As a penholder for many years who does both gosh if I could learn the game all over again, I'd do what i'm doing with my girls which is RPB full time.
That hesitation of should I TPB or RPB is a killer IMO. I'd love to play like Wang Hao but I just can't teach my brain to do it on quick balls to my BH. Instinctively I just use TPB. Consequently, there is the occasional ball I simply cannot play as strong as i've committed to TPB where RPB would be the better shot.
This post feels so true, but it goes against my morals a bit. I mean yea if you make a player fully based on drives and no defence, this RPB only might work. I am not sure whether you mean RPB full time, as in only using it for drives and loops, and using TPB side for other things. I am pretty sure the hesitation plays such a big role because we played only TPB for a decent amount of time and only learned RPB later on. The decision should not be hard for a player who learned RPB two or three months after starting.
Now yes you can play both and there are some advantages I suppose to being able to be able to do both but modern younger penholders today don't even waste time with TPB. They're full go RPB all the time. I think there's a reason for that.
Yes. RPB just generates more spin and has better power. A different rubber ment for backhand can also be used in the RPB side, making attacking using backhand easier.
As to the person who started this off. Think of it this way. You're basically like a shakehander now. You have a crossover point. Try not to get caught.
Maybe try using TPB when the ball comes to the crossover section. Capitalizing on penhold`s strength would be the ideal thing to do.
That 100% makes sense especially with the evolving game, but wouldn't you just play SH by then? There is 0 use for penholders since RPB is ever so slightly weaker than the SH backhand. However, I think of it this way: TPB and RPB are two halves of a whole, both together to match SH backhand in power and accuracy. This is why many people, like
@greenbeanmachine ,
@zhzhzhz , and me, prefer going the TPB route first before the RPB one.
Tbh, this feels outdated. I have seen amazing results with new penholders learning RPB from the start. They don't hesitate to attack with RPB. Iv seen myself take too much time deciding on TPB and RPB, and I took a bit of time to get over that. With the modern game in mind it's almost a waste of effort to attack with TPB. But you do need TPB for pushes, lobs, and other non-attacking strokes.
Whoops I forgot to mention feeling, because thats the reason I switched to penhold xD, making this another reason to use PH. But even then TPB should be useful.
Penhold has an advantage by being able to use the same rubber and sometimes switching up the rubbers, allowing the ball to go at different speeds and heights (if you have decently different rubbers). This will throw the opponent off.
Like I said above, TPB is the other half. Adding to that, I personally believe that refusing TPB is a big fat mistake by these new gen players because RPB-only restricts your other spin abilities TPB is so overpowered in.
I mean, they do use the TPB side for different strokes, but it's almost impossible to play properly without using some form of TPB. It is neglected, but it is used.
Having said all this, I have heard people say things like they push mainly with their RPB side. Can someone explain this to me? I do mix my RPB and TPB sides while pushing, but how does one only push with their RPB side when the ball comes to the backhand side? This just sounds wack to me. In my opinion, this is so inefficient and useless. Is there anyone willing to explain how this is superior to pushing with TPB?
