table tennis equipment Archives - World Of Spring Field

How to choose a good table tennis blade

November 23, 2019

Welcome back to PingSunday, the best place
to learn table tennis. Today, I explain to you how
to choose the best table tennis blade. This tutorial is based on my several years of training,
playing and coaching. I also have some occasions to discuss this topic “what is the
characteristic of a good blade in table tennis” with some Chinese coaches. “Dear coach, I’m using Viscaria. And
my rating is 1600 TTR. Is it a very good blade? How to know a blade is good
or not? This is a very good question. Because choosing
the right blade is very very important in table
tennis. Some players said that, no, the rubber is more important than the blade. I would
say, No! Ask any coach, or any pro players, they
all answer that the blade is the soul of table tennis
equipment. In table tennis, there are several playing
styles. And you also have several types of blade
for each style. So that’s the blade that decides your playing style but not the rubber. As Joo Sae-hyuk is a defensive player. His
blade is a large head defensive blade. He will
not change the blade. But he can use the many offensive rubbers (Tenergy 64, 05). Pro players
often test new rubbers on the same blade. The blade is crucial for the FEELING! What is the function of a blade. Chinese coach
says “The blade should be an extension of your hand”. The blade gives you the feeling,
and that’s the blade will help you “SPIN” the ball.
Feel of the ball through the good vibration of the blade –
The key to choose the right equipment in table tennis In table tennis, there are Speed and Spin.
Speed will come when you have Spin. If any coach
say to you, “will choose OFF, OFF+ blade to gain speed, and combine with softer rubber.
Be careful! You are sacrificing the Feeling for
the Speed. Very dangerous! Maybe, you are in the wrong direction. While in China, players prefer OFF- blade,
and play with very hard rubbers. Here are the
choice percentage of Stiga blade in the China market, the Carbon blade is not very popular.
The most popular one is the OFF, to OFF- blade (Offensive Classical and Clipper). So Chinese philosophy focuses on the Feeling
and the Spin first. The blade is considered the
soul of your playing style. Defender, Allround, Offensive players choose a different type
of blade. Liu Guoliang once said “the blade should be
an extend of your hand”. Choosing the right blade is crucial in table
tennis because the blade decides: – 80% of your playing style. Rubber decides
only 20% – give you the best feeling when you touch
the ball – give you the ability to spin, or to accelerate
the speed of your shots (due to dwell-time) – provide the kick effect (the first speed
of the bounce) based on the stiffness of the outer layer
– the main power for your shots when you play far from the table (due to the core layer) Some players said “You are wrong. The blade
is made of wood. And we can play any type of wood. Quality blade is all marketing”.
No! The high-quality blade is not cheap like mass
production one. It’s the premium quality professional wood made by the experienced
maker. The wood quality is older, harder, and give you a clearer vibration informations. The best table tennis blade offers more spin
and crisper feeling during ball contact. It is the key to increase your potential of
winning. So focus on the quality blade which matches
your playing style. Remember, a good racket can make the same
spin with a shorter stroke than the low-quality racket. Some players can say
“Vibration? Good vibration? Are you kidding? No! It’s not a joke! When you hit the ball, the blade will vibrate.
This vibration is important for your hand (to feel the ball). These are the vibration
mode of the blade measured experimentally. The vibration is measured
in Hz. The simulation in COMSOL Multiphysics also confirm that the blade will
vibrate in several ways. Some vibrations are very good. They are transfered
to your hand. And good blade will give you a very clear vibration frequency.
That’s why you can feel the spin, and improve very fast. But with the low quality and cheap blade,
the wood quality is very bad. All the frequency is dispersed. You will lose a lot of good
information. Hitting hard, or spinning, or flick
the short ball will give you the same feeling. It’s very bad. So it’s not a joke! Science
has proved it! What are the characteristics of a good blade.
Yes, we want the highest quality blade! But how to
know which one has the top-notch quality. There are many parameters about a blade. But
a good, high-quality table tennis blade must have these typical features: 1. High quality and old wood
2. Clear vibration, and good flexibility 3. Strong power on the blade (due to the core
layer) 4. Good weight distribution between the handle
and the head There are many parameters of a blade. I can’t
talk all of them. But here are somes of them. The larger the blade, the slower and heavier
it is. Larger blade also have a lot of flexibility, control and spin. That’s why most defensive
blade is a large head blade (160-161). While offensive blade has a smaller size. The optimal
size of an offensive blade is about 157-159. Smaller size is also better for backhand attack
close to the table. Choose Viscaria (157×150) if you are the backhand player, and play closer
to the table. And longer size gives more power away from
the table (due to larger amplitude). So choose DHS Hurricane Long 3 (162×152) if you are
the forehand dominant player, with powerful Forehand
far from the table. 2. Head Shape Oval head shape is better for backhand dominant
player. Due to it’s caracteristic frequency, and easy maneuver on the table. There is also the handle dimension, and the
weight distribution (head heavy, or balance, or handle heavy) and handle types is
also important. Blade composition, core thickness layer, outer
layer, ALC, ZLC, blade thickness, etc are also very important. So many many
things to talk to you. If you have any question, you can contact me on my personal email ([email protected]). That’s it for today. In the next video, I
will give you some examples of top 10 blades in table
tennis. See you.

