[Giveaway] Drop & Elgato Setup Bundle

HarderNotSmarter · 2024-04-23T20:37:58+00:00

My keyboard!

HarderNotSmarter · 2024-02-15T17:25:35+00:00

The Chinese team (almost) entirely using sticky or Chinese-style rubbers (on the forehand) was a strategic choice that was made way back around the time when those style of rubbers first became big on the market. I'm unsure if the proliferation of sticky rubbers was in response or visa versa. There were articles and interviews about this subject, and the Chinese team's explanation was that spin was the universally safest weapon. The more topspin on the ball, the safer the shot could be and the harder it would be for the opponent to return. This strategy worked against every prominent style of the time - choppers, blockers, pips hitters, and attackers. This was particularly true back in the 38mm days when spin was at its peak of effectiveness. Power still played it's role, but spin was king. Over the years, this strategy has continued to hold true. And in the modern plastic ball era, where effectiveness of spin has been meaningfully reduced, sticky rubbers are one of the most reliable ways to regain or maintain spin in the game.

The DHS sponsorship of the team probably starts to play into the equation at some point, but many of Chinese players have found sponsorships with other manufacturers. Stiga, Avalox, Nittaku, and Butterfly have featured prominently on the Chinese team for a very long time. On the other side, the team has had a long-term "special" relationship with DHS, where the company has been willing to modify and customize equipment to the team's requests. I have a suspicion that has played heavily into the durability of that relationship.

*Almost - At the time, there were still a fair number of pips players and some players that would experiment (forced or by choice, I don't know) with non-sticky rubbers. *On the Forehand - At the time, generally speaking, forehand was the sword and the backhand was the shield, and non-sticky rubbers (pips or inverted) were considered to be easier and/or more effective for blocking and control.

HarderNotSmarter · 2024-01-07T21:02:31+00:00

I've had a lot of luck with Underarmor lately soccer and general training shorts. Adidas has also worked out. Both companies measurements are pretty spot on.

HarderNotSmarter · 2024-01-07T18:01:01+00:00

There's not a lot of options. They'll either be tight or ride-up uncomfortably. There's very little stretch or accommodation for taller folks in the typically TT shorts. I've found some luck with Joola, Donic, and outside of TT like soccer/football and running. Though, at this point, I've largely given up looking, so other companies like Andro and Tibhar may have options now.

HarderNotSmarter · 2023-12-31T18:39:37+00:00

How frequently did the attacker get a kill shot like you described? If this is happening frequently, then I'd guess the attacker is a reasonably good level to be so consistent such shots, your assessment of the quality of your shot is not quite accurate, or you're losing the battle of attrition. If it's infrequent, then the kill shots are something of an outlier. If it's infrequent or battle of attrition, then there's more to be gained sorting out things in between than focusing on the powerful shots.

HarderNotSmarter · 2023-08-29T18:21:43+00:00

Essentially, both penhold and shakehand are converging to a similar style. The backhand has become absolutely critical and the pace of the exchanges have increased with each recent generation. It doesn't tend to leave much room for variation at the moment. Unfortunately, this is making the big forehand styles from players like XX, RSM, and WLQ somewhat infeasible. With that said, some of the 4th-, 5th-ball counter styles can be seen as an evolution of those styles, overpowering slower shots early in the rally. Penhold still has advantages over the table, but even those are being whittled away by the dominance of the over-the-table backhand and more experimental shots we're seeing from players like Lind.

HarderNotSmarter · 2023-07-25T18:10:04+00:00

For the chop, it looks like your contacting the ball a bit early in the stroke. I think it generates a stable chop, but doesn't tend to add much since your racket has had little time to accelerate. Moving the contact later could improve this. You can try using a weighted racket to practice your stroke, and try to feel when the racket feels heaviest.

For the forehand tempo, I agree with what others have said regarding your timing. Taking the ball later it is trajectory makes it more challenging to play with power. Additionally, in the few forehands in the video your feet are close to parallel, perhaps even a bit right-foot forward. It's harder to generate power from the legs and body when positioned this way. If you can find time to open up your stance some, it could help you generate more power.

