Playing with non-dominant hand

[Jaydynite]

My dominant right arm is ridiculously weaker than my left, which is why I prefer to play sports with my non-dominant left arm. I've been playing table tennis for just over a year now and I chose to play left-handed for this reason. However, I realised that accuracy and spin is far more important than strength in table tennis, and I'm starting to think that that was a stupid decision.

Will my non-dominant playing hand prevent me from reaching higher levels? Should I relearn the sport with my right hand?

 

[JJ Ng]

My dominant right arm is ridiculously weaker than my left, which is why I prefer to play sports with my non-dominant left arm. I've been playing table tennis for just over a year now and I chose to play left-handed for this reason. However, I realised that accuracy and spin is far more important than strength in table tennis, and I'm starting to think that that was a stupid decision.

Will my non-dominant playing hand prevent me from reaching higher levels? Should I relearn the sport with my right hand?

Did you suffer some sort of injury to your dominant right arm? How is the range of motion to your right arm/right side of the body?

 

[Jaydynite]

Did you suffer some sort of injury to your dominant right arm? How is the range of motion to your right arm/right side of the body?

No, it did not suffer any injuries and my range of motion isn't any different from my left. It's just significantly weaker.

 

[JJ Ng]

No, it did not suffer any injuries and my range of motion isn't any different from my left. It's just significantly weaker.

Uhm...interesting. Why don't you have some practice session with your dominant arm. I think you should be able to pick it up pretty fast (assuming you use your dominant arm to write and do other fine motor skill tasks).

 

[Crillo]

Are you asking on a forum which hand you should use when playing TT for your next season?

 

[lodro]

use the same hand for TT that you write with.
It will be the same hand that you use for .............well, you know what 🤣🤣🤣

 

[loerting]

My dominant right arm is ridiculously weaker than my left, which is why I prefer to play sports with my non-dominant left arm. I've been playing table tennis for just over a year now and I chose to play left-handed for this reason. However, I realised that accuracy and spin is far more important than strength in table tennis, and I'm starting to think that that was a stupid decision.

Will my non-dominant playing hand prevent me from reaching higher levels? Should I relearn the sport with my right hand?

Use your dominant hand, the needed strength will come by playing, and with the correct technique you don't need much strength, only explosiveness. As you said feeling is more important.

 

[OldUser]

Play a music instrument then: you'll understand the synchronization and the arc reflex better. And also how to play softer or heavier. Righty guitarists/bassists/double bassists/cellist/violinists always use the left hand as the "fretting hand" meaning pressing the note on the fretted/fretless board. You have to learn accuracy AND speed with that non-dominant hand then, to understand how much pressure to apply with you fingers according to the force used by the right hand doing the bowing, pizzicato or slap.

Playing percussions also helps: beat boxing the rhythm patterns with your mouth and then choosing the right percussion instrument with each of your hand, the part or that hand (fingers, fingertips, palm only, all the hand, softer, harder, etc...).

It seems stupid at first sight, but you'll understand better how the connection between your brain and your left side works then, bear in mind that a dominant side isn't controlled by the the same hemisphere as the non-dominant one.

It has to do with your brain plasticity, if you're younger you'll learn that faster than at an advanced age.

If you're really noob at music instrument playing, start with percussions or electric bass (a fretted one of course).

 

[blahness]

I write with my left hand but play with my right hand 🤔 I regret not starting out with my left but here I am...

 

[lodro]

I write with my left hand but play with my right hand 🤔 I regret not starting out with my left but here I am...

we are all unique. I play with my left but I kick with my right leg. I shoot pistols holding it in my left hand but shoot rifles left hand forward and right hand on the trigger.
Life is hard 😂

 

[AndyK]

As someone who has switched hands, I would say stick with your stronger left hand. I'm left handed and played with my left hand until an injury forced me to switch hands a couple of years ago. I've essentially gotten to my old level with the right hand quite quickly, but I did notice that my loops and serves were more effective left handed because of the angle going across right handers. Most people are used to playing right handers and playing lefties can throw them off even at the intermediate level. Also, wrist & forearm strength can really elevate the modern backhand, so your stronger left hand will benefit you there as well.

