Started Playing Again after 40+ years - What bat ?

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Hi all,

Yes i'm nearly 60! I played a great deal in my early teens at Connie Warren's (was ex-england then) Larkhill club in Stockwell. In those days the rubber on both sides could be the same colour and we played all the way to 21. I could do with some equipment advice. I played with a Stiga blade (Stelan Benson) and Super Sriva on the forehand and Sriva on the backhand. Needless to say I'm not quite so quick these days but any equipment recommendations for an old attacker would be much appreciated.

Thanks

Paul
 
Hi, I did the same trip recently (45 years). I was a youth elite player in the early 70's.
I got back to a decent game pretty quick.

I think You mean "Stellan Bengtsson" and Super Sriver and Sriver. (I used these rubbers too).
Buy blade and rubber separate and glue yourself, its easy there's a million you tube videos that shows how to.

I would suggest a Stiga offensive classic, with maybe Yasaka Rakza 7 rubber (1.8-2mm).
You can use the same on both sides, it will not matter much in the beginning. With this combo
Your'e set all the way to advanced level. You can select a faster rubber when You get better.
The blade may be the last one You need.

Cheers
L-zr
 
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Hi, I did the same trip recently (45 years). I was a youth elite player in the early 70's.
I got back to a decent game pretty quick.

I think You mean "Stellan Bengtson" and Super Sriver and Sriver. (I used these rubbers too).
Buy blade and rubber separate and glue yourself, its easy there's a million you tube videos that shows how to.

I would suggest a Stiga offemsive classic, with maybe Yasaka Rakza 7 rubber (1.8-2mm).
You can use the same on both sides, it will not matter much in the beginning. With this combo
Your'e set all the way to advanced level. You can select a faster rubber when You get better.
The blade may be the last one You need.

Cheers
L-zr

Great .. thanks so much

 
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Hi all,

Yes i'm nearly 60! I played a great deal in my early teens at Connie Warren's (was ex-england then) Larkhill club in Stockwell. In those days the rubber on both sides could be the same colour and we played all the way to 21. I could do with some equipment advice. I played with a Stiga blade (Stelan Benson) and Super Sriva on the forehand and Sriva on the backhand. Needless to say I'm not quite so quick these days but any equipment recommendations for an old attacker would be much appreciated.

Thanks

Paul

Larkhall
Connie Warrens’ club in Stockwell was a great place to learn the Game.
I have fond memories of Connie and the other coaches. They made the club an exciting place. To have a national or county number 1 player available to practice with five days a week was very special. It was a super competitive atmosphere!

 
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Hi all,

Yes i'm nearly 60! I played a great deal in my early teens at Connie Warren's (was ex-england then) Larkhill club in Stockwell. In those days the rubber on both sides could be the same colour and we played all the way to 21. I could do with some equipment advice. I played with a Stiga blade (Stelan Benson) and Super Sriva on the forehand and Sriva on the backhand. Needless to say I'm not quite so quick these days but any equipment recommendations for an old attacker would be much appreciated.

Thanks

Paul

Butterfly Viscaria

it is neither the cheapest nor the most expensive. But without a doubt it's the best buy.
 
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I restarted at 59. The key is to be careful using your memorized youth technique on your current body, I promptly hurt my back. So a good warm-up and stretching before the game is very important. Also I changed my top spin to be more compatible with my back, using the " Chinese " technique where the power comes from the hip, not the back (with a coach).

