Putting it into Practice
Ok, so you've got your new 'evil' weapon, what strategy do you use to make the most of it? Well there's two parts to this (1) when you serve (2) when you receive:
1. When You Serve:
Put as much backspin and/or sidespin on the ball with your tacky rubber by brushing the ball with a forward action underneath (and sideways for sidespin). With these rubbers this is much easier to do, but will still take a little practice. This will probably win you quite a few points outright, but some will come back. When it comes back, it will invariably have significant spin coming back, either your own, or spin that your opponent imparts. Hit the next shot with the long pimple rubber, don't hit it hard or try to attack it, but try to keep it low as possible but make sure it's on the table.
The long pimple rubber will actually reverse the spin that's coming towards you, which will produce very unpredictable bounces and balls. Chances are high that your opponent will miss the ball, or pop it up high so that you can put the next one away, so be ready. If he returns it, continue the rally by either spinning the ball with your tacky rubber, or gently returning it with your pimple rubber.
If you find your opponent is good enough to get used to your spinny serves, and adjust for it, do a similar looking serve with your long pimple rubber, and enjoy the results. Your opponent will adjust for spin that's not there, and this will force errors or easy balls to put away.
2. When You Receive:
If your opponent uses a lot of spin in his serves, try and return them all with the long pimple rubber. This will return most of his own spin back to him, and will get himself into trouble. If he serves with very little spin, try and return it with your spinny rubber if you can. If he returns this, some spin will be returned back to you, so you hit the next one with your long pimple rubber, and try and force another error.
Conclusion
Now I'm not saying this is going to be really easy, as it will take you a little time to learn how to use the rubbers, and adjust to them. It would be best to have some practice with the bat against some other players to adjust to the rubbers, before you embark on your mission of 'destroying the bullies'. Note that attacking with the long pimple rubbers is not recommended, as these techniques are more advanced, but for blocking and chopping they are fairly easy to use at any level.This type of bat and strategy IS actually used in high-level competition, and are even used by a few of the top players in the world. At the higher levels however, it takes a great deal of skill and practice to be effective, and these simple strategies covered here simply won't work. This style of play does add another exciting aspect to the game, and can be a lot of fun at any level. There are numerous different types of rubbers, and blades, all having some different characteristics and requiring some different strategies.
There is a lot more to these types of bats than what's covered here, and a lot more strategies that can be employed. If you've enjoyed this guide, or wish to read more about other rubbers or strategies, you could visit the author's website or forum for more information.
Rubber and blade Options:
Long pimple rubbers:
Friendship 755 OX, Friendship 837 OX, Dawei 388D-1 OX, Milkyway 955 OX
Inverted (spinny) rubber:
729 FX, 729, Globe 999, Globe Magicwand
Blade (if required):
Galaxy 961, Galaxy 896, Dawei Kama, LKT Instinct, Globe whirl wind 582
