Yoshida Kaii Backhand
Equipment
Jason Ferdinand Asked 8 years ago
Hi. I watch Yoshida Kaii in https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nbp9_unQ2aw. I see he use something like a little board (?) on his backhand rubber. What is it? Is it legal? And what's that for?
Alois Rosario Answered 8 years ago
Hi Jason,
Yes it looks like a board that he uses to help with his grip.
It must be legal if he is using it at a big tournament because their bats are checked before each match. I don't think he uses that side of the racket though.
Thoughts on this question
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Tommy Edwards Posted 7 years ago
Yoshida Kaii does not use the other side of the bat so there is no rubber. The black thing you see is either paint or sticker.
About the yellow square he uses on the back of the blade, it is actually a sponge. He uses that to make his fingers more comfortable because Chinese penhold blade does not have a soft wood coating on the back of the blade unlike Japanese penhold blade does. Which is really common in Asia as well.
And the reason he painted or put a black sticker on the back of the blade is that the rule states the bat must have one side red and the other side black. So even if he never uses the back of the blade, he still needs to somehow make it black in order to have the bat being legal.
Also, using the sponge is totally legal since the rule only states that the balde must be flat on both sides, must have black and red for both sides, and the bat must be 85% wood. Putting a small piece of sponge at the back of the blade definitely has not broken any of those rules.