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schen's TT vacation in TAIWAN! |
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schen 
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 Topic: schen's TT vacation in TAIWAN!Posted: 05/13/2015 at 6:18am |
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I am traveling to Taiwan tomorrow for three weeks and would like to visit as many notable TT shops and clubs as possible! I will be living in Taichung and Chiayi for most of the time visiting relatives, but will definitely have a chance to travel some.
After scavenging around the web and forum, I have a list of places I'd like to visit, but some of them do not have websites or may have changed the URLs. If anyone could help me confirm that these locations are open and exist or update the URL/physical address, that'd be awesome. Also please feel free to add locations I should visit as well! CONFIRMED SHOPS: Location 1: No. 137, Section 2, Nanchang Road, Zhongzheng District, Taipei City, Taiwan 100 Location 2: No. 79, Minquan Rd, Banqiao District New Taipei City, Taiwan 220 No. 23-2, Songjiang Rd, Zhongshan District Taipei City, Taiwan 104 No. 139-2, Chenggong Rd, Gangshan District Kaohsiung City, Taiwan 820 http://www.ping-pong.tw/ (aka. ILPP) No. 3, Kaishan Road, West Central District, Tainan City, Taiwan 701 http://www.ttta.com.tw/ (visited) 2 floor 404 Taichung City, North District, Section 3 Sanmin Road, number 345 of 1 UNCONFIRMED SHOPS: Website does not work. I don't have an address other than that the shop is in Kaohsiung, anyone have more info? Tung-Chao Table Tennis Shop No website listed. No. 23-2, Sung-Chung Road, Taipei, Taiwan No information about this shop at all, just an address from an old post from 2009 on this forum. ----- CONFIRMED CLUBS: Chuang Chih-Yuan Ping Pong Stadium Website does not work. No. 28 804 Masanori Road Gushan District, Kaohsiung City Taichung Ping-Pong Sports Hall (visited) No. 29, Lane 77, Yongda St, Dali District Taichung City, 412 Edited by schen - 05/16/2015 at 11:54am |
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TenNine
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Posted: 05/13/2015 at 7:32am |
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Here's a Google map with table tennis clubs all over Taiwan.
Should keep you busy for a week or so... ;) Edited by TenNine - 05/13/2015 at 7:59am |
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TenNine
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Posted: 05/13/2015 at 7:56am |
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There's a shop in Tainan close to the Memorial Park roundabout. I don't know the exact address, but it's in the crossing between Minquan Road and Zhongshan Road. They have/used to have a huge Victor sign outside. Sorry, can't be more specific than that :/
http://www.ping-pong.tw/ (aka. ILPP) is also based in Tainan, but I don't know if they have an actual shop that you could visit. I've been to Akkadi in Bianciao and the other shop on Songjiang Rd. All three above are worth a visit if you're there. :)
Edited by TenNine - 05/13/2015 at 7:59am |
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lineup32
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Posted: 05/13/2015 at 9:40am |
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Might be interesting to visit the Ariex blade making company..
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PeonEater
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Posted: 05/13/2015 at 2:03pm |
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www.ping-pong.tw is here:
http://www.ilpp.com.tw/news.php?recordId=208 Forum member bryce0530 runs a club in Tainan and can probably help you out since he has bought from the physical shop. Another one in the outskirts of Kaohsiung is: http://dange.topshop.com.tw/ I'm usually in Taipei when I go back to Taiwan and tend to just go to the ones you mentioned earlier. |
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LOOPMEISTER
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Posted: 05/13/2015 at 2:22pm |
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I was in Taipei a few years ago, and while there are some nice little TT shops to hunt down, finding a club was like finding gold at the end of a rainbow. Many internet listings for clubs that we searched out, but they were all defunct. I found one in a basement with a few small areas divided up by concrete pillars, and some tiny little rooms with 3-4 tables total, but I didn't have my stuff with me, and it didn't look very appealing anyway.
