TT video YouTube uploads

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I looked at the most recent videos - how long have you been playing for?

You seem to be making good progress. Your coach is a good player, but his approach to teaching leaves a lot to the ability of the student and by the looks of it, you are pretty able. It is definitely going to make you better faster if you survive it, but it may also leave you a little capped as you are doing things at a faster speed than I would recommend and may not come away with a comfort level that you should have when developing your strokes.
 
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Thank you guys
Yes Amila is very good.
Ive told him not to hold back and to give it to me 'between the eyes'
I may not achieve my goal of Beginner to UK ranked player in 3 years but it won't be lack of effort!

I hear you, but it is not so much about being tough but getting the basics down. Your forehand technique is good, but it could be better and I prefer that you master the stroke before going into drills where you have to move as the pressure of moving while doing strokes creates bad habits and tension.

The most important things that you are missing are shoulder/core rotation, arm relaxation and arm/elbow/wrist speed. But on the other hand, these things can also be built in parallel with moving, but my view is that it makes your game less clean - it's easier to get them down to a good level then work on moving around later, though on the other hand, they won't help you win real matches. I could have you move with a counterhit right now, but definitely not with a loop.

You have too much weight placed on your right foot in general and reach out rather than move to the ball in part because of that. You don't rotate naturally with your core - you do weight transfer which is much more dodgy as you don't really transfer your weight. I would encourage you to brush the ball to get more spin and less speed at the moment because I think flattening contact is much easier than increasing brush. This issue shows up when you try to loop backspin in one of the videos.

But depending on how long you have been playing, these may be relatively minor things. Skills have to be built over time, but aspects of your physical ability are better than people I work with, though I think you are leaving a lot of technique on the table with your strokes. But if you have been playing less than 6 months, this is decent. You will just have to continue to refine your technique.
 
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Hi
firstly thank you for your input.
I started playing on the 20th March 2015, so almost exactly 4 months

I looked at the most recent videos - how long have you been playing for?

You seem to be making good progress. Your coach is a good player, but his approach to teaching leaves a lot to the ability of the student and by the looks of it, you are pretty able. It is definitely going to make you better faster if you survive it, but it may also leave you a little capped as you are doing things at a faster speed than I would recommend and may not come away with a comfort level that you should have when developing your strokes.
 
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I hear you, but it is not so much about being tough but getting the basics down. Your forehand technique is good, but it could be better and I prefer that you master the stroke before going into drills where you have to move as the pressure of moving while doing strokes creates bad habits and tension.

The most important things that you are missing are shoulder/core rotation, arm relaxation and arm/elbow/wrist speed. But on the other hand, these things can also be built in parallel with moving, but my view is that it makes your game less clean - it's easier to get them down to a good level then work on moving around later, though on the other hand, they won't help you win real matches. I could have you move with a counterhit right now, but definitely not with a loop.

You have too much weight placed on your right foot in general and reach out rather than move to the ball in part because of that. You don't rotate naturally with your core - you do weight transfer which is much more dodgy as you don't really transfer your weight. I would encourage you to brush the ball to get more spin and less speed at the moment because I think flattening contact is much easier than increasing brush. This issue shows up when you try to loop backspin in one of the videos.

But depending on how long you have been playing, these may be relatively minor things. Skills have to be built over time, but aspects of your physical ability are better than people I work with, though I think you are leaving a lot of technique on the table with your strokes. But if you have been playing less than 6 months, this is decent. You will just have to continue to refine your technique.


Thank you. Yes core rotation is one area that needs work. My movement / flexibility is reduced through my ankylosing spondylitis but the fitter I become, the greater flexibility my condition will give me. I've lost about 15 lbs so far, about 50 to go.
 
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Thank you. Yes core rotation is one area that needs work. My movement / flexibility is reduced through my ankylosing spondylitis but the fitter I become, the greater flexibility my condition will give me. I've lost about 15 lbs so far, about 50 to go.


Ah, sad to hear you have the same issues I do... Good luck with it then.

I watched some more video and July 21 Part 2 and 3 was a great improvement and remedied most of what I saw as issues on your Forehand except the brushing aspect - brush on both backspin AND topspin. So I think you are well on your way there. The BH has a few common errors, but the biggest thing I see is that you stop once you hit the ball rather than doing the full stroke.

