OOAK Table Tennis Forum

Hi all. I posted some about this on the general board, so please forgive some of the retread story (if you've already read it). I grip the paddle with my thumb on the back of the playing surface (and have four fingers around the handle), so I really only use one side of the paddle ( I do switch sometimes on the serves). There is a player that got to 2000 using the same grip, which I find pretty amazing since I'm only around 1100 ish. I've beaten some players as high as 1600 and 1700.

My style is push, block, smash and kill shots. My serves have a lot of spin, and I can combine spins (they're ahead of my play to a degree). It has given players trouble even in the 1800s, 1900s (various serves).

This may also help, the grip kind of looks like a "thumbs up" if that makes sense. I can open up the ball and hit traditional looking shakehand smashes, and use a punch block style kill shot that even some highly rated players can't return.

I've decided to stick with this grip because I've used it for 27 years. Hard to change. I've debated going shakehands, etc., but I just don't think I can do it. I'm only playing once per week as we have a league with a 2 1/2 hour to 3 hour session.

Thank you!

If you have decided to stick with it Pushsmasher, then one shot you may be able to develop is the banana flick. It should be relatively easy with that grip. The idea is to use the inverted rubber on BH side and turn it around the ball to create top/side spin. You need to sort of lift the shot and push forward as you do it, so that the ball clears the net and then dives. There is discussion on the forum on this shot (normally using SH)...have a search for it.

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S/U 1: Blade: Bty Gergely . FH Black Andro Rasant 2.1 . BH Red Tibhar Grass Dtecs
S/U 2: Blade: Bty Gergely . FH Black Hexer+ 2.1 . BH Red GD Talon
S/U 3: Blade: Bty Gergely . No rubbers...thinking of adding Red Dtecs and Black Rasant
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Well, there's world champions who use the same grip I use and I'm only.. well, my last rating (15 years ago) was 1284.. My serves also trouble players far better than I am, too bad the rest of the game isn't anywhere as good..

Maybe you could post a couple photos or videos?

Iskandar

Thanks guys. That could become one of my main offensive weapons Reborn. I really love the style of the shot. Fits perfect. How effective would this be vs. say a loop? On a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being the most potent offensive weapon, while a 1 is really weak push, or hit back.

Iskandar, it sounds like you're having fun, that is really important! I wish my rating was around 1300, I have such a long way to go.

I've been changing paddles like they're disposable over the last couple of years. Need to get a setup and stick with it for at least 6 months. That's my next goal.

Yes, I'll definitely post some pics tomorrow. My thumb lines up with the hand, like I'm giving a thumbprint, on the back of the paddle face (the other four fingers wrap around the grip like a fist---hence the thumbs up look). My old setup was Sardius/Tacky D/Tacky C. I loved using the Tacky D for my punch block kill hit. I have to get low and hit at angle to hit it. I have been playing with a Magic Green Blade with Gambler Four Aces and Neo Tacky on back---it really hinders my ability to hit the kill punch shot. Makes it go way off (for some reason).

Against a fast loop I wouldn't use it. A block will always be better. Against a slow one it may work. Its usually used against underspin, particularly against underspin or even no-spin serves.

Tell me, how do you handle balls to the FH? Do you move and try to hit them in front on the BH still, or do you flip your wrist and have your thumb pointing right like you were hitching a ride?

_________________
I'm always in the dark, but the Dark sheds lights upon everything!! Beauty is only pimple deep! Beauty is in the eye of the pipholder!
S/U 1: Blade: Bty Gergely . FH Black Andro Rasant 2.1 . BH Red Tibhar Grass Dtecs
S/U 2: Blade: Bty Gergely . FH Black Hexer+ 2.1 . BH Red GD Talon
S/U 3: Blade: Bty Gergely . No rubbers...thinking of adding Red Dtecs and Black Rasant
Aussie Table Tennis Shop / Aussie Table Tennis Facebook Page / Equipment Review Index / Read my Reb Report Blog: click here.

Not this grip I hope? (With the thumb-print jammed up against the back of the blade and the tips of the fingers around the handle.) This was the frat guy grip I was mentioning earlier. If the length of the thumb lies along the handle that'd be better I think.



Iskandar

The banana flick's mainly used to attack short backspin serves. You need a lot of wrist to pull it off. Yeah, a block is best against a loop.

In fact, I think if you mainly play on the backhand, your strongest shot would be the block, followed by a topspin drive/punch shot. If you can't use the forehand effectively then you're best off playing close to the table and blocking back attacks to the sides, should be easy to block to the right (assuming you're a right hander) - to angle a ball off to the left you'd need to raise the elbow out to the side quite a bit to achieve the sharp angle. There is a style of play that fits this description - the pips-out penhold blocker. Do a search for "Gao Jun", you should come across a LONG post (I forget the poster, but she was his "model player" for a while) that describes her playing style. In essence - the blocks aren't necessarily fast but they're always precisely placed. Any loose balls are put away (you'll have to develop a fast kill shot). I don't think you'd necessarily have to switch to short or medium pips, but it would help in the control department for the blocks. If you have inverted on the other side you could serve with it and then flip the racket. With your grip you won't be able to cover as much table as a penholder would on the forehand side, but on the backhand side you'd have better coverage. So you'd have to stand further to the right (while penholders tend to stand way over to the left, assuming a right hander). Like a penholder, you'd also need faster than average feet.

