The book, at a glance.
Six parts, twenty chapters, one hundred and forty-nine sections. Meant to be read linearly or consulted by topic. Each section is a self-contained unit.
Opening—
Prologue
—Why this book and who it's for→
I
Fundamentals
What a bat is, what happens at impact, and the vocabulary you will hear for the rest of your life.
Chapter1
How a table tennis bat works
1.1The bat as a system: blade + sponge + topsheet→1.2What happens at impact: the milliseconds of contact→1.3Energy, deformation and restitution→1.4The sweet spot and the spread of impact→1.5Full anatomy of a bat: head, neck, handle→1.6Handle shapes: FL, ST, AN, Chinese and Japanese penhold→1.7Shakehand vs. penhold: two grip philosophies→
Chapter2
The vocabulary of equipment
2.1Speed: what it really measures and what it does not→2.2Control: the most misunderstood concept in table tennis→2.3Spin: generation, sensitivity and reception→2.4Catapult effect: what it is and when it helps→2.5Dwell time: the silent variable→2.6Hardness, stiffness and flex→2.7Weight, balance and swingweight→2.8How to read manufacturers' numerical scales→2.9Quick glossary of cross-cutting terms→
Chapter3
ITTF rules applied to the player
3.1The bat: dimensions, composition and minimum wood→3.2Sponge: maximum total thickness and what it implies→3.3Rubber colours: from red/black to the current rules→3.4ITTF marking and the LARC list of approved rubbers→3.5VOCs, boosters and the evolution of the rules→3.6Assembly rules in competition→3.7What really affects the club player and what does not→
II
The rubbers
What a rubber is made of, how it is built and why each type behaves as it does.
Chapter4
The rubber from the inside
4.1Topsheet: compounds, manufacture, pimple grain→4.2Sponge: density, hardness, thickness→4.3Hardness scales: ESN, DHS, Butterfly and how to compare→4.4How a rubber is made: the basic industrial process→4.5Glue and its part in final performance→4.6The working life of a rubber: what degrades and why→
Chapter5
Inverted rubbers
5.1Operating principle: why they generate so much spin→5.2Tensor rubbers: the revolution of the 2000s→5.3Chinese tacky rubbers: Hurricane and family→5.4Japanese/European versus Chinese rubbers→5.5Hybrid rubbers: the current trend→5.6Sponge hardness: soft, medium, hard→5.7Sponge thickness: the real implications→5.8Reference models: European and Japanese→5.9Reference models: Chinese→5.10The “perfect” rubber: why it does not exist→
Chapter6
III
The blades
The silent skeleton. Five plies, seven plies, composite. What each construction does.
Chapter8
Chapter9
All-wood blades
9.1The all-wood philosophy: feeling and control→9.2Core species: ayous, kiri, balsa, limba, abachi→9.3Outer species: hinoki, koto, limba, walnut→9.4Five-ply constructions: the classic reference→9.5Seven-ply constructions: stiffness and power→9.6Special constructions: solid hinoki and rarities→9.7Historic reference models→9.8When all-wood is still the best choice→
IV
Combination and assembly
How the top half marries the bottom half. And how to do it well without spoiling the whole.
Chapter11
Chapter12
Chapter13
Practical assembly and maintenance
13.1Rubber glue: types, application, curing→13.2Trimming the rubber: technique and mistakes→13.3Protecting the edges: side tape→13.4Common mistakes when gluing→13.5Cleaning rubbers: what to use and what not→13.6Storage: case, temperature, humidity→13.7When a rubber is finished→13.8When a blade is finished→13.9Basic repairs: edges, handle, bubbles→
Chapter14
Boosting, VOCs and the grey area
14.1What boosting is and why it exists→14.2From banned speed glue to the modern boost→14.3What a boost physically does to a rubber→14.4The ITTF rules and what happens in practice→14.5Chinese tradition against European and Japanese→14.6Tuning oils: what is on the market→14.7The risks: damage, disqualification, health→14.8The book’s position: informing without prescribing→
V
The player and their equipment
Diagnosis before purchase. Style, age, physique, distance. The equipment each body calls for.
Chapter15
Chapter16
Playing styles and their bats
16.1The modern two-winged attacker→16.2The traditional penhold attacker→16.3Penhold with a reverse backhand (RPB)→16.4The allrounder: the most underrated style→16.5The modern defender (chopper)→16.6The close blocker and counter-attacker→16.7The “tricky” player with atypical equipment→16.8What bat each style calls for→
VI
Deciding well
The market, its traps, the persistent myths, and how not to go wrong buying.
Chapter18
The market and the buying guide
Chapter19
Mistakes when buying equipment
19.1Buying by imitation: the champion’s equipment→19.2Overestimating one’s own level→19.3Changing too often: equipment junkie syndrome→19.4Not trying before buying→19.5Ignoring the physical factor and age→19.6Being swayed by reviews without context→19.7Confusing “more expensive” with “better for me”→19.8The placebo effect of new equipment→
Chapter20
Equipment myths and legends
20.1“Expensive rubbers play themselves”→20.2“Carbon is only for professionals”→20.3“Chinese rubbers are useless without boost”→20.4“More thickness = more speed”→20.5“Rubbers have to be changed every three months”→20.6“Pimples are cheating”→20.7“Ready-made bats are all bad”→20.8“Equipment does not matter if the player is good”→
VII
Annexes
The hardness scales that cannot be converted, and how to navigate between them.
Chapter21
Annex A. Hardness scales