Super Block

ThePimplePlayer said:

Scalpel is illegal to use in international matches. I only play national.

Click to expand...

ok if the norwegian national federation has its own regulations and does not adept the ittf ones 1:1 it's ok The same belongs to Hallmark Original, ITTF banned (and so the same for many national federations) but perhaps allowed in norway?

ThePimplePlayer said:

I never got an awnser. Pleez?

Click to expand...

Yessire its also banned. Shame

I mean look at it Hardly no post-ban LP could do that

@Mr. Richard
You didn't read what i wrote. I don't have to play against players like this since there only a few classical frictionless pimpleplayers in my league. In lower leagues you find allot more of theese players. And like I said the best one i know gets his pimples of Ebay. There are pimples like palio ck (some number) or tuple911, theese are legal rubbers but on german ebay you can pay double the price and you ger manipulated rubbers that are completely frictionless. Usually there is no extra Referee in my leaque and if I ask a player too show me his rubbers he has to but he does not have to let me touch them so no one other then a referee can say his bat is illegal. This happened before and the next game he just played with a manipulated rubber again. So much for cleaning the bat or whatever you where on about.

The classical frictionless player doesnt use his forehand at all and covers over 95% of the table with his pimples so play a long ball in his forehand will only result in him twisting his wrist and returning in some random spinblock. The other 5% are usually used to finish off bad pushes or high balls.
As for legal pimples close to the table. I dont think this can be played efficient in higher leaques since u hardly have any spinturning around effect. The ball might sometimes have a weird flying curve like super block but there is hardly any spin in it even after blocking the 3rd ball attack. So usually u cant loose against someone who playes this playing style fair. Long ball without spin in his backhand, then spinny topspin in deep forehand or backhand and if the ball comes back rockettopspin. This usually allways results in a point for me.

So please dont tell me i need to practice more. I dont need to practice playing against this playstyle for reasons i just wrote. I need to practice playing against a normal playstyle or playing against choppers like we all do.

So please keep in my that allot of skill-less people aren't that bad at destroying tabletennis with frictionless pips but suck at playing anything else.
I practice chop blocking with feint pips every now and then just for fun and because i love the diversity of the game but this love ends with frictionless pips.

The reason these rubbers were banned is really simple. I'll give you an example:

- Player one loops 3 times with inverted rubber.
- Player two blocks the ball 3 times with "banned rubber".
- Although player two blocks the 3 balls in exactly the same way, 1 ball returns dead-floating, 1 ball returns with heavy sidespin, 1 ball returns with heavy underspin.

Player one has no way of knowing what he's going to get, because the blocks are simply UNjudgeable.

Any rubber on the market can have any quality it wants, but it HAS to be consistent.
I don't mind playing vs short or long pips with or without sponge, as long as it's possible to consistently judge the ball coming towards you.

In a way, you could compare these banned rubbers with closing your eyes every time when the opponent hits the ball, so you don't know what spin is on it.

But people are not blind, they'll have to be able to read spin??

At least it is not a big problem to adapt to the other ones style, and then play like a total duchebag yourself, thats what I do when I face ThePimplePlayer

YosuaYosan said:

The best player to use FLP before the ban was Fabian Akerstrom.

And yes, Joo NEVER use FLP in real match as long as I know.

Click to expand...

Yeah, Joo is just plain great. He is getting older. That happens but he is amazing. But it is not pips that bothers the top players when they play him. It is him.

So I can say again, the top players are not bothered by pips, they know what the pips do and what to do against them.

So the ban was about players at a mid level who got Frictionless Pips, did not develop technique, and there level simply went up without them getting better technique with the Pips.

I personally love playing against Long Pips and Antispin. Any time I can hit with and train with a player who is using them, I could spend hours hitting with them. I like playing matches against them too. It makes it fun for me, because you really have to think. Especially when the player is good at flipping the paddle. You have to watch which side the player uses. You have to watch how they contact the ball. And you need to remember what you did to the ball. It makes you have to think. That is one of the main reasons I love playing this game is that you have to pay attention and think. For me, playing against a two winged looper is fun too, but it is much easier. I don't have to think as much and their topspin give my shots power. Much less work needed.

And in the end, one thing I have discovered with Table Tennis. When someone is really winning against you consistently, it is always that they are doing something better than you and therefore, at a higher level in some sense. For me that just means I need to keep working and keep improving.

