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Unconventional Grip?
By Larry Thoman
Question:
I have been playing ping pong for over 20 years but only recreationally.
I have an unconventional grip (taught to me by my father) in which
my forefinger AND thumb are behind the blade. I use the same side
of the blade on both sides. It helps me use more topspin on the
backhand and quickens the transition (I think).
I play anywhere
from 2 to 4 feet from the table. The grip also seems to make blocking
easier.
Anyway, I was
curious if this style of mine has a name and if there are any blades
appropriate to it. In the past, some paddles dug into my middle
finger because the bottom wasn't rounded enough.
Make sense? I
include a picture of me gripping a large paddle in a similar way.
Answer:
Jeff,
What you are
using is a variation of the "Seemiller" grip, named after Dan Seemiller
who is 5 times National Champion and who got as high as 18th in
the world. Sometimes this grip is also referred to as the "American"
grip or "Windshield Wiper" grip. This was a popular grip in the
70's and 80's and was used by both Dan Seemiller and Eric Boggan,
who are the only American-born players to break into the world top
20 in the last 30+ years. So it is an acceptable grip.
In the last decade
or so, however, this grip has slowly gone out of favor. To the best
of my knowledge, there is no one currently on the world ranking list
that uses this grip and there are only a few in the top 100 or so
in the US. There are several reasons for this, but mainly it is because
of 3 weaknesses of this grip:
- Inability to attack underspin balls placed wide to the backhand.
- Inability to defend against attacks to the wide forehand.
- Difficulty in sustaining a strong forehand attack when the first
attack is counterattacked.
On the other
hand, this is a great grip for:
- Close to table blocking and counter-driving and smashing.
- Use of two different rubber surfaces (usually inverted and either
anti or long pips) and flipping between the two for service receive
or as a variation in the middle of a rally.
- No switch point weakness.
Most players
using this grip use a flared style handle and usually a medium or
medium fast blade. Dan, Eric, and most everyone else I've seen use
this grip let their forefinger wrap around one side of the blade
resting the paddle edge in the 1st joint of the forefinger and letting
the opposite edge of the blade rest between the 1st and 2nd joints
of the thumb. This hand position will prevent the edge of the paddle
from digging into your middle finger and give greater stability
to your forehand strokes. When returning underspin shots with the
backhand, the thumb is moved onto the blade surface in roughly the
same position as shown in the picture you sent in of your grip.
Thanks for writing
and good luck with your game.
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