DinkAlot
07-10-2007, 10:00 AM
...This first rambling is about revenge.
...Revenge in badminton is not my thing. I play badminton for fun first and foremost; second for exercise, third for camaraderie and a distant fourth, competition. However, I have to admit, even this panda was on Cloud 9 when he got revenge on "John" from a local gym.
Nearly 2 years ago, every week for 4 months, I would play against "John" in doubles. John was the best player at a local gym. It didn't matter who my partner was, I would get beaten, bad. John has a great underhand and would win 4 of 5 points from me just from trick and skill shots. John never needed to attack. I never beat John once and left losing 15-8, 15-10 (the closest I ever got to him). I left to play at SGVBC and had not seen John in almost 2 years. Last week, by chance, I went back to the old gym and saw John. He immediately saw me and we played. Our partners were about equal and just before my first serve, I wondered if I could come close to beating John. Psychologically, I still was apprehensive about John's game. His underhand, his trickery, his skill was so much better than mine. Anyway, time for me to serve...
...10 minutes later, I was serving again and it was 14-2, I was winning! 15-2, first game to me! This seemingly unbeatable, master trickster was now easily beaten, at least the first set. Maybe John is tricking me? Did I improve that much? Couldn't be. What's John up to? Hmmmm...second set to come...
...10 minutes later, 6-6, my partner is serving and I think to myself, "This is more what I thought would happen." But then I continue to think to myself, "Have I been letting up?" The answer "Yes." I told myself I needed to attack relentlessly, go all out, bombarding John. Another 10 minutes later, 14-8, I'm serving for the game...15-8, we win!
...Oh my goodness, what just happened? I just beat John. I never dreamed I could beat John. I'm kind of in a daze, slight euphoria, though it hasn't fully hit me, yet. Questions go through my mind, "Did John let me?" "Did I win because I attacked his partner? No, I hit everything at John, I made it a point." "What's going on here?!?!?!"
...45 minutes later, John comes back with another partner. His partner is stronger than my partner but...let's play... I go "all out". The game is much closer but in the end, I prevail 15-8, 15-11, hitting everything at/challenging John.
Moral of the story: train hard, play hard, have fun and maybe one day you can beat someone you never beat before.
Caveat: if you think you're going to beat Lin Dan in singles or Tony Gunawan in doubles...keep dreaming! :p
-------------------
Gosen BS810: Thanks to Kikks9, so far an amazing string! It's a 0.70mm string that plays like a 0.67mm string. Durability so far is very good. Easy to string, excellent control, feel, touch, holds tension. There's nothing to nit pick about except availability (so far). If BS810 continues to play like this with minimal performance deterioration, it will be my favorite and go to string.
-------------------
SHB-100LTD: panda finally tracked down a pair. What duh?! Size: 12.0 fits tight, tighter than the regular 100-MX. Again, what duh?! This is the exact opposite of the SHB-99 where the LTDs are noticeably wider than the MX. Yonex, you get a "Grrrrrrrr" from this panda but only a slight one because...
...oh my, as I expected, the LTDs are the best shoes I have ever tried. Yes, a bit tight but coupled with Super Feet Blue, the shoe is incredible. If you are in the market for badminton shoes, the SHB-100LTD should be your first choice.
-------------------
Cab 22: can you say "Hammer Time?!" I finally received a Cab22, strung it and started hammering away. 10 minutes of rallying and it's a stiff, very solid, very powerful racket. 15 smashes in, I misDINK and break the string. Bad panda!
-------------------
Shuttle Review and Racket Bag Review coming, maybe by the weekend. I'm starting to re-purchase the old shuttles I've tested again because:
1) Shuttle consistency has changed in the last 2 years
2) Panda's memory is kind of fuzzy about many shuttles, I don't want to "best guess" anything; at least keep it to a minimum.
-------------------
Conclusion: I still cannot believe I beat John, BS810 is a crazy string, the Cab 22 is everything I thought it would be, at least for 15 smashes; reviews are time consuming and SHB-100LTD: get it!
