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I felt a disruption in the force. As if millions of voices cried out in agony, “what? LGL proficient in bean counter speak now?”

Well, a bit of optimism and the support of the home crowd might help to gain and keep the necessary confidence. Being convinced you have a chance to win is an important ingredient. But there are, what, four or five gold medals in play? One for humans with a particular mix of chromosomes...

But not impossible.

I believe NextLevel has dedicated a few words to Vega Pro and FA G-1, and I recall him saying they're more or less in the same ballpark, with the G-1 being the slightly more linear one (and him preferring it for that reason). Having played with Vega Pro and dabbled with MX-S, Vega Pro (to me)...

Depends on the topsheet thickness, indeed. The new Omega VII series has a slightly thinner topsheet (1.7mm) than the previous generations (1.8mm). Maximum for sponge+topsheet is 4mm, leaving a maximum of 2.3 for the VII and 2.2 for the rest. (In the "das war einmal" genre, we used to be able...

Yes, impressive in many ways. Insightful, too; watching it, I have a few takeaways. First, watch it while keeping an eye out for Timo Boll and Vladimir Samsonov, and also Joo Saehyuk. It's not just peak height, but also peak breadth that determines a mountain's dominance. Second, it's...

I think the topsheet greatly influences the feel of hardness, whereas the hardness specified pertains to the sponge only. Xiom's "Asia" labeled rubbers in the Vega and Omega series typically have hard topsheets, and are overall well-liked.

MX-S is measured in Shore C, the scale ESN uses. Butterfly, I think, uses Asker A. In that scale, T05 is 36 and T05H clocks at 43 - which roughly correspond to 45 and 53 in Shore C, respectively.

T05H is softer than MX-S? Is MX-S over 53 (shore C)? Hard to wrap my head around. Anyway, Gewo and Nexy both offer excellent hard (50) rubbers. Too much for me, but I still think the world of them regardless.

True, but I didn’t contrast H3 with other mid/heavyweights. I pitted it against light rubbers. 70g uncut isn’t light, but you’re right heavier rubbers exist.

I don't think this has been expressed, but head heaviness does have something to do with blade construction, but in the end it's the weight of the rubbers that dominates. A blade that is head heavy with a hard and heavy rubber like (say) H3, T05H, MX-S and such will certainly be less so (if at...

For beginners, I think control is everything. So we let beginners/early learners work a while with a moderate blade, with moderate rubbers, in a moderate thickness. As they develop and grow into their own personal style, the spinners among them will probably go for thicker rubbers, the...

I see the Yinhe N-8 (sub €10) being mentioned very often. We use cheap Stiga blades (abt. €10) or, budget permitting, the Donic Appelgren Allplay - which will be just fine for most players’ entire TT life (abt. €25). As for cheap rubbers decently playable at entry level, supporting all basic...

I’ve been fascinated with Ma Longs BH, where he synchronizes both arms as if he points to the ball with his left as he contacts it with his right. When playing I lose track of my left arm, it’s not on my mind. Good or bad, I don’t know, but with so many things to coordinate and competing for...

(Ducks, well aware of the high esteem many hold these balls in…) We actually threw out all our DHS D40+ balls, a few 100 of them. A few were good, many were horrible duds. Might have been bad luck, but if so then bad luck in multiple production batches. Which guides me To distrusting QA, and...

Why assume difference in the rest of the constuction? Same area with same handle and same rubbers etc., but a more teardrop than egg shaped (you might say, a pointier egg) means that more material is closer to the handle. Hence, more balanced towards the handle at the same weight. But I don’t...

But the point of that drill is not so much to engrain extreme pivots to the BH, but help develop a smooth BH/FH transition and fast lateral footwork?

The weight is proportional to the surface area enclosed in the shape, not so much the shape per se. Add to that, it's in the end not just the weight - it's the weight in the balance, which determines the blade's moment. It's the center of gravity that determines the distance from your point of...

The Allround Wood version, right? Hope you get it clean in good shape. The top veneers splinter easily, I’d advise sealing before regluing. Great blade, best handle ever!

My love and admitration for ZJK the champion, the fighter, the master of touch trumps my loathing for ZJK the icon of decadent fashion idolatry. This I have to admit. I deeply hope to see the former rise and shine once more.