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Best racket handle ? Flared or Straight handle | Chinese table tennis

October 2, 2019

EmRatThich Gaming
There are in general 4 types of handles: Flared, Straight, Anatomic and Conique. Chinese and asian players prefer Flared handle,
while European players like Straight handle. Some American players like Anatomic and Conique
handle (not very popular). Why ? Almost all chinese players play Flared handle
(Zhang Jike, Ma Long, Fan Zhendong). Some top Japanese players and European players
play Straight handle (jun mizutani and Timo Boll). Someone explains that: Flared handle is good
for Forehand dominant player, while Straight handle is good for BH-FH transition. It can be true, but it’s not a real reason
that Chinese players always play Flared handle (Zhang Jike is a backhand dominant player
and he plays flared handle). The true reason why Chinese players like Flared
handle is: – They are taught a good technique: how to
hold the racket and when to hit the ball – They are taught to hold the racket loosely
before and after the stroke. That’s why they play the Flared handle as
it’s the only handle with the bigger part at the end of handle (flare). So the blade won’t drop out when you hold
it loosely. – They are taught to hit the ball with “Explosiveness”:
Hit very fast at a very short time. So Flared handle is the only handle that when
you hit hard, the blade stays safely in your hand and you don’t need to hold it tight everytime. So what is “Explosiveness” in Chinese philosophy
about table tennis ? This girl hits the ball without explosiveness. She doesn’t know when to relax, and when to
hit the ball. So the chinese coach has asked her to relax,
and hold tight the ball only at the moment of striking. It’s very short moment, and it increases the
“explosiveness” of your stroke. And this is the only reason why “Flared handle”
is prefered by Chinese players. It feels safely when you loose the grip and
hold it again quickly as it has a flare. European and Western players are taught to
hold the racket in a wrong way. They hold the racket constantly, all the time. They hold the racket before and after the
stroke in the same way. That’s why Anatomic, Straight handle fit well
their grip as this handle fit exactly their palm. Flared handle is too small in their palm and
they “feel” that the flared handle is not comfortable. However, Western players don’t know to hit
with “Explosiveness” as shown in the video with the young girl. So if you want to hit the ball with “Explosiveness”,
choose Flared handle. You can easily switch from BH to FH as for
another types of handle. If you like “Straight handle”, you must hold
the racket constantly. As it is straight, if you hold the racket
loosely, relax, it can fly out with your stroke and it can be dangerous. The “explosiveness” needs 2 phases: relax
and explode. With the “straight handle”, you can not relax,
and can’t make a good explosiveness. If you like “Anatomic handle”, it fits well
in your palm. However, it will limit a little the freedom
of your wrist. Chinese player don’t like Anatomic handle
for this reason. I want to show you an example of “Straight
handle” player: Timo Boll or Jun Mitzutani. Their ball is spinny, their playing style
is very smooth. They attack with both FH and BH with high
spin ball. However, both Timo Boll and Jun Mitzutany
are “soft”, lack of “Explosiveness”. This is the same problem for many European
players. but each time Joo Se Hyuk attacks, the ball
is very fast. It has “Explosiveness”. That the difference between Asian and Western
table tennis. So if you want to dominate in table tennis,
learn to hit with “explosiveness”and then you will know which handle is best for you. 🙂 EmRatThich Gaming

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Table Tennis Booster: YES or NO?

