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  1. [Equipment Guide] Best First Intermediate Table Tennis Rubbers in 2026: A Comprehensive List & Analysis

    I did yes, advice was pretty personalised and we tried 3 different mattresses and brought 2 back due to that. Ah yes, the illusion of objective data. The problem here is, each brand measures differently everything, so there is absolutely no way to compare them rather than experience and...
  2. [Equipment Guide] Best First Intermediate Table Tennis Rubbers in 2026: A Comprehensive List & Analysis

    I understand that you are trying to poke holes in my story and what I offer people, that's fine, I'm always transparent and happy to answer anything, I'm never gonna be defensive and if you have a point, then I'll say you have a point. As mentioned, yes, I cannot play with all the rubbers and...
  3. [Equipment Guide] Best First Intermediate Table Tennis Rubbers in 2026: A Comprehensive List & Analysis

    Correct, but one must have some fun from time to time no @ThePongCommenter ? ;) Well there are differences in there for sure. A company selling beds with a shop where you can try them, bring them back after 100 sleep nights and with clear information about their products and how they compare...
  4. [Equipment Guide] Best First Intermediate Table Tennis Rubbers in 2026: A Comprehensive List & Analysis

    Difficult answer here, it's always going to be subjective, but I give you my personal opinion. If you have any health limitations like some of our club members, then use whatever is best to hep with that, no point in being miserable while playing. If health is fine, and your condition is the...
  5. [Equipment Guide] Best First Intermediate Table Tennis Rubbers in 2026: A Comprehensive List & Analysis

    Glad you enjoyed them and thanks, if this helps people that's all that matters :) Yes I'm a bit old-school 'chinese philosophy' in a way, I enjoy hard tacky rubbers and have seen the positive effect they have on beginners many times. I have also have seen how very soft rubbers have the opposite...
  6. [Equipment Guide] Best First Intermediate Table Tennis Rubbers in 2026: A Comprehensive List & Analysis

    EJ-ing can be plenty of fun, if you have money and time, this is no different to collecting pokemon cards (guilty of that too in the past) and having some good times with that! But yes agreed, it's definitely a exploit model, in football people laugh at me when I tell them about TT materials, I...
  7. Why amateur players should avoid fast gear and where power really comes from in table tennis.

    When points are at stake and you got to receive a tricky serve, things break indeed :) And also the tradeoff part, very true. You know what's funny, yesterday I was at the club with my good friend andy from china. He has been playing his whole life and is now at the lowest national level...
  8. Why amateur players should avoid fast gear and where power really comes from in table tennis.

    This was all a very good read @IB66 , specially the part that if you only had fast stuff, people would still learn, some faster, some slower. But as a 'generic' rule of thumb, it is indeed easier to start slow and then upgrade as you grow. The problem is that generic might not apply to...
  9. Why amateur players should avoid fast gear and where power really comes from in table tennis.

    This is the same as in the netherlands often, which results in what you mention @jk1980 . For me, true coaching must be 1 to 1 or a very reduced group so they can focus on you personally for a longer period of time. As as example that this even happens in 'pro' training places, when I went to...
  10. Why amateur players should avoid fast gear and where power really comes from in table tennis.

    This is interesting @NextLevel , do you feel like in other continents is more freeform or more varied opinions? Or is it perhaps some countries in Europe? I see a lot more pips in Spain for example than in the Netherlands in comparison. Yeah true, for ranking, most objective is ranking and/or...
  11. Why amateur players should avoid fast gear and where power really comes from in table tennis.

    Same in my case, most of the times people had a wrong setup before and then a wrong setup now too as they changed without really understanding where they came from or went to. Otherwise, like @Matteones mentions, if I see equipment is fine-ish, I would not say anything and just let them focus on...
  12. Why amateur players should avoid fast gear and where power really comes from in table tennis.

    I think being happier is different per person. Some people in our club are happy they can come to the club and hit a couple good balls, that's happiness for them. Others get happier if they learn something they could never do before, and are happy when they can do them in matches too, that's...
  13. Why amateur players should avoid fast gear and where power really comes from in table tennis.

    Agreed to this with all its TT nuances, but as long as one is aware of the tradeoffs it works, problem being when people are not. This is essentially the same as @Der_Echte says and I agree too :) This is the exact target audience of my post, which accounts for a lot of the TT players out...
  14. Who are the players you enjoy watching the most? and least?

    So many! Ma long's forehand, Xu Xin in the past Fan Zhendong's BH from far from the table, and the BH of franziska too, such rallies Lin Shidong lobs Truls, the creativity and chop blocks, Waldner's games too, incredible placement Gauzy, you gotta love the guy's commited 20m away from the...
  15. [Equipment Guide] Best First Intermediate Table Tennis Rubbers in 2026: A Comprehensive List & Analysis

    Agree on H3, I love the rubber and cannot have anything else on FH, and a hybrid is indeed a good step in between for those going from full tensor to full chinese, transition is smoother that way. I wonder about this topic very often: Is becoming an EJ necessary in TT? Some thoughts on it: -...
  16. [Equipment Guide] Best First Intermediate Table Tennis Rubbers in 2026: A Comprehensive List & Analysis

    Okay cool thanks! Would you recommend it as an alternative to Battle II?
  17. [Equipment Guide] Best First Intermediate Table Tennis Rubbers in 2026: A Comprehensive List & Analysis

    I've been (and still are for fun) an EJ since I started. My first blade was a stiga all round and then got the viscaria shortly after, violin, acoustic, and a couple other blades during different months. I needed a shortcut to progress quickly and thus looked for equipment, only thing I could...
  18. Why amateur players should avoid fast gear and where power really comes from in table tennis.

    Thanks for sharing the articles @Dr Evil I didnt see them before. If im pragmatic, the metaphor definitely helps beginners and people re-learning the technique. This week for example, we were practising this at the club, and they first had to learn the feeling of hitting, just for the sake of...
  19. Why amateur players should avoid fast gear and where power really comes from in table tennis.

    Fully agree with this comment too @Takkyu_wa_inochi , it's either coaching and practice is intense, or just use slow gear to learn and enjoy the game, it's going to take years, maybe a lifetime, so you might as well (just like me, I'm still learning daily) have fun :D
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