I guess you have to be in grammar school, high school, or at one of the universities to play pong in Taipei.   Needless to say, its a fun excuse to wander around the city and explore. Edited by LOOPMEISTER - 05/13/2015 at 2:25pm |
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TenNine
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Posted: 05/13/2015 at 3:32pm |
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Oh, goodie! I didn't know that ILPP had a real shop. It's literally 2-3 mins walk from the one in the crossing of Zhongshan and Minquan. :)
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schen
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Posted: 05/13/2015 at 3:52pm |
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Thanks everyone for the posts, please keep them coming!
lineup32, I take it Ariex's factory is in Taiwan? I am unfamiliar with the brand but would definitely love to check out a TT factory! Do they have a website/address available? And for ILPP, good to know that the physical shop is out there! I'll try to stop by. And thanks TenNine for the club directory! That will definitely help narrow things down :)
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lineup32
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Posted: 05/13/2015 at 5:13pm |
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Ariex USA  this is one of our members, might send him a PM for the info. There is a current thread on there one ply blades:http://mytabletennis.net/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=70877&PN=1#874833
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PeonEater
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Posted: 05/13/2015 at 5:54pm |
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Could be the same shop since I think this may be the location of the club, makes sense for the shop to be nearby since I had presumed they sell out of the club. BTW, you can check for tournaments here: http://www.mylive.com.tw/twttweb/ There's also a link to the clubs there at the top and you can search by city. |
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schen
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Posted: 05/14/2015 at 1:46am |
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Also, does anyone have any insight as to how Taiwanese rating points work? Is it similar to USATT?
Any idea of what USATT 2000 would convert to over there?
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LOOPMEISTER
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Posted: 05/14/2015 at 9:49am |
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Billiards?
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TenNine
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Posted: 05/14/2015 at 11:32am |
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I think thats because table tennis, billiards, snooker and pool use the same characters in Chinese as in zhuo qiu (literally "table ball") as opposed to pin pan (only for table tennis). It's a common confusion or "mistranslation" by Google. It's just a guess though and I'm not absolutely sure as my Mandarin is pretty much non-existent. I'm sure a Mandarin speaker can clarify this :)
Edited by TenNine - 05/14/2015 at 11:37am |
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LOOPMEISTER
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Posted: 05/14/2015 at 11:47am |
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I'm only skeptical because I searched far and wide for a place to play in Taipei only a few years ago, and the pickin's were slim.
 I've been told by a number of people, that (sort of like in Japan) there aren't as many public clubs as you'd expect in Taipei, because most kids/people play in school/university. |
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PeonEater
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Posted: 05/14/2015 at 1:30pm |
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The problem with clubs in Taiwan is that they are mostly small, and you don't know who is there at any given time. I had a friend in Taipei who was taking me to different clubs and bringing his friends to play, however, he doesn't live there anymore. Again, if you are in Tainan, feel free to contact bryce0530.
Another list: https://www.ptt.cc/man/tabletennis/D1B9/D18F/index.html As for the rating system, it's the same system as used in the US, but Taiwanese ratings tend to be slightly lower (think better players overall, but under the same bell curve), so perhaps your US rating minus 100 or so. List of shops complete with phone numbers so you can call to see if they still exist: https://www.ptt.cc/man/tabletennis/D1B9/D903/M.1287327214.A.BB6.html |
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TenNine
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Posted: 05/14/2015 at 4:29pm |
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Try asking the staff of a TT shop. They'll know what's available locally. It's worth a try the next time :)
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schen
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Posted: 05/15/2015 at 12:27am |
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Landed early today in Taoyuan, Taiwan and travelled to Taichung where I'll be staying for the majority of my trip! I was able to make this last minute vacation in the first place because of my father's business trip, and luckily got to reap the benefits of business class and five-star hotel hospitality in Taiwan for nearly the same cost as daily living in the US
 . Not to mention a lot of stuff here is SO CHEAP! Much shopping awaits. The hotel I'm staying in even has a humble Table Tennis room attached to their gym! Glad to know I'm in Asia haha, this is the first table I've seen while in Taiwan, a decent TSP. Haven't had a chance to play yet though.  I plan to play in a local tournament during my trip, but it seems that the only two events outside of college/school events are <1400 and >1400 rating... With PeonEater's info, I assume as an 1800+ USATT player that I would fall in the >1400 event? My former Taiwanese coach suggested I may as well play both events while I'm out here. But one thing I'm not so psyched about though is THE HUMIDITY  . Ugh, I can only imagine how many times the ball will slip in play out here. Here's to hoping the TT facilities I'll be visiting have A/C...----- I also located Chuang Chih-Yuan's club in Kaohsiung while waiting at the airport: Also found some videos about the place (in Chinese though). Come to think of it, there's not much info about Chuang Chih-Yuan's background or training despite him hovering around the top 10 in world ranking for over a decade. Maybe I can try to address that while I'm visiting here  |
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PeonEater
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Posted: 05/15/2015 at 3:38am |
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Have fun and good luck :-)
Tournament calendar: http://www.mylive.com.tw/twttweb/calendar.aspx You can click into each one to see entries and events information (some don't have it in their description). Forgot to mention this earlier but I usually buy table tennis shoes when I'm in Taiwan, there is a good selection of Mizuno and some Asics at pretty good prices. Edited by PeonEater - 05/15/2015 at 3:42am |
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schen
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Posted: 05/15/2015 at 8:00am |
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I think I'll plan to compete in the May 23rd tournament in Kaohsiung and the May 31st tournament in Taichung, time permitting :)
Also was able to find a table tennis shop in Taichung online: http://www.ttta.com.tw/   Looks pretty nice, will probably visit tomorrow!