September 22, 2019

Welcome to the Ping Sunday table tennis tutorial
of EmRatThich: a place to learn table tennis correctly and with fun. I’m a table tennis coach in a small club in
France. During my spare time in the weekend, I create
videos to share with you my own experiences about table tennis. That’s why these videos are called as “Ping
Sunday” (Ping Pong Tutorial on Sunday). Today, I talk about using the booster, speed
glue, tuner in table tennis. Boosting rubbers, especially for “Chinese
table tennis rubbers” are very common. Not only professional table tennis players,
but also amateurs boost or tune their rubbers. What is Speed Glue You may hear of “Speed Glue”.��Speed glue�is
the glue that is used to fix the rubber to the racket. But it’s not the normal glue. Speed glue contains a lot of VOC
(Volatile organic compound). It’s a mixture of 40% Cyclohexane, 50% Acetate
Butyl, and 6% natural rubber. It may also have the benzene rings and N-hexane. Why table tennis
players use Speed Glue? Speed glue contains�high volatile solvent
vapors which make the sponge of the rubber�expand. This stretches the rubber giving it a “high
tension”. It’s like
adding the “trampoline”, make the rubber become more bouncy.� The speed of the ball will increase about
10%. But the most important is the spin
increase: up to 20%.�The effect will last between 3-5 hours.�Then it would
wear off and the extra speed would be lost because the VOC gas�has escaped away
from the sponge. Is Using Speed
Glue Safe? If you play table tennis before 2007-2008. You would remember that at tournaments
hundreds of kids lining the corridors of the sports hall, �gluing up� their rackets
and inhaling the fumes. The hall is full of smelly organic compounds. Everybody just
wants to get the fastest racket in the world. Once you started, it was impossible
to stop as if you didn�t do it your racket would feel incredibly�slow. ITTF decided to ban Speed Glue in September
2007 due to health concerns. The date had been moved back to 1 September
2008. However,
after an unconfirmed health incident in Japan, ITTF banned immediately
using Speed Glue in 2007. ITTF is right. This is the composition of the VOC compounds
in Speed Glue: cyclohexane, n-hexane, benzene, toluene. Do you know what does it mean, this pictogram? It’s is�Carcinogen pictogram. (Cyclohexane is found in Speed Glue). They not only contain hazardous vapors, but
also: Carcinogen (a substance capable of causing
cancer in living tissue) Mutagenicity (cause mutations (genetic alterations)
Reproductive toxicity (effects on sexual function) Target Organ Toxicity Look, Toluene and Heptane are present is Speed
Glue. These substances
are Carcinogene. If Swallowed, immediately call POISON CENTER! Toluene in Speed Glue! So stay away from Speed Glue. Don’t inhale the vapors from the Speed Glue,
because it is�aspiration hazard, cause cancer and�organ toxicity. What is table
tennis booster? Since Speed Glue is banned completely. ITTF apply the ENEZ chamber test box to
detect the small amount of VOC released from the player’s racket. Table tennis
players always want to boost, to tune their racket to have a better effect. Some players tried baby oil,�paraffin oil,�olive
oil and�synthetic motor oil, but it didn’t work great. And then, here comes the booster. It’s called as�”booster”, “optimizers”,
“expanders” or “tuners”,�appeared at the end of
2007.�These products applied to the sponge of the rubber to increase its thickness
and give more speed and rotation to the ball, not as much as the “Speed Glue”
but not far. Booster contains low volatile compounds mixed
with some chemical oils.�The booster is more viscous and absorbs
slowly into the rubber sponge. Therefore, the “boosting effect” of the booster
will last up to 3-4 weeks. Before 2005, Chinese National Team (Wang Liqin,
Kong Linghui, and others) used TSP Noriko as the speed glue. However, since speed glue is banned, they
are using Booster now. The 3 most popular booster in table tennis
are: Haifu booster, Dianchi Booster, and Falco Tempo Long Booster. Booster is legal
or not? Using booster, tuners, expanders and speed
glue in illegal in table tennis. ITTF has stated: Based on the rule, using booster will modify
the playing properties of the rubbers. So you are not allowed to use the booster,
chemical treatment in the official competitions. However, using a factory tuned rubber is allowed
by ITTF. That means you can not
boost the table tennis rubber yourself, but you can buy a pre-tuned factory
rubber. So if you have your own factory or your own
rubber brand, you can use the so-called “pre-tuned” or “factory
tuned” rubber. That’s why nowadays,
there are many Factory Tuned or Neo version of Double Happiness DHS rubbers. If you are the professional players and is
sponsored by a table tennis company. You can ask them to boost and tune the rubber
to your desired level. So until
now, there are some tricks about using the booster in table tennis. The
borderline of legal or illegal is not very clear. Is Using table
tennis booster detectable? Booster contains the extremely low evaporation
oil. The VOC rate is very low
compared to the ITTF detection limit (5ppm). So until now, using the
booster is not detectable. To prepare for the Olympic Tokyo 2020, the
Japanese Table Tennis Association (JTTA) is working with the Olympics Committee to
develop the new protocol to control the racket. This action is to fight the using of the booster
of Chinese table tennis players. Everyone knows that Top Chinese players use
the booster, but it’s
not detectable. For me, I can easily know if a player boosts
his rubber or not. Using booster or
speed glue will make the sponge expanded. When you hit the ball, the sound
is much louder, and the sound is like “bap, bap” (high pitch noise). So using the
booster is detectable by human experiences. Why Chinese
