Penholding

D K Asked 1 week ago

Greetings team,

in addition to my material testing question,I was thinking about also exploring the other side - the penhold grip.

Using specialized blades.

I would firstly like to see your opinion on it.
We all know penholder grip is fading away - though,as Felix Lebrun recently showed,it still can reach the top.
There is a low chance of local kids clashing with them,but who knows - someday they can go to for example U13 Championship and meet a Felix Lebrun successor in the future.

I also generally like to explore the unorthodox.
I am thinking of sort of copying He Zhi Wen and Ryu Seung Min's bat type.
But where to get such blades safely? 
Their original setups are no longer sold,or their successor setups are sold for nonchristian money ( for example Butterfly's japanese penhold blade costs over 400$,which is 6 times the average and in the Top 10 most expensive blades here.
And I do not trust those ebay,temu,amazon etc. 
There are too many affairs around these portals.

And also,how is that two-rubber rule? I have heard now there cannot be only a black paint on the other side.
But I am finding conflicting information while being unable to find the official ITTF statement.

Thanks,
Dan

Alois Rosario Answered 1 day ago

Hi Dan,

Exploring penhold is another interesting idea, especially if you enjoy experimenting with unorthodox styles. The penhold grip still works at top levels, as you noted with Felix Lebrun, He Zhi Wen, and Ryu Seung Min. It can give you a completely different perspective and options in both footwork and shot selection.

Some brands still produce Japanese-style penhold blades.

Regarding leaving the other side uncovered here is the ITTF rule:

The surface of the covering material on a side of the blade, or of a side of the blade if it is left uncovered, shall be matt, black on one side, and of a bright colour clearly distinguishable from black and from the colour of the ball on the other.