Long Pimples Overview

Long pimples (or long pips) are used by only a few top ranked players but reasonably common at the community level. I enjoy using long pips and collated some info that I think might be useful to those interested.

Here is a good article on how long pimples work https://gregsttpages.com/archives/equipment/rubbers/how-long-pips-really-work/ and which type of players suit the use of long pimples https://gregsttpages.com/archives/guides/how-to-play-with-long-pimpled-rubbers/who-should-use-long-pimples/

There is a small handful of successful players at the top level using long pips. For example:

  • As of Dec 2022, Manika Batra is the top Indian female player ranked 39 on ITTF. She uses Grass DTecs OX long pips and plays as an aggressive shakehand push blocker.

  • As of Dec 2022, Ni Xia Lian is ranked 42 on ITTF. She uses Victas Curl P-1R OX long pips and plays as an aggressive penhold push blocker. At the age of 59 now and still high ranking on ITTF, she is living proof of the longevity of the long pips playing style.

  • As of Dec 2022, Gionis Panagiotis is ranked 98 on ITTF and his best ITTF ranking was close to 20. He uses Feint Long II long pips and plays as a modern defender and chops with his long pips from mid or long distance from the table.

This is just to name a few.

How To Beat Long Pimples

Here are some good videos on how to beat long pips:

Intro to Using Long Pimples

Here are some good intro videos on how to use long pips.

Ti Long produces some of the best videos on table tennis and has some really good videos dedicated to long pips. Please check him out.

Nico and his team seem to frequently try out different long pimples and plays very admirably well with long pimples for both offense and defence.

Leo uses both long pips and anti-spin and plays as an aggressive push-blocker. He has an amazingly powerful forehand to complement his long pips. You can check out his other videos at his youtube channel https://www.youtube.com/@LeonardoArata

把永博 is a very good Chinese national player that plays penhold long pips. His tips in 把永博长胶教学 series are really good.

黄建疆 is a very good Chinese community player that plays penhold long pips. You can search youtube for videos with his name.

One of the more annoying parts of using long pips OX is the process of gluing it to the blade. Because it is so soft, it frequently crumples during the gluing process and you are unable to lay it flat on the blade. In comparison, gluing rubbers with sponges are much easier. When you buy the long pips, you can ask the shop to help you glue it. They are usually experienced at doing so and would save you many headaches. If you have to glue it yourself, you can try to follow the instructions in these videos:

I usually also do it differently myself. I would stretch out the long pips ox surface a bit and staple the 4 corners to a piece of thick paper or cardboard with the smooth surface exposed. The thick paper or cardboard gives the long pips ox rubber some strength while stretching it out, so it doesn’t crumple. Then I would apply glue to the smooth surface of the rubber and the blade, wait for the glue to dry a bit, then paste the smooth surface of the rubber to the blade. After that, I would use a scissors to cut off the excess long pips ox rubber.

Styles Using Long Pimples

Modern Defender - Characterized by the use of pips (usually long pips, sometimes short pips) in shakehand grip chopping at mid or long distance from the table. Typically has a strong forehand to attack whenever the opportunity arises. Usually uses sponge under the long pips as that is easier for chopping from mid or long distances from the table. Training for this style is somewhat difficult at the community level because to train as a modern defender, one would need enough space around the table to retreat to mid or long distance to chop and you would need training partners that can consistently loop to you for you to chop back. These conditions might be difficult to achieve at the community level.

Penhold Push-Blocker - Many Chinese players at the community play this style very well. Usually playing close to the table, such players usually use long pips OX on one side and inverted rubber (or occasionally short pips) on the other side. They might serve using the inverted rubber, twiddle to their long pips for parts of the rally, then when the opportunity arises, twiddle to inverted rubber to attack. Many good players using this style might also use reverse penhold backhand when the inverted rubber is on the backhand side.

Shakehand Push-Blocker - Such players primarily use long pips OX (or anti-spin) on their backhand side and inverted rubber on their forehand side. Typically they play close to the table if they can but if forced to, may chop from mid distance. On the forehand side, they might pretty much play like typical shakehand two-wing loopers but when the ball comes to their backhand side, they would block with their long pips and aim to control the game until they have the chance to attack with their forehand. Experienced players using this style may occasionally twiddle to use the inverted rubber on the backhand side to mix things up and attack.

Which Long Pimples

There are many brands of long pimples and different people on forums and youtube have different recommendations.

These are the ones I have tried myself and generally quite like them:

  • Dawei 388D. This is a very popular Chinese long pips rubber. Possibly cheaper than the rest listed below and overall good but did not stand out in any particular way. 把永博 uses this.

  • Dawei Saviga. This is a pretty good Chinese long pips rubber.

  • Yinhe LeiLeiLei. This is my current favourite. Lei Lei Lei is a very experienced long pips player from China. He tested out many long pip rubbers and worked with Yinhe to manufacture this particular Yinhe LeiLeiLei long pips model. Compared to other long pips rubbers, I find this generally quite forgiving, but quite weak offensively.

  • Sauer & Troger - Hellfire X. My second favourite. Overall pretty good in all departments of blocking, chopping, attacking.

  • Grass DTecs. A favourite amongst non-Chinese players like Manika Batra. Disruptive effect is pretty strong and can be used fairly offensively. I find this rubber somewhat harder to get used to compared to the rest but it really does seem more offensive than the others.

  • Dr Neubauer Troublemaker. I find this quite a balanced long pips rubber that is reasonably forgiving too. Generally good for blocking, chopping, attacking, but in my opinion does not stand out in any particular department.

  • TSP/Victas Curl P1. With 0.5mm or 1.0mm sponge, I think this rubber is great and consistent for chopping at least mid distance from the table. The great Joo Sae Hyuk used this rubber.

Long Pimple Strokes

Many of the strokes for the long pips surface are different from the strokes used with inverted rubber. Typical strokes are listed below.

Defensive Strokes

  • Block (挡) - Usually used on backhand side close to table against top-spin balls. Could be a passive block or a more active block.

  • Chop-Block (磕) - Usually used on backhand side close to table against top-spin balls. This generally imparts more back-spin than just a regular block.

  • Chop (削) - Usually used on backhand side further from table or forehand side any distance from table against top-spin balls. This generally imparts more spin than block or chop-block.

Offensive Strokes

  • Punch (拱) - Usually used on backhand side against back-spin balls.

  • Swipe (撇) - Usually used on backhand side against back-spin balls. Frequently used as an alternative to punch to aim down the line.

  • Hit (刮) - Usually used on forehand side against back-spin balls.

  • Smash (杀) - Usually used on either backhand or forehand side against high balls.

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