Joo Se Hyuk Long pimples

Joo uses T64 2mm on the forehand and TSP Curl about 1.5 on the b/h.  Alois is right.  Start with about 1mm on the b/h.  Pips with grip will give more control and less variation.  They're easier to play an all round game with. No-grip long pips are harder to control, but give more variation.  If you play with no grip pips you will need give the yourself some time to get used to them. If you play back from the table a lot the sponge helps retrieve with less back swing.  Of course, the more you practice the easier both sorts of rubber will be to use.

I have played 3-4 years with Smooth rubber and want to learn LP; I have played just a few times with it and find it natural.  I have a very strong FH and much weaker BH and often have to play much stronger hitting guys.  I have decent footwork, but often can't get right in front of those BH's that are cut to short middle and tend to be too far from the table.  I attack very well from afar as well as chop (WITH LP), hence, I think this style is one I wish to learn.

For smooth rubber hitting blade, I use a Stiga ALL plus NCR blade.  What other blades would work well for LP's.  I do want to retain some hitting and good control from afar with LP.

P.S.  I'm female by the way :)

Hi Miriam,

It does sound like the long pimples on the backhand will suit you.  I would go with the same blade to start with.  That way you are not changing too many things.

Greg,

Thanks for your insights.  They are helpful.

@Miriam  I suggest Getting Palio CK531 with .5   sponge. GEt thicker 1mm if you plan to  play farther  from the table. Very good control and inexpensive way to start   learning LP. I am using Andro Fibercomp Def with it - an All around blade  with good control. I've tried a Butterfly Feint II on it and a a TSP curp P1 . Although I would have wanted  to   stick with P1Curl  for the  amount of spin I generate with chops, I  was having a beast of a time taming it  ( control).   I mainly stick anywhere from 3-6  ft   from the  table so I  the Palio  affords me great   control and flexibility. It  doesnt generate as much backspin but is very controllable. However,  it is very good in a straight block  and even  hitting attack. The Palio is a fast long pips (relative to  TSP  Curl and FEint 2)   I get more deception this way.   Main thing I found was  I  would need 3-4  chops on my BH   returning loops before  my opponent starts driving it into the net.  TSP curl P1 only takes 2-3  loops.   Try Palio CK531,  it's half the cost.   For the most destructive chopping  effect  TSP curlP1 if you can tame it..  As a compromise, get the New TSP curl P4. Supposedly more forgiving and controllable than the P1  but not as  much backspin with chops. BTW, Supposedly, Red  Palio is a bit faster  than  the black version

P.S.  I play inverted rubber  Xiom Vega Euro on FH.

Thanks in particular for your response Jon (same way my brother spells his name) re the medium pips.  I hit with a much higher rated French guy who feels I have good control with the bh, though it isn't nearly as strong as my FH, so everyone just hits to my bH, but he thinks it is more of a footwork issue and to stick with smooth rubber, but a bit slower. 

I find the most neglected part of my game to be serving and this is where I lose matches, so I think this may be the piece I need to start dedicating time to on a regular basis as my hitting game is so much stronger and I am often 10/10 with much higher level players and lose the final points DUE TO MY PREDICTABLE AND ELEMENTARY serves, which carry little to no spin and no deception. 

However, if I play around with pips again, I will go for the medium as Jon suggests as I also do not twiddle and I want to be able to hit with the BH still and when I use pips against higher level players, then I become toast.  The rubber does make me laugh though, so perhaps another definition for "funny" rubber as those inexperienced with it get lost.

Zero pong only offers the friendship medium pips in 1.5 or 2.0; so which is more control and still allow good attack. I use 2.0 currently on FH and BH.

I play Long Pimples with no sponge and it works great! I have much control on the ball and it returns the spin of the other player heavier. It a friendship 729 pimples.

Regarding Miriam's serving dilemma-

Serving no-spin is fine, but you must mix it up with a different kind of spin, eg., back spin, and disguise the service variation.

The action of the two serves should be as close to identical as possible, the change occurring just as you strike the ball.

The forehand pendulum serve is a good place to start. The basic action of the serve makes it easier to disguise the spin without the overall service movement  changing. It is probably the most common service seen at the higher levels, for this reason.

There is a good example on YouTube, titled "Werner Schlager Service Explanation", where he talks about serving short back spin by striking the front hemisphere of the ball, then changing to side/ topspin with a slight alteration in blade angle. This is what you need to do.

It's actually easier to use a back spin/ no spin combination, but you'll get the idea.

For example, use backspin most of the time, with slight variation, then occasionally serve no spin, and your opponent will pop the ball (the ball bounces higher off their racket than expected). If you do the reverse (no spin serves mostly) the ball will go into the net when you serve back spin.

Regarding medium pips--- 

To see a good medium pip player in action, look for Miao Miao, a Chinese/ Australian player. Very effective attacking style with medium pips, but she doesn't seem to chop a great deal. This is a typical MP style of play, although chopping is certainly possible.

Two long pips I can recommend, for both chopping and offensive play, is the Donic Akkadi L2 (or L1), and the Spinlord rubbers, especially the "Dornenglanz", which I think is only available in OX (no sponge). The Akkadi can be purchased with various sponge thicknesses. Both very high quality, very versatile, and not difficult to master.

The advantage with long pips in defensive play is the deception factor. As you brush down the back of the ball (when chopping), the pips bend under the ball, then "flick" the ball as they straighten back up, which creates an acceleration effect. This produces more (back) spin than the chopping action would suggest.

This flick is what you need to control, and vary. Medium pips don't do this nearly as much, and short pips hardly at all, so you really need to decide which strokes will dominate on the back hand, and choose a rubber accordingly- LP's for deception / chopping, or MP's for a more attacking style, with defensive chopping only when forced back from the table, for instance.

This is why the high level defensive players mainly use long pips, and also because LP's give you a safety factor with regard to blade speed vs ball speed (pips bending). 

The variation is achieved by  altering the amount of contact with the ball, from a brushing action to a more forceful "chop/ push", which reduces the back spin, and produces a "float", or no spin/ low spin). If your opponent misreads the spin, they will over compensate for spin that isn't there, and pop the ball up for an easy attack from you. It's all about deception.

Again, disguising the variation is key, much like the serve.

One last thing- frictionless long pips, which produce pure spin reversal,  have been banned by the ITTF for some years now, so all LP's currently on the market, with ITTF approval (having the ITTF embossed logo), have grip to some degree. It's this grip that gives you the control of the ball you need to create the deceptive variation. Pure spin reversal, created by frictionless rubbers, can be used against you at the higher levels, because they are predictable. 

I've ranted long enough, I think. Hope this helps.