The Experts: Xin Zhou, No. 163 – A Butterfly Question & Answer

Ask The Experts: Xin Zhou, No. 161 – A Butterfly Question & Answer
Butterfly Table Tennis Question and Answer

Blade: Ma Lin Carbon
Forehand Rubber: Nittaku Renanos Hold
Backhand Rubber: Nittaku Renanos Hold

Question: Hello,

What is the difference between this technique :

and the table tennis technique – wrist-elbow-forearm movement, or they are same?
Thank you,
Ilian Evgeniev

Answer:

Hi Ilian,

It is a great clip. I can definitely improve my tennis game from it.:-) Joking aside, it actually applies to table tennis to some extent.

I like the Pet the Dog analogy a lot. Beginners often mistakenly flap their wrists perpendicularly to the Pet the Dog motion which is a no-no. I think the biggest difference between table tennis and tennis would be the elbow movement. I found it the most difficult technique for beginners to grasp, too. They often overly use their shoulders, upper arms, and wrists but reluctantly use their elbows for some reason. Also, at more advanced levels, fingers become more important which is probably not the case in tennis. We do use upper arm more when away from the table though.

The coach also mentioned doing repetition 100 times a couple of times in the clip. Most beginners overlook the importance of shadow play (practicing strokes without the ball) that I did it, along with all other professional players, thousands of times, if not more, for basic strokes when we started. It is a great way to groove your strokes.

Here is a clip of mine. This may illustrate more clearly than words on the elbow movement.

Happy ponging.

Zhou Xin
National Coach of USA
Coach at ICC Table Tennis in Milpitas, California