players use the booster? During the�China Trials for WTTC 2011, Ma
Lin is caught using the booster in his hotel room in the CCTV5 reportage. There is also the footage shows that Wang
Liqin, Fan Zhendong was using the Racket�control tester of ITTF. They want to make sure that their tuned Chinese
table tennis rubber will pass the test. Chinese table tennis rubber has a dense and
very hard sponge. Hard sponge ensures
that the power from the stroke is completely transferred to the ball. However,
a very hard sponge is not easy to play. Chinese rubber needs to be “break in”
before using in the competition. “Break in” is to make the sponge a little
softer, less deadly, more elastic. And the best way to “break in” is using the
booster. The booster will expand the sponge, inject
the “artificial tensor” to the hard sponge. The sponge is now more elastic, 3-4 degree
softer. There are many advantages:
the sound is louder, higher speed, and higher spin. In conclusion,
Chinese table tennis rubber is not very effective without using boosters. That’s the reason why Chinese table tennis
players, not only professional level but also amateur level, use the booster
to tune their Chinese rubbers. How Chinese
players use the booster? Using table tennis booster to expand the sponge
of the rubber is easy. Before gluing,
apply 1 to 2 layer of the booster to the sponge only. The booster will absorb
slower to the sponge of the rubber. However, the boosting effect lasts longer
than the speed glue.�Wait for the booster absorb into the sponge for 6-10 hours. The sponge will expand because of the chemical
substance, so it will make a dome. This is normal. This is the way you introduce the artificial
“tension” to the sponge. The dome looks like this. Don’t apply more than 3 layers. If you apply too much booster, your rubber
will curve too much and it’s very difficult to
glue the rubber now. The sponge is
also too mushy. You will lose the power to your shots. The booster will make the sponge softer to
3-4 degree. That’s why Chinese player
always wants to buy the harder version rubber, to use with the�booster.�
If you can hit very hard, and want to play with 39-degree
Chinese hardness on your Forehand. Buy 41-42 degree. Chinese players also prefer a thinner version. They prefer 2.10mm to 2.15mm than
the 2.2mm and 2.3 mm (MAX). Because thinner sponge offers
more consistent shots, and thinner sponge also expands easier with the booster. Is using
booster harmful? Unlike the speed glue which contains VOC,
booster contains mostly oil and is nearly VOC free. Some peoples propose that booster is not harmful. Other proposed that “booster technology have
made them much safer (than the speed glue)… ” However, when I open the bottle of Falco Long
Booster, I can feel the sweet smell of the oil. I said to myself “Oh, shit!” and quickly took
a mask. The sweet smell from
the booster is very close to the smell of synthesized petrol oil that I’ve known. Please
note: Natural oil like olive oil,�colza oil is harmless. But chemical oil derived from
petrol is toxic. The Table Tennis Federation in France has
made an report about Booster. They
analyzed the composition of the 4 booster samples. The composition of the booster: Tridecane
C13H28: alkane hydrocarbon,�Colourless liquid,�Odor gasoline-like, combustible
liquids, used in various fuels and solvents in industry. This is tridecane. As in the petroleum industry, the oil will
contain additives and derivatives. In the
booster, there is also another hydrocarbon (C10 � C14),� Tetradecane,
Decane and Cyclohexane (the same component in speed glue), and
Trichloroacetic.Trichloroacetic acid is considered a poison. May be fatal if absorbed. Very corrosive – causes severe burns. Dodecane is considered a harmful component. It can cause damage to the lungs
if absorbed.Cyclohexane�can cause cancer. This is the Safety Data Sheet of Tridecane
(main component in booster). Toxic
pictograms. Need Gloves, coat, mask, glasses to manipulate. Tridecane is carcinogen (cause cancer). Look at the pictogram. So even table tennis booster is nearly VOC
free, but still very harmful for your health. In industry or in the chemical laboratory,
they manipulate this product with the mask and the gloves. But you, table tennis player, use your hand
with the brush, apply these boosters to your rubbers every
3 months. You also let it dry in your
living room during 24h, and inhale these “sweet smell”. Should I use
booster? What is the purpose of your table tennis? If you play table tennis to earn your life
like the professional players, you have no choice. A little disadvantage can alter the result
of the match. You can feel
less confident. It’s like “If you can’t beat them, join them”. If you play table tennis to be healthy, for
fun. Stay away from the booster. You don’t play for money. You get more risk from the hazardous effect
than the reward of using the booster. Remember: You need to distinguish these 2
pictograms. The first one is “Skull and
Crossbones=Toxic”. Like being exposed to acid, the effect can
be seen right after. You know it and can treat it soon. But the second one is “Health Hazard=�Carcinogen”. The effect is not easily
discovered after exposure. But 10 years, or even 20 years later,
it causes the cancer. But it’s too late to�cure. Listen to me. If you are the amateur players, play safe
with your own health. Don’t use the booster. If you play Chinese rubbers, use the “physical
approach” to break in the sponge. Glue it correctly, hit very hard during 2
weeks, and then you can have an optimal hardness
range that you want. That’s it for today. If you like my videos, please help me to share
it, or you can add the translation to non English spoken
audience. You can also offer me a
coffee for my night :). The link is in the video description below. See you next Sunday. EmRatThich.
….. (about 12:44 AM Sunday)