As for the blade, I started (and overpaid ;-) ) with a slower one (Butterfly Timo Boll control) with Butterfly Sriver on both sides (which I had also played in the 1970's - SuperSriver on the forehand :) ), and changed later to a faster (and cheaper) one after about a year (Yinhe PD 437 Limba/5x Ayous/Limba, with Yinhe Moon & Uranus Pro from princett.com). The Butterfly Viscaria is probably too fast in the beginning (it is a Koto top / external carbon blade), for me even after 2+ years it is still too fast/crispy, together with the Tenergy tensor rubbers.
For the rubbers, the Nittaku FastArc G-1 (best-seller at tabletennis11.com), Rakza 7, and Yinhe Moon are roughly equivalent for me (except for the price, Yinhe Moon is $12.50 at princett.com). You can read the blog at tabletennis11.com for lots of reviews of rubbers & blades.
For the blade, I would go with Limba top in the beginning, and either no Carbon/ALC/ZLC or "internal" Carbon/ALC/ZLC (= 2 layers of wood over the Carbon). So for example any 5-ply Limba/Spruce/Kiri combo will do. 7-ply Limba/5x Ayous/Limba are a little faster & stiffer and better for close to the table play (e.g. the Yinhe PD437, $27). Also note that the balls are slower and bigger now so the Limba/5x Ayous blades are manageable for mere mortals now.
Also for Limba top blades it is better to varnish them before glueing the rubbers on, tabletennis11.com does it for you on request (and also glues the rubbers).

I also recommend to start with taking lessons from a coach and get the technique in shape. Also at our age knees, ankles, and hips are weak spots so any extra mass (compared to our youth) is not good for the health given the rapid movements in table tennis in the heat of the battle.

Also if you intend to play attack, you will have a hard time against the 20-50 crowd. So I decided to use short pips backhand (and play like Mima Ito) to at least not be completely mainstream. This has worked out so far. Other more senior players consider long pips backhand but the problem with that one is that a good attacker can beat it.
 
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There is no correct answer. I tried playing with just about every combination there is. I am 68 now but started play again at 59 after 38 years of making millions. I tried playing with "junk" rubbers. Everyone still tells me I play best with double inverted or at least SP on my BH.
Amazing. You openly disrespect & ridicule another player's rubber by calling it junk & still made millions. This really gives me hope & inspires me . Thank you
Nice to know that you are being lead the right path by those who tell you that you must be a "normal" player using "regular" rubbers.
 
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Is it wise to advice him to start with a carbon blade when it was years ago he played and he the used an Stellan Bengtsson blade? Easier to start with all wood?
 
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I'm on Lula's side here. Why go wild and crazy with expensive Butterfly gear when you don't know what fits you at this day and age. Go for something like The Stiga Offensive Classic or the more light weight Stiga Energy Wood WRB with a couple of allround/offensive rubbers like Rakza 7. You could even do really good with a Chinese setup for a starter, and the price will not be higher than €35. Just an example. https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000804606894.html

 
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I used Butterfly SuperSriver a lot long ago as well for may years.
Even though I know Sriver ( along with Mark V) was one of the best all around rubbers of all time, I preferred SuperSriver it produced lot more spin than Sriver

I also used Feint Long, which was used ny 99% all choppers at the Pro & high amateur levels.

Of course in the ITTF's rich tradition of punishing the innocent & rewarding the guilty, both these rubbers have been deApproved from ITTF LARC .

I ran into this Excel list on the internet recently ,that shows all ITTF deApproved rubbers over time, especially Long Pips & Short Pips. This webpage also shows current ITTF LARC sorted by rubber type. It also shows separate list that shows only new color rubbers, (Not easy to view on your mobile. Need a PC . Works best on Chrome browser . This is an Excel file and you have to tab thru sheets by clicking tabs on bottom left, which was always not visible on Microsoft Edge browser (though Excel is sort of native to Microsoft) 😑

I hope you like it. 😆
 
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JHB

says Aged and infirm of purpose
Amazing. You openly disrespect & ridicule another player's rubber by calling it junk & still made millions. This really gives me hope & inspires me . Thank you
Nice to know that you are being lead the right path by those who tell you that you must be a "normal" player using "regular" rubbers.

Happy to be corrected, but as far as I am concerned "junk rubbers" is a fairly common catch-all term referring to long pimples and antispin and is not intended as an insult to any particular individual. I have seen these rubbers described in considerably more earthy terms than that, although not in this forum.

 
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