San Francisco looking for training partner.

[God-scrubplayer]

I want to make a push blocking setup to screw around, can anyone give me a recommendation?

I recall the blade is dr. nebula or something

It has to be shankhand grip

 

[Brs]

Dr Neubauer?

 

[Gozo Zyreruna]

I want to make a push blocking setup to screw around, can anyone give me a recommendation?

I recall the blade is dr. nebula or something

TSP Blockman with Short Pips on one side and Long-Pips on the other.

Not joking, but in my club there is an elderly man who plays with a Yinhe balsa all wood C-Pen with Short-Pips on FH and a LP on BH.

He is so darn good in competition that even state / provincial level player regularly lose to him.

Down side is, he has a hard time finding a sparring partner. His style is just too unconventional.

 

[Michael Zhuang]

How is Kou Lei's level against these guys?

I find Zhu Yi's game quite attractive. Seems like he has really good hand feeling and control on the ball.

 

[mihalichtheone]

Every player is so unique in style and (most importantly) strategic thinking...I think one cannot compare two players without seeing them actually play against each other.

 

[God-scrubplayer]

ah yes, what's a good rec for shakehand grip for trashy rubbers and stuff.

 

[God-scrubplayer]

I want long pip(those garbage rubber where if you loop against it, it will return super spinny backspin short) and medium pip recommendation.

 

[Scarfed Garchomp]

Palio CK531A, Bomb Talent are both cheap long pips that give good spin passing. Get them with 0.5 sponge if you want an easier time gluing them with liquid glue, because the base sheets are very thin, otherwise application with a gluesheet is much easier. Yinhe Pluto and Dawei 388C-1 are a cheap medium pips with good control

 

[UpSideDownCarl]

Why doesn't Kou Lei play in China superleague? Actually why is he playing USATT tournaments at all if he's world ITTF level.

Isn't USA like a relatively weak country in TT? Why doesn't Kou Lei play in Germany or France or Japan or something? What am I missing?

Michael Zhuang;387849
I'm surprised you can own a club and not end up playing at least fairly regularly. If you love TT so much to own a club, why wouldn't you at least play basic matches once a week.

I think, if you take these two posts together, it presents an interesting mindset.

Like, is there really an issue with having a player as good as Kou Lei, happy and willing to live in USA, coach in USA and/or play tournaments in USA? Isn’t that actually a good thing for Table Tennis in the USA?

And, for Tawny Banh, what would be wrong with someone coaching, and running a TT club who plays all the time helping others, but takes a few months, or even years, off from the rigorous training that would keep her level up to the high standard of a 2500+ player.

Look at Zhang Yining…..when she retired she was pretty amazing and she did not want to play at all for a while after she retired. Does she play now?

Everyone is different. It is okay for people to have different goals, especially after such high achievements to begin with. Anyone who has turned a hobby into a job or a career knows that things change when you have to do it all the time. That is very different than when you are playing table tennis as your recreational time and your time to enjoy a bit of time off from work and family responsibilities.

I wonder: what caused you to stop playing for all those years when you didn’t play?

 

[GOAT 🐐]

The dude in the white shirt is like Lin GaoYuan but right-handed.

 

[OldUser]

US Open won by the WR 183.

When this year Lille Open was won by the WR 17.

Yeah I know, you americans would really want to make us think the US Open is a big thing, but... actually, it's not even close to it, even by saying the ITTF rankings are wrong. Kanak Jha is the best american player, he plays in the bundesliga, with success, but he's the only one, that's the reality of the situation. The following US national team players are good enough to play Nationale 1 or Pro B in France, but that's all.

 

[NextLevel]

US Open won by the WR 183.

When this year Lille Open was won by the WR 17.

Yeah I know, you americans would really want to make us think the US Open is a big thing, but... actually, it's not even close to it, even by saying the ITTF rankings are wrong. Kanak Jha is the best american player, he plays in the bundesliga, with success, but he's the only one, that's the reality of the situation. The following US national team players are good enough to play Nationale 1 or Pro B in France, but that's all.

Most people realize that the word "Open", which means anyone can play, is not the same as the word "National", which means that only citizens can play. Hope that nuance didn't get missed by you.

 

[LDM7]

Why doesn't Kou Lei play in China superleague? Actually why is he playing USATT tournaments at all if he's world ITTF level.

Isn't USA like a relatively weak country in TT? Why doesn't Kou Lei play in Germany or France or Japan or something? What am I missing?

at the us open (ontario, ca) i interacted with kou many times

i asked him about his leaving tta and starting his own academy, he answered

i am thinking if you're curious and want to know, then look up on omnipong for his next tourney and approach him in person

or look him up in the SF east bay area and contact him directly

i found kou's demeanor (on & off the table) to be calm, controlled, almost robotic yet approachable and friendly

i wish i had a tenth of his game

 

[Jslick89]

at the us open (ontario, ca) i interacted with kou many times

i asked him about his leaving tta and starting his own academy, he answered

i am thinking if you're curious and want to know, then look up on omnipong for his next tourney and approach him in person

or look him up in the SF east bay area and contact him directly

i found kou's demeanor (on & off the table) to be calm, controlled, almost robotic yet approachable and friendly

i wish i had a tenth of his game

Can't you share with us the answer? How was his english? I think you can be coached in TT if you speak a different language than your coach, but it might a little bit of a barrier. Do you know the name of his new club? I'm wishing him all the success! He has a lot of competition if he is starting a club in the bay area (888, ICC, TTA) but i hope he can be successful. I would definitely play in a tournament at his facility!

 

[pongfugrasshopper]

 

[vvk1]

Did he really say he'd quit competing and would concentrate on coaching,etc?

 

[thomas.pong]

Is Kou Lei better than me?

 

[NextLevel]

Did he really say he'd quit competing and would concentrate on coaching,etc?

Hasn't he already?

 

[vvk1]

Hasn't he already?

I wasn't aware of it, hence my surprise.

 

[NextLevel]

I wasn't aware of it, hence my surprise.

Coming to the US as a non-US citizen is pretty much a commitment to that direction. There is a lot of money in coaching in the right communities if you have the right pedigree so he can do it. The biggest surprise for me is that he still plays at a level that comfortably makes him the strongest player in NA even impervious to the high level foreigners. How he does that without substantial travel for the last two years is amazing to me. If someone is confused by what I am writing, watch his matches vs Eugene Wang at the last US Open or even his play at the Joola Open despite losing to Cifuentes (who is likely training in Europe). Maybe he was just so good that a drop still kept him at a ridiculously high level.