Penhold tomahawk serve

Table Tennis Serving

Last updated 8 years ago

Linus Koh

Linus Koh Asked 12 years ago

Hi Alois,

Is it possible to do the tomahawk serve with the penhold grip?


Alois Rosario

Alois Rosario Answered 11 years ago

Hi Linus,

Yes you can.  It is just a matter of getting the angle of your bat correct. 


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Thoughts on this question

Sandesh Shrestha

Sandesh Shrestha Posted 12 years ago

but in penhold it's really hard to get the angle correct.....and the reverse tomahawk is even harder ........

your hands don't support your movement 


Alois Rosario

Alois Rosario from PingSkills Posted 12 years ago

You can put your fingers more on the back of the bat for more support.  The reverse is also possible using the back of the bat.

Desmond Goh

Desmond Goh Posted 12 years ago

I'm trying tomahawk serve using penhold right now... I must say, so far, I only managed mostly backspin and is always a single bounce instead of a two bounces...

Alois Rosario

Alois Rosario from PingSkills Posted 12 years ago

More practice required.  It is an awkward angle but it is possible.  Soften the contact to get the ball shorter.

Kevin Long

Kevin Long Posted 12 years ago

As I penhold tomahawk server myself, I find that leaning your body to help you get the right angle is key to performing the serve well. It just takes a bit of time to adjust. When you're gotten the feeling for it, try to contact the ball near the end of the bat, then experiment to further familiarise yourself with the possible spin variations of the serve, and one thing that I like to do is add a wrist flick at the end of the tomahawk serve, just to produce some more spin (it also helps the ball bounce short)

Desmond Goh

Desmond Goh Posted 12 years ago

Lean the body forward or backwards?? I have been doing it by squading down to keep the ball as low as possible..

Kevin Long

Kevin Long Posted 12 years ago

When I throw the ball up I lean back a bit, straightening my back. This helps me track the ball as a squat to hit the ball, as I squat I lean forward to help my arm complete the follow through and to just lower the ball some more. it helps me bounce back up into a ready position too.
Also if you're having trouble producing sidespin, just imagine you're cutting a stick in half with the bat from above, and brush past the ball with that motion.

Kevin Long

Kevin Long Posted 12 years ago

Some of you may be interested to know that I have uploaded a video of me serving. This video also includes examples of a Penhold Tomahawk Serve (mostly sidespin+backspin...and some very poorly done topspin) I also included some backhand Tomahawk serves and the Windscreen-Wiper variation

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qdBWqnSh24

Tomahawk serves: 1:58-3:45


edgardo yutuc

edgardo yutuc Posted 11 years ago

good evening sir alois may i ask a question uhmm how to perform a good and more properly penhold serve using the reverse pendulum serves at different spins if you just can sir can you took a video on it so i can train it more perfectly i really want to ask cause this is the reasonb why i lost a contest ty sir ill wait for your response god bless.

 


Alois Rosario

Alois Rosario from PingSkills Posted 11 years ago

Hi Edgardo,

Take a look at our Video response to a previous Ask the Coach question on How do I get feeling in the Reverse Pendulum Serve?.  This will show you the basic technique.  It is the same for a penhold player as a shakehand player.   In fact it may be even easier because you don't need to modify your grip.


cian coleman

cian coleman Posted 9 years ago

Hi I was wondering what type of rubber you are using


Jeff Plumb

Jeff Plumb from PingSkills Posted 9 years ago

Hi Cian,

I'm using Xiom Vega Pro and Alois has recently switched to Rakza 7.


D K

D K Posted 8 years ago

What about the Penhold Backhand tomahawk?



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