Started, ALL+ 7 ply Basswood blade. Rating beginner to-1500US, I used this for about 2 years, reason for change, it was already 10 years old when I got it and finally broke at the neck from old age.

Next blade was a thin -off 5 ply similar/same to Primorac -off I used this for 5 years solid, rating change with this blade approx 1500-1900. Reason for change, wanted a carbon blade.

Next blade was a 90gram 5+2 carbon off+ I started with this blade on around US1900 and used it for roughly 7 years, I actually went backwards in rating during this time but I was still able to play at 1900 level in tough matches by picking up the previous -off if the match was going bad (you could change blades back then) I kept hoping I would master the carbon blade at some stage but I just never seemed to be able to play better with it. Estimated rating change with this blade 1900-1800. Reason for change, lost the blade.

Next blade was a 95 gram off+ carbon, I used this for one year estimated rating change 1800-1900. Reason for change, I realised I just couldn't improve past this point with a heavy and fast carbon blade.

Next blade was a 75 gram off balsa, I used this for 10 years, rating change 1900-2100 ish. All that previous history until the last 2 years with this blade I had been playing a relatively small amount of table tennis. I started playing more seriously 2 years ago and realised this blade was far too fast. Reason for change - too fast

Next blade was a 95 gram ALL+ 5 ply, I've used this for 3 months est rating change 2100-2200 and gaining at a much faster rate than any other time in my life. I will go one blade slower than this soon, to a pure ALL, at this stage it looks like I'll peak somewhere between 2300 and 2400 in the coming few years before I get too old to play so offensively.

The common theme for me in all that is pretty obvious, the slower the blade the faster the gain

I should note I'm not playing in anyway the same as I did a few months ago, it's not like I picked up a slower blade and went woah dude.. I've improved instantly. I've had to learn a whole lot more about the game, hit thousands and thousands of balls and learn a lot of advanced shots I didn't hit before in that time.  But the blade has let me learn, where before I couldn't. 

I had the main strokes already with good quality, yet I was always concerned just about making the stroke so I hadn't the time to see where the other player was moving, where his arm was, think about where's the least likely spot he's going to get to the ball or how to unbalance him.

I have time to think about all that stuff and make a last moment change of direction now that I'm not worried about making the loop stick, I don't even need to think about hitting the ball or consciously look at it any more, I'm only looking forward down the table and deciding what I'm going to do with it and how much pace and spin will I put on it. It's been a quite large shift in the way my mind is working while playing.

've even got the time to tilt the blade and fade a backhand loop down the line with sidespin or make any changes like this instinctively mid stroke. I could never play those kind of shots with any kind of success rate with carbon blades  ,with those you just worry about making the shot and don't have time to really play the game :(.

I guess now that I "get it" I'll at some stage be able to play with a faster blade, I'm, not sure when and don't think it'll be within the next couple of years

 

I began with carbon despite being told it was a bad Idea. It was a slow one though- VSG-4000. It had no feeling for the ball, but i thought it was a good thing. I used it with srivers, and it was my first blade. from 0-1200 or so. All I knew were ugly shells of basic strokes and the art of concrete feet. I switched blades and had a huge change of Hurricane King with chinese rubber and max thickness japanese rubber on BH. Reason for change: Idolizing of chinese players and want for more SPEEEED. I THOUGHT I was 1500 or so at the time, but in hindsight i still probably never climbed over 1350ish. I played all out FH dominant offense (tried to)

 

the main pattern through my deveopment is that I thought I was better than i really was, until i really started playing lots of tournaments and getting humbled a bunch of times. I feel like the attitude of understanding how good i really was helped me get better faster. While I thought I was 1500, i never got that good. Then when I got near that good, I always thought I was 1600. It was a year later than that that I was consistently beating 1600 players, and finally realized I wasn't that good before.

