Daily Table Tennis Chit Chat

Looking at Carl's and NextLevel's suggestions, I decided to buy a SPW. While I do have offensive S, frankly the FL handle on it is pretty uncomfortable. Most probably I'll get used to it after a month or two.

As for the rubbers, it would be a waste not to use the tenergys while they're still good. Debating between Rakza 7 or Omega V Pro for it later on, but that's a decision to make in another 3 or 4 months

If you have small hands it may be uncomfortable. I have pretty big hands and I feel like this blade has the most comfortable handle I've ever used with a grip tape.

About the all wood vs composite blades, SPW is not much slower than my ALC blade, but the difference for my game has been positively HUGE.

After a bad training session with Viscaria I got really down on myself and tried to slow down a lot using a YSE the next session. It was ok, good for training and for the first two or three matches, but I'm an offensive player and the amount of effort that I needed to play with this blade got my body tired a bit too early.

The next session I switched to SPW and everything just felt in place. Great training and very good matches.

The second session with SPW I felt like myself back in the day playing with a one ply hinoky JPEN, for the first time I could beat three guys that I've never beated before using a shakehand blade.

Today I had another great 4 hours session with SPW and I'm sure the blade change made all the difference because 12 hours of training per week can't make all that difference in a short span of time.

I believe it's not about the speed of the blade, but the feedback you get from an all wood blade helps a lot developing your stroke.

When looping o hitting hard it makes no diference if I'm using a composite or an all wood blade, but for all the shots that are in between and being a former penholder, my backhand has been so much better with this all wood blade.
 
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I believe it's not about the speed of the blade, but the feedback you get from an all wood blade helps a lot developing your stroke.

When looping o hitting hard it makes no diference if I'm using a composite or an all wood blade, but for all the shots that are in between and being a former penholder, my backhand has been so much better with this all wood blade.

Yes, yes, yes! When someone has speed addiction, the SPW is usually my compromise blade. On the other hand, it is head heavy and has a big handle (I sanded the top area of mine a little even though I have huge hands) so I have to find something for people who don't like that.

One of my pet peeves is when someone who is rated lower than 1800 complains that a blade has too much vibrations. It's not that the SPW has a lot, but part of the reason why there are vibrations is that you haven't developed the right technique to minimize them!
 
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Bought the SPW yesterday, got the FL one, 88-89gr for the weight. Originally I intended to use the tenergys i have but the head size is much bigger than my IF ZLC especially around the neck area. Hence, I decided to get Rakza 7 on both sides. Most of the high-end tensors are good enough for me and I got a really good price for them ($30 per sheet)

My first reaction for the blade is how it feels pretty damn similar to my IF ZLC although it's not that surprising since the difference between the 2 blades are only the ZLC fiber.

There's actually plenty of speed from the SPW. I didn't really have to get used to using a 5-ply blade. The vibration and feeling that come from 5-ply wood are apparent from the first hit. Also, just like NextLevel and carl said, I have to really brush the ball to get a good arc from it.

Currently, I'm still having problem with the headsize. I'm hitting the edge of the blade too often and I still don't get the image of where I'm hitting and the size of the blade. But all in all, I see this blade as something that I can use for a long time
 
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Got coaching and then played league yesterday night - went 4-1. Lost to a medium pips guy that I am on a losing cycle with. Will fix it eventually but it is annoying.

Here is my hit session with a lower rated player. Hopefully, Luis will see my alternative stroke and get an idea of how I play when I am not swinging for dear life.

 
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Next lvl im just watching you coach live :D

diplom.jpg

And look at what i have got here :) Was a great course i learned alot about technique and had the chance to play against some of the top players in switzerland. I even managed some service winner in matches :D
 
Looking at NL warmup time, that's way too long for me. I like mine to be about 5-7 minutes, tops. FH to BH (I'm left handed) then BH to FH. Then start the game. It takes me about 3 minutes to get a feel for the ball and table.

I look at it this way, I don't want to waste my TT Karma on a warmup.

Now, if it's just hitting, I can spend 30+ minutes for practice. I consider practice and warmup separate regiments.

What do ya'll like on warmup?
 
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Back from Texas Weslyan Tournament. Good tournament for all levels as there are enough players of all levels too keep someone playing for a while and the setup (except for some lighting problems at the back tables) was good. No video as I forgot my camera but I promise I will get some at the Austin R.R. coming up in a month. I sucked because I couldn't follow up my serves with my backhand against the pips out high dead balls I kept getting and I was too slow to get into the games. The same problems I had last tournament. Balls coming at me fast I block or counterspin but at the level I am playing I get a lot of junk back and slow loops. I need to relax and get set not try to spring on every return for a kill unless my feet are set. I can't give up 3-4 points at the beginning while I figure out the serves. I went to the semis in under 1400 but lost to a guy who like me was coming back from a long layoff. He used to be in the top 5 in the U.S. as a junior when he was 14 and my serves just were not deceptive enough. I was surprised that he was rated under 1400 but like me had only been in one tournament in the last 20 something years.The spectating was fun as there was a lot of good players there for the open singles and under 2200, and Under 2400. There were a lot of good matches and in particular there were 5 high 2500 players for the open singles one and it was a blast to watch them sling it about. A couple of the 2400 players got with me after the matches and gave me some serve/return advice and I will get to hit with one while I am in Austin next week. Unfortunately for me I seem to be one of those players warming up which looks good hitting and blocking top spin back and forth then falls apart on short slow spin loaded shots as I still don't have good touch...But the upside is that as badly as I am performing now it is all upside from here. On a side note I found out that playing from 9am until 6pm in side games and warming up can really stress your shoulder if you are not in top shape...
 
