GRIPSPEN HOLD GRIP

GRIP

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The first contact a player has with a table tennis racket, they must decide how to hold the racket. As mentioned in the first set of skill drills – There are two types of grips. Shakehand grip and Pen grip. This chapter gives an insight as to which grips should be encouraged for the you to adopt. What are the advantages and disadvantages of each grips.

Pen Grip

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Pen grip generally involves using the same side of the racket for both forehand and backhand.

Pen grip offers a wide range of possibilities for service with the freedom of the wrist movement.

However the backhand is limited when compared with Shakehand grip. This is the main reason the use of reverse side on the backhand has been developed.

Using the reverse side on the backhand is not a new concept, but one that is gaining greater acceptance.

Chinese Style Pengrip

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The Chinese Style Pengrip has the three fingers together on the reverse side of the racket as shown.

This gives excellent wrist mobility, and a better position for backhand, when compared with Japanese/Korean Style Pengrip.

There are many variations of this grip and many top Chinese pengrippers can be seen utilising the Japanese/Korean Style Pengrip as well as varying the finger placement to obtain the most mechanically efficient position for a given technique.

Japanese/Korean Style Pengrip

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The Japanese/Korean Style Pengrip has the fingers spread on the reverse side of the racket.

This grip makes for a strong forehand, but difficult to get the racket over the ball on the backhand side for blocking.

The majority of Japanese/Korean Style Pengrip players are forehand dominated players with strong footwork.

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J.H Singer’s game ‘Table Tennis’ was featured in George S. Parker game catalogue of the same year as: "Table Tennis: This game is laid out like a Lawn Tennis court, played and counted just the same, all the rules being observed."

DID YOU KNOW

GRIPSSHAKE HAND GRIP

GRIP

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The first contact a player has with a table tennis racket, they must decide how to hold the racket. As mentioned in the first set of skill drills – There are two types of grips. Shakehand grip and Pen grip. This chapter gives an insight as to which grips should be encouraged for the you to adopt. What are the advantages and disadvantages of each grips.

Forehand Grip (Shakehand)

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The forehand grip closes the racket face slightly on the forehand side, and allows for a strong and stable forehand topspin and attacking shots.

The grip makes it difficult for the backhand as it is not in a mechanically favorable position to execute the backhand.

In such scenarios, there have been few World champions using the forehand grip, though changing the grip for backhand strokes (Gatien, 1993 World Champion).

Backhand Grip (Shakehand)

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The backhand grip closes the racket face slightly on the backhand side and allows for a strong and stable backhand.

The forward stroke is limited in power, placement and spin and for this reason, a backhand grip player will often have trouble against defense.

Hence players who predominately use backhand grip (Shakehand) change their grips while executing the forehand strokes. (Grubba Mazunov and Rosskopf Mazunov are known for using this grip).

Neutral Grip (Shakehand)

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Majority of today’s top players alternate their grips during the rallies.

This allows to have optimum grip for the technique being adopted.

To give maximum variation in placement and spin.

This grip often deceives the opponents as neutral grip can be used cleverly to alternate grips, placement, spin and speed at the last possible moment.

High Grip (Shakehand)

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In High grip, the hand is close to the racket face and hence allows for good control and speed play.

It limits the movement of wrists making heavy spin and directional changes difficult.

Low Grip (Shakehand)

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With the Low Grip, generally a larger handled racket is used as the grip is low on the handle.

Low Grip was mostly popular in 1970’s and 80’s with many greats of the game used this grip (Jonyer, Klampar and Surbek).

In this grip, control is reduced but the range of wrist movement possible is great allowing for greater service variation, placement and spin.

Shakehand Pengrip

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The Shakehand is utilised almost exclusively in Europe, and with increasing popularity in India.

The Shakehand grip allows for a strong forehand and backhand, but has a limited range of movement for the service.

Modifications to the grip were made by Swedish by removing the last three fingers from the racket handle during service to allow greater wrist mobility.

Thus service is performed using thumb and index finger only as this is now the method utilised by all top Shakehand players.

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The earliest evidence existing of an action game of Tennis on a table is a set made by David Foster, patented (Patent number 11,037) in England on 15th July 1890.

DID YOU KNOW