Han Xiao Page 4 of 5 Butterfly Online | Butterfly Table Tennis & Ping Pong Equipment

Playing Against Pips/Anti

April 19, 2015

Playing Against Pips/Anti by Han Xiao Many players have a lot of trouble playing against “junk rubber,” which usually includes short pips, long pips, and anti. At lower levels of play, using pips or anti is often seen as an advantage that can give a lot of free wins. As players improve, using these types […]

Don’t Make Changes For Sake of Change

April 12, 2015

Don’t Make Changes For Sake of Change by Han Xiao A lot of players have a lot of variety in their game. They can hit a lot of different shots, have different speeds and spins, and are consistent players. However, some of these players still lose to players with objectively worse technique and less variety […]

Backhand Banana Flip

March 29, 2015

Backhand Banana Flip by Han Xiao In the last few years, the backhand banana flip has become a staple shot thanks to each new generation of players. Players such as Wang Hao and Dmitrij Ovtcharov were among the first players to use this shot as a primary method of returning serve in order to immediately […]

Open Ended Drills

March 22, 2015

Open Ended Drills by Han Xiao Over the last ten years or so, I’ve noticed that the overall level of table tennis coaching in the United States has improved drastically. This is reflected in the playing styles and technique of our players, from intermediate levels all the way up to National Team members. However, one […]

Playing Against Choppers

March 15, 2015

Playing Against Choppers by Han Xiao In most professional table tennis teams around the world, especially in China, you can usually find at least one chopper on the team, even if this player does not usually participate in league matches. As a result, most professional players have the opportunity to practice against choppers and to […]

The Lefty-Righty Matchup

March 11, 2015

The Lefty-Righty Matchup by Han Xiao Many players have specific styles that they are weak against or feel like they are weak against. This may be a result of not practicing against this style, or it may be because they have lost to this type of style in the past. Some of the common styles […]

Step Around Footwork

March 1, 2015

Step Around Footwork by Han Xiao One of the most common footwork drills in table tennis among all levels of play is the Falkenberg drill. It’s a very simple drill. The drilling player plays only to the blocking player’s backhand side, playing first one backhand, then a forehand from the backhand corner, then a forehand […]

Staying Balanced

February 22, 2015

Staying Balanced by Han Xiao Table tennis rallies often resemble a game of chicken. Balance and positioning are huge factors in determining which player gets the upper hand and takes the initiative. There are other factors as well, such as technique, but often times one player will begin to lose their balance and center of […]

How to Approach the Service Game

February 15, 2015

How to Approach the Service Game by Han Xiao Think back to some matches where you had a lot of problems with an opponent’s serves. There are likely two scenarios you thought of. The first scenario is when you simply misread an opponent’s serve over and over again. This scenario doesn’t make for very good […]

Modern Topspin Strokes

February 8, 2015

Modern Topspin Strokes by Han Xiao To round out our short mechanics series, we’re going to take a look at modern topspin technique. If you missed the previous two articles, we took a look at weight transfer and proper leg use as well as how to follow through correctly. Having an understanding of those concepts […]