Site Products
Coach Truong Tu

Ask The Experts: Truong Tu, No. 406

Posted on

Butterfly Table Tennis Question and Answer

Question:  I am looking to upgrade my racket setup to match my play style. I play with the Chinese or hold grip and do use the backhand to impart a backhand smash and an occasional flick. I use the front primarily and have found I tend to focus heavily on spunky serves and then prefer to attack but like to use spunky returns as well. What do you recommend? I do not have a Chinese penhold blade and am interested in getting one but do not know if it would benefit me.

Answer: 

image004

This Ask the Experts question was answered by Truong Tu. Truong plays at the Silicon Valley Table Tennis Club in San Jose, CA. Coach Tu’s response is as follows:

Hi Isaac,  Per your description, your game is heavily based on serve and attack as well as tricky return to setup your attack.  Therefore, I would recommend an actual penhold blade that will free your wrist more to create more spin and flexibility on your serve and return.   You can use the Innerforce Layer ALC.S CS blade which has 5 plies of wood for control and spin, plus two plies of Arylate/Carbon for power when you attack, both forehand and backhand.  
 
Best of luck, 
 

Contact our Experts with your table tennis equipment question.

Latest News

MLTT Week 2 Preview: Action heads to Willowbrook

September 20, 2026
(by Steve Hopkins, photo MLTT) Major League Table Tennis moves to Compass Arena in Willowbrook, Illinois, this weekend,… Read More

WAB CLUB FEATURE: Boston Table Tennis Club

September 20, 2026
(by Steve Hopkins) The Boston Table Tennis Club is in Medford, just North of Cambridge and Somerville and only… Read More

USA Sweeps ITTF Americas U11 & U13 Championships

September 20, 2026
(by Steve Hopkins, photo ITTF) The United States ran the table at home as the ITTF Americas U11… Read More

Dang Qiu Ascends in Astana

September 20, 2026
(by Steve Hopkins, photo ITTFWorld) The top two seeds reached the Final at the WTT Star Contender series… Read More

Carlos Hernandez – Florida Open vs Daniel Gorak

September 20, 2026
(by: Bowmar Sports) In this Bowmar Sports Tournament Highlights, Carlos Hernandez is in action again Daniel Gorak at… Read More

Anav Gupta – Serve Return & Flip

September 19, 2026
(by: Bowmar Sports) In this Butterfly Training Tips, Anav Gupta is focusing on his short serve return, followed… Read More

Beating Your Hidden Opponent: Choosing the Inner Coach Over the Inner Critic by Dr. Alan Chu

September 18, 2026
(by Dr. Alan Chu, PhD, CMPC) You may wonder: Who would be my hidden opponent? Upon reflection, every… Read More

Rachid El Bou Bou – Backhand Loop from the middle range

September 18, 2026
(by: Bowmar Sports) In this Butterfly Training Tips, Rachid El Bou Bou is executing the Backhand Loop from… Read More
View All News

Get the latest from Butterfly

Stay “In The Loop” with Butterfly professional table tennis equipment, table tennis news, table tennis technology, tournament results, and We Are Butterfly players, coaches, clubs and more.

/* Constant Contact Universal Code */