 

After the Hurricane King, I started using a Clipper CR which was FAST being 99g. I also started speedgluing. Maybe got as good as 1500. I used short pips on my BH during this period. Reason for change here- I wanted more speed again, and again thought it was the cool blade to switch to. This blade took me to 1600. I never really talked about it, but I went back to trying a carbon blade. This was the first time my game actually fell. It was a cheap fast LKT carbon blade, and i used it for 3 months. I lost a lot more than usual and scrapped it. Switched to a Clipper WRB and started getting a fair bit better, getting an increased feel for the ball, and focusing on contact, watching the ball, and movement. I switched because my old clipper broke (since fixed). This one had more control, and I got into one of those rapid improvement phases. Maybe not overall, but I started focusing on more important things as I started to really understand the game more. My understanding improved a lot. I used each clipper for a year a piece. Now I'm into 5-ply blades, and feel that I'm getting the speed from my technique, and the control and flex of the blade is nothing but rewarding me. I don't feel like I'm winning less points because of the lack of speed, but I am winning more points due to extra spin, and more consistency. I'm getting the same pace because I'm hitting harder. But there is more spin on the ball, and I'm feeling the ball much better. Extra confidence in my equpiment really makes me play better, not the equipment itself. Even though I had confidence with clippers, the confidence in my shots now reminds me of when I played all out FH with the HK- I just don't feel like I can miss if I'm swinging hard. I'm seeing the ball better because I'm not worrying about each individual shot, I'm not even thinking about that all of a sudden. I'm actually focused and paying attention to what's going on with the ball because I'm not worried about my shot going on or coming down. That's automatic because the confidence is there.  I feel like it will only be a couple more months and I can raise my game a lot more, granted i can get continuous play from people better than me. My short term goal for the next 4 months is to break 1800. I feel like I can already play there, it's just a matter of making it consistent. There is a kid at my old club who out of nowhere over the summer got really good, and while I used to beat him 4-1 and 4-0 a lot before last summer, he now beats me a lot. another year or two and he'll be the best in the state. I've beaten him once since summer, and i've played him maybe 7 times. I also noticed (although not accrediting it to) the 5-ply he was using compared to the Schlager Carbon or countless other fast blades he used to use. I truly think that you should stick to those slow wood blades if you want to develop a good feel and technique before worrying about anything crazier.

speed is more important at the top level, because everyone reads spin and deals with it automatically. Spin and consistency is more important to me everywhere else, because it will beat out speed all the time. Until you get really good, then it cannot. That's why you start by getting that down first.  

 

goodness bluebucket, are you purporting a spiritual experience here?

Nathan, if any player is in it purely for fun, hitting with a Grubba DEF and superglued 729 is fine and fine. It just doesn't matter.

 

As for the ones who emphatically state one needs ALL class speed in racket and classic rubbers, I got notthing against that arguement, especially if it comes from respected coaches who know the game and have been around it all their life.

 

I can tell you this. (Yes Nathan, YOU qualify to be in this group (who could train using ANYTHING and shoot up in level) for positive reasons of course) Coaches here in even the average Korean clubs are 90% former elite players or damed close. They know their stuff and do not give a crap whether the blade is rated speed OFF+ or ALL. They teach and drill fundementals and concepts to get the player's basics solid. Players build good strokes and learn to do it with whatever they got. Most players take 3 lessons a week. After 1 or 1-1/2 years of these lessons, a good chunk of them have already cracked 1700 or 1800 USATT playing level. That includes those using Schlager carbon, Primorac carbon, TBS, Amulart, Xiom ALL blades and you name it. Many coaches do not strongly encourage the players to finalize their blade selection until they get solid basics and have discovered their preferred playing style. Coaches more and more are recommending to just go to shakehand, but they teach C-Pen RPB and J-Pen as well.

 

Anyone want to argue that a defensive player has no business instructing and training an OFFENSIVE style player? Soemone can try to take a shot at my coach, who was a modern defender on a pro team. SHE, yes a woman, she has gotten me to get a LOT faster laterally, make more positive strokes, move better, become more CONSISTANT, make combinations, and RALLY. All of which were prolly entirely missing from my game 2 yrs ago before I got here. This coach simply knows how to coach and train ANYONE who is willing to listen and put in the reps.

