Site Products
Larry Hodges, table tennis coach

Experiment and Learn

(by Larry Hodges)

Once you have reached a certain level, it’s easy to rest on your laurels. That doesn’t mean you don’t work hard to improve your game. It means that you work hard only to improve the parts of your game that you have already developed.

Instead, be a learning player. You should experiment and learn something new every time you play. If you don’t, then you are stuck in a rut and will find it difficult to improve as fast as you could if you kept learning. Experiment! Try out new things. In particular, try out different serve variations, different receives, deceptive moves on a shot, changes of pace, and different placements. I played a much stronger player recently and got a game off him for one reason only – I discovered that if I occasionally dead-blocked to the middle of the table, he got soft, while if I did it to his forehand or backhand side, he was all over it. Guess what I did? But I wouldn’t have learned that if I hadn’t experimented, and now I have a new weapon against him – and probably against other, similar players.

Experimenting doesn’t mean you spend most your practice time trying out all sorts of shots. There’s a time and place for everything. In most drills, you need to focus more on repetition so you can perfect the shots. But mastering a shot doesn’t mean you shouldn’t also be experimenting.

So, what are you experimenting on and what have you learned?

Latest News

Keep the Swing as Compact as Possible

July 16, 2025
Robot will play RANDOM top spin balls to 2/3 of the table (Backhand, only Forehand topspin from this… Read More

Reviewing Bugller with Logan Rietz

July 15, 2025
(by: Logan Rietz) I love pips.  I like chopping with them, hitting with them, anything I can do… Read More

Keep Your Elbow Closer to Your Body

July 14, 2025
WAIT FUNCTION: Serve long serve to elbow and Robot plays topspin to Forehand, Forehand spin block or counter… Read More

#3 High toss serve that disrupts the opponent’s rhythm and leads to a quick attack

July 14, 2025
[Feature] [Special feature] America’s star! Jha’s strong points #3 High toss serve that disrupts the opponent’s rhythm and… Read More

Ten Tips for Faster Footwork

July 14, 2025
(By Larry Hodges) Tie your shoes tight so there’s less give when you move. Grippy shoes on non-grippy… Read More

Rogelio Castro – Third Ball Attack

July 14, 2025
(by: Bowmar Sports) In this Butterfly Training Tips, Rogelio Castro is executing the “Third Ball Attack” using his… Read More

MLTT Featured Team: Chicago Wind

July 14, 2025
(by Steve Hopkins, photo MLTT) The Chicago Wind plan to blow over competition in the upcoming Major League… Read More

Wang Chuqin and Zhu Yuling

July 13, 2025
(by Steve Hopkins) Wang Chuqin made quick work of Tomokazu Harimoto in the Men’s Singles Final of the… 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.