Hi all,
Newbie Akali player here (bronze and climbing, M6). Every game I do sorcs > gunblade > shadowflame, then hourglass, raba, void in no particular order. I also exclusively take Electrocute
Is there a matchup I should be building something else? I know there’s a more bruiser Conq build but when would I build that? Is there ever a time where I do dark seal?
Basically self explanatory. I noticed that a handful of penhold players at my local club are TPB players, some played inverted, others did short pips TPB (kinda like liu guoliang). I also noticed that most of them loom around 1700-1900 USATT, with the best one being around 2000 USATT. Does anyone else's club have TPB players? How good are they?
Hi all!
After a solid 3-4 months of tomfoolery with tensors on my forehand, I have finally gone back to my terribly mean and evil ex: Hurricane 3.
I chose to experiment with Tensors because I wanted something more forgiving than H3 and with a decent lifespan unlike hybrids like K3. I found 2 things with tensors like G1, R7, and D05: 1. I lacked the same control/variation and 2. I lacked the same quality.
In terms of control/variation, I was able to execute basic shots (loop, drive, push, counter, etc.) but they all felt as though I was just getting the ball over, rather than truly choosing where I could put the ball. Yes, the ball is getting over and yes I can win some nice points, but I got sick of everything kind of going to predestined parts of the table. With H3, I definitely find it harder to get outright winners, but being able to vary placement has been better for my mental and worse for my opponents’. Additionally, I found it really hard to loop some half long balls and do “sky loops” where I brush very thinly and it bounces twice with topspin on the other side.
In terms of quality, at first glance, my loops and such using D05 have much better quality. The spin and depth is amazing, but of course the above mentioned tradeoffs. I thought to myself “huh that seems off,” the H3 I played for most of my non-premade career certainly had more quality than what I felt the first few hours of using it. So I recorded myself, and BOY DID IT LOOK S**T. Zero weight transfer, zero kinetic chain, kinda just using my arm to do some BS and getting the ball over. I realized that playing with tensors kind of made me lazier as I truly just let the rubber do most of the work for me. Now, I’m adjusting more back to H3 and getting the rhythm back, I feel more athletic and the quality is slowly coming back. I feel punished for being lazy, and yes it sucks, but it has urged me to 1. Do better and 2. Take care of myself so I can actually play properly (stretch, warmup, cross train, etc.)
TL;DR, I love Hurricane because it’s my tried and true and it really pushes me to do my best. I hate Hurricane because it’s my tried and true and it really pushes me until I hurt. Plus, the harder route can be more rewarding, especially if it’s called Hurricane
I hope at least one other person out here can echo this paradox, if not, well at least I know Hurricane has me.
Hi y’all, I wanted to try out some H3 alternatives but don’t know where to buy them. I was looking at Loki Rxton rubbers and Yinhe rubbers.
Anyone have a link or anything? Also which ones wouldn’t need boosting?
Hi y'all, I've been on a grind to refine my footwork, esp over these next few months before collegiate season starts again. I have two particular footwork questions:
As a rightie, after stepping in with my right foot to push/flick, should I kick off with both feet into a neutral position, step back with my right foot to a neutral but close to the table position, or something else? I know it's probably situation (like say I want to go for a FH pivot) but what's the general rule of thumb of moving in and out, two feet or one at the time or what?
The main thing I struggle with is moving from a pivot position back to a wide forehand. I know this is just a hard ball in general, but I fear I don't grasp how I should move my feet without breaking my ankles. Do I step out with my right foot first then drag my left foot along or push of with my left foot and try to find the right spot with my right foot?
I would attach a video of like the movements I'm trying to describe but I fear I can't. If you understand what I'm trying to say and have some 2 cents, please do tell!
Does anyone ever boost non-Chinese rubbers merely to expand them? I normally cut my rubbers a little big so if I try something new and don’t like them I can always put the old one. But after the second go around, I sometimes put a really thin layer of booster to let the sponge expand and kind of wait for the booster to wear off then just use it. Not good as new but certainly saves me money!
Anyone else do this?