Ping Pong - I may have won the battle, but I lost the war

[Will Wood]

Beat him, but the ping-pong table beat me, owwie!
Yea so we just bought our hall a new ping pong table, and we broke it in tonight, and it also broke me.

I got a pretty good serve most people have trouble returning, but my actually playing skills like back and forth suck. Need to work on that... but my serve gets everyone. Mwha!

Discuss Pingpong to make me wanting to show off my arm a pointfull thread.

[Bulldog]

Ow. It's ping pong man, try to take it easy. :rofl:

We've got a nice table at work that the owner bought, it get's very competitive. Good way to take out some aggression sometimes.

[-Tab]

wait a minute.......that was from pingpong!?!



what kind a pingpong are we playin' here?

[Miscue]

I know EXACTLY how that can happen.

I have a one inch scar on my stomach from playing ping pong too. Can't tell you how many shots to the groin I've taken from these tables... but I'm a bit more careful now. I took a ball right to the eye from very close range... that really sucked. I smashed it while standing on his side of the court - he tried to counter-smash with a volley ball spike type hit.. and got a piece of it.

What kind of bat do you use?

[Will Wood]

I just use a cheap one. I actually prefer the cheap ones... My dad bought there really expensive ones there were supposed to be good.. but I hated them.

[Miscue]

I just use a cheap one. I actually prefer the cheap ones... My dad bought there really expensive ones there were supposed to be good.. but I hated them.

Hehe, well... "good" is subjective... what works for one person, can be horrible for another - and this has nothing to do with the cost. My paddle is about $120 - and I replace the rubber every month which tacks on about $60 each time. However, it will be worthless to the average Joe - it's a very tacky rocket launcher and is simply too fast and uncontrollable - very spin sensitive which makes it more difficult to do service returns. When I use speed glue, it's even faster and spinny!

If you like to play on the offense, it's well worth your time to give the fast/spinny paddles a second look - and learn how to use it as a weapon! It's a liability until then, however. This sort of equipment is virtually a requirement to "loop" the ball, which is THE bread and butter stroke to use in higher level play. Here's what a loop looks like: http://www.masatenisi.org/english/frloopbs.htm


If you like an all-around or defensive game - you can find equipment that will be much more effective and CONSISTENT for your style of play than the $10 Harvard/Stiga paddle. The blade, the amount of sponge, the type of sponge, the type of rubber - you can customize all this to get EXACTLY what works for you. To elevate your play, you MUST get a good quality paddle.

Check out all the gear here:

http://www.paddlepalace.com

There's a million different ways you can construct a good quality paddle.

[Will Wood]

Hmm I'm amazed at how diverse all the paddle styles seem. I would have never even guessed.. I just thought it was quality.. like crappy ones, and good ones.

I'm going to definately have to try to see if I can get a hold of different types of paddles and try them out.


Although I though I'd leave the fact out since it had nothing to do with it (I've done this same thing 3 times before sober) I had consumed a 1/5th(69 proof) before starting to play. And Amazing, we played a tournament I have no memory of, and I placed 2nd on it.

The otherr day everone was like "How's the arm doing" and I have great respect on the table now.

[Miscue]

Hmm I'm amazed at how diverse all the paddle styles seem. I would have never even guessed.. I just thought it was quality.. like crappy ones, and good ones.

I'm going to definately have to try to see if I can get a hold of different types of paddles and try them out.


Although I though I'd leave the fact out since it had nothing to do with it (I've done this same thing 3 times before sober) I had consumed a 1/5th(69 proof) before starting to play. And Amazing, we played a tournament I have no memory of, and I placed 2nd on it.

The otherr day everone was like "How's the arm doing" and I have great respect on the table now.

Hehe... good for you! Depending on what you get, the first thing you'll notice is that it looks and feels like it's much higher quality - because it is. Then you'll feel and hear the hit. It will feel very different... it will feel almost pleasing really. Then after you get used to it and play with your old paddle - you'll realize that you were playing with a gym shoe on a stick.

What type of paddle do you use now (What kind of rubber, etc.) and how do you play? What did you not like about your dad's "expensive" paddle and what kind is it? If you want to know what to get and how to construct your paddle, I'm the guy to ask! The trick is to not go to something that is drastically radical from what you're used to.

