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The ball is not a fragile object to be treated with utmost care, its a wild beast that needs to be tamed with decisiveness. The ball taunts those of the weak mind; it disrespects those of the weak body. But do not misunderstand, for the ball wants to be your friend, it just needs to test your...

Try Nittaku DHS H3 (NR-8669) if you can find it. Japanese sponge, H3 topsheet. Slightly lower spin and danger levels than H3N BS, but is a bit easier to play, stays the same for months, no need for booster, cheaper, and close enough that only minor differences can be felt. No changes in...

Its funny that I have the exact opposite strategy. My focus is usually on getting the ball back first, then when I understand the serve really well, I go for a quality receive. This is because I have observed that once you put the ball back for opponent's best serves, their mentality takes a...

If I can't read the spin from contact point, making a good receive is out. So I focus on putting the ball on the table. That means I: 1. Try to read the spin from the bounce and speed, and ball's logo. This usually works once I get used to the serves. 2. Slow loop or heavy chop long serves...

A sphere can rotate in three axes. Here's a visualization: Usually, there is a component of all three rotations when we serve, with varying amounts of amplitude. Its fun trying to isolate one and observing the effects. A good exercise to help the understanding is trying to produce sidespin...

Yes, I was also thinking along similar lines. At this point, I want my opponent to be able to read my serve and return it so I can practice what comes after that. But I also don't want to get too used to my current serve action that I need a huge amount of effort to incorporate some deception...

I agree. I have been training my pendulum serve for about an year, avge of 5 hours/week. It is pretty good for my level since my game is basically 3rd ball attack. But sometimes, an idea propels your serve to the next level. Training high toss made my contact point much better and...

So, I tried training by tying a thread above the net. I got the hang of it after about half an hour or so. I would say just reducing the height has elevated my serve by about two levels. I got a lot more direct service points during my matches with my regular partners. But I am also dumping a...

True, I guess I forgot high school physics. It just may be my perception. I need to record it and figure out what actually happens. Because we are talking about the second bounce, so we can't ignore what happened before that. It also may be that I have a thicker contact when serving topspin or...

My side-topspin serves definitely stay lower but the distance covered between the second and third bounce is a lot higher than just sidespin or side-backspin. It appears to me that it actually gives the opponent more time due to this.

Thanks for the responses. I was trying different types of spins and placements on my side of the table but completely forgot about the height. I think I already contact the ball pretty low, but my serves are definitely a bit high. I will work on reducing the height tomorrow and will report back...

I have observed that some pro players' service has this one feature where it drops really fast after the second bounce. I had a chance recently to watch a couple of women pro players train their serve and this is what fascinated me the most. I have been trying various things but am not able to...

In all the academies I have visited, FH/BH drives are not practiced that often, maybe for warmups. Every session consists of at least 30 mins of serves, then some sort of 3rd/4th ball sequence. If a coach is feeding multiball, then it is also usually a sequence. Most often, its BH flick from FH...

I would say its a pretty believable thing but I guess for certian things, you have to see them to believe them. You can buy a durometer and calipers and do this experiment with your favorite rubber. There is always a difference between topsheets of different colors. Its never as pronounced as NR...

Service and 3rd ball attack will fetch you the most points per hour of practice. After that, it is receiving serves.

I play with NR 8701. Black is great, always weighs 83/84 gms including the packaging. 67 gms uncut, 53 gms cut, which becomes 55-56 gms after booster and glue. Not that light, but can be played on BH after 3 layers of Seamoon. Red is trash. I got two of them once because I had a black rubber...

I had a similar experience in one of the halls I frequent. Next day, the same rubber had fantastic grip in my daily practice hall. I think it might be due to humidity or temp.

My experience with 5-ply blades - Xiom Offensive S : Fatter handle, comfortable grip, great for BH - Nittaku Latika: Thinner handle, amazing feeling, great for my serve technique - Tibhar Stratus Powerwood: Handle is too snug, needed to change my serve technique, also very head heavy - Nittaku...

My top 5 (not in order) Men: Kenta Matsudaira Zhou Qihao Truls Moregardh Ruwen Filus ZJK Women: Hina Hayata Ding Ning Christina Källberg Adriana Diaz Manika Batra

My experience has been very different. I boosted Moon 12 M+ with one layer of Seamoon and it has now become my favorite rubber of all time. I played with it for 2 months without booster and was about to throw it away because it didn't suit my game. Just put on a layer for fun to see what...