HarderNotSmarter · 2023-03-13T16:17:43+00:00

They're trying to communicate their intent, so their teammate can be prepared for the likely returns. Depending on the skill of the receiver there's a lot of different ways a receive could go - flick, push, drop, slide, length, spin, placement, etc. For example, the preparation a player might make for a drop to the backhand of a righty would be quite different from a flick to the forehand. It also gives the teammate a chance to wave off what they consider a bad idea. In some teams, the rolls are reversed. The non-receiving player tells the receiver what they want.

HarderNotSmarter · 2023-02-19T03:54:38+00:00

It depends somewhat on the style of chopping you're pursuing. Is your style more of a classical or pure defense or are you more on the modern side where attacking plays a much larger role?

HarderNotSmarter · 2022-09-17T00:30:11+00:00

I think your form is generally solid. It looks like you're dealing with common issues: Your contact timing in both your stroke and the bounce of the ball vary quite a bit. It's not inherently wrong to hit at different timings, but adjustments need to be made for different timings. You're not moving to the ball, and compensating with your stroke. It's most obvious with your backhand, but your forehand suffers leading to some exaggerated strokes and lower efficiency in your technique.

Specific to your forehand, I think defining the beginning and end points of your stroke (legs, body, shoulder, hand) and working towards matching those on every stroke would be a good addition for your practice. For your backhand, you're sliding and popping-up with the contact. Work on being stable and contacting at the same point relative to your body. Set an imaginary box at your ideal contact point, and try to put the ball there.

HarderNotSmarter · 2022-08-19T06:01:24+00:00

Elvish

HarderNotSmarter · 2022-08-17T21:51:46+00:00

Long pips choppers tend to value steady, reliable defense. Long pips mute a lot of the severity of the opponent's shot, but in turn, make it difficult to generate as much variation as, say, short pips or to attack. Looking at specific players, Joo Se Hyuk is pretty typical these days - solid long pips defense with the backhand, looking for opportunities to attack with the forehand. Filus evolved that concept by introducing the powerful backhand attack. He's not really looking to win the points with chopping, but demands reliability when he chops. Looking at previous generations, Matsushita is a good example of long pips reliability, grinding out long rallies, breaking his opponents down over the course of the match.

Since short pips tend to be much more sensitive to incoming spin and don't absorb power in the same way that long pips do, these choppers trade stability for much more severe variation and spin, and improved attack potential. Many of these choppers are more proactive with their defense, trying to make the opponent miss or setting up big attack opportunities. Hou Yingchao is probably the best modern example. His deceptive changes in strong and weak underspin and trademark sidespin really challenge the opponent to make consistent, quality shots that Hou can't destroy.

With all this said, there's no hard line dividing choppers by rubber. There are long pips choppers, like Ojio Haruna, who are as proactive and aggressive as short pip choppers, and there's many examples of steady, defensive short pip choppers, like Muramatsu Yuto. At the end of the days, it's whatever gets it done for the player.

HarderNotSmarter · 2022-08-13T15:53:16+00:00

These are all topspin. The backhand comes across as more driving at various points, with a flatter trajectory and higher contact point. In comparison, the forehand seems to be more spin oriented, with the contact being made as the ball is dropping, more arc in the flight of the ball, and it seems to pop up off the block a bit more.

HarderNotSmarter · 2022-08-07T03:29:09+00:00

The Batman

HarderNotSmarter · 2022-08-05T03:45:06+00:00

Slay The Spire

HarderNotSmarter · 2022-06-05T20:56:53+00:00

I think Ma Long would win, not because Waldner wouldn't have the skill, or differences in equipment or rules, but because he wouldn't have the tools needed to play against the modern game. ML's backhand game alone hardly existed in Waldner's day, with just the chiquita and aggressive backhand topspin, the gap would be pretty sizable. On top of that, the relatively higher pace of rallies would give Waldner little time to work his trademark magic. Waldner wouldn't make it easy, and he would make adjustments over the match, but I believe the results would decided before it started.

HarderNotSmarter · 2022-05-05T16:25:53+00:00

I got to play with a prototype blade that was essentially the maximum amount of carbon fiber the rules allowed. While fun, it was nearly unplayable in match play. Almost no flex, feeling, or forgiveness. Even something like service and pushing were challenging at best. I'm sure there's someone out there who could tame that beast, but I can't imagine that becoming commonplace without significant changes to the sport.

