But the reality is, choppers rarely ever have the upper hand against the attackers and allrounders.
I am not 100% sure about this statement. At the highest levels, I would agree. But, if you are of a certain level and you play a chopper who is better than you, a higher level player, he will usually win. When you play a chopper who is about the same level as you, you should be about 50-50 with him. Sometimes one of you will have the upper hand and sometimes the other. If you play a chopper who you are better than, then you should have the upper hand.
I know, what I just said is obvious.
At lower levels of play, often the chopper has an advantage because a low level offensive player might not know how to handle underspin consistently. Often that is where a person decides to be a chopper, where they see they have more success playing defensively and letting the other person mess up. But not always. I have seen that happen a lot though. Where a player starts out as a low level offensive player. Plays a bunch of defensive players. Sees that, at his level, the defensive players are more successful, and choses to learn to play defensively.
However, I know one chopper who is amazing; he is a pro. He was on a team in Japan. On that team he was the second best looper. The coach told the team they needed a chopper to practice against and asked this guy if he would learn to chop so that the team could practice against a good chopper. He did and decided he loved chopping and that it made playing fun for him. His loops are still amazing. But his chopping skills are sick. I think he also likes the fact that if he is playing with someone good enough, when they loop and he chops, they can put on a much better SHOW than usually happens when two offensive players are going head to head. And everyone knows, a crowd of regular people, uneducated in the finer skills of Table Tennis, love watching a good defensive player against a good offensive player and usually root for the defensive player.
All that being said, I think being a defensive player or a chopper has something to do with a mindset, just like being an offensive player or an allround player has to do with a mindset. A defensive player keeps putting the ball back with shots that are basically "safe" and continuously mixes the spin up, and they win many of their points by capitalizing on their opponent's mistakes, regardless of whether that means that the opponent gave them a high ball to attack or misses the table because they misread the spin.
So are you a risk taker? You might like being an offensive player more if you are a risk taker. Would you rather take a few really powerful shots where you clearly overpowered your opponent and won the point, even if you miss almost as often as you land your shots? Do you want to use strength and power in your play? People who would answer yes to these questions would probably rather being an offensive player.
Do you like the mental side of the game? Do you like the tactics and chess aspect of the game where a large part of how you win points has to do with outthinking your opponent? Do like to take shots that are high percentage shots that might not win a point outright but could set you up to control the point and slow down the action so you have more control? Are you okay with winning many of your points because your opponent messed up, because you outthought them, rather than because you put the ball past them? There is a lot of fun involved in simply outthinking someone. If you like that kind of thing. You might make a good defensive player.
Many guys who are offensive players might also be the kind of guy who will walk up to a woman he is attracted to and be more direct and aggressive in pursuit. I know some guys who are single who will walk up to 20-30 girls in a one hour lunch break, trying to get numbers and dates.
Many guys who are defensive players might be more the kind of person who takes his time, gets to know the woman, and makes his moves in more subtle ways letting the progression be more mutual so the woman can show interest and participation before he pursues further.
Both methods work. There are advantages to both.
But regardless of whether you are a defensive player, an allround player or an offensive player, learning how to play in all ways will make you a better rounded player.
