Percentage of spin function of equipment
Equipment
Michael Stack Asked 13 years ago
Hello,
I searched the forums and didn't see this question answered already, so I thought I'd ask:
Roughly, what percentage of spin can be accounted for by equipment, and what percentage technique? Let's say I took a pro player and let him hit the ball with his equipment, and let's say he puts a lot of spin on the ball, and that represents spin of 10/10 - a lot of spin.
Next, that player took a pre-assembled bat he bought for $15 at Dick's sporting goods and hit the same shots. How much less spin would be on the ball? 9/10? 3/10?
The question is specific to spin but I'd also be interested in knowing the breakdown of technique vs. equipment for:
* control
* speed of the ball
Thanks!
Michael
Alois Rosario Answered 13 years ago
Hi Michael,
This is an interesting question.
The speed, spin and control would be directly proportional to the level of the bat. If it was a $15 bat they would probably be able to put 50% of the spin and speed as with their top quality rubber.
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Michael Stack Posted 13 years ago
Thanks for your insight. I'm somewhat surprised - I had expected it to be closer to 90% technique. I have another good reason to upgrade my bat!
Hey Michael,
This is a really good question. If you don't have a decent ruber on your bat that allows you to generate spin, you can't play aggressive Table Tennis. This is because you need the topspin to generate the dip so you can hit the ball hard from a fairly low ball.
And again for a good serve you need the ability to generate a lot of spin. Not every serve has to have a lot of spin as the key is variation but you still need a spinny variation.
The other point to note is that as you use your rubber it wears out. As a general rule a rubber will last around 80 playing hours and then need replacing.
The one thing we are wary about here at PingSkills though, is people becoming too obsessed with equipment. You definitely need good quality equipment that suits your level and style of play but once you have that you should focus on developing your skills and not mess around too much with your equipment. You can replace your rubbers as they get older and move to faster equipment if you feel you've progressed but don't just change your equipment for the sake of it.
If you do feel you need a change of equipment then experiment around a bit and then settle on some new equipment and stick with it for a minimum of a few months. You don't want to be constantly guessing whether your technique is wrong or if you just need to get used to your latest piece of equipment.
I'd love to hear people's thoughts and experiences. If you've bothered to read this far then please leave a comment on how often you change your equipment and whether you consider yourself and equipment junkie!
B G Posted 13 years ago
I found this very interesting.
On another note, how much speed/spin/control, etc comes from the rubber versus the paddle?
Claus Hamacher Posted 13 years ago
This is an evergreen question not only in tabletennis. I am moderator in a german forum on saxophones and you wouldn't believe how many threads deal with equipment - be it the saxophone, mouthpieces, reeds or even ligatures and their effects on the sound.
Truth is, of course, that it is mainly the player that makes the sound. I could buy a $ 10.000 Selmer Mark VI Tenor and still wouldn't sound like Michael Brecker. As long as the instrument is of decent quality and well kept, the secret to a better sound is simple: practise, practise, practise....
Jeff's comment is right on spot and holds true for almost every sport, music or art.
Jukka Juujärvi Posted 13 years ago
Very interesting topic! I´ve been playing once a week for 6months now, so I´m pretty new to tabletennis, but I want to share my experiences regarding bats.
My very first bat was a custom made bat with 2mm rubber on it, not super fast or super spinny but remarkably faster and spinnier than the "off the shelf" premade butterfly bat i use now.
With the "better" bat I developed my strokes and play them pretty well with it, in fact better than with my current bat. The reason I´m forced to play with the premade bat is that I never learned how to return spinny serves with the faster and spinnier bat. With the custommade bat I fail to return 30-50% of my opponents serves, so I have to stick with my premade one to be able to win some matches.
digby howis Posted 12 years ago