The basic set of equipment for the sport of Taiji Bailong Ball (TBB) consists of a racket and a ball. The racket has an elastic surface and weighs between 100g and 200g. The ball contains a small amount of sand, weighs between 50g and 55g, and has a diameter of 65mm.
The weight of the racket is mainly determined by the material used to make the frame. TBB rackets are currently available with frames made of plastic (PL), aluminium (AL) or carbon fibre (CA). Rackets are sold with the following types of standard grip: a rubber sheath, an anti-slip tape or an anti-perspiration foam rubber tape. Players often modify the grip to fit the size of their hands or to suit their personal preferences.
The balls used for playing TBB are special because they contain an inert mass (sand). That is why the ball doesn’t bounce when it is dropped on the ground. There are three different types of TBB ball: the felt ball, the leather ball and the rubber ball. Felt and leather balls are hard and cannot be squeezed. The rubber ball is inflatable and can be squeezed, making it ideal for children and for small rooms.
Perfect mastery of TBB depends partly on the player’s own physical and mental effort, but also to a large extent on the equipment used. Different degrees of racket surface elasticity lead to different degrees of difficulty:
- Beginners: Racket surface is soft, sagging visibly below the plane of the racket.
- Advanced: Racket surface sags less than 5mm below the horizontal.
- Pro: Racket surface is as hard as a board.
Further differentiations, especially for TBB Soloplay, are also possible by varying the type of ball used:
- Easy: rubber ball inflated to soft level.
- Medium: rubber ball inflated to normal level, or leather ball.
- Difficult: rubber ball inflated to hard level, or felt ball.
Because of the many different variations and degrees of difficulty, the equipment that may be used in competition is defined in advance. For more on this subject, see Tournaments.
If you would like to buy TBB equipment, please visit the (online) shops operated by our Partners or contact any qualified Trainer.