says MIA
says MIA
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Hi all,

I have been playing as a penhold but I am now going to start playing as a shakehand.

So I am going to need a new setup.

I was thinking of buying the stiga all around classic.

My biggest issue is what rubbers I am going to use.

I want to use the chinese style of play because I enjoy it very much.

I am considering buying the RITC Friendship Super 729 FX for the FH (Forehand) and the Mark V for the backhand.

However some people say that as a beginner I should be using the same rubber for both sides.

The reason why I want two different rubbers is because I heard that the tacky rubber is not commonly used for a backhand rubber.

So should I get the RITC Friendship Super 729 FX on both sides, the Mark V on both sides, or the RITC Friendship Super 729 FX on the Forehand and the Mark V on the backhand?

If you have any other suggestions for the tacky Chinese rubber for beginners, let me know!

Thanks,
Aaron

Hey Aaron, how long have you been playing and using penhold for?
 
says Footwork footwork footwork
I think you need to judge your determination in order to make the best decision for yourself.

If you’re very determined, in my opinion- learning with H3 or similar variant (H2, TG2, TG3) will be the fastest way forward in terms of you learning proper stroke.

If you are discouraged easily, then choose something more forgiving as recommended by the participants in your thread.


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says MIA
says MIA
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I think you need to judge your determination in order to make the best decision for yourself.

If you’re very determined, in my opinion- learning with H3 or similar variant (H2, TG2, TG3) will be the fastest way forward in terms of you learning proper stroke.

If you are discouraged easily, then choose something more forgiving as recommended by the participants in your thread.

My thought exactly.

Now do you you think H3 Neo is ok for him to start with or should he start with regular H3?
 
Honestly, I don't understand why people consider euro rubbers, especially tensors or equivalent more 'friendly'.

Slower, 'dead' rubbers are much more linear in their power output to input. You get a ball that goes as fast as you hit it. Whereas it takes much more getting used to just how much tensors rubbers do for you.

The biggest difficulty for beginners is not generally the inability to generate power, it's to keep the ball going over the net, but still on the table, and that's much easier when you know how much bounce your rubber is going to give you because that response is mostly linear.

If you want to play with tacky chinese rubbers eventually, something like H3 neo is fine for starting. It'll take more effort to generate power, but be utterly predictable, allowing you to play bigger shots with more confidence.

I would especially skip anything with 'tensor', 'spring sponge' or big dipper with its 'god crossbow' nonsense. These make it way harder to know if you are doing something wrong or if you just don't know the bounce response of your rubber well enough when you start out.

You can try those later when you are more confident in your stroke, and decide you want more power for less effort.
 
says MIA
says MIA
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I just started using a commercial unboosted H3 Neo on my FH for the first time recently, after always using a tensor or spring sponge rubber for years, and the transition hasn't be very hard and has been very positive regardless. I've done this with the goal of improving my FH and it makes it very clear when your stroke is wrong and when it's right, which is exactly what I need (predictability), unlike Euro/Japanese rubbers which can either help you or overshoot too much (almost feels random when you're a beginner). Plus H3 gives you a lot of control including on serves and the short game (ever so important), enough speed and forces you to use your lower body (core/legs) to generate even more speed and spin. I wish I had initiated this switch sooner or had even started with it at least on the FH.

On the BH, the stroke is shorter and it can be harder to generate speed, spin and arc especially as a beginner or intermediate player, so a tensor/spring sponge that is not too fast (for example Xiom Vega Intro) is not necessarily bad to start with. But an H3, Mark V or Sriver on the BH can also work just fine.
 
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Honestly, I don't understand why people consider euro rubbers, especially tensors or equivalent more 'friendly'.

Slower, 'dead' rubbers are much more linear in their power output to input. You get a ball that goes as fast as you hit it. Whereas it takes much more getting used to just how much tensors rubbers do for you.

The biggest difficulty for beginners is not generally the inability to generate power, it's to keep the ball going over the net, but still on the table, and that's much easier when you know how much bounce your rubber is going to give you because that response is mostly linear.

If you want to play with tacky chinese rubbers eventually, something like H3 neo is fine for starting. It'll take more effort to generate power, but be utterly predictable, allowing you to play bigger shots with more confidence.

I would especially skip anything with 'tensor', 'spring sponge' or big dipper with its 'god crossbow' nonsense. These make it way harder to know if you are doing something wrong or if you just don't know the bounce response of your rubber well enough when you start out.

