...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! ------------------- 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!
I never told Coach Alex and he's not the one I beat. I've taken down Coach Alex four times already, twice with Ba Su and twice with Don Van. But then again, he's taken me down 200+ times. Oh and we didn't take down Coach Alex each time, we took down his partner. I'll never take down Coach Alex, at least not in this lifetime.
Congratulations for beating John! Believe it! It's amazing at how we improve our skills in a few years huh? I can picture the view on John's side. He's most probably not training or practicing at all rather just playing for fun each club night. Nevertheless he's a good player. Was "John" ever mean to you in the past? When we improve, it's usually due to some work we put in. Usually hard work pays off in the long run.
No, I just wonder what Alex says if you well him about your revange. It's like Aniken tell Yoda about his story. You know...
No, John is a gentleman. He doesn't say much, he grins and nods a lot. A very nice guy. His underhand is really good. If I had half his shots...I'd have four times the fun!
Coach Alex doesn't know the guy and John wasn't my Yoda. Hmmmm, who's my Yoda? I guess it would have to be Coach Don...soon to be Coach Chris.
Some strings and Phiten sample I save away for the NGP. I only had 2 and I used up 1 for myself. Don't ask me where I applied it on (performance enhancing, body part that need a lot of blood float). Kwun will not allow me to post it.
Dink it! That's some performance enhancing device. Master NGP will have instant gratification when he uses it .
I believe the NGP will out smart every one he plays or out smash every one on the court if he apply it to the right body part.