 

These players who get coached after a year or more do not hit long because their blade is OFF+, they do it because they did not close the blade enough on the block, misread the spin, or swung to much upwards. The same level players (Div 4) make pretty much the same stuff wrong and it is not the equipment at that stage.

 

I see the importance of learning to hit through the ball, make a proper crouch, footwork, recover, etc. Coach gets everyone to understand that. maybe the arguement against using faster blades applies more to ones who NEVER will get any coaching. Maybe what most say about developing too short strokesto their detriment and lack of development applies to that crowd. I can buy that.

 

The wife of our top player started out a couple years ago at maybe USATT 400 level. After 1.5 years of training with Schlager Carbon equipped with Yasaka Extend HS, she is now settled in on a BTY Amulart with Extend HS and Extend Short Pips on BH. She is prolly now 1500-1600 USATT and rising fast. Once she gets more reps and reads spin better, she will approach 2000 easily. That is not an unusual story here, but the majority of course do not develop this fast.

 

However, a LOT of that crowd who doesn't get coaching (like 80-90%) of that crowd will play TT for years and never crack 1600 USATT, many never get to 1500 USATT. I used to be in that crowd. (Anyone who wants to quote my official (over 2 yrs old BEFORE 18 months of lessons here) 1600s rating will be in for a surprise)

 

To be fair, over 1/2 the crowd who gets lessons don't really make it div 3 Seoul (City, NOT National) level (1900-2200 USATT), although a number excell and make it to a high level later.

 

From the blades I see at club play and tourneys, (EXCLUDING the DIEHARD Hinoki 1 ply J-Pen Crowd) I would say 80% or more use carbon or composite blades.

 

That is not a knock on them or their coach.

 

Also, Using Spartacus, which is a notch slower in speed compared to TBS, AND by coincidence has a layer of carbon on each side, I am playing my best TT ever. Maybe by coincidence, I have lost 8 Big-Macs from my waistline. That can make anyone faster and better. Still, a good stroke from the Lissom/Spartacus carries a lot of "Kick" that is destructive.

 

I can use my own personal examples of "going with slower blades is better" to support the current arguements, but I really feel that for most players learning the game under USATT 1700-1800 level, it is MUCH more important to learn solid strokes/movement/footwork/connecting shots. The equipment used at that stage is in my crappy opinion is not as much a factor as the learning of solid fundamentals is.

 

an update from my end: I'm mailing the YE back today because it was oddly asymmetric (5mm wider on one side)...

 

however, I ordered a BBC All Around yesterday; 84 grams, flared, Attack II shape.... really looking forward to it. At this point I'm planning on putting 1.8 IQUL sv on it (both sides)... wondering how different this will feel from from Xiom setup.

 

... also tempted by the OSP Expert and the TG3neo/SharkII bits of advice.

Thanks for the compliment. Hopefully from the last deployment till now I've somewhat learned to harness my athleticism and not move so wildly about. I think I'm slowly learning when to conserve energy and when to explode. I used to always look for the ball I could smash regardless if I would have to be taken way out of position in my reckless follow through. Now I trade some of that for a topspin loop than leaves me planted if the ball comes back.

 

Sure hope one of these days will be in the same AO so we can have a hit! Hopefully I'll have the GTS with me for memory's sake. It's on my very short list of "can't let go of blades"... especially since the handle is so rare.

 

Yes I'll definitely write something up here. It will be the first blade I've tried from Charlie.

 

As a sidebar: right now I don't have my Xiom setup put together so I grabbed my Galaxy N-7 w/ Merc II 33 deg 2.2mm and went to play for a couple hours.... . Wow, I can't believe I used to think that it had decent feel. Felt ultra head heavy (I think the N-7 is 89 grams) and like I was bouncing a balloon against the ball. I think I would've taken 10 bucks for it if someone offered. This experience furthered my desire to give thinner sponge a chance.