Articles, Blog

How to Choose Best Setup in Table Tennis

August 21, 2019

Welcome back to the channel of coach EmRatThich. How to choose the rubber? What
is the best blade? The best combination for my playing style? These are the
common questions that you ask. Today, I will answer it! How to choose the
best setup in table tennis. A true story … A player has shared his own experience. Choosing too fast blade has wasted
his 15 years of table tennis. Now, he recommend playing only allround blade. 15 years ! Choosing too fast blade is the best way to
ruin your table tennis life. Using the too fast blade is a common mistake
of many table tennis players. If
it’s also your case, change before it’s too late! Liu Shiwen once said in an interview that
for her, the best blade is an offensive blade but a flexible blade. Chinese players are so strong in table tennis,
not because they use the super fast equipment, but just because their techniques
are superior. They use
offensive blade (All+, Off-), but not the super fast and hard blade (OFF+,
OFF++). In this modern table tennis, Offensive blade
is obligatory. But the blade need
to be flexible. Flexible increases the spin, and the feeling,
which is more important. The flexible blade also gives the “kick effect”
to the ball. I will
explain it right now. Your setup (blade + rubber) will decide these
3 quality factors of the ball: 1) Ball Seperation Speed 1) Ball separation speed: The speed that the
ball bounces away from your blade. This factor is not very important because
it’s only the initial speed which will be reduced quickly by the air resistance. 2) Spin 2) Spin: The rotation of the ball in your
shot. This factor is important. Because spin controls the consistency. If you can impact the spin to the
ball, you can hit harder and the ball still goes inside the table. 3) Kick effect 3) Kick effect: acceleration upon the first
bounce on the opponent’s court. This is the most important factor. The kick effect is the result of
the quality shot. The “kick effect” is also the reason why Chinese
players dominate this game. Their ball is spinny, fast, and has a very
low bounce. It’s so difficult to return their ball. Let’s feel what I mean. The “Kick effect” in the shot of Chinese players. The ball
is so fast and very low bounce. The Spin alone can’t make this “kick effect”. This effect comes only from the
“powerful shot”, which is loaded with speed, and spin. (I’ve explained it before). Another example of “Kick effect” on the backhand
shot. Let’s compare with the shot of the European
players. Can you feel the difference? The ball of European players is spinny, but
slower, and without the “kick effect”. Look at these rallies, the trajectory is
curvy (due to spin), but the kick effect is weak, not as strong as the Chinese
players. 4 types of combinations
(blade + rubber) According to the Japanese magazine Table Tennis
Kingdom, there are 4 types of setup. 1) Soft Rubber on Flexible Blade. This setup is best for consistency and
rotation. This setup will give you Max Spin (5 stars),
but only 1 star on the ball seperation speed, the Kick effect is Medium (3 stars). Soft Blade + Soft Rubber is best for:
– Recommended for beginner and intermediate choppers
– Ideal for offensive players with variation topspin and blocks
– defensive players who punish their opponent by changing up spin This is the most controllable setup, but weak,
the ball is spinny, but slow. 2) Hard Rubber on Stiff Blade. This setup has the highest rebound speed,
the ball leaves the racket super fast. But it’s difficult to spin the ball because
there is no dwell-time. Rebound speed super fast (5 stars), Spin very
weak (2 stars), Kick effect very weak (2 stars). Hard Rubber + Stiff blade is best for:
– Hitter who loves smashing every ball – But you will make many unforced errors. No Spin means no Control. – Close to the table, quick attack playing
style with tacky rubber. This is the fastest setup, no spin, super
fast, and risky shot: smash and flat- hit (double-edge sword) 3) Soft Rubber on Stiff Blade. This setup give you a Unique Feel of Bite
and Catapult. The soft rubber gives sufficient bite with
good control. The hard
blade gives the ball speed and the catapult effect on soft rubber. This setup is the main type of setup in European
countries. In Western
countries, the philosophy in table tennis is: “Rubber makes the ball spin,
and blade will give the speed”. Soft Rubber on Hard blade, you get fast rebound
speed (4 stars), Medium Spin (3 stars), and Weak Kick Effect
(2 stars). Soft rubber + Stiff blade is best for:
– Player who loves catapult effect (the rubber eats the ball, and rebound
away). – good feel on fast blocks (good for blocker)
– Ideal for players lacking power who stick to the table
– Best for fast-attack play close to the table with some driving Weakness:
– Only Medium Spin. It is surprisingly difficult to impart strong
spin on the ball. Soft rubber means weak rubber. Stiff blade means short dwell-time. – loss of speed once away from the table. As I’ve said, the rebound speed