You seem to have gone ahead with the TCT blade - oh well...

In general, you are either where you are supposed to be or further ahead. I don't know why you wanted a harder blade, but it won't do you favors when you need to feel the ball.
 
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says Spin and more spin.
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Top quality info coming from NextLevel. All of it is pretty valuable including info about equipment.

Shadow strokes in front of a mirror and shadow strokes with footwork patterns would help your development at the stage you are at. They will also increase your cardio endurance and help you lose a few extra pounds.

20 minutes of a FH stroke with a one-step back and forth (left and right) without a break will burn a lot of calories and will be about the same physical intensity as 20 min of running at a pace of approximately 12 min mile. But it will have the added benefit of getting better form for the FH stroke into muscle memory.


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Top quality info coming from NextLevel. All of it is pretty valuable including info about equipment.

Since you brought it up...

Andy, I started playing seriously as an adult 4 years ago. I played a tournament without any coaching in March 2011 and got my first lessons in July 2011 or so. I've had degenerative arthritis throughout and as my body has gotten worse, my TT has gotten better. It's why I tell people that TT is much more skill/technique than athleticism, though athleticism can help since it is easier to generate speed with sufficient power coming from the right places, and you want racket head speed.

I strongly believe that periods of using fast blades and my falling in love with speed kept me from appreciating the true benefits of heavy spin much longer than I should have, especially counterspinning or looping topspin balls like blocks or loops - I hit these for a long time. At the low amateur level, one of the common mistakes is the belief that you need to hit the ball hard most of the time to win the point. This is not true. In fact, one of the things my second and current coach told me once was that if you had heavy spin, you could actually make someone miss by slowly looping the ball straight at him. Another thing he said later was that it is less about how hard you hit the ball but more where you hit it (I see evidence of this every day when I loop a ball and it hits the white line - the look on my opponent's face is priceless). What I came to appreciate later was that a slower blade made it easier to manipulate the ball (remember that people will be hitting the ball at you) and hit wide angles and when playing at an older age, these things are important. These are the key things you need to learn - hitting the ball hard is the easy part. The ball manipulation is the hard part.

The worst thing about a fast hard racket with very stiff composite materials like Titanium Carbon is that it makes almost all your shots feel fairly similar on the racket - from serves to pushes to loops - and they should not when learning). I began to appreciate this when I was practicing looping to a long pips player to build my spin and consistency. When I used my slower wood blades, I felt the shot. When I used my fast titanium carbon blade, I had little feeling. I used a titanium carbon blade for the last time when I lost to a (good upcoming) player 300 pts below me deuce in the 5th while using it - I could not feel the ball so I could not manipulate my blocks. The blade played fine against players I knew, but once I didn't know the player, I couldn't tell how heavy the shot was. Ever since then, it sounds crazy, but every time I switch from a composite blade to a wood blade, my level goes up, but the reverse is not true. So I am pretty much done with composites unless something miraculous gets created (and yes, I would be ranked in Britain if I played in Britain).

What I mean by feeling - there is a vibration that you should feel from the racket on every shot. It should change depending on the contact and how long the ball stayed on your racket. This will allow you to adjust your strokes consciously and subconsciously. You may want more or less of it depending on how you play. But in the early parts of learning, it is very helpful to seek it. You make it harder to find when you use a composite.

As an adult learning the game, you really should get something that is all wood, preferably a classic limba ayous, koto ayous or anigre ayous blade, but even the harder ones like the Yasaka Extra Special are OKAY even if not ideal. It can be a 5 ply (Stratus Powerwood, Korbel, Sweden Extra) or a 7 ply (Samsonov Force Pro, Person PowerPlay, Clipper etc.) Others may have similar recommendations. Yes, racket may be heavier, the ball will come off slower, and that will initially make you feel weak (though the speed is largely in your head - the ball is not that much slower to the opponent and even if it is slower, that is not a bad thing as the larger arc which is what reduces the speed messes up the opponent's timing). But the rewards over time are enormous as your loop vs underspin will be better as you will have the the ball sit on your racket for a longer time, and you will get more arc on all your topspin shots and get a better feel for manipulating that arc and placing that ball. You aren't a 12 year old kid who needs the blade to give him power. You already have power relative to such players. What you need is touch and feeling.