You can try those later when you are more confident in your stroke, and decide you want more power for less effort.

It’s very hard to argue. It’s like 2 schools of thoughts. And then when they intertwine, you have the third.
Experimenting it myself, I can’t agree with the idea that Euro/Jap are more friendly. But I can’t disagree either.
If you just want a knock now and then without any developments though, Euro/Jap rubbers are probably a lot easier yes, and feel a lot more entertaining. Most people are happy with whatever swings they can make. So...
 
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It’s very hard to argue. It’s like 2 schools of thoughts. And then when they intertwine, you have the third.
Experimenting it myself, I can’t agree with the idea that Euro/Jap are more friendly. But I can’t disagree either.
If you just want a knock now and then without any developments though, Euro/Jap rubbers are probably a lot easier yes, and feel a lot more entertaining. Most people are happy with whatever swings they can make. So...

You can actually have beginner friendly rubbers like Vega Intro and DNA Future rubbers especially if they are at 2.0mm and below.
 
says Footwork footwork footwork
My thought exactly.

Now do you you think H3 Neo is ok for him to start with or should he start with regular H3?

In short, I think either is fine- but for me, from a switch to TG2 commercial (unboosted) and TG2 Neo on the BH I noticed another significant gain in my level of play (with coaching). It really forced brute footwork and active strokes which eventually lead to high confidence. It was dead slow...and became decent speed and a ton of spin.

Since then, I’ve swapped to faster rubbers (TG2 pro/S3-60), but I don’t think I would be able to handle them this effectively without the lessons I learned on that old grueling setup.

The difference between the two depends on the blade. For me, on a flexible 5-ply, the difference between non- neo and neo wasn’t as big. On a stiffer/more linear blade- I noticed a huge difference in speed between the two.

I would respond with, flip a coin but stick to what is chosen for at least a few months and save that extra cash you would have used testing out different equipment on a set of regular coaching lessons. Hell, start coaching now and discuss the equipment with your coach!
 
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Tacky rubbers like Hurricane seem to be good and effective when used at either lower or higher gear but at middle gear it's where it has a weak point of being overwhelmed by fast tensor rubbers that are particularly effective at middle gear shots.

Most beginner players aren't effective at the lowest gear (pure touch) kind of game, and the higher gear (piercing the ball right through the racket shots) but mostly tend to play middle gear as their game develops.

But saying that tacky rubbers are still the best when it comes to training yourself to use the lower and higher gear effectively, more than with tensor rubbers where for the most part it doesn't allow you to play at those gears as well as with H3.
 
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Honestly, I don't understand why people consider euro rubbers, especially tensors or equivalent more 'friendly'.

Slower, 'dead' rubbers are much more linear in their power output to input. You get a ball that goes as fast as you hit it. Whereas it takes much more getting used to just how much tensors rubbers do for you.

The biggest difficulty for beginners is not generally the inability to generate power, it's to keep the ball going over the net, but still on the table, and that's much easier when you know how much bounce your rubber is going to give you because that response is mostly linear.

If you want to play with tacky chinese rubbers eventually, something like H3 neo is fine for starting. It'll take more effort to generate power, but be utterly predictable, allowing you to play bigger shots with more confidence.

I would especially skip anything with 'tensor', 'spring sponge' or big dipper with its 'god crossbow' nonsense. These make it way harder to know if you are doing something wrong or if you just don't know the bounce response of your rubber well enough when you start out.

You can try those later when you are more confident in your stroke, and decide you want more power for less effort.

Compliment !!!
This is without comment !!!
Understandably, clearly and precisely !!!
Sport is effort, difficult on the training ground, easy on the battlefield.
Anyone looking for relief with the support of a "tensor" right at the beginning will never be so good.
 
says toooooo much choice!!
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If you would like to use h3 neo, better get the 37 degrees version since it is easier to use.

37 degree H3 Neo is a good choice. Any all wood All-round blade would be a good starting point. Stiga all round classic is a classic!!
If you want a ‘Chinese’ style FH, then most importantly make sure that your coach knows how to coach you that stroke!! There are some differences between Euro FH and Chinese FH strokes, subtle, but different.
You can still use a Euro style FH stroke but if you are going all in Chinese style, your coach has to be totally familiar with it.
 
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