[-=Squid=-]

wtf sums up the whole thread.

[SCpoloRicker]

^^

negatory.

Point 1: Poster got drunk, and hurt himself. Playing Ping-Pong. Ha ha. If you haven't done this yet, I'm not sure what's wrong with you...

Point 2: there's a crapload of variety in Ping-Pong paddles. Which is neat (kinda) and prob true for a whole bunch of hobbies.

[Will Wood]

Busy as heck for a while, but next weekend I'll stop by dicks sporting goods and see what they have to offer for different paddle styles.

Not sure about the names or kind.. whatever.. but
The paddles I didn't like where the ones with two layers, and was smooth. The kind I like is just a single peice and has all the dimples all over it.

Everyone's taking the ping pong thing seriously now, the lobby (where we have a pool table, fooseball, darts, airhockey, tv) has been about 3 times as busier now since the ping pong table got here.
We're (The hall Governing Board I'm part of) is going to set up an offical tournament with a trophy because of the interest.

[Warewolf50]

Busy as heck for a while, but next weekend I'll stop by dicks sporting goods and see what they have to offer for different paddle styles.

Not sure about the names or kind.. whatever.. but
The paddles I didn't like where the ones with two layers, and was smooth. The kind I like is just a single peice and has all the dimples all over it.

Everyone's taking the ping pong thing seriously now, the lobby (where we have a pool table, fooseball, darts, airhockey, tv) has been about 3 times as busier now since the ping pong table got here.
We're (The hall Governing Board I'm part of) is going to set up an offical tournament with a trophy because of the interest.

maybe youll win that turni if u are relatively sober for it. ANd get out of it un injured.

[Miscue]

Busy as heck for a while, but next weekend I'll stop by dicks sporting goods and see what they have to offer for different paddle styles.

Not sure about the names or kind.. whatever.. but
The paddles I didn't like where the ones with two layers, and was smooth. The kind I like is just a single peice and has all the dimples all over it.

Everyone's taking the ping pong thing seriously now, the lobby (where we have a pool table, fooseball, darts, airhockey, tv) has been about 3 times as busier now since the ping pong table got here.
We're (The hall Governing Board I'm part of) is going to set up an offical tournament with a trophy because of the interest.

Ok, the one you didn't like was an inverted rubber (pips in) with sponge. What you're talking about is a pips out without sponge, ie: a "hardbat."

I would avoid sporting goods shops - their "high end" blades are usually junk... equating this to paintball, it's like the best they carry is an upgraded Spyder. I can almost guarantee that their "high end" selection will not include hardbats. If you want to get a good hardbat, you might want to look at the Nittaku Monophonic combo (flared) at PaddlePalace.com with Butterfly Relop Attack OX - no sponge - rubber for both sides. This is just one suggestion.

Although it's a DEF+ blade, it's 'probably' a tad faster than what you have - and the rubber is pretty fast and spinny considering it's pips-out (although it's no comparison to even a moderately spinny inverted sponge rubber). Compared to what you have (I assume the typical cheapy) it'll have much better control/aim, better attack, better defense, better spin if you choose to spin, a nice big sweet spot, and overall better consistency. A defensive blade does not mean you cannot smash the crap outta the ball and have an effective attack. Luckily for you, this is the kind of rubber that lasts for years... and don't have to replace every month for optimal performance. When I'm playing, I personally go through about $60 worth of rubber every few weeks... elite players do so weekly.

After you get used to this kind of paddle, then you'll know why even the high-end sporting goods store paddles feel like junk.

It will not make you a better player overnight - you have to learn how to make use of it first... and then it becomes a weapon.

[WicKeD_WaYz]

i had no idea....

ive played with the same rubber paddle at my friends garage for the last 2 years...

im such a ping pong looser.

[Miscue]

i had no idea....

ive played with the same rubber paddle at my friends garage for the last 2 years...

im such a ping pong looser.

Haha... well, most people don't. It's kind of the difference between a "table tennis" player versus a "ping-pong" player.

I've played a lot for several years - it's a bigger hobby for me than paintball. I just won two golds (singles/doubles) at the International Police and Fire Games. I even have a ping-pong robot!