I also have to say, a person who is good with Pips, and develops the skills of really using the tool, I admire them.

Twiddling the bat in itself is challenging. I practice it even though I play smooth on both sides. It is not easy to get really good at that. But then when you twiddle, you have to be used to two different feelings and two different ways of playing: both at the same time. I know, if I use my blade and then I use someone else's to feel their set-up, it takes me a few hits to get used to the change in blade and rubber. How different the pips feel from the smooth side would be a huge adjustment. So it is almost like being used to two setups at once. And there is more to pips than the fact that they make it easier to return spins without needing to adjust as much. How the pips player contacts the ball determines whether the tip of the pips contact the ball, or the side of the pips which will change the spin they give. Getting the pips to bend to add spin to what is coming to you, or change it adds a cool element to the technique of a better pips player.

Also, all the pips players I know who are decent will receive serves and different spins with either side (their pips or their smooth side). Which, to me, means two things. 1) They have the technique to receive spin with either side. 2) You have to think. And if I play a pips player and they are only receiving serves with their pips, there is not way they are going to get away with that. That makes it so easy to set yourself up. All I have to do is give them a serve that will give me the spin I want to return, and I will kill it. I have played people who tried that and they were not too happy about the fact that they could not get points off my serve. But that is not a good pips player and a good pips player is really still a good player.

So I think it is unfortunate when someone undervalues long pips. They get called Junk Rubber, but in the 50's Smooth was called Junk rubber and if you want to think that way, perhaps we should all go back to hard bat! I have heard that one also.

Regardless of what equipment you use, the good players are good. And a good player can use anything and play against anything.

Anders said:

But people are not blind, they'll have to be able to read spin??

Click to expand...

My point exactly Anders, is the fact that it is as good as IMPOSSIBLE to read spin from frictionless pips, because they do not react consistently.

Both for the "normal" player as for the "banned-pips-player" it is impossible to improve the playing style, cuz there is NO playing style.
The "banned-pips-player" just places his blade behind the ball and the PIPS decide which spin to create, NOT the Player!
Therefore the "normal" opponent can't read the spin, since the pips-player doesn't know it himself...

Beware! I'm only talking about the banned pips, not about the regular long/short pips!

FORBIDDEN FOR ALL.

Contrary to a popular believe, Super Block is a rubber forbidden for any events, both for domestic and international.
The pimp's surface not homogenios,, it slick pimple top and tacky side, which does not meet the Rule 2.4.5
You should use SB just as an amusement to play your Playmate, only.

On OOAK I saw an explanation why frictionless LPs were banned. If the thread is true, it was a personal issue between Dr Neubauer and and ITTF player that lost to Dr Neubauer who played with Super Block. So Superblock and other "frictionless" LPs were banned. There are many that believe that doesn't take any skill to play with LP 0X. Not true.

"Frictionless" LPs are not frictionless. The friction is less if you simply push through the ball without bending the pips. You often hear LP players talk about side swiping. This bends the pips and gets a little more friction but it also spins the ball to make its trajectory more stable. No spin balls tend to float.

Learning to play with LPs is not easy. There are a lot of quirks and not all nearly "fricitonless" LPs are the same. At first you are relying on the opponent making a mistake before you do. Once you start moving up the ladder it gets much more difficult.

Not all LPs are the same. There are many that are similar but chopping LPs are much different from push blocking LPs. Many LPs are compromises between the two extremes. I know. I have played with many LPs.

What is hypocritical is that there are German Antis that are just as "frictionless" as the "frictionless" LPs. Yet the "frictionless" antis are not banned.

If you want to make a cheap "frictionless" LP buy a sheet of 755 0X and put in the rear window of you car if it is parked pointing south. As soon as the rubber starts to smell it "done" cook it too much the pips are "frictionless" but too brittle.

Funny. What caused this old thread to get awakened?

Carl,

SEND OUT THE GOON SQUAD.

Might as well, they been getting fat, not much going on the forum lately.

Der_Echte said:

Carl,

SEND OUT THE GOON SQUAD.

Might as well, they been getting fat, not much going on the forum lately.

Click to expand...

I think I just sold the Brooklyn Bridge in another thread. We may need a different bridge to trap the goonies.

Well, I guess it is true that it will not be the first time I have sold that bridge.

TTD, in real life, Carl could sell you your underwear... three times before you even realize it. Be cautioned.