March 25, 2015

Shakehands Grip Variations and Changes

Recently I've had a lot of questions about whether it's okay to use variations of the shakehands grip, or to change grips during a rally. (Of course a large part of this is I'm teaching a new ten-week Adult Beginning/Intermediate Class.) The answer is . . . it depends.

Before I go further, here are three articles I've written on the subject:

But since these articles are all from 2012 and 2013, they've been forgotten - so now's a good time to blog about it! At least it'll get you thinking about it. Plus I'll add a few new things.

First, a quick definition. A neutral grip is where the thinnest part of the wrist should line up with the paddle. If, while in a backhand position, you rotate the top of the racket away from you, then you have a backhand grip. If you rotate the top of the racket toward you, it's a forehand grip. Here's an article with pictures showing extreme forehand and backhand grips - you can also have a forehand or backhand grip that isn't as extreme as in these pictures.

For beginners, I strongly urge you to use a neutral grip until your strokes are well developed. Those who start out with backhand or forehand grips usually ended up with stroke problems. The problem with a non-neutral grip is you are forced to make adjustments for the fact that your arm is aiming one way, your racket another. This will mess your stroke development up.

For intermediate players, once your strokes are mostly ingrained and (hopefully) sound, you can experiment with minor variations and grip changes. Small changes can often greatly enhance certain strokes while hurting others. Experiment and see what works for you and your style.

For advanced players, you have already gone through all this. However, you can still experiment sometimes, and perhaps you might find a variation that'll help. Subtle changes often make a big difference in some shot.

Most of the above is about grip variations. What about grip changes? Some players do change their grip between forehand and backhand; Jan-Ove Waldner did. He put pressure on the racket with his thumb, which forced his racket into a slight backhand position. This is a common variation. Minor changes like this are okay, as long as you can smoothly make them as you go from forehand to backhand and vice versa. But be forewarned - in fast rallies, these changes have to be almost instant and reflexive.

Timo Boll is another who uses grip changes, in particular when doing inside-out forehand sidespin loops, where he uses a slight forehand grip, making it easier to spin the inner side of the ball.

Ultimately, if you aren't sure, discuss your grip possibilities with a coach, experiment, and try to understand the advantages and disadvantages of the variations. For example, a backhand grip isn't best for all backhand shots; it's good for backhand looping and blocking, but many (including me) find it easier to backhand kill with a slight forehand grip.

Personally, I've gone back and forth over the years. I used a neutral grip probably my first five years, but since then I've changed from slight forehand to slight backhand every now and then. Sometimes I change based on who I'm playing. If I'm going to do a lot of forehand looping, I might go with a slight forehand grip, while if I'm going to block a lot I might go with a slight backhand grip. When I play a chopper I go to a very forehand grip. Sometimes if I decide I'm not consistent enough I'll switch to a more backhand grip so I can keep the ball in play more; but if I start playing too passive, I'll go more forehand, which improves my forehand loop and backhand smash, but lowers my consistency, blocking, and makes it harder to cover the middle (for me).

But I don't encourage others to change grips in the way that I do, nor do I discourage you from it, as long as you make sure you understand what you are doing.

Besides Waldner and Boll, there are other classic examples of top players with non-normal shakehands grips.

  • Nobuhiko Hasegawa, 1967 World Men's Singles Champion - he had his index finger almost down the middle of the paddle. Here's a picture - how he avoided hitting his finger is one of the great unsolved mysteries. I don't recommend this - you tend to lose stability with the racket without the index finger to guide and secure it, plus it can tighten your forearm muscles.
  • Stellan Bengtsson, 1971 World Men's Singles Champion, and Jorgen Persson, 1991 World Men's Singles Champion - both of these players had their index finger curled slightly around the side of the racket rather than on it. Here's a picture of Bengtsson's grip, and here's Persson's grip.
  • Perry Schwartzberg, 1976 U.S. National Junior Champion - late in his career, he switched to a "hammer" grip, with all four fingers wrapped around the handle, as well as going to hard rubber on his backhand, with inverted on forehand. Without the index finger on the racket, you again can lose stability, and forehands can be awkward, but it's a good grip for hitting backhands.
  • I've been trying to remember her name, but a member of the English Women's Team in I believe the 1970s played with a shakehands grip with two fingers on the rubber, the index finger and middle finger, like this. This feels pretty awkward!
  • Tim Boggan, former top ten in U.S. (circa 1960s?) - for forehands, used an extreme forehand grip, plus put his finger down middle of the blade, with the base of the handle cupped in his palm. For backhands, he switched to an extreme backhand grip and lowered the racket in his hand. This is the most extreme grip changes I've ever seen - I don't even know where to begin in explaining why you don't want to do this…

But notice how these players are mostly from decades ago, while nearly all the top modern shakehanders use nearly identical shakehands grips? Do they do so because it's the best way and those with weaker grips fall back, or is nearly everyone taught the exact same grip from the beginning? Cause and effect! (But I'd stick with the proper shakehands grip if at all possible - it's proven and effective, and allows just about every important shot at a high level.)

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Yesterday I linked to three table tennis articles from The Onion. Here are three other mentions of table tennis from articles that didn't feature table tennis:

And for those who missed it from yesterday:

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Olio Wed, 03/25/2015 - 14:27

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10152311933252599

This is Quentin Robinot from France.