is not important because it’s just the initial speed. When you play far from
the table, this setup is very weak. 4) Hard Rubber on Flexible Blade. This setup is the Mainstream and very
balanced. With hard rubber, the shots will rebounce
quickly (kick effect). Flexible blade will make it’s easier to applying
spin to the ball (because of dwell-time). This is the main setup in the Asian countries. Chinese philosophy is different:
The hard rubber will give the ball speed and kick effect (more important), the
blade will give dwell-time, feeling, and make the ball spin. With this setup, you get medium ball seperation
speed (3 stars), Very good spin (4 stars) and Excellent Kick Effect (5
stars). Hard Rubber + Flexible Blade is best for:
– the best setup for mid-range looping machine (Ma Long style)
– all-round offensive play slightly away from the table (dominant style in
this modern table tennis) – the kick effect is the key of success of
Chinese players But, you need:
– hard rubber does not bite excessively onto the ball, you need a good
technique, good “acceleration” to spin the ball
– tacky rubber will improve the dwell-time on soft stroke
– The ball rebound speed is not very fast due to flexible blade. You need
to use your physical strength to increase this initial speed. Now you understand why top Chinese players
love using offensive but flexible blade. To increase the flexibility of the blade,
they often ask the supplier to make the custom large head blade for them. Chinese players also love using the harder
rubbers on both side to increase the “kick effect”. While European players love playing with softer
rubber, to have the “catapult effect” (the ball stucked on the
racket and then bounce away). European players use harder blade to compensate
the soft rubber (soft rubber means weak rubber). However, this setup is weak when playing far
away from the table, the kick is effect is also weak
too. Choosing the right
setup is crucial! At the top level, the good setup contributes
about 20% of the performance. Chinese players can’t get such a huge success
if they don’t use a specific setup. A very hard rubber gives a direct feeling
and transfer all of the energy to the ball. Soft and bouncy rubber can’t do this. And when a good setup is
combined with their superior technique, it’s a deadly weapon in table tennis. The Right Setup for the Beginners At the beginner level, it’s even much more
important to choose the right setup at the beginning. I know a player, his name is Vic, don’t know
how to Backhand topspin even after 8 years of training. No one has said to him that
his setup is not good. He is using a very soft rubber on the backhand
side. This one: Donic Desto Big Slam F3, hardness about 35
degree. Some coaches say that
“using soft rubber will give you control”. I say “No”. Using too soft rubber will
limit your stroke, prevent you to develop a full stroke mechanism. Vic has a
bad habit on Backhand side, just put the racket to slightly spin the ball, but
never “accelerate” with a fast and long stroke. So he never knows how to
topspin safely and consistently on the backhand side. Using too soft rubber (right), the ball is
bottom out too soon. “Bottom out” is
that the ball leaves your racket before you finish the stroke. That means you
will loose the energy of your stroke. Too soft rubber also prevent you to
“accelerate” in the stroke, because of the bottom-out. With hard enough
rubber, all of the energy of the stroke is transfered to the ball. You have a
direct feeling of the ball, the more you accelerate, the more ball is spinny. Kids in China, they don’t have much money. They use a 5$ hard rubber on
both side. Hard rubber is not bouncy at all, but gives
the direct feeling of the ball. They develop the full mechanism of stroke. So using the too soft, mushy
rubber is very bad for new players. However, in many clubs that I’ve visisted,
the coach still recommend very soft rubber for kids. The Rule-of-Thumb to choose your setup is:
– Never choose rubber softer than 40 hardness (European scale) on the backhand
– If you want to control, a thin but hard rubber is much
better than a thick but soft rubber – Choose the harder rubber for the Forehand
side, because you can hit harder on the Forehand Reference: I’m using a 50 hardness rubber
on my backhand side, and about 53 hardness rubber on my Forehand side. I still find that 50 hardness is not hard
enough for the new poly ball. Take-away:
– The best way to ruin your table tennis life is using a too
fast blade (faster than OFF+, OFF++, Carbon blade). – Using too soft rubber (softer than 35-40
degree) will prevent you develop the confidence, and the
acceleration in your stroke
– In this modern table tennis, the best set up is: Hard rubber
on a flexible blade, this is the best setup for a looping
machine. Good spin, excellent Kick effect. – On the Forehand side, choose a rubber harder
than 45-47 degree. Choose hard but thin rubber, which is better
than soft but thick rubber. Somewhere in France, Find my video helpful? Offer me a coffee 🙂
Search “Patreon EmRatThich”. Bye bye bye!

