Getting the feel of a new custom bat and consistency

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M John Asked 15 years ago

Hey Coach,

I followed your advice and got myself a Stiga All Round Classic Blade AN Handle with Sriver EL 2.1 on the FH and Mark V 2.1 on the BH

I was hitting a few balls yesterday and the feel was good, however the consistency of my shots was poor.

Sometimes I felt like I was playing like a beginner without any proper strokes.

The shots I did make that got the ball to land on the table were fast and had good spin and my practice partner found it difficult to return them back.

But out of 10 I would make only 3-4 amazing returns and the rest flew here and there.

This got me thinking...Did I make a mistake with my Custom bat setup? Maybe the handle is not right?...and all such negative thoughts

I know that I need to be patient with my new bat and keep praticising with it. Easier said than done :)

I was wondering if you had any specific advice for people like me who have just purchased their first Custom bat and have difficulty keeping the ball consistently on the table.

Any specific drills that you recommend in order to get used to my new setup?

Thanks in advance Coach.

Alois Rosario Answered 15 years ago

Hi MJ,

This is a really common problem. I think when we get a new bat we want to test it out to see what it can do.

It is really important that to start with you develop the control with the bat. You need to spend a few sessions just playing consistent shots. Work on getting a lot of balls on the table before you start to test its power.

I don't think you have made the wrong decision. Just think more about your control and allowing yourself to get used to it.

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Ibad Imran Posted 15 years ago

this question helped me a lot

andrew brand Posted 15 years ago

my coach recently saw the rubbers i use for the first time, and laughed at them. especially when i told him they were only £12 for both sheets, from china. as they are chinese rubbers they are very tacky. apparently these are not very good for me to learn good technique on my strokes. i have developed a lot of spin on my strokes but no flat hitting/smashing skills. it is down to these rubbers apparently. ive been told to use them out for the remainder of the season and then change, they only last 6 months from new im told as they are cheap rubbers. i always thought they were ok. so ive told him to look around for me and recommend the rubbers i get next, then i know im not making wrong choices. with these rubbers when doing backhand topspins i have to really lift almost vertically (looping), when i try to do more forward low backhand drives i usually go into the net, they are that sticky. i always thought the more expensive rubbers were a rip-off but you get what you pay for i guess.

Piers Grey Posted 15 years ago

A helpful hint to make sure that your getting good rubber is by looking at the stats they give the rubber and depending on your playing style choose one that best suits this playing style.

A good place to get rubber is on the following website:-

www.teessport.com/table-tennis-rubbers-6.html

because it gives you the price for it plus the stats.

I hope this helps

Andrew T Posted 15 years ago

ANDREW, there is nothing wrong with Chinese rubbers. In the US those same rubbers are $12 (so essentially half your price). The technique is slightly different with Chinese and Japanese (what your coach wants) rubbers because of the way that they achieve spin. Chinese rubbers get spin by being tacky and generally throw the ball high when you strike it. Japanese rubbers get spin from depressing the sponge with out hitting the wood so that the rubber wraps the ball. As such Chinese rubbers generally have a hard sponge to add speed and Japanese rubbers have softer sponges so that the rubber can wrap the ball. Try watching some of the top chinese players to see the differences in stroke (they are very subtle).

Hope that helps.

Jonathan Huynh Posted 12 years ago

hi Andrew, my problem is completely different for my normal rubber pre-made bat because i have to hit very low a soft to get a decent shot. i wonder if it is my skill or the bat.

brand: Dawei 388A-4

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