Advice - slower blade than Timo Boll Spirit

Макс Сергеев · Oct 31, 2021

Hey all,
I haven't played TT for nearly 30 years. When I was a kid I played it professionally everyday until I got 16 years of age. Then it became pretty turbulent - college, studies, work, so I retired. Recently I decided to start playing again. I asked a guy I know who plays regularly about the equipment. He said buy Tenergy and you'll be fine. So I did but had to sell the rubbers pretty quickly simply because I could not control the ball. Paired with Timo Boll Spirit that combination proved to be a bad choice for a returning player like me. My technique got quite rusty, every second topspin I throw flies away from the table. My training partner said try Tibhar Aurus Sound rubbers. They are soft and will give you more control. So I bought them and my game improved but not dramatically. Still, 50 percent of my hits fall far from the table. I am thinking that maybe I should switch from carbon to all wood? I never played carbon when I was young, so perhaps something in the OFF- category will be more suitable for the current level of my play. Maybe now I should work more on the basics, footwork etc and only after I get more confident, I can think of an upgrade to OFF/OFF+ blade and rubbers.
Another option would be to work more on my technique and gradually get used to what I have now - TB Spirit. What do you think would be a wise course of action in my case? Thank you.

piligrim · Oct 31, 2021

Try Gewo Force Arc. It similar to Spirit but slower with much more control. Another options is Donic Waldner Senso Carbon or Joola Rossi Emotion

Creek · Oct 31, 2021

Boll spirit is quite fast and stiff. The switch to allwood on the other hand would be extreme as those are much more flexible and slower (except 7 ply allwoods).
i would rather advise you to use an Innerforce like blade with e.g. alc. This is also a carbon blade, but the carbon is placed on the core instead of directly under the outer ply. This usually is slower and more flexible, but you still have most pro‘s of Carbon, like increased stability.

Good examples are:
butterfly Innerforce series
dhs long 5/ bo2 / pg5
tibhar Shang kun ac
very slow but still a good blade: Donic Waldner Senso Carbon

Der_Echte · Oct 31, 2021

Trade that TBS and you could probably score THREE Donic Persson Power Play or similar all wood OFF- blades.

THAT would be a good trade and give you a backup blade(s) for tourneys.

There are SO MANY options in this all wood OFF Minus class.

dajdosta · Oct 31, 2021

If you played professionally every day till you were 16 then you should have better fundamentals than 95% people on forums.
Nevertheless TBS is a fast blade especially if you're not used to carbon blades and if you don't play regularly. It also depends how far from the table you play.
And if 50 percent of your hits fall far from the table then something is very wrong.
Without seeing you play I'd say yes, go for some slower all wood blade and/or slower rubbers. It would be best if you can try from someone and see what suits you.
Btw softer rubber doesn't necessarily mean more control.
Working on technique is always an option and doesn't depend on changing equipment.

UpSideDownCarl · Nov 1, 2021

There would be nothing wrong with getting a Butterfly Petr Korbel blade or something like it, the Donic Persson Power Play that Der was recommending is good too. And like he said, there are really hundreds of blades that would be suitable.

As you start getting your touch and timing back, you will be fine with any blade and rubbers. But for now, using the Aurus Sound with an Off/Off- blade sounds to me like it makes sense.

Here are some other choices of blades that would be pretty good aside from the ones already mentioned:

1) Butterfly Primorac Off-
2) Xiom Offensive S
3) Nittaku Acoustic
4) Tibhar Stratus Power Wood
5) Stiga Infinity VPS
6) Avalox P500
7) DHS Hurricane King

Any one of those blades would likely be pretty good for you.

But for sure, if you played as much as you did when you were young, once the timing and touch come back, your level will likely go up pretty fast.

lasta · Nov 1, 2021

My advice is work on your technique and get used to what you have now.

TBS seems to be the 95% confidence interval for most players. Eventually you will work your way back to it, so why take the long way?

Carl is probably the most considerate and dedicated person on TTD, and his suggestions are safe bets for any beginner. But IMHO, all those blades are all blood-sucking/confidence-draining matchboxes that I'd rather chew and swallow than be forced to play with.

Donic Persson Power Play feels solid despite the controlled nature, and being my first serious blade, gets a pass. But even that is on the spongy side compared to a tbs.

UpSideDownCarl · Nov 1, 2021

I think the OP can decide for himself what he wants. But he is asking about slower blades saying he feels what he is using is too fast for him as of now.

And the truth is, someone with good mechanics, good technique, good strokes, can hit a ball a lot faster with a slow blade than a lot of people can with a fast blade.

But the choice of what the OP wants to use, that is for him to decide. Does he want something that is a little slower? Or does he want the advice that he should just stick it out with the faster blade? One piece of advice will cost a little (It is about $55 USD for an Offensive S) but work quickly, one piece of advice might cost nothing over what has already been spent, but may be painful and could compromise the quality of the strokes to start getting the ball on the table more consistently.

You can choose how you want and the OP can as well.

Макс Сергеев · Nov 1, 2021

Thank you, guys! I think I would try to trade my TBS for an Innerforce Layer ZLF if the opportunity presented itself. From what I read this particular zylon blade is somewhere between TBS and allwood blades in terms of speed, and has excellent control. I am not going for this super aggressive, physical style of table tennis that is so popular these days. I guess my TT heroes are pretty old-fashioned - Waldner, Samsonov etc. Hopefully, zylon and proper training will keep my spins on the table. Thanks, again!

Manto76 · Nov 1, 2021

UpSideDownCarl said:
... someone with good mechanics, good technique, good strokes, can hit a ball a lot faster with a slow blade than a lot of people can with a fast blade.

Agreed 100%

UpSideDownCarl · Nov 1, 2021

Макс Сергеев said:
Thank you, guys! I think I would try to trade my TBS for an Innerforce Layer ZLF if the opportunity presented itself. From what I read this particular zylon blade is somewhere between TBS and allwood blades in terms of speed, and has excellent control. I am not going for this super aggressive, physical style of table tennis that is so popular these days. I guess my TT heroes are pretty old-fashioned - Waldner, Samsonov etc. Hopefully, zylon and proper training will keep my spins on the table. Thanks, again!

This is a good choice. That blade will actually allow you to create A LOT of extra spin, and the blade allows you to have a lot of control on offensive shots. And if you can trade and not incur cost for the blade, that is great.

Daniel_ · Nov 9, 2021

Hello, something similar happened to me, as I also came back after many years. I started with a JOOLA Bomb Extreme MCD wood along with some joola rhyzm-p rubbers and it was UNCONTROLLABLE. All shots either to the net or off the table. I felt very little confidence to make a complete stroke.

Instead yesterday I tried a new combination and I felt in the clouds.
YASAKA SWEDEN CLASIC together with DHS HURRICANE 3 NEO (with booster) and really the change was huge. In a forehand multi-ball drill with the coach, I put 90% of the balls on the table and the best thing is that I was able to do the full movement of both forehand and backhand shots.

Those who have just started with this wood (ALL + speed) and a very high control will not be mistaken, that you literally place the balls where you want.

dajdosta · Nov 9, 2021

Daniel_ said:
...YASAKA SWEDEN CLASIC together with DHS HURRICANE 3 NEO (with booster)
...the best thing is that I was able to do the full movement of both forehand and backhand shots...

Because you had to do full movement 😁

Advice - slower blade than Timo Boll Spirit

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