Butterfly Defence Alpha

If all of your strokes are pure brushing (looping, chopping, passive block, but no hitting), this blade can help you develop the basis of your game.

However, this is not a blade for winning a match by force; it’s too slow for that, and your opponent would likely say, “Thanks.”

I’ve been playing with this blade for a few weeks now, with Giant Dragon Submarine in 1.0mm on FH and .6mm Doublefish 1615 long pips on the backhand. I finally got some real practice time chopping with it, so I feel able to make a half-decent review.

The blade itself is massive and heavy, probably easily over 95 grams as listed. However, with defensive rubbers, it doesn’t matter as much.

As one might imagine, the attacking capabilities of the blade are pretty limited. It’s slow and sloooow. I’m having to learn the hard way that you HAVE to place your shots, even smashes, in the right place. Otherwise, they will come back harder than you hit them, a lot less putaway power than Defplay senso. With that, I smash it or hit with my pips, and it’s almost a sure winner. At any distance from the table, you HAVE to strike the bottom of the ball like you are looping backspin to get it to go over. Over the table loops are normal, a step back or even off the end, it’s like a backspin. Dig under the ball stroke, away from the table, the only way your going to get it back with topspin is the Hao Yingchao sidespin shot where you drop the racket head straight down and scoop/fish it out with massive curving sidespin. But over the table, you can do tiny short spiny loops which will jump and kick and throw people off with pinpoint accuracy.

Blocking/hitting is ok, not great. The plies are a little too soft to be great with it. However, blocking with any slow defensive inverted rubber is really easy and just takes off pace to it, which can be good or bad, depending on where you place it. Aggressive long pips pushes work well for me with this setup though, gets a lot of popped-up balls with the reversal.

Chopping is great so far. Close to the table, I have to use very small, soft strokes because somehow the blade has enough kick to be able to also chop from yards away while still being dead when attacking. Chopping far off the table was easy once I forced myself to bend my knees as I chopped down, sinking into the shots. Then they started going back lower and a lot more consistently. Part of that is the pips, which aren’t solely made for chopping.

Overall a great defender’s blade, small strokes near the table, big strokes away, plenty of control, though not while attacking, but great for chops.

Heavy and oversized, the Willow blade dampens the speed of the ball and provides significant dwell time for chopping. However, its lack of flex makes it challenging to control topspin effectively, resulting in a flat loop arc. This characteristic renders it unsuitable for players who wish to execute topspin attacks.

If you primarily employ chopping techniques on both sides of the table, the Willow blade may suffice. However, if you seek a blade that excels in both chopping and topspin attacks, it is advisable to consider alternatives. The Defplay Senso offers similar chopping capabilities while providing better topspin performance.

This is a great controllable blade by Butterfly. I use Tackiness Chop 2 on one side and Tenergy 05 on the other, and it works well for me. I can attack and defend with this combination, chopping with opponents' attacks and looping with the Tenergy 05. With attacking rubbers on this blade, it’s fast. With Chop 2 on this blade, it’s average with loads of control, and with Tenergy, it still has loads of control. It’s a perfect blade for when I’m up against a very fast attack spinner and looper. This blade, with my combination rubbers, controls the game very well. I usually use a ZLC with Bryce FX to match, but every now and then, I come across a very fast attack looper, and I just get out the Def Alpha with my rubbers on it. It confuses them because I can return their attacks, control my attack shots, and chop until they make mistakes. I’ve taken on some really good players and beaten them. It’s all about the right tool for the right job, about time, and control of your own game and discipline. I love this blade.

I have been playing with this blade for nearly three weeks. I am curious about the best rubber for this blade for both attacking and chopping (primarily chopping). I have tried Tackiness C (1.5) and Tackiness C2 (1.7), but they are too soft and slow for my preferences. I am seeking a Chinese rubber with medium speed and control. Currently, I am using Friendship 729 Super FX (blue sponge) 2.0.

You can effectively use this blade only if you have at least one of the following characteristics:

- You play an all-slash, no-hit game (chop, loop, block, “sliding door,” but no flat hit). — You play a bait-and-trap game. — You play a last-man-stand/patient/who-outlasts-whom game. — You’re a passive chopper. — You have very fast strokes to attack with (this blade is so heavy and slow). — You love to send the best stroke your opponent sends back to their table side. — You love how “pretty” your opponent’s face is!

I play this blade for more than a year now. It’s quite well, but sometimes I wish there was a little more speed. It possesses fantastic control!