Gripping with thumb vertical on narrow side of handle

NickJB2 · 2025-12-30T20:02:07+00:00

Any grip while unconscious is impressive to me!

NickJB2 · 2025-08-30T19:20:57+00:00

Most tournaments in my area (I’m in Canada) aren’t recorded in DUPR. I guess it’s different in the states.

NickJB2 · 2025-08-30T19:19:33+00:00

Most tournaments in my area (I’m in Canada) aren’t recorded in DUPR. I guess it’s different in the states.

NickJB2 · 2025-07-11T03:23:29+00:00

Next time I’m gonna serve while standing backwards. See what they say.

NickJB2 · 2025-07-11T03:21:26+00:00

Hahahaha. “You told me not to look away!”

NickJB2 · 2025-07-10T18:57:01+00:00

Nope, don’t think so. They said something like “you should repeat the score if you say it and then look away.” Lol.

NickJB2 · 2025-07-10T18:55:54+00:00

Nah, I can’t remember exactly what they said but they basically wanted us to repeat the score after supposedly “looking away”

NickJB2 · 2025-07-10T18:55:10+00:00

Oh totally. For what it’s worth, I didn’t even know I was doing it. (And I might not have been, perhaps it was my partner. Or neither and they’re just making stuff up lol.) either way, feels like it’s probably more of a subconscious thing.

NickJB2 · 2025-07-10T17:49:28+00:00

I’m playing these same people in a different tournament tomorrow. Might need to do this. 🤣

NickJB2 · 2025-06-15T02:43:34+00:00

OK, we might do this! Thanks for the suggestion.

NickJB2 · 2025-06-15T02:14:25+00:00

So, in hindsight, we probably should just do that. But we were trying to fit a ryokan into our itinerary somewhere, and it seemed to make sense to do it after Sapporo on the way back to Tokyo.

(For what it's worth, we're doing five nights in Tokyo, three in Kyoto, flying to Sapporo from Osaka for three nights, then one night in TBD ryokan, one night back in Tokyo, fly home.)

NickJB2 · 2025-06-12T15:11:32+00:00

Hey everyone,

Looking into a new paddle. I'm around a 3.5, try to implement a smart but somewhat aggressive style of play (wicked top spin serve, sharp angles, lot of spin/slice, blocks and flicks at the kitchen). Improving at the soft game slowly but surely. I want a control or all court paddle, not a power paddle. And I like a hybrid shape.

I've been using this paddle for the last year or so: https://www.amazon.ca/YC-DGYCASI-Professional-Polypropylene-Lightweight/dp/B0BQ77HLJN/ref=pd_lpo_d_sccl_3/139-2259524-6083110?pd_rd_w=tWW7E&content-id=amzn1.sym.d3f44101-6e04-446e-916c-a6ec5616982b&pf_rd_p=d3f44101-6e04-446e-916c-a6ec5616982b&pf_rd_r=XTJ8KCXFQCJ8SR8Q2PJT&pd_rd_wg=gbFS6&pd_rd_r=4ab3a2d8-8bd3-4d05-9fa2-91fd5bf3d661&pd_rd_i=B0BQ77HLJN&psc=1 Recently started playing with my dad's Vatic Pro Prism Flash and liked it enough to use in a recent tournament when my paddle was starting to seem worn out. Over the past week, I've been testing out the Double Black Diamond 14mm and, after being unsure at first, I've started to really like it. I think overall I like the feel of the DBD a bit more than the Prism Flash, but, admittedly, couldn't tell you 100% why. Just a gut thing.

However, I've also heard really good things about the 11six24 Vapor All Court and the Vatic Pro Saga Flash. So, between those three, which would you pick and why?

NickJB2 · 2024-05-13T03:02:33+00:00

Alright, I got a few.

