Yasaka Rising Dragon

ATTENTION! Hello “friends of this rubber!” Unfortunately, this rubber has been removed from the ITTF approval list! The Rising Dragon 2, however, is still approved. In the past, I was initially intrigued by this rubber’s high spin rating. However, when I read the trajectory ratings, my interest waned. Fortunately, I was able to get a used rubber a week ago (for very little money! ; -P) that I had only briefly tested. It’s a mystery to me why they claim this rubber has a flat trajectory. I was testing the Tibhar Hybrid K3 on the other side of the racket in parallel with it, and its arc wasn’t significantly higher! I initially tested the Yasaka on my forehand side (on the very fast XVT ZL Koto, outer blade), but subsequently found it better for my backhand side. And believe me, this rubber creates a nice arc! ; -P More facts: my black rubber with 2.15 mm sponge weighs 45 grams, cut to 155×149 mm. It’s sticky enough to hold the ball for a few seconds! Addendum, here are some table tennis basics; -P: stickiness describes whether a rubber can lift and hold the ball. Tackiness describes how well the rubber “grips” the ball and how well it can generate rotation.

Top-quality rubber from Yasaka, very similar in characteristics to Rakza Z, but with slightly more spin. Excellent spin potential, very good control, especially for touch shots in and around the net. It is fast enough if you have the technique.

I have been playing with Rising dragon for just over five months now on Butterfly Ai Fukuhara blade. Rising dragon is my primary FH rubber and for good reason. I play with T05 hard, H3 Neo provincial blue 40 degrees, Jupiter 3 asia and Nittaku H3 neo turbo blue sponge, but this is the best. When playing for the first time, you’ll be so happy, asking why would you ever need T05, Dignics, Tibhar K3, etc. It’s amazingly playable right out of the packet! Tacky, powerful, and high spin. After breaking into it for a month, passive flat hits and lazy forehands will NOT go over the net, and almost automatic spin is no longer there. Then I understood immediately, just like H3 neo and T05 hard, to get the best out of this rubber you need good topspin and loop discipline. This rubber is great for intermediate attacking players. The more you break into it, the more you will achieve the arc on the ball that you want. At times you feel that there is a tensor effect to it, which makes it so different to unboosted Chinese rubber. Therefore, I would compare it most to Tenergy 05 hard in terms of playability. I would also say that this is more suited to power topspin players, not those who want automatic spin from the rubber immediately, as it will make you work for it. This is absolutely one of the hidden gems in table tennis FH rubbers!