I know people who talk about starting people on faster blades and keeping them there etc. You can get good using almost anything in theory but that puts stress on your talent (feeling) level. For me, the real issue is that the speed addiction should not be fostered early. It is to some degree taking a hold in your practice (hence the backspin looping issue) so I am just warning you against it. Your blade is going to make it harder for you to break it.

Most of the kids I know use composites, most of the adults I know use all wood. Just giving you an idea of what is out there.

Enough pleading - you have time to see this on your own but this is just one input from one player. Don't let the speed addiction and short stroking power of a fast blade ruin your long term progress. It's a little helpful for reflecting fast topspins with pace and playing off the table but it makes everything else a little harder.
 
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The worst thing about a fast hard racket with very stiff composite materials like Titanium Carbon is that it makes almost all your shots feel fairly similar on the racket - from serves to pushes to loops - and they should not when learning).

I am only quoting part but every word in this post is valuable. Everyone should hit the like button on that post.

An addition to the information, touch and feel, from a player are huge factors in that development of placement and extra spin that make shots more effective and cause your accuracy to go way up.

One thing to know about the all wood type of blades that NextLevel is recommending. Because different kinds of contact feel different, better contact is instantly rewarded because the shot you get is better. On a sub-cortical level, your brain actually figures out which contacts are the better ones for different shots. This happens because the blade helps you feel the contact. And the better contact feels so much better.

You start feeling the touch you need to hold the ball on the rubber longer to spin the ball more. You start feeling like you can direct the ball to the exact spot you are aiming for.

Your brain recognizes the stimulus and your technique improves in subtle ways without you even realizing it.

I would put in the information that a 5 ply all wood blade with decent flex will really help this even more than a 7 ply.

The thing you would have to realize is that, if you are switching from something fast to something slower, you sort of need to commit to using it and nothing else for about 4 weeks before it starts feeling like the right speed. At a certain point things will click in and you will feel the slower blade as the right speed. Then if you picked up your old racket after you got fully used to a Off- rated all wood blade, you would actually feel exactly why NextLevel made the post he did.

The important thing to know is that your brain and your senses will figure out a lot more and you will learn faster with one of those 5 ply all wood blades.

And with a fast, hard composite blade this won't happen because, while the composite material gives that hard, fast feel and solid impact--EVEN WHEN YOU MISS-HIT--it also makes your softer and harder impacts feel the same and so you have much less of an idea when you miss-hit the ball, or when you do a touch shot well or when your hard contact is good hard contact or slightly off.

On the high end and high price of blades that should be good for what NextLevel is talking about these blades would be excellent:

OSP Virtuoso
Nittaku Acoustic

A step down in price and there are:

Nexy Peter Pan
Butterfly Primorac Off-
Avalox P-500
Avalox BT-550 or 555

One more step down in price and you have:

Stiga Allround Evolution
Stiga Tube Allround (if you can still find one)
Stiga Energy Wood
Stiga Offensive Classic

My first recommendation really would be that Virtuoso with a Medium sized head (OSP gives a choice of head size for this blade and medium is 150mm x 158mm which would give even more feeling: I would also get it to be approximately 90 grams because it will play better).

The Acoustic is really a great blade too but it is pretty expensive.

The Nexy Peter Pan is awesome also. This really has great feel.

And, interestingly, the two that are least expensive, Stiga Allround Evolution and Stiga Tube Allround are almost as good as the most expensive ones. There are just a few details that make them not quite as good. Like the hollow handle making them head heavy or the wood being more delicate.

However, with all this info being said, I know it is hard to give up that feeling and instant gratification of the speed that a fast blade gives. But it is more than just a worthwhile trade off.

If you commit to a blade like that for 1 month, you will start understanding why NextLevel is calling it an "addiction to speed" and you will see he is right.

But as NextLevel said: even if you went with a faster 7 ply all wood blade like a Clipper, it still would be well your worth while to switch.

Great post NextLevel. Thank you.


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By the way, every blade I listed, I have used. Most of them I have owned.

