Should you ever downgrade?

This user has no status.
This user has no status.
Member
Oct 2018
9
0
9
Hi,

I'm a beginner penholder, and have been playing table tennis for 2 years now at my college club. Unfortunately, we're a small club and we don't have coaches (or equipment in general for that matter) which has obviously slowed my development. I'm currently US 1000, at my best, 1100-1150 and I'm currently playing with the Ma Lin YEO, with skyline 3 FH and focus 3 on my BH (planning to switch to reactor ckylin pro on my BH soon).

I've had issues with my form in general for some time now, from footwork to basic strokes which have gotten better over the past few months, but lately I've begun to feel like I'm stagnating, and it's becoming very difficult to adopt the appropriate form in my games.

Since coaching isn't as easy to get because I'm a college student and it's a bit expensive, I read from you guys that a slower blade is recommended to develop form, and I was looking at the Yasaka Sweden Extra. I'm interested in knowing whether I should spend money and go ahead with switching my current YEO for the YSE, and the opinions of other members here that have tried YSE. Any other paddle recommendations or thoughts about of improving my game on a budget and a school schedule is welcome.
 
says Footwork footwork footwork
Hi,

Do you have trouble controlling your YEO? Are you often overhitting the table? Can you push short?

I actually learned (penhold as well) on a Yasaka Sweden Classic, which is even a notch slower than the extra. Now I use a Nittaku Acoustic which is significantly heavier and faster. From time to time, I’ll go back to the slower set up and gain some confidence and generally extend my stroke lengths and use more body to generate power and spin.

I think you should be able to learn all of your stokes properly on your current set up, but it also requires a bit of dedication and commitment to your strokes. Sometimes, you don’t realize that without trying a slower set up and gaining a bit of confidence in the stroke itself.

I would say, if you could find a local club or somewhere you can borrow or hit with a Yasaka Sweden extra to see how it feels in your hands and with your strokes.

The slower set up could help you realize the necessities of using your body and legs to generate power, but if you have bad technique or form, I’m not sure if the slower set up will help you correct that necessarily...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
  • Like
Reactions: Tanstin12
Top