Daily Table Tennis Chit Chat

[Archosaurus]

@Takkyu_wa_inochi

Maybe it sucks, but Australian Division 1 and State League players can't return it (most of the time at all), so I'm really curious to see how it will be when it doesn't suck! I'm coaching some mid-division players how to serve pendulum once in a while. Maybe the Australian level is just really low, I dunno. You don't find better amateurs though, anything past that is pro territory.

Played like hell today. Took players to 9-11 and 12-14 who usually convincingly beat me and completely out-rally me. Wish I'd been able to film it, but no proofs so I guess it didn't happen LOL.

Back is very tight today and it forced me to be lower with my legs, move them more and wouldn't allow me to reach for balls almost at all, which had a hugely positive effect on my play.

Moon Speed 53 EURO on the backhand also clicked immediately and I had so much confidence to just go for it, so I actually had a bit of a backhand too. Somehow it's faster, spinnier and softer feeling than the other Moon versions. It's not quite as performant as the top-tier rubbers but it might just be the low-cost king.

 

[Takkyu_wa_inochi]

@Takkyu_wa_inochi

Maybe it sucks, but Australian Division 1 and State League players can't return it (most of the time at all), so I'm really curious to see how it will be when it doesn't suck! I'm coaching some mid-division players how to serve pendulum once in a while. Maybe the Australian level is just really low, I dunno. You don't find better amateurs though, anything past that is pro territory.

Played like hell today. Took players to 9-11 and 12-14 who usually convincingly beat me and completely out-rally me. Wish I'd been able to film it, but no proofs so I guess it didn't happen LOL.

Back is very tight today and it forced me to be lower with my legs, move them more and wouldn't allow me to reach for balls almost at all, which had a hugely positive effect on my play.

Moon Speed 53 EURO on the backhand also clicked immediately and I had so much confidence to just go for it, so I actually had a bit of a backhand too. Somehow it's faster, spinnier and softer feeling than the other Moon versions. It's not quite as performant as the top-tier rubbers but it might just be the low-cost king.

Yeh sorry to tell you that the level in Australian is very low.

Even your Olympic representative who’s turned into an online coach and was posting on TTD not so long ago, would probably be trashed by many higher level amateur players in Japan.

It’s just not a real sport in Australia. Same that the Japanese Rugby team would lose by 50 point margin to Australia…

 

[J-fed]

Didn't know where else to put this but I didn't think it deserved its own thread. First time gluing LP and I think it turned out pretty well! It's not for me (so not an EJ purchase!), but I'm definitely curious...

View attachment 43098

View attachment 43099

LPs are glorious absurdity. I started with them about 4 years ago. I onlly play once or twice a week. Sometimes not at all so the feeling of exploring their capabilities stays fresh for me. Constantly discovering new techniques and characteristics.
So far I've tried feint long 2 (great allrounder), P3aV (like riding a hysterical bull with no testosterone) and now Yinhe 955 (a LP rubber for MP players).
I think I'll go back to feint because I have a barely used sheet left over and this 955 is boring because I have to attack all the time. If feint still not doing it for me I'd like to give that Dawei a try. Seems a good alternative to the P3aV which I really enjoyed. Trick master also intrigues me due to it's control, low slide and decent effect combination. Seems a very thoughtfully produced rubber. Made in collaboration with Barna no less!

 

[J-fed]

i remember vividly the last training of last year where i beat 2 very strong teammates and almost beat (matchpoint) the strongest one. but this year results have been shit, plagued with a series of injuries (back > knee > back > hip) which put me totally out of courts a total of 2 months in total. I was way below my best at ITTF World Masters (actually a miracle i could play). Without regular training, i lost feeling and confidence, and lost too many matches which affected my confidence even more. 150+ rating points lost in a short amount of time. - even lost to some kids in summer tournaments !

The only joyful result this year was some team results but i played a minor role as a player.

Nevertheless i don't feel pain anymore, and its been 2 weeks now since i came back from holidays in Europe; i want to get in form first and then exceed my best level.

Working more on serves is only one objective. I've also started lessons with a new coach, who's trying to better my fundamentals. Notably he thinks i've got too many unnecessary movements in my technique (== i need to be more stable), and i was taking the ball a bit too early on both sides. Need to relax more as well and use wrist/fingers more at impact [btw seen on YT a short video of a chinese coach explaining that being compact <> being stiff . You become compact by breathing and relaxing]

After having experimented with him the correct technique, i'm becoming aware of it and I feel already some improvement. On BH at least during exercises i can do it correctly. For FH, its a bit more problematic because there is a coordination problem with my footwork with these changes, and it means i have to be more aware of my position not just focusing on hitting the ball at/near the top of the bounce. but when i hit good FH, i can see now my partners having sometimes problems to block some heavy spin FH which was almost never the case before.

what i find difficult now is to find a balance between trying to stay stable, and be able to keep on moving. my brain is wrongly thinking being stable = stay stiff

yday and today i finally felt that i was starting to be able to play at times some good TT after so many sessions where i felt like sh%t so bad i almost wanna quit...

