Trouble with setup

I'm having difficulty playing with the Rakza7.  I am mostly close to the table when I play, and a lot of my loops just end up flying over the table. I can keep it on the table if I compact my stroke, but that comes at a big loss to spin and speed. I am not sure if Rakza7 should even be played closer to the table, but I switched over to my BH rubber, Omega 4 Euro as my FH, and I've found it easier to loop and play close to mid distance than the R7. But that leaves me with the R7 on my BH, and I can no longer loop off my BH anymore. Now it's mostly push/block/smash.

I am not blaming the setup. I'm saying I don't have enough skill to control it. Advice needed, or suggestions for an alternative that better suits my lower skill level

Just get another Omega IV Euro.

I am guessing same, around 1200 rated is good beginner. Hitting 1500 territory is solid beginner and in territory of intermediate knowledge !

If you want good feedback, you need to post video.  The details of your problem are best analyzed by people who can actually see what you are doing, not random good players who you have never met before.

Edited by NextLevel - 12/07/2016 at 4:51pm

At your level, coaching is key or you'll develop bad habits.

coffeeholic wrote: patrickhrdlicka wrote: It sounds like you play with a lot of physical effort (big swings). Have you considered a harder FH rubber, perhaps even a Chinese rubber like H3? It is an inexpensive experiment. I can certainly give that a try. A friend has a sheet of Big Dipper he's not using. Can this work too? NextLevel wrote: If you want good feedback, you need to post video.  The details of your problem are best analyzed by people who can actually see what you are doing, not random good players who you have never met before. you're totally right. but i'm also not very comfortable with sharing video at the moment. i know this is trivial to a lot of other people, but for some reason, it matters to me. terribly sorry in the grander scheme though, would you say that a beginner like myself should and can play well with the rakza 7, or would it be better for my development (no coaching) to simply downgrade to a slower rubber?

Obviously as nxtlvl mentioned without a video or more details everyone is shooting in the dark. You should be asking others in the club what they think (since they can actually see you play) and also recording yourself play.  Not to post here but just to see what you are doing wrong.  You may think you know your flaws but until you watch yourself play multiple games you probably won't know.

I haven't ever had professional one-on-one coaching while I took the sport on a bit more competitively. I used to get coached when I was rather young but I didn't take it very seriously. I stopped training with the coach after a few sessions and basically learnt in my garage and by watching others and getting pointers from more experienced players.

I learnt how to brush in my garage. If you can find anyone who has the patience to help you learn, you just need them to feed you backspin balls. Be patient and wait for the ball to come and brush almost only upwards. Learn to use your arm for spin and body rotation for speed. Once you develop the brush and understand the dynamic of applying spin, combine it with loop drives for fast spinny loops. Learn how to brush on both backhand and forehand.

Edited by Johnny.d.p - 12/07/2016 at 11:34pm

coffeeholic my friend, the blade you are using is currently for close to the table, but have u make the question to yourself if you should change to an all+ blade? Try a Gionis all+ carbon, try a Gurbba carbon, try an OSP expert, try a stiga allround evolution...And then make one more change...go to 1,9mm in your rubbers, or even better 1,7mm. I started playing with tenergy 1,7mm and they suit me perfectly!

Edited by *_strataras_* - 12/08/2016 at 2:18am

I have the firm belief that something can be learnt from absolutely anyone, regardless of skill level. Everyone has something new to offer and put on the table. Several different players actually critiqued my game differently. I had one player actually encourage me to learn how to loop drive instead of brush looping which is handy to add to the arsenal too. There isn't just one way to do things. Just stay patient and eager for growth and expand in all aspects. 

Warm up with forehand to forehand and backhand to backhand drives with a set rhythm and placement for consistency and the idea of the loop drive as I learnt it was to do the same thing as your drive but faster. Of course you will need to incorporate a bit more rotation but the fundamental movement is supposedly supposed to say the same. I'm not saying this is the perfect way to do it and someone could correct me but it's a start.

As for brush loops, I've always seen my technique as more Chinese than European if I'm correct in assuming that European movements are more compact and stiff in the arm and more reliant on the body drive and rotation. I'm curious to know what's the true definitive division between the two techniques. Same thing as drive loop exercise but focus on skimming the ball and keeping the pace nice and controlled. Try to ensure every ball goes to your partner with at least some topspin in a consistent position that is returnable and you know you can replicate over and over again. Once comfortable, brush more to achieve more topspin and work up.

Overall, I think the key to good shots are a combination of arm angling, pivoting, footwork and rotation but it is hard to say what you can do without knowing where to work from. Hopefully these generic tips help at least a little bit.