How to hold shakehand blade correctly?

For me, it seems I have more controll and power when I put my index finger on the BH rubber while smashing a FH, but if I want to do a high torque spin FH or BH, all my finger are on the handle, holding it loosely (just hard enough so the blade does not fly out from my hand, and hit/graze  the ball (almost at 90 degree angle), while keeping my wrist very loose so it acts like a whip.

The neutral grip is arguably the most common way to hold a blade where both forehand and backhand are equally balanced.  This is the recommended grip to developing players such that they are "forced" to work on their fundamental strokes without biasing either wing.  The blade is held so that one of its shoulders lies evenly at the root where the thumb and index finger join.  One side of the thumb is laid either on the forehand rubber or on the wedge of the handle whereas the tip of the index finger touches the backhand rubber parallel to the thumb.  The remaining fingers then wrap around the handle accordingly, with the first or second knuckle of the middle finger(depending on one's finger length) slightly bumped against the other shoulder giving stable support.

The forehand- or backhand-oriented and deep or shallow grip are variant of the neutral grip.  It is a personal preference and often reflects a player's style.  For forehand-oriented grip, one shoulder of the blade lies more prominently towards the thumb side of the root and the index finger is placed upward more away from the shoulder.  For backhand-oriented grip, the entire length of index finger lays flat on the rubber.  As for deep and shallow grip, the former gives more control and accuracy yet the latter allows wider wrist movement and agility.  For deep grip, the blade is held up the handle more with the second knuckle of middle finger hanging on the shoulder.

Ultimately, it is one's own style that determines the ideal way of holding a blade.

Below are pics of Chinese players' grip:
Kong Linghui(Deep backhand-oriented)



Wang Liqin(Forehand-oriented)


More
Some more

Awesome pictures!

Its very personal, I don't like my grip to be too deep (high up the handle) as it limits flexibility for over the table play, I like to rotate my blade with my fingers. A 'deep' grip is however more stable in strokeplay, the best thing to do is find what is useful for you, and for Gods sake, don't get into the habit of changing grip regularly as you copy other players, or you could end up a GJ (grip Junkie)

hahaha my grip is naturally so fh oriented!!!!  explains the stability i get from driving and looping.

i cant get myself to do the more bh oriented grip as much as i try.  feels extremely unnatural.

very good post zeio!

Baal wrote: Messing with your grip is the ninth circle of table tennis hell!!!!

+1.  I used to change grip between FH and BH, and since trying to stay with 1 grip (FH grip), my BH (which used to be my ace) is a hit and miss now.  I did try with a more BH grip, but don't feel comfortable at all.  Good news though, is that I think I have passed the frustration period, and started to get a 'grip' on the new FH grip .

Looking at M. Maze on this video in slow motion, I think he twiddle the blade angle a little bit between BH and FH loop.  I use to twiddle the blade angle a little bit between BH and FH too (a habit from CPen grip) , but tried to stop. Maybe I do not need to try too hard to stay with one grip. What do you think?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=locofduK2dQ&feature=related

ohhgourami wrote: mhnh007 wrote: Looking at M. Maze on this video in slow motion, I think he twiddle the blade angle a little bit between BH and FH loop.  I use to twiddle the blade angle a little bit between BH and FH too (a habit from CPen grip) , but tried to stop. Maybe I do not need to try too hard to stay with one grip. What do you think? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=locofduK2dQ&feature=related If you are fh dominate, simply use the grip you use for fh on your bh.

That is what I try to do now.  But my point is that trying to stay with one grip may not be necessary.

i also change my grip between FH and BH, i tried a neutral grip but my BH suffered too much, my coach says its ok

I had attended an international seminar 20 years ago in Greece and the coaches there had said that it is not bad to change grips. The Swedish national coach (1987-1990) Glenn Osth , had been analyzing for many hours how to change grips by predicting the opponents moves and shots. He said that a good player must predict where the ball goes and change the grip at the same time.
When teaching a young player is better NOT to change grip though.

It is ok to change your grip between shots if this comes natural for you.  I have seen quite a fe w good players who do this.  But if you have been gripping a certain way for a long time and suddenly start trying new things with your grip, it is unlikely to work out very well.

Advice I have heard

1. Young player training seriously to become a pro/advanced player

........ 1.a. Until mastering basics: neutral grip

........ 1.b. Aftering mastering basics: practice changing grips so that it becomes natural

2. Not seriously training

........ 2.a. Primary goal is to win matches, and maintain/improve rating: neutral grip

........ 2.b. Primary goal is to have fun: change grips. Can play cool shots at the cost of being caught with the wrong grip.

Edited by infinite_loop - 06/27/2010 at 2:24pm

richrf wrote: In my experiences, changing the grip comes naturally as one develops feel for the ball/racket contact. It is just like one changes the grip one uses when painting a wall. The more feel one develops for the speed, spin, position, pace of the game the more one can adapt to individual changes that are occurring during play.

Agree

First of all perhaps it was romanian accent...and changing your grip it's bad only for beginners...after a certain level it's almost recomanded...It is not easy but you can do many things with that 

This is a really old thread! I'm not sure if you noticed that when you posted.