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yogi_bear
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Posted: 05/15/2015 at 8:25am |
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schen, i forgot the adidas tt shop in taiwan. i think you should ask around too.
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schen
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Posted: 05/16/2015 at 12:26am |
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ttta.com.tw was a pleasant experience!
I biked there from my hotel 3km away and got there right at opening. It's awesome to see a big table tennis shop sign along the street.  Inside, the shop was actually pretty spacious - more so than past posts about Taiwanese TT shops led me to believe. It seems to me that TSP has a pretty huge presence in Taiwan, as the majority of their stock was TSP. This shop is also the headquarters of the Taiwanese brand "Starwood," which makes both blades and rubbers. I did not get a chance to try any of them unfortunately...   I went there hoping to find some BTY cpens, but unfortunately it seems the whole dont-sell-cpens-anywhere-but-china thing with BTY applies to Taiwan as well. They also stocked mostly TSP clothing and some of the lower tier Mizuno shoes (crossmatch plios and medal2's). I was not particularly interested in the XIOM or 729/KTL stock. The shop also carried a number of items from Darker, AVX, and Victas, as well as slim pickings from DHS.   I was however able to handpick a flared JSH - excellent weight, AMAZING feel, and reasonable price ($80) which comes with its own fancy new BTY packaging (or maybe this is just Taiwan's packaging? Not even BTY China's packaging looks like this). It does not seem that BTY blades here are any cheaper than in the US, in fact some offerings were even more expensive (composite blades such as TB ALC and the like).  However, Tenergy here is about $56/sheet (1700 NT Dollars), so I made sure to pick up a few here as well. The shop owner also gave me a pretty decent deal on Spectol and P1-R at 700 NT Dollars each (700NT = $23). I'm curious to see and validate/disprove the rumors of batches of Tenergy being different based on the region. The way they organize their rubbers here is pretty cool - it's a grid of small lockers with a door for each rubber. Inside there are filing shelves for each thickness available, pretty neat!   I didn't get a chance to meet the owner of the shop himself, but his wife and daughter who were filling in for him were very helpful and accommodating. A great place to visit for sure :)  Combined with a pair of nice shorts I picked up from Mizuno at the department store by my hotel, I've already got a handful of stuff to bring back home and only more to come!  |
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schen
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Posted: 05/16/2015 at 11:51am |
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Played in Taiwan for the first time today at the Taichung Ping-Pong Sports Hall! I'll be playing in their local tournament on the 24th later this month.
 Great ceiling height with pretty good lighting and reasonable amount of space. Concrete/tile floor unfortunately, with no A/C. I was expecting Taiwan's climate to be a big problem in terms of humidity, but to my pleasant surprise, nothing slipped today... in fact my rubbers actually slip up more back in California! But I felt that the ball speed here seemed to be higher than in the US and it took me several minutes to be able to land more than 5 loops in a row for warm up, although it could be my jetlag playing tricks on me. After a couple hours, my clothes were soaked with sweat thanks to heat and humidity... although I didn't exactly dress myself for table tennis that day - this club visit was meant to see the facility for the tournament next week, but the visit got extended longer than I intended  The club organizer's name is Sun Mingde - he estimated my Taiwanese rating to be 1800+, so it seems it is about the same as USATT. Although I don't know Mingde's exact rating, I'd estimate him to be at least 2100, if not 2200 or higher. He uses anti-spin on his backhand with great touch and great effect, and in our practice matches I only got one game against him... the very first one. He didn't drop a set to me for the next 3 matches haha. This is a highlight video of the session - overall I didn't do nearly as well as the video might make you think considering my record with Sun Mingde in sets that day was something like 1-12... (note: video is still uploading/processing at the time of this post, give it maybe an hour to finish up... going to let Youtube take care of that while I go to bed hehe) I also got to play three other club members before leaving, all similar to 1600-1900 USATT rating. Everyone was really friendly despite my mediocre Mandarin, and the players there are quite diverse in style. I played one penholder, one two-winged looper, one lefty wheelchair player, and one Sun Mingde with his BH anti. My game did well with everyone except for Mingde (of course)...
