Site Products
Coach Truong Tu

Ask The Experts: Truong Tu, No. 406

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

Team Canada U19 Girls Secure Gold at Pan Am Youth Championship

August 31, 2025
(by Bowmar Sports, photo ITTF America) Canada’s U19 Girls’ Table Tennis Team made headlines at the 2025 ITTF… Read More

TTBL: Kanak Starts Strong, Zhendong Faulters in First Week of German League

August 31, 2025
(by Steve Hopkins) USA’s Kanak Jha was one of four players to start the German League season 2-0. … Read More

Be Part of the MLTT Rally Crew

August 29, 2025
(by: Major League Table Tennis) Bring your energy and love for the game Major League Table Tennis kicks… Read More

When Do Most Errors Happen?

August 29, 2025
Robot plays short backspin to Backhand, Jhon Backhand push to long Backhand, robot plays very spinny topspin to… Read More

Back Up a Little Bit More

August 27, 2025
Robot plays short backspin ball to Forehand, Jhon Forehand push to long Forehand, robot plays very spinny topspin… Read More

My Road To The 2025 US National Champion by Sally Moyland

August 26, 2025
(by Sally Moyland) I was leading 3:1 in sets in the women’s single final at the US National… Read More

Take the Ball Off the Bounce

August 25, 2025
Robot plays short backspin to Forehand, Jhon Forehand push to long Forehand, robot plays very spinny topspin to… Read More

Eleven Tips For Playing Against a Quicker Opponent

August 25, 2025
(By Larry Hodges) We’ve all had those matches where the opponent was just quicker, and we felt rushed… 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.