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Nice !! Don't worry you will be back before you know it :)
Back from Texas Weslyan Tournament. Good tournament for all levels as there are enough players of all levels too keep someone playing for a while and the setup (except for some lighting problems at the back tables) was good. No video as I forgot my camera but I promise I will get some at the Austin R.R. coming up in a month. I sucked because I couldn't follow up my serves with my backhand against the pips out high dead balls I kept getting and I was too slow to get into the games. The same problems I had last tournament. Balls coming at me fast I block or counterspin but at the level I am playing I get a lot of junk back and slow loops. I need to relax and get set not try to spring on every return for a kill unless my feet are set. I can't give up 3-4 points at the beginning while I figure out the serves. I went to the semis in under 1400 but lost to a guy who like me was coming back from a long layoff. He used to be in the top 5 in the U.S. as a junior when he was 14 and my serves just were not deceptive enough. I was surprised that he was rated under 1400 but like me had only been in one tournament in the last 20 something years.The spectating was fun as there was a lot of good players there for the open singles and under 2200, and Under 2400. There were a lot of good matches and in particular there were 5 high 2500 players for the open singles one and it was a blast to watch them sling it about. A couple of the 2400 players got with me after the matches and gave me some serve/return advice and I will get to hit with one while I am in Austin next week. Unfortunately for me I seem to be one of those players warming up which looks good hitting and blocking top spin back and forth then falls apart on short slow spin loaded shots as I still don't have good touch...But the upside is that as badly as I am performing now it is all upside from here. On a side note I found out that playing from 9am until 6pm in side games and warming up can really stress your shoulder if you are not in top shape...
 
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Looking at NL warmup time, that's way too long for me. I like mine to be about 5-7 minutes, tops. FH to BH (I'm left handed) then BH to FH. Then start the game. It takes me about 3 minutes to get a feel for the ball and table.

I look at it this way, I don't want to waste my TT Karma on a warmup.

Now, if it's just hitting, I can spend 30+ minutes for practice. I consider practice and warmup separate regiments.

What do ya'll like on warmup?


We were not matched up - we were going to play league matches in about 25 minutes (the league was delayed 15 mins so we hit longer than we expected to). He needed someone to hit with and I needed to get into match ready shape. So we spent time making sure that we had broken a sweat before we started playing real league matches. So this is pre-league or pre-tournament warm up, not pre-match warmup. Pre-match warmup is 2 mins, but this is really about getting into the best feeling/form to play matches and while you want to make it as short and efficient as possible, there is really no time limit as long as you are prepared to adapt to what you have so you can compete.
 
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says I am just looking for someplace to play during a week...
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If possible I like to warm up for about 10-15 minutes then have a wait before the 2 minutes official warm up. So far the tournaments I have been to there were several people like me that wanted to warm up for a longer period than just the 2 minutes they allow so we did some warmup on the idle tables.
 
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The drive wasn't too bad, as it was 285 miles but it was all on Interstate 20 which for the most part is 75 mph. I feel much better if I lose to a tough opponent and make it close than when I lose to someone who I believe to be worse than I am but who has a serve that I end up getting 25 times in a 3 game match and I just can't do anything with it that does not end up making me eat a Poly sandwich....
 
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The drive wasn't too bad, as it was 285 miles but it was all on Interstate 20 which for the most part is 75 mph. I feel much better if I lose to a tough opponent and make it close than when I lose to someone who I believe to be worse than I am but who has a serve that I end up getting 25 times in a 3 game match and I just can't do anything with it that does not end up making me eat a Poly sandwich....


Do you play the TTEdge app? That and practicing some serve return strokes should help.
 
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I have not been playing the app but I will now. The problem is I can tell you as soon as he begins the serve motion what is coming but I cannot seem to get my blade angle correct to get it back without setting myself up. By the time I get the touch correct I have lost 4 or 5 points to the service and I cannot come back. It is a tomahawk serve from a right hander. They serve it with combo sidespin/underspin rotating from my left to right. If I was to just hold my blade vertical the ball would want to go down and to my left. I was told after the match by a much better player that I could just slightly open my blade and just hit it flat with little forward motion or flip it. What I need is a practice partner to give me that serve over and over until I can return it short or long and remove my 50% chance to leave it in the net and the other 50% pop it up for a poly sandwich.
 
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