SuperCPen -- designed for RPB

At this point, all that I have shared on my website about SuperCPen are my personal experiences.  I tried to document what I find as advantages that have helped my game.  I try to be as objective as possible in my presentations, but I recognize that people may find that difficult to believe.  However, I am convinced that most people, if open minded and willing to experiment, will find similar advantages as I did of the SuperCPen.  I hope few of them will come along and give it a try.  I will let them be the judges.

Hi Anton, tried to send you a message, but your mail box is full.  Could you send me an email at [email protected]?

Hi Anton,

The picture you saw with bolts is my development blade, so I can try out different design easily.  Since it works fine, I never bothered to glue it.

The handle I am making available for the general public will be permanently attached to the blade by gluing.  The blade itself at this point is made using a numerically control milling machine, with precisely cut faces and a channel in the back for embedding the blade handle.  The back side will have a thin sheet of cork for a comfortable feel.  There is a reason for each line and angle of the handle geometry, after countless number of experiments.  I am sure your friend is an excellent fabricator, but he will not be able to produce a good handle for you without some serious trials and errors.  Unless he is willing to work through multiple iterations, I doubt he can duplicate what I have. 

Please take a look at my website again.  http://www.supercpen.com/get--use-one.html.  I just update the picture of the blade I modified to show what you or anyone would get if you get it from me.  Earlier it didn’t link to a larger picture, now it does.  I can get even more detailed pictures send to you if you like.

Unfortunately, I cannot give you permission to make my design, because there is no way for me to draw the line where to stop.  However, if you want to duplicate it without my permission, that is your decision. 

Perhaps, we should best discuss this through email?  [email protected].

In any case, I am most thankful for your enthusiasm about my handle design.

Hi qynthnghm,

Brandon Hong, the kid in my video, was nine years old.  If he keeps playing, can you imagine what he can do when he is nineteen?  And his forehand shot came over very fast.  The only reason I could do those backhand RPB blocks was that he tend to hit to the same spot  so I was more or less ready for it. 

I was indeed too passive in that match.  Even on my serves I did not use the full range of my spin and placements.  I ran into him again in U1700RR.  I served with more variation which setup a few good fh kills.  I also put more pace on my RPB shots so he couldn't make strong shots as regularly as he did in the earlier match.  I ended up beating him 3-1.

In a match, I have a tendency to play safe (or at least think I was playing safe) by opening up the racket.  That is why you see most of my shots resembles more of a hit than a loop in the match.  Up until about three years ago, my game was based on flat hitting using pips.  The feedback of a flat hit feel more natural and thus safer for me.  It wasn't until recently that I finally started to get a feel for looping.  It is still foreign to me.  So it will take a while to switch to a loop based game in match situations.  Progress has been slow due to limited playing time.  I hope this year to play more, and finally with some professional coaching, progress faster.

So far I have purposely keep my wrist firm for RPB shots.  When I use wrist, I could put more spin into the shots, but the shots get much more erratic.  Even without much wrist movement, I could still impart considerable spin if I hit it right.  My plan is to first get consistent without using wrist.  But there is nothing inherent in the SuperCPen design that would limit wrist movement.  If someone can do that Wang Hao RPB twist on the table, he shouldn’t have any problem doing it using a SuperCPen.  I say this because I can fully repeat his motion with a SuperCPen without feeling any hindrance.  Of course I can’t hit balls like that.  That is something requires years of training to perfect.  I could do a simpler version of that by starting with the racket pointing downward (instead of flat and pointing to the forehand side a la Wang Hao) and make a twist to loop a serve.  In fact, I can do that consistently against a robot, just not in a game  If you are interested in seeing it, I will make a video of that too.

Thanks for your interesting discussions.