Penholders, I need your advice

I'll state the obvious, but:
- it's a game/sport/hobby, not a job
- what comes naturally to me you may be a good indication of what will work for you, the way you'd naturally use your left or right hand
- motivation is probably the single biggest factor that will influence your progression. Enjoying play is probably the biggest factor that will influence your motivation. For that you also need to enjoy the way that you are playing. Same goes for styles and tactics.
- I'd be surprised if the coach couldn't translate some of his teaching to penhold. For the rest, yes, you may have to do some research. As a positive, unusual style of play for your opponents may turn in your favour.
- Xu Xin just won the Australian open. If your aim is to dislodge Ma Long or FZD that may be a serious consideration, but if you can be so modest as to contend with world top ten, you should be all right. By that time of course, penhold may have replaced shakehand as the mainstream trend, thanks to players such as you.

Tian said:

The coach and some of the other players at my club are advising against me playing penhold (modern, with rpb) and say that I should think about changing to shakehand. They also say that it will be difficult to become much better with penhold and I will struggle...

Do you guys think this is true? Is penhold more difficult to master and are my chances of being a better player better if I switch to shakehand? Btw, no one here plays penhold, so I sadly dont have a penhold coach... is that also bad?

I love penhold and enjoy it alot and I feel comfortable with it now, but I also want to be better and should decide now.

Thanks

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You can play penhold. It's a dying style because it has more weaknesses at a professional level. And I want to stress "professional" because the weaknesses really only show at the very highest level. So unless you're a 3-year old chinese kid (joking obviously) you're probably not ever going to play at the level where these weaknesses will show.

I play penhold it and love it because it gives me the ability to play top spins much more easily and I have more fun with it.

With regards to the lack of coaches, this is also bullshit. The overall movement one needs to acquire to play table tennis can be sought for with any good coach. The technique to which you hit the ball, the legs movement, the hip movement and the arm movement are all part of the table tennis game and a good coach will be able to tell you "you're hitting the ball well" no matter the style you choose.

I've played penhold all my life and I love it. At my lowly level there's so many issues with my game (like footwork, conditioning, etc) that the disadvantages of penhold really don't come into play. As for coaches, I have two coaches. One played penhold professionally and has been instrumental in teaching me RPB, the other one is shakehands but is teaching me strategy. To be honest only very, very few things can't be translated from shakehand to penhold (at my level). What is unique to penhold is finger pressure, subtle things with grip etc. General footwork, body motion and even upper body motion is very similar. Especially if you play RPB. There's even more similarities. However, as it was pointed out, unless you are planning on going pro I would play what makes you happy and excited. For me it is playing Wang Hao style and that gets me to the gym. If you love penhold, then just go with it. If your coach is saying you should switch, switch coaches. That is my 2 cents.

Tian said:

I totally agree! But again, these people are the only ones I know that play table tennis here, but still I think I agree... a good coach can still see if you play well and can see your mistakes anyway. Thanks man

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Like others have said, unless you are aiming to become the top 20 in the world, penhold wouldn't put you in disadvantage. You need to stick to what feels comfortable.

Hey if you somehow represent your country, penholder usually attract attention on the international stage. Hope that will happen to you one day.

With regard to coaching, major techniques are similar between PH and SH such as power looping, FH attack from BH side etc. PH specific techniques can be found online. Why don't you ask your coach to watch Wang Hao's tutorial with you?

PH coaching videos are abundant in China. From service to short push, from Ma Lin service to Xu Xin looping. If somehow you can learn Chinese, you can watch hundreds of coaching videos specifically for PH.

Good luck. Be stubborn and stick to your natural grip!

Passionate about TT

I have switch to shakehand and I’ve already experienced major improvement in my game from few practices. Shakehand seems more natural for my hand so I switched out from Penhold.

Yes, all coaches will tell you shakehand is easier and it’s true. But some coaches will teach you whatever feels natural for you rather than make you doubt your skills. I’m not practicing with multiple coaches now. Everyone gives me different directions. So I like what the last one said.

Once nobody plays chopper style, now it comes back. You could be the one let the people think Penhold is the best. All styles have their own advantages and disadvantages. Find some video on you tube to see the best Penhold players before then it may make you think, Waaaaaaaaaaaa Penhold is fun.

sktrdie said:

You can play penhold. It's a dying style because it has more weaknesses at a professional level.

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What weaknesses?

From a physics point of view, what can a shake hands player do that a c-pen player can not?


I am a shake hands player. I play c-pen for fun when I feel energetic. I think I must work harder when playing c-pen. I find RPB to be deadly and there isn't much difference between c-pen and shake hands FH. The TPB can cover the middle or pocket. TPB just doesn't have the power but it is good for placement shots off the bounce.

I play penhold because shakehand hurts my wrist. Do what feels best for you. As long as you use RPB, it is not too different from shakehand.

songdavid98 said:

I play penhold because shakehand hurts my wrist. Do what feels best for you. As long as you use RPB, it is not too different from shakehand.

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I agree, SH puts a lot of strain on my wrist also.

Please don't be a pure RPB player, those guys are bound to fail (I'm looking at you Xue Fei). Mix TPB and RPB on you BH to create variations. And most importantly your FH must be your main weapon. If you can side step to hit the ball with your Fh rather than your BH then do it. Be active on your feet.

This! Any competitive Cpen player HAS to develop both TPB and RPB !!!

This why most ppl dont recommend cpen for tournament / match players.

You have to win at all costs, since Shakehand can be taught relatively fast and quickly, it has become the dominant style.

I recommend just going with what you feel more comfortable playing with. Penhold is a little harder to learn, but having the right resources to improve will still be okay.

I am likely the best penholder in South Africa
Tian, which city are you in?