the one that works against your opponent. Work on placement and consistency so that it doesnt end up as either your kill your opponent or you kill yourself on every shot. You will find that as long as you are playing offensive shots, you will get 90% of the same high even if they are not devastating kills all the time. And with pips, the ball gets heavier after a couple of control shots and for me, it is a bit easier to kill heavier balls than to kill no spin balls. Everyone is different though, it depends in your style.
The lady discusses it but a high level, your partner has served a backspin ball so no matter what your opponent does to it with long pips, it will have light to heavy topspin on it on the return. The worst is that it will come back dead. You take it late and lift it off the table. The simplest thing is to take it early and get on top of it or if you take it late, accept that adding topspin with a lift is too risky and you need to reduce the height you are swinging towards. In general, I encourage people to stop trying to hit the ball hard all the time in practice in a way that doesnt teach them how to adapt to different incoming spins. You are an experienced player by now so you should have practiced your strokes against enough balls to tell what is happening when you miss the ball and how you misread the spin. Players who make their misses all about their stroke and not about the match between the ball they read and the stroke they used to match their read never get better. Players who get better over time learn to adapt to the ball their opponent is giving them over time so their reads get more accurate and their possibilities for offense get wider.
In summary:
1. Play slower. Adjust timing as LP returns are a different breed from regular smoothies.
2. Play safer: Probe the ball first, don't do John Wayne / Dirty Harry shoot first ask question later style.
3. Play Prof. Hulk style.
4. Don't be ANGRY HULK all the time.
Alright, Gozo — here’s the magic, minus the smoke and mirrors.
I looked at both rallies carefully, and here’s the forensic breakdown of why your forehands missed against his long-pip backhand (red).
1. What the Long Pips Did to the Ball
Your opponent’s BH blocks and chop-blocks are not adding spin — they’re returning your spin back at you, often inverted.
When you loop into his long pips, your topspin comes back as backspin or dead ball.
This changes two key things:
Ball drops sooner → you need to lift more.
Bounce is deader → less rebound, so you can’t rely on your usual timing.
Result: if you hit it like a normal topspin, the ball dumps into the net.
2. Contact Point Issues
From the frames:
In FH miss 1, your contact point is a hair too low — meaning you’re striking after the ball’s drop zone when it’s already losing energy.
In FH miss 2, you’re actually a fraction early, hitting while it’s still rising — but because the ball has no topspin kick, it floats and your open bat angle sends it long.
It’s the classic LP trap: they mess with your bat angle calibration.
3. Stroke Mechanics vs. Ball Reality
Your FH stroke in both rallies is loop-drive oriented — forward and brushing slightly up.
Against inverted topspin: perfect.
Against LP dead/backspin: not enough lift, wrong angle.
You needed either:
More vertical lift (think loop against backspin), or
More closed face & firm hit (if ball was truly dead and high).
But you were in between — neither a proper lift nor a proper flat kill.
4. Positioning & Read
In FH miss 2, the ball from his LP BH floats just slightly shorter and more central — you adjust late, so you’re using arm speed instead of body rotation.
That increases timing risk, especially when the ball isn’t spinning the way your muscle memory expects.
5. Mental Spin Map
Your brain is unconsciously mapping the incoming spin based on opponent’s motion, but long pips break that link:
Opponent’s bat angle looks like a push → brain says “backspin”
But depending on your prior shot, it might actually be topspin, backspin, or no spin.
You read one thing, the ball’s doing another — and your FH misses.
Chad’s Prescription
If you want to beat his LP BH and stop feeding it free points:
Spin Read Drill — Feed his BH different spins and call the spin before you hit the next shot. Train eyes before bat.
Two Gears Only — When unsure, either:
Treat all as slight backspin and loop with more lift.
Or step in early and flat hit with commitment.
Shorter Stroke — Reduce backswing vs LP to keep timing flexible.
Position Earlier — LP float balls demand you get behind the ball sooner, not later.
Kill the High Ones — If it floats above net height, don’t loop — smash.
Gozo, in short:
You’re missing because you’re swinging for the spin you think is coming, not the spin that’s actually there.
Long pips exploit that mental gap. Fix the read, fix the stroke, and his BH becomes a buffet.
Alright, here’s why that BH drive FTW was chef’s-kiss Gozo:
1. The Read
Your opponent’s shot to your BH came half-long and high enough — not deep enough to force you back, not short enough to demand a push.
You saw it early, and because it was from his long pips BH, you knew it was either dead ball or mild topspin — both perfect for a flat drive.
2. The Positioning
You were already slightly inside the table when you made contact — no shuffling panic, no last-second reach.
Elbow in the sweet spot for a BH drive, bat in the hitting zone before the ball even got there.
3. The Stroke
Compact and linear — no big loop preparation, just straight to the ball.
Minimal wrist flick, relying on forearm acceleration and a firm contact — perfect for punishing low-spin balls.
Face slightly closed to keep the trajectory low and fast.
4. The Contact
You caught it right at the peak of the bounce — that’s the money zone for BH drives.
Because the ball wasn’t kicking from spin, your direct forward hit turned it into a laser.
That timing meant zero time for your opponent to adjust — the point was dead on contact.
5. The Finish
You didn’t just hit hard — you hit to the open space.
Opponent’s stance after his LP shot was slightly weighted to his BH side, so your cross-court drive to his FH corner was both fast and unreachable.
💡 Why This Worked:
Against long pips, most players hesitate or over-lift. You didn’t. You saw the float, trusted your read, and went full conviction on the BH drive.
That combination — early read, compact swing, peak contact, and placement — is why this is a textbook point to replay in slow-mo and grin.
Gozo, this was weaponized simplicity — clean, decisive, nothing fancy, no “twirly bits” (your words).
You could literally build a “BH Drive vs LP” kill pattern out of this one shot.
In summary:
1. Play slower. Adjust timing as LP returns are a different breed from regular smoothies.
2. Play safer: Probe the ball first, don't do John Wayne / Dirty Harry shoot first ask question later style.
3. Play Prof. Hulk style.
4. Don't be ANGRY HULK all the time.
You can be angry Hulk, even all the time. The problem is wherher you can gather the information to read and adjust to the ball playing like angry Hulk. When I play pips, some peole are surprised by how consistently I am playing positive topspins, but I play at a speed and with technique that I can read what I am doing to the ball. I can't tell whether a full power smash goes into the net or goes long because I used too much power but I can tell wherher I am looping long oe into the net because I misread the spin and timing. But if you can tell how to adjust a full powered smash to make the ball consistent, feel free to use it. I suspect you don't but if you don't know how to adjust a regular loop either to understand what is on the ball, it won't make a difference.
Had a couple training sessions with the robot with the Q968. FH felt good as expected, nice arc. BH also reminded me of why I did BH training with the 968 series before. It really lets you know when you're not striking the ball right. The difference between the Q and W is that with the Q even when it's not struck just right it still produces a quality ball. I've also since learned that you shouldn't even attempt to strike the ball with the optimal power every shot, many times the correct shot is one that just brings the ball back with enough quality. Even WCQ's BH doesn't generate a cracking sound most of the time.
any old butterfly enthusiasts that could help me with ID'ing the age of this blade? i really love the current day jp korbel so when my gf showed me this whilst at a table tennis shop in Hong Kong i had to ask her to pick it up. got it for roughly 80 £
any old butterfly enthusiasts that could help me with ID'ing the age of this blade? i really love the current day jp korbel so when my gf showed me this whilst at a table tennis shop in Hong Kong i had to ask her to pick it up. got it for roughly 80 £ View attachment 37483
