Need solution or advice.

Discussion in 'Racket Recommendation / Comparison' started by ants, Nov 1, 2003.

  1. ants

    ants Regular Member

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    I'm not going to start another thread that will have another so called "Tension and Power".

    Anyway my rackets is currently strung at 28/29lbs sometimes 30lbs. But recently i've decided to strung one of my racket at 26lbs. My observation is that my smashes are very weak!!! Sometimes i find it hard to smash and my arms hurt at times trying to smash at 26lbs. And i tends to swing harder than usual to generate power in smashes

    Compare to my usual tension at 28/29lbs...i find it easier to smash with power. And i don't really use the effort to smash hard but it has more power.

    My frens also realised this coz most of the time they have hard time receiving my smashes. But when i use my racket at 26lbs. they quoted " What happened Ants?, Now i can return your smashes." Which after that i jokingly look irritated and switch back to other racket with higher tension. :)

    So is there a problem with my swings? I don't really want to adjust and adapt to 26lbs. I was just trying it. If you guys have any experiences in that, please share it and we will try to indentify what is the cause of it.
     
  2. Dill

    Dill Regular Member

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    From experience the higher the tension I use the more accurate the smash, power is more subjective, it may be that you have to try and get used to the 26.

    I went from 23 to 30 and found my smash more accurate but was unsure about the power of it and after a few sessions I got used to it, after I went to 35 the aim was still good but the power was gone. And when I went to 40 the aim was good and the power was up although it kills your forearm.

    Is it possible that the accuracy has diminished and not the power and that is why your partners are getting your smashes back? If it is power than may I suggest going up in tension to 35 (only if you use a racket that can handle such tensions) I used the Carlton AS1 which is able to take tensions of up to 40lbs no problem
     
  3. cooler

    cooler Regular Member

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    what string are u using? bg 65 or 85?
     
  4. ttktom

    ttktom Regular Member

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    28/29 LBs i Use 22 Lbs and thats my limit. well i dunno just go wiv wot u play best at :)
     
  5. ants

    ants Regular Member

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    Dill : I do agree that when i play on a higher tension , the accuracy is there. But i did ask my playing partners to give me their comments. They find that my smashes are more powerful when i strung at higher tension.


    Cooler : I am currently using Bg68ti. For both rackets. i'm planning to try to switch to bg65ti.
     
  6. cooler

    cooler Regular Member

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    ants, the performance envelop of 68ti is least understood by me, that's why i don't use it. 65ti at 28 lbs would perform well.
     
  7. ants

    ants Regular Member

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    Thanks for the suggestion. :)
     
  8. ruth1

    ruth1 Regular Member

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    just to clarify, even though the high tension generates a powerful smash, control is lost, right?
     
  9. cappy75

    cappy75 Regular Member

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    I think, in Ant's case, it's just a matter of getting used to a new tension. We have to take into account that size of the sweetspot decreases with every tension increment, so a player maybe hitting on the sweetspot with frequency but he will have less margin for error. As power is generated from the player, he'll probably get back to his former level once he get used to hitting it right. Of course, this is moot point for Ant since he's just experimenting.

    IMHO, control is definitely more enhanced with higher tension. This higher tension = more power issue is quite vigorous in the forum. Is it possible that because more players are stringing at higher tension as they progress in their development, people equate higher tension with more power and not better skills or more experience for more power? Perhaps experienced and advanced players who played for a long time at a tension level could comment on this issue and give some balance to this issue.
     
    #9 cappy75, Nov 1, 2003
    Last edited: Nov 1, 2003
  10. jayes

    jayes Regular Member

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    I don't usually immerse myself in tension/power/control discussion because it is specific to the player. Depends on the player's experience and ability, a high or low tension might yield different result than another player. However, I much enjoy reading about tension that people wrote. :eek:

    Now, back to Ant's inquiry. Let me share with you my limited experience regarding tension. To me, there is a range of tensions that I am comfortable playing. Playing at different tension (which is still within the range) than normal requires different technique to yield more or less the desired effect when playing at my regular tension (yes, there is a way to dampen or increase power but that would be very different topic ;) ). Playing out of this range of tensions would be useless to me and I need to re-string.

    HTH.
     

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