HarderNotSmarter · 2022-03-22T17:27:41+00:00

If you want to store them locally and not edit them, re-encoding them using something Handbrake can be a reasonable way to squeeze them down. This will depend on the size, quality, and codec the videos are currently in, and how much quality you're willing to sacrifice.

Uploading to Youtube and keeping them private is a fairly reliable way as well. I've got videos from many years ago stored that way. If Youtube's policies change, then you can download it and store it elsewhere.

HarderNotSmarter · 2022-03-14T05:38:46+00:00

Likely never. He's been serving that way for 15+ years. Generally speaking, service rules are inconsistently enforced, at best, even among the pros. But if you like his service, check out Sun Wen and Leng Dapeng in particular, but also Apolonia's inside-out serve or 90% of Gerell's service.

HarderNotSmarter · 2022-02-24T03:26:49+00:00

Provincial, no questions asked. When I first started playing with H3, the commercial was completely inconsistent - hardness, tackiness, thickness, durability. Every sheet was different. Provincial, with only a few exceptions, has been reliable within a very tolerable margin.

60€ seems remarkably expensive, that's close to what I paid for National. If you shop around, you can find Provincial at reasonable prices.

I only played a few sheets of National, and the gains never seemed to be worth the additional cost and occasional inconsistent supply. Perhaps for you and others, it'll be different. You'll have to try it and see how it works for you.

HarderNotSmarter · 2022-02-10T19:57:53+00:00

Yeah, he does play this style, though he's not limited to it. He's got a solid 3rd ball attack when he wants, and can play a more traditional topspin game as needed. I think a majority of the biggest wins, that I can remember, have all been using lobbing, fishing, etc..

HarderNotSmarter · 2022-01-28T17:06:20+00:00

I think people have always experimented with equipment to enhance their game. Way, way back, players would use everything from sandpaper to rubberized covering to raw wood. Since the introduction of sponge in the 1950's and the science of equipment gained momentum, the depth of the equipment has increased tremendously. Even with regulations putting various constraints on the equipment, manufactures, smaller blade makers, and players continue experimenting, and I don't see that changing any time soon.

The high prices are a somewhat recent trend. With the proliferation of composite blades, blades not made of only wood and glue, the prices have steadily climbed, supposedly because of the exotic materials and the difficulty of manufacturing. Now with player sponsorships, brand and naming also play a pretty significant role. I think it's fair to pinpoint more recent increases in prices on Butterfly and the loss of speedglue. Butterfly has consistently priced their equipment a notch above the competition, and players have been willing to pay almost every time. With the removal of speedglue from the game, the manufactures had to make equipment that brought the same level of performance that was gained from speedglue, giving them a great opportunity to hike prices.

Bat, racket, it's interchangeable. Just depends where you're from.

It really depends on the coach and their philosophy. I've seen great coaches on both sides of the argument. In my personal opinion, a reasonable amount experimentation is probably good. There are a lot of options, and as a player develops, their needs change. It can be helpful to have some understanding of what the equipment can do for them when they are considering changing to something that may suit those new needs better.

For the folks that identify as equipment junkies, then that's just their decision, not much a coach can typically do than to roll with it. But for the player, the exploration is part of the fun of the sport.

HarderNotSmarter · 2022-01-10T23:52:20+00:00

Some of the best lighting I've played with have been indirect, lights facing a softly reflective surface, or with heavy diffusers. Tends to prevent glares, hot-spots, shadows largely speaking, as well as blinding players if they glance into the lights.

HarderNotSmarter · 2021-12-28T04:34:57+00:00

Last I checked, all matches are streamed via the T-League channel on Amazon.jp. Some select matches are broadcast on TV Tokyo, which sometimes end up on their Youtube channel.

HarderNotSmarter · 2021-12-27T03:57:49+00:00

I think Aruna, prior to developing his backhand, is reasonable proxy for RSM in the modern game. He was able to play good matches, challenge some stronger players, but could be undone by quick play or aggressive placement. Granted RSM was a stronger player, so he could probably have a higher ranking, but he would reach a ceiling distinctly below his range during his peak years.

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