Piggy backing off some success I had with playing a combination bat game of inverted/short pips from the Lincoln Open, I decided to up the up the ante in the deception game and replaced the short pips with a spare sheet of long pips I had laying around. What a difference.
I started out playing a doubles match where my partner and I were generally outclassed yet we won the match. After getting beat in the Lincoln Open 1-3 by a particular individual, I took the rematch 3-0 with this new setup. The theme continued throughout the night.
Playing the combination bat game with penhold has a nice perk I can see over the traditional shakehand. If a shakehander wants to hit an aggressive backhand, where his long pips might be, he might have to twiddle to his inverted and attack that ball. When you play a combination bat game with penhold, I could play an entire match hitting from both wings with my inverted rubber should I choose to. This is done by using the traditional penhold backhand which I have been using the majority of my life. This is my standard attacking game.
Of course utilizing the pips is where the deception comes in. From here I have a lot of options. I can always chop or block with the RPB long pips side should I need to. Lastly I could always twiddle opening up more options for the use of long pips while keeping in mind I still have an aggressive stroke in my bag of tricks as the inverted is now on the RPB side. The possibilities go on and on and can give your opponent a lot to think about.
Last night I was primarily using the long pips in service receive and on my service.
In service return the long pips really shine. The more advanced the serve the opponent tries to throw at me in regards to spin, the more he will face himself and i simply push block those balls right back to him. After some time I was beginning to find players dumbing down their serve so as to not have something as tricky to work with on their 3rd ball. Once this happens I now have the opportunity to again begin receiving with my inverted side and attacking if I can.
The long pips really added another element of deception to my service game. As long as I hid the the blade, either below the table or behind my body, until the moment of contact, I could force my opponent to take in a lot of factors quickly. Not only did they have to read my spin based on my motion, but also quickly determine if I was using the inverted or pips side. It proved largely successful.
Suddenly passive, safe pushes & blocks have the feel of an aggressive one. I feel like I am on the attack with these easy, defensive shots. The ball might drop short on them causing them to reach. It might wobble in the air throwing off their timing or the spin might be completely reversed causing them to mishit the ball in the net or several feet off the table. It makes me grin just watching their befuddlement.
Certainly I realize they will adjust in time and find ways to handle the long pips with different tactics. Furthermore, higher ranking players I play will not be fooled as easily. Having said that, while they will eventually adjust, so will I. I feel as though my long pip game is just in its infant stage. There is so much to grow. Better understanding of exactly what spin I am creating when I apply my strokes. Better technique on more aggressive offensive shots (see the videos below) vs simply sticking my paddle out there and hoping they make an error. More experience on playing long pips on my forehand side during entire points for variation to my game. It will be exciting to see where this progresses.
Because finding long pip penholders is fairly difficult, below is a small collection of a couple players who are my current inspiration. I'm probably looking to play more off of my inverted side than these players do but their style is a good start for what I am looking for.
If you know of others, feel free to share.
Wang Jian Jiang
(short pip black, long pip red) 1:19 he becomes facing the camera to best see what he is doing)
Shang Yuan Yuan
(long pip black, inverted red)
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