An Annoying Trend (at least in my area)

Leshxa wrote: tpgh2k wrote: to me it's just another dimension to the game. i get to work on specific tactics against many of them. if most do not know how to control their own pips, then i can easily set up look drives. if it gets into a longer rally or if they manage to block/return my loops, then it's just another way for me to work on my impact and make sure i read the spin right.   always look for the positive =). What's a look drive? Its like a power loop, where you loop and look at it?

hookumsnivy wrote: Leshxa wrote: tpgh2k wrote: to me it's just another dimension to the game. i get to work on specific tactics against many of them. if most do not know how to control their own pips, then i can easily set up look drives. if it gets into a longer rally or if they manage to block/return my loops, then it's just another way for me to work on my impact and make sure i read the spin right.   always look for the positive =). What's a look drive? Its like a power loop, where you loop and look at it? That describes my favorite shot.  Unfortunately it's sometimes followed my a good block, an "oh sh*t" and me running to catch up to the ball.

I think we need to trademark that term!

tpgh2k wrote: @ Lexsha: no spelling mistake indeed . it is a "look" drive haha. i need to put in my "no-look" drives as well.

I have plenty of those too.

The important thing is to pretend that the opponent just hit a lucky shot! You show, chest forward like a macho pigeon and chin up. Maybe a slight grin and shaking of the head up and down, like "yeah, yeah"

No offense to any pip players but I will say that a part of table tennis being regarded as basement sport is because of the varieties of equipment being used in table tennis, especially rubbers. 

FireHorse wrote: No offense to any pip players but I will say that a part of table tennis being regarded as basement sport is because of the varieties of equipment being used in table tennis, especially rubbers.    Of course, in the professional level, there is not a lot of pip players playing the way the amateurs do (I guess because at professional level, inverted rubber players do not make any mistake and have a much more advantage), but at amateur levels as we all play, pip players do not need to do much and that makes the spectators or who wants to play table tennis feel like this is not a sport.   And I can say that all of the other sports, if you use 'junk' equipments or physical moves at the amateur level, you will get destroyed by the speed and the force of others.  In table tennis, it's not the case.   Again, I don't have any objection of what equipments we use in table tennis.  I just say that because of all of the varieties in equipment in table tennis that it might make others think this is not a real sport.    And since table tennis is my favorite sport, I will have to deal with all of the aspects of this sport.   FireHorse

AcudaDave wrote: As far as getting destroyed in other sports if you use junk...have to disagree.  I used to play on the tennis team in HS many years ago and was pretty good. But 1 day while vacationing down in Florida I met this guy on the public tennis courts that had an old aluminum racket he got at a garage sale.  This guy sliced the ball all over the place but kept getting everything back.  He finally beat me and I was humiliated losing to a guy that dressed like he did and played with an old aluminum racket.  I found out though that he beat most of the good players around there.  I think it's actually more fun to watch variety in our sport and see a really good player with LP or Anti beat some good players.

That could be true but did he move or stand there?  I bet that he could move as well as others or maybe better but in table tennis, most of the pip players hardly move, especially at the low level (no offense again to all of the pip players out there, and if you get offense reading this post only, please read my previous posts). 

Edited by FireHorse - 10/11/2012 at 4:16pm

No offense taken FireHorse. Come join the dark side and be a pips player.  A pips out player playing another pips out player isn't as fun to watch. 

OP:

As an inverted x2 player I always think pips and antispin rubbers enrich the game by increasing the number of styles we can play against. We need to think more, strategize more, adapt more. If we consider tt as one of the best sports for the body and brain because we have so many quick decisions to make and often not enough time to get ready, then pips and anti make us smarter and more complete players.

Tinykin wrote: One of the main strengths of having different type rubbers on the bat is the confusion in timing created between both sides of the bat. This applies to inverted also, eg having Chinese tacky and say, MarkV. It brings out too many unforced errors from players which I think detracts from the viewability and ultimately lowers the fun element. My solution is that players can use any rubber, inverted, LP, SP, anti etc, but that both sides must be the same. Same thickness, same rubber model etc.  This plus a 15-point game will bring about a reduction in unforced errors caused by the equipment and bring greater fun to the sport.

When I was a junior, about 15, and this was a LONG time ago there was a guy who used anti on one side.  Rackets were the same color on both sides, and LP hadn't been discovered yet.  He used to destroy me regularly.  He lived in another city, so I didn't play him all the time, but about once a month he would come up and humiliate me.  Then one day he didn't.  It was close but I lost.  Next time it was close but I won.  After that he had no chance.  I figured out how to wait for the ball, figured out that what came at me was determined a lot by what I hit at him, and that the anti was actually covering a weakness.  It made me better against more conventional players.  I like Tinykin's suggestion for 15 point games, but as for the rest, PLEASE.  No more rule changes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!    

To put an end to EJ and make the sport athletic, beautiful and politically correct, there should be only one blade only and one rubber allowed, from one manufacturer. As the name suggests, inverted are called so because there is something inverted about them - or about the players using them.

FireHorse wrote: No offense to any pip players but I will say that a part of table tennis being regarded as basement sport is because of the varieties of equipment being used in table tennis, especially rubbers.

This is a very American way of looking at ping pong (Yes it's called ping pong). Where I come from, ping pong is a sport. You join table tennis club. A club is a member of the national organization. You represent your club in tournaments. You get recruited by colleges to play for them. You are a serious player if you have a ping pong table at home. You never see a ping pong table in a bar.

Using "junk" rubber on your backhand usually indicates a weakness you are trying to cover (usually older people who doesn't have the mobility as the younger loopers). Loopers feasted on these types of players.

No. Equipment doesn't have anything to do as to why ping pong is regarded as a basement game in America. It's look at as a basement game because majority of the population who knows ping pong learn it when they played in their/someone else basement. I don't think I've met anyone in America who hasn't played table tennis. Majority of them says they are pretty good.

Imago wrote: To put an end to EJ and make the sport athletic, beautiful and politically correct, there should be only one blade only and one rubber allowed, from one manufacturer. As the name suggests, inverted are called so because there is something inverted about them - or about the players using them.

Not sure that it will ever happen.  I guess since we're into table tennis, we will have to deal with all aspects and rules of this sport.  The only thing that I don't like what happened recently is that there are too many rule changes that none of them being reinforced by the officials, especially the rules regarding serves.

Hello!