Be honest guys: you don't need carbon blades

Originally Posted by Michael Zhuang

lol what? how am I in denial? I can't beat the 2000 guy because he is better than me, and I've only really been playing for 8 months or so. I'm just trying to understand the intricacies of what makes him better than me. Some aspects I can understand, some aspects I still don't understand.

In any case, I think there is a high chance I will never get to 2000 in my lifetime, because I don't have a coach, I don't train with serious guys, and its just a fun little hobby for me. My partner and I still train with 1 star Newgy celluloid balls even, because we're too lazy and indifferent to even get quality balls.

Any one tell you, for your level and only 8 month old.
you are using maybe too fast of an equipment?

Originally Posted by lodro

Now that we are gone off-topic (as usual 😁)

This is going to become another 50 page thread, with tons of same stuff that goes on and on and on.

Tony's argument AGAINST faster blade/rubber for a developing player is that when a player uses fast stuff early on when they are not being professionally instructed/coached/trained is that the player will use lazy half-azz not even strokes and ingrain that... which takes a heck of a long time to undo when you get professional help.

I would strongly agree with Tony's sentiment.

I mention for fairness that some professional Korean coaches I saw in Korea immediately issued the fastest equipment in the world to new players they coached... but it was the right call... because that stuff is great for standing at the table and making fast/flat shots with the correct technique coach makes you shadow stroke 1000x a day.

Even that statement supports Tony's view that you stay away from the fast stuff if you are not being professionally assisted/guided.

Originally Posted by Der_Echte

professionally assisted/guided.

This sums up everything.

Originally Posted by superbackhand

it is 90% about technique and skill. for 90% of club players.

its about 100 % techique and skill for 100 % of all players.

Equipment just magnifies your level, either bad or good. Like all things in life first you crawl, then you walk, then you run and maybe if you are lucky enough you will achieve to fly. So yeah most of the newbie players or recreational club players DONT need carbon blades with very few exceptions.

Stellan Bengtsson has trained youngsters successfully using carbon blades, BUT he knew the importance of slow repetitions and he got them to do the required numbers of repetitions as well.

It would take an utter idiot to argue against Stellan or his coaching ways, he is still the YOUNGEST World Champion in the sport even after all these decades... yet still, his way isn't the only way or the only right way. Yet, you cannot argue against his coaching success or his academy that grew so well, he was constrained by the building size and had to turn down applicants to his program.

"FZD is a beast and he uses a Viscaria, maybe I should use one" or "That guy has tremendous skill and placement and he uses a 5 ply, maybe I should use one". How are these two different? They aren't, and they are both wrong approaches because those players are not you. Different tools for different jobs, simple as that.

Sure, if you are coaching a little kid, that all makes sense, you should start with the basics and progress according to his improvement. But let's not delude ourselves, past a certain age there is not much improvement. We could drop everything and train TT 24/7, and we wouldn't even touch the level a pro player has that has been training since he was a kid. We all know that virtuoso that uses a frying pan and he's still able to beat anyone. But I also know players with very compact strokes that use fast "carbon" blades, and their game would be obsolete without them.

So, pick what your comfortable with, what gives you confidence and adapts well to your game.

Sent from my MAR-LX1A using Tapatalk

Some amateur players are very good at Serve/receive/third ball attack, and their loop is strong and powerful. Consistency is their main problem, they won't allow the game to go to rally stage. This is the playing style that most amateur players will be at the advanced level. They probably won't choose a slow blade.

Besides, those big equipment manufacturers are updating their previous all wood products to make them faster, and are also issuing new composite products which are softer and more friendly to amateur players.

The advice itself is not new to most forum members here. The point is always, to whom this advice is available? Which products exactly it is talking about? General discussion doesn't bring everyone's opinion together.

Originally Posted by OldUser

But carbon itself is useless, if hipnotic made me a blade with only kevlar or Zylon or glass fiber or a piece of fabric in it and no carbon at all, it would have been probably the same ! that's the point here when I say carbon is useless, I was tricked by my EJ inner mind at that time, got back to an all wood blade, and played better.!

I'm indeed not a well ranked player, as most of the people here, got to a RC 1400 recently at 49, the best I've been is 1700 at a teenager. And even at that time training a lot, I 've used speed glue only one year because sure the speed and spin feeling was cool with it, but the control was... nowhere. Just took a 7 ply blade all wood for 2 years and then non carbon composite with glass fiber and I felt really great since that time.

It's an EJ thing if you're an amateur, and to me amateurs are all the people that do not make a living with table tennis, there are beginers, intermediate, and advanced amateurs of course, but if you don't make a living with it, if it does not pay the bill, simple: you're not a pro. Or you're a very young aspiring pro alerady playing in a 3 tier league and being coached at least 4 hours a day in a future talent academy.

Your experience does not let you tell other people what they must do.

Originally Posted by DukeGaGa

Ehh, no.

Using the same person I know as example again here. He used to play in Hebei provincial team when he was a teenager, then went to college and played for his university in China, so at this point he is just playing table tennis as a side thing, his main focus was in his school work. Now he's working on his master's degree here in the states, and playing for his university. He is not making a living on playing table tennis, but I really doubt that you can say he isn't a pro player.

Being pro has nothing to do with a person making a living out of the thing he/she is pro at, being pro just means the person is really really good at what they do.

that is still not a pro.
at most, semi-pro

Pros should be called full time table tennis athletes (unless table tennis in your country belongs inside a garage?)

You do need to mix income or full time into the equation (the amount earn would vary per country)
Pro isn't only on playing levels, however most amateurs will see it as only levels.

Let me ask you, for example: "I play table tennis professionally". What does that imply to you?

In Asia, if you go into a sport school and train in the system - you are considered a pro trained player (student age).
When you go into university, and continue, you are still a "pro player" (for your student/age)
When you finish university, and continue to play full time, you are a pro player. If you leave and work full time, and play part time, you are a player with professional training. Or former pro player in uni/school (and there are tons of them in Asia)
Maybe it will be different in the west, where it is more about the level?