Joola Chen Weixing

Joola Chen Weixing - A perfect blade for modern defenders

As the name of this blade already suggests, it was developed in cooperation with Chen Weixing. Chen was born in China in 1972 (Inner Mongolia). In China, he was among the top 15 table tennis players. This was, however, not sufficient to really support him. Hence, he decided to move to Europe. He was one of the best defensive players worldwide (world ranking 9 in 2006. Currently, he is a coach at the Werner Schlager Academy in Schwechat, Austria.

Now let us talk about the Joola Chen Weixing. This blade weighs about 89g and has a structure of 7 veneers (thickness approx. 5.7 mm). The veneers are made of several wood types: Limba, Koto, Kiri, and Black-Cloth. But how do these wood types contribute to the behavior of this table tennis blade?

Joola Chen Weixing - The veneers under closer examination

The Joola Chen Weixing is considered to constitute a DEF / ALL blade. This is due to the core (inner) veneer made of Kiri. This means that the soul of this blade corresponds to properties Kiri exhibits. Kiri is a tree native to Central and West China. However, cultivations of this tree can also be found in Japan, Korea or North America. The tree may reach a height of approx. 15 m. Kiri is quite light (density: 300 kg/m³), not very strong (Young´s modulus: 4,380 N/mm²), and not very hard (Janka hardness: 250). Hence, the softness of Kiri provides much control, feedback, and feeling. It decreases the overall speed of the blade. The next two layers surrounding the Kiri core at both sides constitute Black-Cloth which additionally increases the amount of control of this table tennis blade.

The next two layers are made of Koto. This wood mediates a somewhat faster and spinnier characteristics. Koto grows in West Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, and Cameroon, and is a tree approx. 30 m tall, with a trunk diameter of about 1 m. Koto is medium heavy (590 kg/m³), but quite hard (Janka hardness: 950), and quite strong (Young´s modulus: 9,000 N/mm²). Koto plies are so called classical plies which are well-known for their fast and spinny gaming behavior!

Last but not least, the outer (finishing) veneers are made of Limba. Limba is a tree usually native to regions south of the equator. The trees exhibit a height of up to 45 m, and their trunk reach a diameter of up to about 1.5 m. Limba is medium-hard (Janka hardness: 430), medium-dense (520 kg/m³), and quite strong (Young´s modulus: 9,400 N/mm²). This emphasizes the suitability of this blade when doing faster strokes, e.g. topspins. As you might recall, Chen Weixing is well-known for his quite fast topspins. Hence, it is not too surprising that Limba is usually known as a topspin wood, which is also quite fast, but not very elastic / springy. Still, Limba has a soft feeling and quite a bit of control.

Joola Chen Weixing - Brief summary

From the above-mentioned properties you can see that the the Joola Chen Weixing is a table tennis blade which exhibits extra great control, feedback, and sensitivity (mainly achieved due to Kiri core and Black-Cloth layers). At the same time, this blade also allows faster and more powerful strokes, such as fast topspins or fast chops (medium speed). This is mainly achieved by the properties of Koto and Limba. Hence, this blade is really suitable for modern defenders or allrounders (gaming styles DEF to ALL). The Joola Chen Weixing is considered to be slightly top-heavy with a large-sized head.