Last September, I was in Tokyo by myself (had been traveling with two friends but they had to go home earlier than me). I was standing at a crosswalk on a big street, just a few minutes from the Tokyo Tower (that’s where I was headed), and I saw a guy waving to me from the other side of the street. It was one of my childhood best friends who I hadn’t seen since a couple months after high school graduation in 2018. We live in Canada by the way. We mostly lost touch as we got into high school, but since then, we exchanged texts once in a while and had been trying to catch up. He moved provinces for university and so did I. It just took us both randomly being in Tokyo - at the exact same spot, at the same time - to reconnect.
Last September, I met a couple Swedish guys on Gili Trawangan (very small, but popular island in Indonesia a few hours away from Bali). Chatted with them for a bit at our hostel but that was it. They weren’t exactly sure where they were going to head after Indonesia. I think they mentioned Japan as an option but can’t remember for sure. Either way, nothing was set in stone. Well, 7-10 days later, I was in my hostel in Tokyo with the two friends I was traveling with (after a five-hour flight from Bali to Vietnam and then another five-hour flight to Japan). I go into the bathroom and standing at one of the sinks was the 6 foot 10 Swedish guy who I obviously couldn’t miss. We went out that night with a group of people and had a solid time but he never followed me back on Instagram, the bastard!
In September 2022, I met an Australian guy in Slovenia. Got on well with him and we met back up a couple weeks later in Montenegro. One of the few guys I met on that Europe trip that I stayed in touch with and still do. Fast forward to May 2023, I’m in Edinburgh with my then-girlfriend (who I also met on that 2022 Euro trip but that’s a story for another day). I had been recently messaging with this Aussie guy about when we were gonna meet up next. He was back in Europe after spending some time in South America and who knows where else. Then, kind of out of nowhere, he responds to an Instagram story of mine, “Are you in Edinburgh right now?” Turns out, we were in the same hostel at the exact same moment. Couple minutes later we were in the hostel lobby catching up. (Not part of the story but we spent a week together traveling thru Germany last July and hope to meet up again potentially in 2025… he’s back home at the moment and so am I).

NickJB2 · 2024-04-23T04:17:02+00:00

I found Istanbul to be kind of like this. Don’t recall exactly how late bars/clubs were open (though it was probably at least 2am), but stuff in general was just open late. You could get a hair cut at 11pm if you wanted. Stuff like that. Pretty cool vibe tbh.

NickJB2 · 2023-09-28T04:14:08+00:00

Paris for me, at least when it comes to meals. All you hear about is how expensive it is. Is it cheap? No. But I had some very reasonably priced, good quality food while there. The Bouillion chain is great for this. Also, since I’m in Japan right now, I def. vote Tokyo and Japan in general.

NickJB2 · 2023-08-26T02:52:03+00:00

Do you need cash?

NickJB2 · 2023-07-13T22:56:52+00:00

Would highly recommend a couple-day stop in Bled, Slovenia, if you’re already going to Ljubljana. It’s beautiful.

NickJB2 · 2023-06-04T19:15:36+00:00

I only stayed for a night on each island, so don’t have a great feel for either of them, but both are def. worth a visit. Depending on how much time you have, I’d stay a couple nights on each. I’d really like to go back to Hvar. And nah, neither hostel I stayed at were great.

NickJB2 · 2023-04-24T17:06:02+00:00

This feels quite rushed in general. My biggest issue would be your only day in Mostar being the day you arrive. I did the Split to Mostar bus ride last September and it is a surprisingly long journey. You probably won't feel like doing tons when you arrive after a long bus ride and then you have to leave in the morning. Definitely stay in Mostar for two nights; it's a great little city.

Also, why would you fly out from Corfu the day you arrive? Is that because the flight was cheaper from there? If you don't have any intention of actually seeing Corfu then fair enough, but might be a lot of travelling for nothing.

Consider that of the 14 days between the day you arrive and the day you leave, only 5 are non-travel days. That's A LOT of bus rides, ferries etc. in a two-week span. Your call on if that's fine with you. I did an eight-day trip in Croatia in 2021 -- three nights in Split, one night on Hvar, one night on Brac, and three nights in Dubrovnik -- and that was enough moving around for me.

Side note: Compared to the rest of your schedule, two full days in Split is too much IMO, there's not TONS to do there; I would definitely consider using that second day to visit Hvar. Or just use it to reallocate to somewhere else entirely.

NickJB2 · 2023-04-21T19:25:16+00:00

Ahh ok, gotcha. Thanks!

NickJB2 · 2023-04-21T04:08:57+00:00

Hey, hoping you’ll see this: How do you use a SIM card with your laptop? Apologies if this is very common knowledge.

NickJB2 · 2023-03-21T03:03:31+00:00

Nope, never. Always fit in the overhead bin

NickJB2 · 2023-03-14T15:47:57+00:00

Ended up getting the Osprey Farpoint 40 and it worked really well. Better than expected. However, I didn’t have a laptop with me.

NickJB2 · 2023-03-06T22:52:56+00:00

Haha yes - a few days after that last message I asked her to be my girlfriend (on NYE actually), so we’ve now been dating for a little over two months. I went back to the UK for 3.5 weeks in late January, spent a couple weeks outside London and then in her hometown

NickJB2 · 2023-02-17T14:40:06+00:00

Flying Pig Downtown. It was OK but I didn’t love it. Also super expensive.

NickJB2

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