Offensive and defensive players

does a defensive player uses more strokes with a pips or the ordinary rubber?

Attacker

Patrick,

The defensive player will use mainly defensive strokes with the pips but may attack using the normal rubber.

Ok

Is it important to learn Defensive Strokes?

Eventually I think it is good to have that ability because it also help with your touch.

as what my teacher said, it is depend on your style
as he's an aggressive attacker, he never use defensive stroke and just keep topspin and smash (even returning a smash, he keep smash it back hardly !) but when i watched he in a match, sometimes he block and chop and when i asked he said to me "it's best to keep attacking them so that you can win point easily as attacking stroke will make them mental down for someone and make them in rush and also can kill them rather than wait them to make a mistake by defending and also you can make mistake by defending. But, defend is important such if you're in rush and don't have time to keep attack, don't try to do that risk. just chop or block the ball softly as possible and then think for the next ball to attack. Don't think that defensive strokes is useless. someone are really good on returning attacking stroke but not at defensive strokes, so if you chop the ball with heavy backspin and they don't know how to return it, then you can win point easily or if the opponent can't read the backspin, just chop it with less backspin and when they return with normal push and the ball is up high, then it's your time to attacking especially for a smash. for the block, the block can be very deadly if you block the ball fast. so it just less then a second or when the ball is bounce you have to block it so if they attacking on you and you block it fast and don't give them time even a little so that they'll in rush too"

so what i mean is defensive stroke is important to give us a little bit control as a slower stroke if we're in rush and don't have time to attack. rather than take a risk to attack and we don't know the stroke will generated good or no so just keep defending in that time and think for the next ball to attack and also some people are weak to returning the defensive strokes.

what do you think about it alois ? even of that, i think it's rarely happened in a match...

Yes having a good defense is important.  However at the higher level if you wait too long, your opponent will be able to gain the advantage by making the first attack..

yeah... as what my coach said, think how to attack before they attack (especially for the third ball)