 

I just read through it again and absorbed things I didn't before.

 

Since the time I started this discussion, I've stepped down from Zetro Quad (OFF+) and Vegas (Max sponge) to Xiom V1 (OFF) and TG3neo/Shark II. The overall speed of my setup has gone down (some), and my confidence in my forehand loop has gone up.

 

I tested three different BBC All Arounds and enjoyed all of them but none quite had the fit I wanted. I was astounded at the quality of craftmanship that can be had for $35 (search for my threads on those if you don't believe). Not finding the ergonomics and balance I preferred, I passed them on to three different players who were very pleased! (I do miss them... they were beautiful )

 

I'm still very much tempted to get a quality ALL+ blade; and might end up ordering an OSP Expert after all. I'm also very drawn to other BBC blades (Fiddler, 9-10-9, Cypress 3 ply).

 

So let's see what others have to say in this matter...

 

Amen!

may i ask what happened to your FH loop with V1? do you not like your current set up? 

 

which brings me to answering the second question: I do like my current set up very well, and in the past month have played a few of the best games of my life. but, I'm recognizing that a further decrease in speed could add even more confidence to put 100% into certain strokes. and as I read bluebucket's commentary on no longer having to focus so much on making the shot, and having the time and confidence to quickly anazlyze the best choice for placement, I'm realizing that I could benefit in the same way. I have much more confidence with V1/TG3/Sharksoft than ZQuad/Vegas, but so much of my mental energy is spent worrying about the stroke, that I give little thought to placement and opponent position.

 

Here you are

 

http://www.almartt.com/productos/madera-protec-allround_gr.jpg - http://www.almartt.com/productos/madera-protec-allround_gr.jpg

 

(sure, there are a thousand blades I haven't tried, but these two have impressed me to the point that I have no need to EJ anymore.... now's your chance debraj )

 

I sincerely hope that more members read this thread and mull it over. I have benefitted greatly from going to slower and more flexible blades (I just had to get over my bias and assumption that they would all have annoying vibrations/feedback)

 

BBC 9-10-9 and OSP Expert... I win! (the EJ game, that is)

 

I agree and I hope more people read it. bluebucket and others really brought me to the light on this issue.

 

I think you meant 'bumping'. 'Bumbing' means something quite .

great addition to the thread GoldenDragoon

let us know how you like the Expert

the burn ALL+ is indeed a good blade... i think it's $32 at tabletennis11.com right now

from this former carbon only user, i wanted to say I've found yet another fantastic all wood blade. donic defplay senso

who knew

at this point i own about 28 blades, only two are carbon blades... and if they weren't so good and so special (bbc 9-10-9's) i would let them go

...

About my experience, as average amateur player, I can say it's much easier to play with slower setup, and softer rubbers. This is why I dont play with few fancy btty carbon blades, although I have them.

at the moment I have nine composite blades:

4 Xiom Hayabusa Zi ST

2 Donic WSC JO Shape ST

1 Donic True Carbon Inner ST

1 Dawei Wavestone ST

1 Air Wavestone FL

and eight all wood blades:

3 BBC All Around ST

1 Hock 3 ply ST 89 grams 

1 Yasaka Ma Lin Extra Offensive cpen 

1 Dawei R2 ST

1 Dawei Matrix ST

1 Donic Appelgren Allplay ST

Had 2 or 3 of them... passed them on. I think highly of the blade but have moved away from oversized head / flexible blades

(editing my inventory again on 07/17/2014) at the moment I have seven composite blades: 4 WSC JO's 2 IF ZLC 1 BBC Carboflex and six all wood blades: 1 Appelgren Allplay 1 Three ply Hock 1 MEO cpen 1 Korbel (for sale) 1 Victas Koji Matsushita (for sale) 1 HRT ebV cpen (for sale) and a bunch of old premades from an antique shop

-------------
Blade: Nittaku Violin
FH: Bluefire M3 Max
BH: Bluefire M3 Max
Weight: 171 Grams