August 8, 2012

Different Grips in Table Tennis

Most people who have a slight interest for table tennis, have learned that there are two ways to hold the racket. The first is the "handshake" way, and the second is the "penhold" way. The both names are pretty self-explanatory. When using a handshake racket, you grip the whole handle with your hand so the blade is pointing upwards. When using a penhold racket, the blade is pointing downwards and only your thumb and index finger are gripping around the handle, supporting it against the other fingers.

The penhold grip is mostly used by Asian players, while the handshake grip is the most common grip in the rest of the world. This is of course the result of tradition - and it's preserved by manufacturers that focus on only one of the player types. 

Though, there are several big manufacturers that let their customers choose which handle they want on their blade. Stiga has offered six different shapes for many years now, - five different for handshake players and one for the Chinese penholders. And there was a period in the 80's when they offered one unusual type called the Japanese - or Korean - penhold. They only offered it on one of their four different pro blades, and barely promoted it at all in Europe because of extremely low demand. There still are some top-level players who use the Japanese penhold, though. But what is this mysterious "J-Pen"?

Table tennis rackets
1) Handshake 2) C-pen 3) Handshake 4) J-pen
All used in one Olympic game 2012
The shape of the hitting surface on a handshake blade can vary, but usually they look like on the image above. A C-pen can vary a little bit more but are usually very alike a handshake blade. A J-pen leaps out properly, though. It's always significantly longer, and has almost a rectangular hitting area. Often even longer than the rubbers are when they're new and uncut, so there can be some space between rubber and handle on the forehand side where the player can have his fingers.

Practical differences between Handshake, Chinese penhold and Japanese penhold

It might look like the C-pen and the J-pen blades are held the same way, but that's not completely true. A C-pen player typically has the side of his middle finger against the backhand side of his blade, while a J-pen player has the inside of the three fingers against the blade. This brings different advantages and disadvantages.

The biggest difference between using a handshake blade and using an Asian grip blade, is that the Asian blades don't bring any transition between forehand and backhand. That transition makes it difficult for the handshake player to hit shots near the body on the forehand side. The Asian grip player can also hit shoulder-high shots on the forehand with more natural movements while it's easier on the backside for the handshake player. Deep shots on the backhand side is also easier for the handshaker since he doesn't have to twist his arm around and therefore has better reach.

The Japanese penholder has one extra advantage; The blade becomes more of an extension of the arm on the forehand side, which encourages more of a natural swing with high speed and proper spin. But this can be compensated with the length of the blade, which can make it unpractical near or over the table.

Which grip should I use?

Definitely the one that feels the most natural to you. In Europe, the handshake grip is properly established, but in Asia a lot of professional players use it nowadays too. For example 2011 World Champion and 2012 Olympic Champion, Zhang Jike - or defensive player Joo Se-Hyuk, who actually put up a great game against Jike in the team play after the singles final!

Joo Se-Hyuk
Joo Se-Hyuk from South Korea made Zhang Jike work for
the win in the last table tennis game in the 2012 Olympics.
Without the handshake racket, his defensive
play style probably wouldn't work so well.

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