Articles, Blog

Understand Table Tennis Equipment | Choose Best Paddle and Rubber

August 15, 2019

EmRatThich Gaming
Recently, I have many questions about how to choose a
blade, choose a rubber. You have seen my videos about “The secret
the Chinese equipment – Tacky rubber”, and you asked me many questions about table tennis
equipment. Today, I want to share you how to understand
your table tennis equipment (blade, rubber) under the viewpoint of a Chinese coach. It’s very important as your table tennis equipment
can decide your playing style and your performance. First of all, Chinese coach has a deep understand
of table tennis equipment. When you first come to a table tennis club,
the coach will ask you “What is your favorite style?”, and then he will choose a best equipment
combo for you. Young kids in China get their coach select
the equipment. In some European country, the coach does not
help the beginner to understand and to choose the best equipment. That’s why when a Chinese coach see your equipment,
he can quickly understand your playing. So, today I will explain you how to choose
a best equipment for your playing style. Table tennis equipment composes of Racket
and Rubber. First of all, in Chinese philosophy, the blade
is much more important than the rubber. That�s the racket will decide your playing
style, not the rubber. The rubber supports the blade. The blade decides 80% and the rubber decides
20% of your table tennis. In general, there are 5 types of blade that
fits some playing style: Balsa blade, 1 ply hinoki blade, all wood blade: 5 plies, 7 plies,
carbon blade and ALC, ZLC support blade. Balsa is very light and low density type of
wood. It is very soft and light. At low impact, Balsa give you good control,
at higher impact, the rebound is very fast. When you hit the ball, the dwell time is very
short, difficult to generate spin. Balsa is good if you are a blocker, long pimple
user. Disadvantages: Modern looping style game,
away from the table, balsa blade cannot loop very well. It�s mainly use to quick block near the
table. This blade is not for the looping style. The 1 ply Hinoki blade is mainly used in Korea
and Japan where the quick and fast attack is favorite in Asian country. This type of blade is used by many penholders. This blade has a soft feel as the Hinoki surface
is soft. However, the blade is very thick and very
powerful if you hit the ball. This blade is good for hitter. It blocks very good too. All wood blade is favorite in China as the
controlled looping style is actually the best style in modern table tennis. That’s why Chinese players play with good
feeling blade and very hard rubber. This blade is very good to loop the ball at
mid distance. It normally has some flex, and has a larger
dimension, and is very consistent. Consistency is one of the key that Chinese
dominate the table tennis scene. Carbon blade is normally the fastest blade
with hard surface. Carbon blade is very good for hitter and powerful
loop-hitter. However, the feeling is not very good. So it’s not good for beginner who is learning
table tennis technique. Far from the table, it�s harder to loop,
but to hit is better. Very fast blade however the ball has less
spin. Recently, the ZLC, ALC layers was add to the
classic all wood blade to increase the power far from the table, but keep the feeling of
an all wood blade. This type of blade is the best type at this
moment. However, when the new poly ball comes, it’s
bigger and harder to generate the spin. The Chinese players now, tend to use harder
rubber to hit harder. As the ball is bigger, you need to hit harder
to generate the same amount of spin compared to the smaller ball. Each type of blade has many parameters: thickness,
dimension, handle, wood quality, composition of layers, etc. However, it always belongs to “a specific
playing style”. Today, I won’t explain these parameters but
I will explain the Chinese philosophy about table tennis equipment. So, if you are a progressing player, who wants