Panda out, AMEN!
...Revenge in badminton is not my thing. I play badminton for fun first and foremost; second for exercise, third for camaraderie and a distant fourth, competition. However, I have to admit, even this panda was on Cloud 9 when he got revenge on "John" from a local gym.
Nearly 2 years ago, every week for 4 months, I would play against "John" in doubles. John was the best player at a local gym. It didn't matter who my partner was, I would get beaten, bad. John has a great underhand and would win 4 of 5 points from me just from trick and skill shots. John never needed to attack. I never beat John once and left losing 15-8, 15-10 (the closest I ever got to him). I left to play at SGVBC and had not seen John in almost 2 years. Last week, by chance, I went back to the old gym and saw John. He immediately saw me and we played. Our partners were about equal and just before my first serve, I wondered if I could come close to beating John. Psychologically, I still was apprehensive about John's game. His underhand, his trickery, his skill was so much better than mine. Anyway, time for me to serve...
...10 minutes later, I was serving again and it was 14-2, I was winning! 15-2, first game to me! This seemingly unbeatable, master trickster was now easily beaten, at least the first set. Maybe John is tricking me? Did I improve that much? Couldn't be. What's John up to? Hmmmm...second set to come...
...10 minutes later, 6-6, my partner is serving and I think to myself, "This is more what I thought would happen." But then I continue to think to myself, "Have I been letting up?" The answer "Yes." I told myself I needed to attack relentlessly, go all out, bombarding John. Another 10 minutes later, 14-8, I'm serving for the game...15-8, we win!
...Oh my goodness, what just happened? I just beat John. I never dreamed I could beat John. I'm kind of in a daze, slight euphoria, though it hasn't fully hit me, yet. Questions go through my mind, "Did John let me?" "Did I win because I attacked his partner? No, I hit everything at John, I made it a point." "What's going on here?!?!?!"
...45 minutes later, John comes back with another partner. His partner is stronger than my partner but...let's play... I go "all out". The game is much closer but in the end, I prevail 15-8, 15-11, hitting everything at/challenging John.
Moral of the story: train hard, play hard, have fun and maybe one day you can beat someone you never beat before.
Caveat: if you think you're going to beat Lin Dan in singles or Tony Gunawan in doubles...keep dreaming! :p
-------------------
Gosen BS810: Thanks to Kikks9, so far an amazing string! It's a 0.70mm string that plays like a 0.67mm string. Durability so far is very good. Easy to string, excellent control, feel, touch, holds tension. There's nothing to nit pick about except availability (so far). If BS810 continues to play like this with minimal performance deterioration, it will be my favorite and go to string.
-------------------
SHB-100LTD: panda finally tracked down a pair. What duh?! Size: 12.0 fits tight, tighter than the regular 100-MX. Again, what duh?! This is the exact opposite of the SHB-99 where the LTDs are noticeably wider than the MX. Yonex, you get a "Grrrrrrrr" from this panda but only a slight one because...
...oh my, as I expected, the LTDs are the best shoes I have ever tried. Yes, a bit tight but coupled with Super Feet Blue, the shoe is incredible. If you are in the market for badminton shoes, the SHB-100LTD should be your first choice.
-------------------
Cab 22: can you say "Hammer Time?!" I finally received a Cab22, strung it and started hammering away. 10 minutes of rallying and it's a stiff, very solid, very powerful racket. 15 smashes in, I misDINK and break the string. Bad panda!
-------------------
Shuttle Review and Racket Bag Review coming, maybe by the weekend. I'm starting to re-purchase the old shuttles I've tested again because:
1) Shuttle consistency has changed in the last 2 years
2) Panda's memory is kind of fuzzy about many shuttles, I don't want to "best guess" anything; at least keep it to a minimum.
-------------------
Conclusion: I still cannot believe I beat John, BS810 is a crazy string, the Cab 22 is everything I thought it would be, at least for 15 smashes; reviews are time consuming and SHB-100LTD: get it!
Panda out, AMEN!