Iskandar

You're missing the critical shot which is spin/topspin. If you can't topspin with your backhand and your forehand, it's very hard to get better. That should be your top priority. You don't have to use purely conventional technique, but you have to have a consistent response to controlling incoming topspin and to attacking backspin. Pushing and smashing won't get it done unless you can do them at a high level as both strokes are inherently inconsistent.

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I don't think he'd have trouble doing topspin drives with this backhand - looping would be another matter, though.

Come to think of it - there was this guy at the Chiangmai club who had a sort of under-the-armpit backhand-forehand stroke. When I played against him he surprised me with it quite a few times. Don't remember what his grip was like, but he didn't use his forehand much.

Iskandar

Sorry for such a simple question, but: how do I post a pic?

Here it is. I have uploaded it.

One of my training partners used a very similar grip to support his BH loop at one time.

I understand the desire not to change grips to a more traditional grip but I seriously think that you're going to make it much harder for yourself to improve - playing once a week is not the barrier you think it is as getting used to a grip largely consists of getting used to it, which means you can do lots of things away from the table with it and then use it at the table. A lot of my TT practice takes place away from the table. The real issue is that your current grip creates large zones of the table where you can't play a decent stroke because such a grip doesn't give you power outside a small zone of contact as it is BH-biased. Were your grip FH-biased, you would have more options. Also, keeping a grip to support a rating under 1500 is not ideal, IMO, as I could train an 1100 player in less that 4 months playing once a week on a shakehand grup. But everyone is different. What I've learned in my short time playing seriously is that technique is king in this sport.

That out of the way. So if you want to stick with your current path, here is my analysis:

Option 1) Most people who have a grip like yours do not use inverted rubbers - they use some kind of pips or anti-spin and play a dead ball game. This game has limitations, but it at least gives some people trouble and reduces the number of strokes you have to learn to play. Here is a player I remember with a similar grip who uses long pips and hits all his strokes and blocks with long pips - I don't have video of my match with him but it was pretty effective initially, but still a game that caps out around 1700 (because of the grip) but has potential to upset players depending on how well they know how to play pips.

http://www.davidmarcus.com/Tournaments/ ... her072.jpg

Option 2) Should you decide to use inverted and stick with this grip, your path to improvement is hard. You should be able to use the grip for your backhand loops against serves and pushes and even to some degree against topspin. The problem would be how it supports your blocking/hitting against better loopers, but that is not insurmountable.

Here is a video so you can compare my friend's use of the grip with yours - he only uses it for his BH loop and modified it later as he wanted more options for strokes on his backhand.



The problem is what to do on your forehand. I'm not going to suggest anything as I think that whatever you do there without changing grips is either going to be markedly inferior or require physically unhealthy use of the elbow which I can't recommend in good faith either.

Option 3) Since you like your serves, use the inverted side of the paddle to serve and a pip/anti rubber to rally. It doesn't solve the limited reach problem but makes most of your job easier as the blocks and hits from the forehand side can be done a bit more easily vs. underspin. It's probably the best solution if you want to conservatively preserve and grow your game.

Option 4) Since this grip largely affects your FH, learn to grip switch into a proper neutral grip to play FHs and that will reduce your problem. That's what I would do. I tried it in my hands and grip switch is much easier than I though it would be.

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Cobra Kai TT Exponent (Mercy effs up your Game)
One-Loop Man: One Loop... Again????
Lumberjack TT Exponent

"We don't rise to the level of our expectations, we fall to the level of our training" - Archilochus

Thanks Nextlevel. That's a lot of great info, still processing it : )

Question: what do you think my ceiling is if I keep the current grip? Rating wise. Based on your various critiques (excellent ones at that)

It seems to be halfway between a Seemiller grip and a regular shakehands grip. I don't see why you can't have a strong forehand (even a strong forehand loop) with that grip, it's just a matter of rotating the wrist appropriately. Perhaps if you move the hand down the handle a little bit you'd gain a little flexibility. Like the Seemiller grip, you'd use the same side of the racket for forehands and backhands, of course, and this gives you a very strong middle. Just trying it myself, I can see that you should be able to achieve a range of blade angles all the way from open to closed on both forehand and backhand. To open the blade on the backhand you'd need to twist the handle in the hand and shift the thumb (like Seemiller does).

Iskandar

Play the way you recommend for a while. See how much power you can get doing it. And when you get injured with the elbow pronation, be sure to recommend it to other people.

_________________
Cobra Kai TT Exponent (Mercy effs up your Game)
One-Loop Man: One Loop... Again????
Lumberjack TT Exponent

"We don't rise to the level of our expectations, we fall to the level of our training" - Archilochus