Is it a crisis or an opportunity? I sure you know the answer.

 

[J-fed]

Ordered a DHS B2 and Loki W81 Inner. Too many blades for someone like me, but whatever, it's off season, I can EJ. When I was younger I had no choice due to lack of funds, but now I can justify it. My good deed is that I sell off my old gear to people who need it for very nice prices.

I used the 5X Inner for a good 3 months or so and came to the conclusion that the handle just isn't the best for me and I wouldn't mind a blade with better wood. Sometimes it feels a bit like a mattress spring. Overall not very enthusiastic about Sanwei blades and rubbers which is a shame although they're probably the most cost-performant ones out there.

I wouldn't normally have changed so soon, but I treated the handle with silicon oil and polyurethane which was a huge mistake in hindsight. I've tried to scratch some texture into it, but nothing beats the surface feel of wood. Thing also keeps flying out of my hand. If someone knows how to strip any sealant and restore a natural wood texture, do tell.

I do like it on the bottom corners of the handle, so that there's less friction when serving some serves, but it's a huge no for me on the handle itself. Same goes for sanding the surface of the handle itself; only the corners!

Fextra is a real cheapy as far as I know. Can't expect it to feel great. The echo I have is just fantastic handle wise. Best I've ever had. I hear the really premium stuff is great too but I don't need carbon so IDK.

Not much vibration or feel in the blade, but that is good because it gives stability and encourages me to hit with confidence rather than trying to finesse everything, which I tend to do.

 

[Archosaurus]

Yeh sorry to tell you that the level in Australian is very low.

Even your Olympic representative who’s turned into an online coach and was posting on TTD not so long ago, would probably be trashed by many higher level amateur players in Japan.

It’s just not a real sport in Australia. Same that the Japanese Rugby team would lose by 50 point margin to Australia…

Hm. So you reckon State League players are around 1400 USATT (which was my estimated highest level by forums)? They have rating central points around 1600-1900. The average is about 1000-1050.

EDIT: Wait, you think amateur players in Japan would trash someone who had a highest world ranking of 61 and generally peaked around 2800+ level? Are they that good or was that a joke post?

Fextra is a real cheapy as far as I know. Can't expect it to feel great. The echo I have is just fantastic handle wise. Best I've ever had. I hear the really premium stuff is great too but I don't need carbon so IDK.

Not much vibration or feel in the blade, but that is good because it gives stability and encourages me to hit with confidence rather than trying to finesse everything, which I tend to do.

Yeah, it was about 35AUD. I'm surprised just the fiber material in it doesn't make up all of that.

 

[JustANoob]

EDIT: Wait, you think amateur players in Japan would trash someone who had a highest world ranking of 61 and generally peaked around 2800+ level? Are they that good or was that a joke post?

I was bit baffled by that one too, probably a joke, would believe if Japan had that many "pro" level amateurs then they should a lot more actual pro's in the top 100.

 

[Archosaurus]

I was bit baffled by that one too, probably a joke, would believe if Japan had that many "pro" level amateurs then they should a lot more actual pro's in the top 100.

The claim is that RC is 200 lower than USATT, but it seems more like 400 at least in the typical ranks. A few times 1800 USATT players have come to Victoria and been 3-0:d by 1100-1200 RC players. So the State players I'm talking about are probably on average 2000-2200 USATT or so. Of course matchups matter a lot so it's hard to tell sometimes. How it compares to other countries I don't know, but I don't think the best amateur players here, some of them who have played at National level, are actually slightly worse than the average US club player.

I'm about 50/50 with players around 900-950 RC, although I can lose by a narrow margin to people who are about 1100. That'd make sense if my level is something like 1300-1400 USATT.

Sometimes the 1100 players play in Division 2 (1300) and even win a few matches, so I think they haven't hit their true level yet, though. People who play solidly in Division 1 (1400) can still struggle with my serves and will have a failure rate of about 50%. It doesn't mean I can beat them (Maybe if I'm really on fire I can get 6 points) but I'm just talking serve receive level here.

Granted the serves in that video have about 20% of the spin of my heaviest serves (not sure any of the backspin ones even rolled back) although I know enough to know that heavy spin isn't everything and it's more effective to mix in well disguised light spin than just keep giving people high friction to work with.