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I’ll start with a lot of background to hopefully set the scene with experience, current level and style and learning curve. Sorry if this is long winded but I figure more information will hopefully lead to more accurate recommendations. I played a lot of table tennis as a kid but mainly just played my dad on a table at home so wasn’t exposed to a lot of different playing styles and had a very mediocre bat. After I left home, I didn’t play for 25 or so years but have recently got back into it and played in my first league last season and am now playing in my second season. I should also say that I play tennis to a decent competitive level so even though I had a long break from table tennis, I have always played some form of racket sport competitively.
I bought a bat last year from Custom Table Tennis which was called Classic Offensive and came with Xiom Vega Intro rubbers on both sides. I get on pretty well with the bat but have recently felt it’s starting to hold me back as I feel I could control the ball if the bat set up was faster, added to this a couple of people at my club have commented that it makes a really odd sound and looked at it and said “yeah the rubbers are ok but the blade is cheap and ****”. So, I’m after advice on what blade to get and also which rubbers will suit me, I don’t want too much of a drastic change, just something that will help me progress further.
In terms of standard, I’m improving quickly but still have a lot to learn and I’m focussing a lot on getting the basics right to cement a good foundation My goal is to try and get into the premier league either next season or season after. I’m playing in my local league’s 1st division, last year was my first time in a league and I had a win % of 57%, this season I’m on 90% and I’ve only dropped 3 games against a couple of players that are usually in the premier division. I’ve been told that I’m a mix of a chopper and a counter-attacker, it’s mainly lack of experience & confidence I think that is making me play this way at the moment, I tend to play reasonably safely, mixing up short & long chops until I get an opportunity to do FH or BH drive. However, when playing some of the prem players who have a lot more topspin, I seem to do ok being more offensive by initiating deep top spins and countering their drives - on our club night last night for example I played against one of the premier players who I’d not seen before and got 2 games off him and the others were close losses, in that I was attacking a lot and coped pretty well with a lot more spin than I’m used to.
I’m told my serves are pretty solid, usually mixing up fast/long, short/spinny and tomahawks both normal and reverse. I’m working on playing a more attacking style and to initiate the attack more but it’ll take time for this to feel normal. I recently had a 2 hour lesson with a top coach to work on a more offensive style and he reckoned 6 months of practice needed to get my drives and topspins part of muscle memory.
From the research I’ve done I’m looking at Xiom Offensive S blade, and starting with the Xiom Vega Euro DF rubbers on both sides at 2mm thickness. However, it’s a significant investment so I’m after advice if there’s something out there that may suit me better. Thanks in advance for any recommendations.
I bought a bat last year from Custom Table Tennis which was called Classic Offensive and came with Xiom Vega Intro rubbers on both sides. I get on pretty well with the bat but have recently felt it’s starting to hold me back as I feel I could control the ball if the bat set up was faster, added to this a couple of people at my club have commented that it makes a really odd sound and looked at it and said “yeah the rubbers are ok but the blade is cheap and ****”. So, I’m after advice on what blade to get and also which rubbers will suit me, I don’t want too much of a drastic change, just something that will help me progress further.
In terms of standard, I’m improving quickly but still have a lot to learn and I’m focussing a lot on getting the basics right to cement a good foundation My goal is to try and get into the premier league either next season or season after. I’m playing in my local league’s 1st division, last year was my first time in a league and I had a win % of 57%, this season I’m on 90% and I’ve only dropped 3 games against a couple of players that are usually in the premier division. I’ve been told that I’m a mix of a chopper and a counter-attacker, it’s mainly lack of experience & confidence I think that is making me play this way at the moment, I tend to play reasonably safely, mixing up short & long chops until I get an opportunity to do FH or BH drive. However, when playing some of the prem players who have a lot more topspin, I seem to do ok being more offensive by initiating deep top spins and countering their drives - on our club night last night for example I played against one of the premier players who I’d not seen before and got 2 games off him and the others were close losses, in that I was attacking a lot and coped pretty well with a lot more spin than I’m used to.
I’m told my serves are pretty solid, usually mixing up fast/long, short/spinny and tomahawks both normal and reverse. I’m working on playing a more attacking style and to initiate the attack more but it’ll take time for this to feel normal. I recently had a 2 hour lesson with a top coach to work on a more offensive style and he reckoned 6 months of practice needed to get my drives and topspins part of muscle memory.
From the research I’ve done I’m looking at Xiom Offensive S blade, and starting with the Xiom Vega Euro DF rubbers on both sides at 2mm thickness. However, it’s a significant investment so I’m after advice if there’s something out there that may suit me better. Thanks in advance for any recommendations.