Edited by schen - 05/16/2015 at 11:56am |
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GeneralSpecific
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Posted: 05/16/2015 at 12:42pm |
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This looks like a really fun time. I look forward to reading more.
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Blade - Yasaka Sweden Extra FL
Forehand - Mizuno Q5 2.1mm Backhand - Xiom Vega Europe DF 1.8mm |
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Soundoff88
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Posted: 05/16/2015 at 12:47pm |
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Nice! I will be watching your For Sale post in the near future.
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BH-Man
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Posted: 05/16/2015 at 5:31pm |
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LIKE !!!!!!!
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Korea Foreign Table Tennis Club
Search for us on Facebook: koreaforeignttc |
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yogi_bear
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Posted: 05/16/2015 at 6:37pm |
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Schen, go get the owner's daughter hehhehehe
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Independent online TT Product reviewer of XIOM, STIGA, JOOLA, SANWEI, GEWO, AIR, ITC, APEX, YASAKA and ABROS
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slevin
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Posted: 05/16/2015 at 6:42pm |
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Nice Schen, blue sponges, TT trips to Taiwan, you're living the good life...
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Trade feedback:
http://mytabletennis.net/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=50787 |
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qualizon
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Posted: 05/16/2015 at 6:51pm |
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I was going to say the same thing
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CipheR
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Posted: 05/17/2015 at 8:03am |
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I think you have to beat her father, mother, and relatives first in a table tennis gauntlet match before you can start courting their daughter. :))
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ㅈㅈ지지ㅎㅎㅋㅋ
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schen
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Posted: 05/17/2015 at 10:34am |
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Hahahaha, I don't think my girlfriend would be too supportive of that idea
Today I visited my parents' hometown of Chiayi and got a chance to see the club that one of my uncles runs in Chiayi University!  The club itself is part of a gym that features badminton on the main floor and table tennis behind a curtain on raised stage next to it behind a curtain.   My uncle and I came during off hours since he is the club organizer to play a bit. Like the Taichung club, this one didn't have A/C. The heat is a much bigger factor than I thought it would be, and you can really feel it take a toll on you, especially when you're holding still waiting to receive a serve. Makes it hard to focus  . I also swear that it has an effect on the ball speed - everything feels lively as hell compared to playing in milder climates.The playing space here was a little more cramped, with a slippery wood floor, sparser lighting, and while the tables were pretty nice only one of them had a regulation quality net. Not too surprised because Chiayi is more suburban (bordering on rural) than Taichung and a much smaller town.   My uncle is a one-side Jpen blocker, maybe roughly 1500-1600 USATT. Oddly enough, his backhand is better than his FH even as a traditional penholder. He's one of those types that prefers to block with his BH even from the FH corner, and has a pretty respectable BH smash even through backspin. I was able to win comfortably with cpen, but my second (and weaker) style as a chopper had issues since he primarily punches and blocks. Here's a pic of his racket (do not recognize it/cannot find the brand stamp, with Mark V (old school haha):  He plays mostly for exercise, as does most of Taiwan it seems... I have yet to meet any serious TT athletes - I suspect they're hiding in Kaohsiung or Taipei. There was also another small shop in Chiayi that I didn't get a chance to visit, but I'll be going back at some point this trip. I also found a REALLY HELPFUL directory of TT shops in Taiwan that I'll be referencing for the rest of my trip. I'll be visiting another shop (translated name "Gold Sports") in Taichung tomorrow. Check it out if anyone is interested or has plans to visit Taiwan too! |
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PeonEater wrote: