| Ping pong or table tennis is a very fast game. As the | | | | The penhold grip in ping pong means gripping the |
| tiny plastic ball is driven from one side to the other side | | | | racket handle much like holding a pen or any other |
| of the table at lightning speed, a player has a fraction | | | | writing instrument for that matter. The penhold grip is |
| of a second to react and propel the ball back to his or | | | | common among ping pong players from the east, |
| her opponent; indeed it is an ultimate test of agility and | | | | particularly Asian countries. The penhold allows a more |
| body coordination. Playing ping pong requires excellent | | | | flexible wrist and therefore great for serves and |
| footwork and body positioning. But more than the | | | | forehands. It allows the player to adjust to the |
| stance, a player needs to have an excellent grip on | | | | opponent's tactics more freely. |
| the racket to attain better performance. | | | | There are variations in penhold grip style. While penhold |
| There are many ways to grip the ping pong racket. As | | | | is generally pertained to as the Chinese grip, it has |
| each style of grip can impact the way an individual | | | | Japanese and other minor styles. But commonly, this |
| plays the game, it may well be a factor that can | | | | style makes use of the index finger and the thumb. |
| determine if a player has the advantage in a match | | | | The three remaining fingers are either curled or spread |
| and therefore predict the outcome of the game as | | | | at the backside of the blade. This manner of holding |
| well. The following are the different grip styles in ping | | | | the racket means players using the penhold grip can |
| pong that players, new and old, can use to increase | | | | only use one side of the blade; the backside, which is |
| the chances of shining in the game. | | | | where the three other fingers are hidden, is rarely |
| The Shakehand Grip | | | | used. |
| The shakehand grip in ping pong is a way of holding | | | | Other Grips |
| the racket in a way that is similar to shaking a person's | | | | There are other ping pong grips available, but these |
| hand. The shakehand grip is common between ping | | | | are minor ones and are rarely used by players. One is |
| pong players coming from western countries because | | | | the seemiller grip where the racket is held just like a |
| it approximates the kind of grip used in tennis which | | | | shakehand grip except in the way that the thumb and |
| originated in the west. | | | | the index finger are gripping the sides of the blade |
| In general, a shakehand grip gives more power in the | | | | rather than the handle. Another type of grip is the V |
| player's strokes. It locks the racket firmly in hand and | | | | grip where the index and middle fingers, formed into a |
| takes force from the wrists. The shakehand grip is | | | | V, are gripping the edge of the blade that is nearest |
| effective for forehand and backhand maneuvers as it | | | | the handle. |
| allows more control. The disadvantage for this type of | | | | Ping pong introduces a variety of ways to grip the |
| grip, however, comes from the locked and inflexible | | | | racket. The important thing to remember is that the |
| wrists it affords, which ironically is the same source | | | | final say in finding the ultimate grip can only come from |
| from which it takes its power. An inflexible wrist can | | | | the player. As they say in ping pong, different grips for |
| limit a player's adjustment to the opponent's strokes. | | | | different folks. |
| The Penhold Grip | | | | |