to learn table tennis as fast as possible, the best blade for you is the Allround, Allround+
all wood racket. It’s has a best feeling, and helps you improve
your table tennis techniques as you can learn the techniques to spin the ball. Some Western players tend to “EJ” (Equipment
Junkie) too much. They change the equipment too often. The rule of thumb is you need at least 6 months
to feel your blade. Focus more on the technique and the tactics
aspect, and keep using your old blade. Waldner used his very old blade and still
win many championships. Samsonov used his old blade too. Nothing special, a good control all wood blade. But he has a very good understanding in table
tennis tactics, that’s he is a “great wall”, a great blocker, a good control player. Enjoy more your table tennis, stop changing
equipment, and see my channel to learn the tactics of table tennis and your table tennis
will improve several notes. The number 3 World ranking, XU XIN too, he
is using his old, badly damaged Stiga blade, an OFF- all wood blade. Nothing special but this old blade has a good
feeling, allow him to hit powerful, and make a ball some crazy spin, side spin and top
spin. That’s why XUXIN can top spin far from the
table easily with a crazy side spin. Because this blade fits very well his playing
style. You should understand your playing style,
and choose a good blade for it. In China, the kids want to learn the looping
style at mid/far distance. That’s why the coach often gives them an allround
wood blade. As the kids improve during training, they
will upgrade the blade from Allround to OFF- and then OFF. However, it takes time and it must be accepted
by the coach. In some Western country (USA, European), some
players just want a carbon blade to hit harder, faster but loose more. Their techniques don’t improve and the consistency
is very bad. Their ball has no spin, so no control, and
less powerful. The power is considered less important than
the spin, cited by Chinese philosophy of table tennis. Some of you has asked me that, so when I should
upgrade my blade, my rubber? The rule of thumb is: If you feel that you
have totally control of your blade, and it lacks some power, you can upgrade your rubber
faster. And even with the faster rubber, you feel
lack of power to finish the point, now change the blade. However, in every case, when you hit 5 balls
very hard, 4 balls must still inside the table. If you have only 3 balls go inside and 2 balls
go outside, you should not upgrade the blade. Review your technique. Please remember, the blade is “to feel the
ball”. The blade gives you the consistency, and helps
you spin the ball. That’s the rubber will give you the speed
of the ball. If you hit the ball without spin, you are
on the wrong way. Slower your blade, and enjoy your table tennis. If you add spin to the ball, the speed will
also increase. But if you hit the ball without spin, your
ball�s consistency decreases. You will make more error, therefore less fun! I hope this video will make you stop “changing
your equipment, stop the EJ – equipment junkie disease. Just use some good old blade, which gives
good feeling and control. Learn more about tactics and techniques and
your table tennis will improve, more fun, happier table tennis. I have another question: “I don’t want to
change my blade. But I have a problem with the new poly ball. Help me”. Yes, the poly ball is very hard for us, the
amateur players because it’s harder now to spin the ball. It requires you to hit harder, the poly ball
is slower and has less spin. Here I have 2 solutions: Train more your physical
strength to hit harder, use the power from the legs, hip, waist. Use harder rubber for both Forehand and Backhand. As harder rubber forces you to hit harder,
and it will become your good habit to deal with
the poly ball. EmRatThich Gaming

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