Last updated 12 years ago
Hi Andrew,
That certainly is a very detailed list of strokes and grips. I think that it would be hard to remember what grip you should be using for what stroke. I much prefer to keep things a lot more simple.
When starting out I recommend that you use a standard Shakehand Grip for both the forehand and backhand. As you develop you'll find that you'll either be a neutral player, a forehand player or a backhand player. Depending on these your grip may change slightly to favour one particular side. If you do change your grip slightly during a rally, it doesn't matter as long as you don't get caught out with a bad grip and end up losing points because of it. If this happens you definitely need to modify your grip. Otherwise it's not a big problem. A lot of players naturally modify their grips slightly between backhand and forehand.
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Andrew Pape Posted 12 years ago
Hi Simon,
Great to hear from you. I read a book by Victor Barna, from the old days of TT, and in those days it seemed that it was taught that you should use your thumb for backhands. I tried that years ago and found it gave a more solid and forceful backhand. It was a slower game for Victor, without much topspin. I think if someone were looping at me, and I pressed the thumb into the rubber, it would make the ball catapult off the end of the table. So maybe it's not such a good idea to use this backhand grip? Thanks for clarifying the position and pressure of the thumb and index finger for the forehand too. I'm a backhand player, and will go to any lengths to get a good forehand, so I'm glad you've given a qualified yes to trying out a forehand grip.I'll give it a go! Thanks again.
Cheers,
Andrew.
Andrew Pape Posted 12 years ago
Thanks for defining the bat grips and giving me the go-ahead to try a f/hand grip.
My f/hand has been a huge problem. My arm used to get too tense and I got no speed or spin. I have been so nervous that I've stopped the swing at the point of impact, and the ball would just drop dead. My neutral grip was no good for forehands. Now I have adopted a f/hand grip, and the situation has changed totally. By holding the bat further down the handle, I now swing naturally, getting much more speed and spin. My f/hand has worked well ever since I changed the grip. First, I had a few hits on a robot, then started playing people. For the last year I have tried to vary the f/hand, with little result. But a slight change in grip was all I needed. I don't know exactly why the grip works, but it does. Hard to believe that one tiny detail has made such a difference. Thanks again.
I hope this new-found knowledge can help other b/hand players with their weaker f/hands.
Cheers,
Andrew.
Oliver Posted 12 years ago
Is the point of doing this to get a better bat angle? Cos my coach tells me that the FH bat angle with shakehand should be much parallel to the ground when looping and because the bat is parallel with the index finger, the tip of the finger and the tip of the thumb should be distanced and for backhand the tip of thumb should be stretching out towards the tip of the index finger. Is that true?
Alois Rosario from PingSkills Posted 12 years ago