 

[Jaydynite]

use the same hand for TT that you write with.
It will be the same hand that you use for .............well, you know what 🤣🤣🤣

Well... I use my non-dominant hand for most things other than writing 🤣🤣🤣

 

[lodro]

Well... I use my non-dominant hand for most things other than writing 🤣🤣🤣

All good then, don't forget the lubricants

 

[Jaydynite]

As someone who has switched hands, I would say stick with your stronger left hand. I'm left handed and played with my left hand until an injury forced me to switch hands a couple of years ago. I've essentially gotten to my old level with the right hand quite quickly, but I did notice that my loops and serves were more effective left handed because of the angle going across right handers. Most people are used to playing right handers and playing lefties can throw them off even at the intermediate level. Also, wrist & forearm strength can really elevate the modern backhand, so your stronger left hand will benefit you there as well.

The thing is, I'm a chopper...
So I'm really starting to regret my choices.

 

[Jslick89]

I’m left handed but I play TT right handed. When I was a teenager I learned to play tennis right handed. No one would ever know I’m left handed lol. Too bad I can’t play left handed…with my right hand I’m 1500…with my left maybe 800 if I’m lucky.

Play with the hand that is more natural.

I also throw with my rigtt hand. Golf right handed. Right handed basketball.

I do play soccer mainly with my left foot though

 

[Tony's Table Tennis]

I'm tidying up my video folder and actually came across this:

Both were Lin Yunju's practice partner last year, the lefty warming up is a dominant righty. Folks bought him up playing lefty. So its not impossible, but he did start pretty young

This was at a photoshoot session on a Sunday.
The Li brothers was training with Lin on Saturday and again on Monday.

 

[Tony's Table Tennis]

Here is some more videos:

 

[JJ Ng]

I'm tidying up my video folder and actually came across this:

Both were Lin Yunju's practice partner last year, the lefty warming up is a dominant righty. Folks bought him up playing lefty. So its not impossible, but he did start pretty young

This was at a photoshoot session on a Sunday.
The Li brothers was training with Lin on Saturday and again on Monday.

Nice videos! I have read about that in the other thread from you. crazy so his parents brought him up playing left handed. I thought about doing that to my kids but let us be honest, my kids aren't going to be Ma Long or Chen Meng of table tennis so I squashed that idea fairly quickly.

 

[Tony's Table Tennis]

Nice videos! I have read about that in the other thread from you. crazy so his parents brought him up playing left handed. I thought about doing that to my kids but let us be honest, my kids aren't going to be Ma Long or Chen Meng of table tennis so I squashed that idea fairly quickly.

I had problems with my youtube logon, only sorted recently.
while I couldn't get on, I uploaded some videos to a temp/new account. I'm busy transferring the content to my original (that had no new content for years)

Yeah, it was a big risk for the parents.
to the public, they say, the elder brother (the one that beat Dima), is a righty
and they wanted the younger sibling to be a lefty, which will have an upper advantage over the general righty population.

To me, the older brother has proven more over the few years I know them. So left and right, does not equate best or not. If you look at the TT Grand Slam winners, there is no lefty yet
But I do understand lefty does have some added advantage and agree to a certain extent.

Since the Li's parents are both coaches, I would imagine, they saw something with the younger sibling to help determine and train him as a lefty. I don't think one just does that for the sake of it. He needs to show signs of potential.
It is different to baseball or cricket, where a hitter can just stand on the other side and swing the bat.

The amount of control and touch on the playing hand is beyond any other sport that I can think of. It is like saying, asking him to paint with his left hand. The finer details really does need dominant hand control and details, or at least for majority of the population. Maybe you do get a few that are "special"