Patrick Baum Has No Backup Blade! How About You?

[YosuaYosan]

You see, we mostly as amateur players don't really think much about having an identical reserve bat for emergency situations such as the one happened to Patrick Baum in the Bundesliga..
Check it out here: http://tabletennista.com/2012/8/must-a-professional-player-have-always-an/

What about you? Do you have a spare identical bat? How important is it?
Leave your opinions below!

Let me start with myself: I have NONE
However I have mastered my other setup enough so I could use it partiularly well

Thanks to TableTennisTa for the article!

 

[judah000]

Well I have none but if I would have lots of money or sponsored I will buy an identical bat.

 

[Mr. RicharD]

It doesn't matter if you have an identical bat in equipment. There is always a psychological and slight difference between back ups and main paddles. At the highest levels we know that every millimeter counts. Every degree of the racket angle counts and when you've broken in a blade and rubber set up you understand the true intricacies of that blade, but you cannot understand the same for a backup paddle that you rarely use in practice. No two blades are 100% the same as no two rubbers are 100% the same. Just the small adjustments in training make the paddle play slightly different than a backup that has been made to the same specs as your main paddle.

While as a professional you should be able to adjust it is just not the same and the psychological differences are huge. You lose confidence in your shots and you lose confidence in winning the match.

A perfect example at even a higher level than Baum's predicament is Wang Liqin's match against Ma Lin in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. After damaging his racket he just couldn't adjust to the backup racket even though they were identical.

 

[Der_Echte]

I carry a back-up to a back-up that I have played enough to break it out and pick up where i left. I have a few back-ups to those that are acceptable playing blades for my TBS & ALC (Calix II and Qabod) If I need to change the pace, I have the Primorac Carbon with my favored rubbers. I am the epitome of bad luck and I am very preared for it. I have ripped my rubber on corners exactly 4 times in hte last few years and cursed mightily each time, then walked to my rucksack (YEs, I need a rucksack to hold all my gear _ I roll ready) break out a backup, walk back to the table, and go back to work.

 

[Mr. RicharD]

I've spoken to pro players and sure they have a backup, but honestly it's rare for them to make a mistake and damage their blade. The reason being that the way they see it they shouldn't make mistakes. Our resident pro here always says why do you need edge tape if you are playing correctly you should not hit the table. It is just a matter of opinion, but I tend to agree with him even though other pro players have said that they often only hit the edges of their paddles when pushing no spin by hitting down into the table.

He hits the table rarely and if he damages his blade then he gets a new one. If you are playing at your best it should be true that you should not be hitting the table by mistake. That is what we strive for. Now I'm not saying that we shouldn't have backup paddles, but let's all be honest the level of play at the amateur level and the level of play at the professional is a very big jump and every little bit counts up there. So a mistake that damages your paddle is much more a disaster than for those of us who do it quite often.

 

[Der_Echte]

I am pure hell on blades, whether they have edge tape or not. I break them as I am nowhere near a pro. For the record, I am an avid user of edge tape. I provide my clup with rolls of it (Tibhar and BTY) and I carry everything to service a paddle with me in my rucksack that is better equipped than james Bond's secret lab.

I used to like rolling like I was from the ghetto, as well, I AM from the ghetto. After living in Korea, the land with the uniform craze, I am all about wearing nice looking TT gear and accessories. One should look good at the club or in tourneys, even if one is not good or is a top ringer. It is so nice to be a part of a team and wear the same colors and fight/cheer for your club's and friends' glory in abttale at tourneys. TT is about as close to real combat (besides living in or passing through the ghetto) as you will get and I have been frequently to all three places. (Ghettos, Combat, and Korean Tourneys)

 

[Der_Echte]

Richard, I can see where your pro or ex-pro is coming from. Just about ALL the pros rarely use edge tape and rarely damage their rubber or blade.

 

[sebas-aguirre]

in a very recent match wan liqin broke his paddle against hao shuai (this was like 2 weeks ago or something).
he went and changed it for what seemed an identical paddle.
it makes sense for guys like that (among the 30 best players in the world) to have a backup.
for a guy that plays for fun in an amateur league it seems a bit silly.
at amateur leagues I don't even think you will be told to change your paddle unless it is absolutely destroyed which rarely happens.
in ittf big tournaments if they get a scratch on a rubber they change the paddle (at least the very top players)