I (Rachael Hayne )Replied :-van jr wrote:but overcome that with training and desire to win.
Only to a certain extent. For example, if a player has been convinced by other clueless players that you can use smooth rubber or short pips to chop, these players simply do not understand the purpose & chronological history of various rubbers & their purpose & their basic operational mechanics.
IMO you need to first select the best blades and rubbers that matches your style (usually very different on strongside & weakside) and then fine tune it & not the other way around.
But more players than not get seduced by pros & try to use rubbers & blades simply because their favorite player uses them though this player's playing style may not be anywhere close to the pro they worship.
For example if any club, you will see majority of two winged loopers even high level players wasting most of their practice time counter driving or straight looping(opposed to side looping) with another two winged looper & will be greatly offended if a long pips player wants to challenge their table. these are also the exact players who expect a long pips player to train them much longer than the allowed 2 minutes to beat them just before their match in a tournament & still whine about they lost only because they do not have enough experience playing against long pips & the long pips player won ONLY because of their long pips & they have no skill
Currently it is fashionable to claim that they are trying to be modern defenders (Apart from the moles ITTF injects into these forums to pretend like they are modern defenders using long pips on ITTF LARC, or even more hilarious, wanting to be short pips backhand choppers) This is truly hilarious because these players have no idea as to what it takes to be a modern defender in the 40+ plastic ball era & survive using long pips on the ITTF LARC.
I am also sorry to say this but this thread is yet another case of right answers to the wrong question. (I hate to emphasize this point at the expense of accusations of posting repetitive spam but it is very relevant to the OPs question at hand here)
Maybe your question should read “What are the commercial blades useful in the 40+ plastic ball only era assuming I am using long pips that are remotely useful in the 40+ plastic ball ONLY era”
The answer of course is NONE.
There are no commercially made blades that work for long pips in the 40+ plastic ball era.
Defenders need the following characteristics in their blades to be able to somewhat survive in the 40+ plastic ball ONLT era of boosted up loopers, to maximize their looper torture index
1. They need a super large blade at least 170 mm by 170 mm
2. They need a dual mode blade with a high vibration slower long pips side a faster & possibly stiffer for spinny inverted or short pips with sponge side.
3. Of course this is assuming you are using high aspect ratio super long pips & not the useless low aspect ratio low length long pips listed on ITTF LARC.
I have seen posting of videos in this other forms on how many hardbat era chopper all round players (world singles & doubles & teams champions) like Angelica Rozeanu & Fernc Sido etc used super large blade. Recently Pete May (father of former USA national team chopper Derek May) uses cyber shaped super large blade with long pips.
The complaint I here is that the blade may be too large to handle. This is not a valid complaint. At amateur level players should only use OX long pips whether blocking or long pips. So no issue there. Yes pro players need a thick sponge under long pips but I am sure they adjust if they try especially away from table when there is touch more time.
So my suggestion to you would be to try to make a custom made super large blade to maximize your looper torture index with also using a high aspect ratio super long pips instead the useless the low aspect ratio short length long pips listed on ITTF’s LARC.
Even if you do not have the courage to challenge the ITTF in a sanctioned tournament, you can at least test it in local practice sessions to feel the increase in looper torture index & understand how ITTF had been ripping off defenders for so long
Charmander Defender Replied :-
@Ms Hayne.....with all due respect ,there are NOT any extra, extra , extra large commercial topsheets for sale so you can use in any mega oversized custom blade
My reply to Charmander Defender :-
With all due respect you are TOTALLY incorrect. Here is why
BTW when you said top sheet I assume you meant rubbers
If you had read my above post you would have noticed that I clearly stated 170 mm by 170 mm for blade size.
I have purchased many Chinese long pip (both High Aspect Ratio Super Long Pips as well as useless low aspect ratio low length long pips on ITTF LARC) as large as 180 mm by 180 mm.
As far as spinny inverted side , many many European & Japanese spinny inverted rubbers bigger than 170 mm by 170 mm are available commercially. Butterfly Tenergy is one example. I know Tibhar has many spinny inverted rubbers
I know most Chinese rubbers are very small.
