Shakehand Grip Variations

TareqPhoto said:

and i hope i can find some kind of a sticker or glue or whatever that i can stick my hand on the handle and have the correct holding the racket, because all people commented about my wrong wrong holding the racket, i start with correct holding as they said or as i should use it, once i start playing or training or practicing it is automatically get to wrong holding position,

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UpSideDownCarl said:

I have changed my grip a bunch of times. When I did it, I had two ways of getting used to the switch. Hitting with a human while trying to change your grip is pretty frustrating.

The first method is, you bounce a ball low on the table and then you loop trying to keep the new grip. And you keep doing this till your body and arm know the position and the new grip. You need a large bucket of balls and you grab a large handful with your left hand and feed them to yourself to loop. Every time you see your hand go to a different grip, you move it back to the one you are trying to change to.

The second method is similar but you do it with a table tennis robot. You use the robot and every time you notice the grip going back to the one you don't want to use you switch it. Once your body feels the right angles for contact it starts becoming easier.

But old habits are hard to change.

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TareqPhoto said:

i am scared[or worried] that i can't change that habit easily or quickly or soon enough...it is like i must first correct my holding before i start training or having coaching.

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UpSideDownCarl said:

Yep. That is hard to change without something like what I described. But if it helps your thinking: I changed grips 4 times two years ago. Each grip change took me an hour on a table alone with a bucket of balls to get used to.

One was a backhand grip and I was using it for both sides so it was similar to ZJK's grip.

The second was a grip where I switched grips for forehand and backhand and was using a FH grip for forehand and a BH grip for backhand.

The third was a grip where I was half way between FH and BH grips so that I wouldn't have to switch grips.

The one I am using now, I got from a Chinese woman coach. It is hard to describe. I am using my index finger and thumb to hold the blade face and I am not really holding the handle. My fingers are around it but really relaxed. What happens is, as I close my wrist and forearm for a backhand the racket just ends up in what amounts to a backhand grip and when I open my wrist and rotate my forearm down for a forehand the racket ends up in what amounts to a forehand grip even though I am not changing the grip.

What is the point of all this? If you do the work and practice alone on a table with a bucket of balls, you can change it. But it is much harder to change while hitting with another person. And when you are working alone you have to be really disciplined about keeping the grip the way you want to change it.

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TareqPhoto said:

Better if you could post photos of those grips so i can have btr idea about what you are talking about, please if you wouldn't mind!

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UpSideDownCarl said:

Nope. They are not something you could see from just photos with the switching grips. And I not going to film video of old grips I no longer use.

But you shouldn't worry about the grips I tried. You should worry about the grip you are being told to learn. If you had 4 other grips to learn in addition to the one you are trying to learn, then you would start asking everyone which one is best, try and learn them all and 20 more in addition to that like you are doing with equipment, and you would never learn any of them and just make yourself more confused. Seeing more grips won't help you: it will hinder you.

LEARN THE ONE YOUR COACH IS TRYING TO TEACH YOU!!!!

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TareqPhoto said:

Then the question is, what is the meaning of grip?

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Hey Tareq, I was on YouTube and this video happened to come up which shows exactly the grip I switched to. I still say you should learn what your coach is trying to teach you but here is a video that shows a grip that this guy is switching from and the new grip he is using.


For anyone else, feel free to jump in and add comments about how you hold the racket or different grips you have seen used.

I have felt there is a lot of sense in holding the racket with the index and middle finger against the blade face and leaving the other three fingers relaxed. With that grip, as I switch my wrist for FH or BH, my grip switches as well so that functionally I have a FH grip for FH and a BH grip for BH without actually physically switching my grip. It changes because of the angle of my wrist, but not because I rotated the racket to a different position.

TareqPhoto said:

I will watch this video and see what are you talking about or what do you mean.

Thank you very much for making this thread, i appreciate it a lot!

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In the end, you should still probably learn the grip your coach is showing you. But this video does a good job of showing the difference between the FH grip he was using and the new grip he is using with the index finger and thumb doing most of the holding.

Amayzde said:

Ive already seen this and tried it, but I did not feel any advantage at all and I could not close my forehand enough... Resulting in less powerfull shots and akward movements on the forehand... I only grip my bat this way on the backhand.

I have to admit you feel the impact more, you can feel the ball dig into the sponge more and get more quality shots, maybe I gave up to early on this grip. Perhaps I would try it once more

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I think everyone is different. This might not be the right thing for you.

Timo Boll does a large switch of his grip from forehand to backhand. If you get really used to it, it might work. I know, for me, the grip I am using which is similar to what he is showing, when I adjust my wrist and forearm for forehand, the racket ends up in a good position for forehand, when I switch my wrist and forearm for backhand, I and up in a backhand grip. How my index and middle fingers hold the racket switches a little from one side to the other. But not because I am trying to do that. They are forced to do that by the angle of my wrist when I switch. When I switch to forehand my thumb moves down onto the top of the handle even though that is still what is holding. When I am on backhand the side of my thumb near the thumbnail is pressing into the rubber and guiding the blade face. When I turn to forehand the change in my wrist causes my thumb to go down a little and then, the middle of the thumb, right near the joint below the nail is pressing into the angled part of the top of the handle. The racket itself gets turned a little but I am not really doing anything for that to happen. It just switches.

Anyway. What I am doing may be a little different on forehand but it seems to really work for me without me needing to think about it because a forehand really does work better with a forehand grip and a backhand really does work better with a backhand grip so finding how to get that from both sides without having to think about switching is nice.

I really don't feel like I get caught between the two sides anymore.

TareqPhoto said:

Well, i have to find a way for my grip, i just saw this video and didn't understand it much, it confused me more than explaining for me, so i will try hard to correct my grip.

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This makes sense. That is why I wasn't going to make photos or a video for you. And that is why you should probably just try and learn the grip your coach is showing you. Don't worry about what other people use as a grip. What he is talking about is actually sort of advanced stuff.

Here is the thing Tareq, what is the coach trying to change? Is it how you hold your racket? If yes, that is your grip. Your grip is the particular way you hold your racket.

There are many different kinds of grips. There are grips that help your forehand but not your backhand. There are grips (ways of holding the racket) that make your backhand stronger. Some players switch grips a lot from forehand to backhand. Other players use one way of holding for both sides.


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When you are asking about Anatomical, Straight and Flared, those are handle shapes and any grip can be used by a player with any or all of those kinds of handles. The handle doesn't really change your grip.

A straight handle is usually thicker where your fingers hold. A flared handle is usually the thinnest where your hand holds but it gets wider towards the end. An anatomical handle looks sort of like a mix of the two. It has a bump or thickened part where the flared would be thinnest. But then it gets thinner before it flares out like a flared handle does towards the end.

In general, people with bigger hands usually like the straight and anatomic handles. And smaller people with smaller hands often prefer flared handles.

But each handle has its benefits and its drawbacks. And more people seem to use a flared handle than any other kind. And it the end the kind of handle all really boils doe to personal preference.


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But usually when someone's hand moves all over the place, a coach is intelligent to first get the player to have a stable grip before that player would start adjusting the grip and moving it for each shot.


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