Ask The Experts: Jon Ebuen, No. 14

Blade: Schlager Carbon or Viscaria
Forehand: Tenergy 05
Backhand: Tenergy 05

Question: I have what you can call a problem between choosing which blade to use. I used to play for about 4 years with Schlager Carbon then recently I switched to Viscaria. When I play with Viscaria I am more aggressive I generate more spin and I love to loop with it. But my game in the past used to consist more of smash, fishing of the table and occasionally even chopping (yes with Schlager). So when I play Schlager I mostly tend to hit rather than loop as it is hard with this blade, and I also smash a lot. I had fair success with both blades but if I want to be a better player should I stay with Viscaria or go back to Schlager. What I like about: Schlager: Smash, hit, off table performance; Viscaria: loop, control, spin. One thing I also discovered that I do better with Schlager against defensive players and those who play faster rather than spin. Whereas with Viscaria I play better against spin players and average loopers. I am extremely confused. I have been playing for about 10 years and am currently 2000+/- ranking, but my biggest win was against 2300 player. Please suggest which blade I should stick with, or whether I should try something new and is there a blade that can smash like Schlager and loop like Viscaria?

Answer: Hi Joe,

Thank you for playing with Butterfly.

My suggestion if you want to be better is to stay with Viscaria, based from what you explained that you become more aggressive and generate more spin when looping.

I always tell my students to choose Spin over Smash (unless the ball is really high and close to net) and be more aggressive than defensive during match.

What Viscaria forces you to do is good for your game and I hope soon you’ll be able to figure out how to use Spin Drive in your game.

Good luck with your game.

Jon Ebuen
New York Table Tennis Academy