And I could add to the list the Virtuoso Plus. The Virtuoso would actually be better for you than the Plus but the Plus is great and more similar to a Clipper but a little softer.

Truthfully, that Innerforce ZLF, which I think I remember you tried, even though it has Zylon in it, would be better than Carbon and worth getting used to.

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Thanks for all your input
So which blade without having to buy another one, would be the most appropriate for ny present gane:
Inneforce ZLF
Treiber H Off
i assume not the TCT from you guys comments
Both are pretty similar from what I read, both are better than the TCT. I, because I prefer Limba to Koto,and because Innerforce blades are also designed to feel pretty woody, would prefer the Innerforce. I have also hit with it before. You will get a composite kick when you swing at high speeds but you will feel the ball better. In this sport, the feeling of what happens matters.

In the future, if you get the opportunity, get a classic, all wood, offensive blade in the ayous/limba tradition. You may not like it or appreciate it immediately, but it will teach you a lot, whether you use it long term or not.
 
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Interesting. I have not tried the Andro Treiber H either. I have tried Innerforce ZLF. I know that what NextLevel said is accurate. Limba gives more dwell and more feeling. Based on only reading, if the Treiber H feels more like a TB ZLF and if it has Koto, you will get more wood feeling and more dwell time with the Innerforce ZLF.

My bet is, you will start off liking the feeling of the Andro blade more. The Innerforce will be more useful to your development. It will take a while to get used to because that is a soft blade. One of the softest blades out there. But that does have a lot of wood feeling. It feels closer to an all wood blade than any other composite blade I have tried. I think it would be worth giving that blade a month to get used to.
 
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The Innerforce has new Tennergy 05FX 2.1 both sides. Is this ok for my development if I persevere with the Innerforce?
Yes, in my humble opinion. And when you become better you just need to change the fh to T05 or maybe you dont have to at all.

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I think something that compounded your not liking the Innerforce ZLF is that you have a soft blade and 05FX is soft rubber too. But that should actually be a good combination for what NextLevel and I are talking about because the 05FX will help you hold the ball on the racket more, feel the ball more and spin the ball more.

If you look at the Stiga Allround Evolution though, it is only $40.00 (USD [36 Euro, 26 British Pound]), so it is not that expensive and the blade face is the same size as the Innerforce ZLF. Very Slightly different shape, but you should be able to transfer the rubbers right from the ZLF to the Evolution blade.

Pros and cons: the ZLF is faster so it might take less time to get used to the drop in speed. The Evolution is all wood so it will have better feel. You are strong. You will still be able to put the ball by people with the Evolution or the ZLF.

If money is an issue, start with ZLF and see how it goes. If $40.00 USD is not a problem, go for Evolution.

If you really don't have a problem with money, go for one of the OSP blades or the Acoustic. If you get an OSP blade with a larger head size you will need different rubbers, but that 150mm x 158mm head size would really give you extra feeling and it would be worth it.

Because OSP makes the blade after you order it, it takes about a week for them to make it. Their blades definitely play better when they are towards the high range of what they say the weight can vary by, so an OSP Virtuoso or Virtuoso Plus with a 150mm x 158mm head size and a weight of 90 grams, would play great.

The Virtuoso would be better for you but the V+ would still be pretty darn good and you will like it more than all the other blades I mentioned. You will probably like the V+ a decent amount more than the IF ZLF too.

One thing you do have to know. Because they just made it when you get it, and it wasn't sitting in a box in a warehouse or store for months or years, it plays a bit funny for the first few days. Then it starts playing better and better. But they definitely feel dodgy the first few days, like too springy and almost like the glue is still wet, too much feeling. But then they feel amazing.

And NextLevel really has a point with Limba and Ayous combinations. Blades with that construction just have the right dwell and feel for developing touch and spin.

So, if it is about not wanting to spend more money, start with the IF ZLF. That blade will make switching to an all wood blade an easier transition down the road anyway. It is the closest thing to an all wood blade of any composite blade out there. And a switch from that to any of the other blades. And, the blades NextLevel listed would all be good as well.

In the end, the choice is yours. I can see reasons for starting with IF ZLF and I can see reasons for going right for an all wood setup.
 
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