Dear Mr. Greg,
First of all please accept my gratitude for running your wonderful site. Please keep it up!
I have a question, I have a problem in keeping the same grip for back hand shots, as I change/adjust it to put top spin or place my shots to my liking. I get points against most of the players but sometime I face problems adjusting my games against better or agile players.
Could you please advise how to get rid of this problem? Should I grip my bat more gently or practice more?
Regards, Muhammad
The question of whether to change grips or not during a rally is one that is often debated amongst table tennis players. Some players are well known for their grip changes, such as Timo Boll (an extreme case, who has a big variation between his backhand and forehand grip), or Jan-Ove Waldner (who was famous for changing his grip to occasionally produce unique and devasting shots). Many players have small grip changes between their forehand and backhand, sometimes as little as shifting the position of their thumb or index finger just a fraction. Other players try to avoid changing their grip at all during the rally.
From your question, I think you mean that you use different grips for different shots on your backhand side. Assuming that this is true, then it can be difficult to change your grip fast enough to play your shots against better players.
So what are your options? You can either try to stick to one grip on your backhand for almost all of your backhand shots, changing only when you have the time to do so, or you can try to speed up your grip changes so that you don't get caught out.
Which is better? Hard to say. If you are only practicing once or twice a week, I'd say that sticking to one grip with occasional variations is better (like Waldner). If you are practicing a lot, you might be able to speed up your grip changes so that you can perform them smoothly under pressure (like Boll). But for 99% of people I would probably recommend sticking to one grip with occasional variations - it's easier and more likely to succeed. You might be the exception, but the chances are against you. But I guess I would have given the same advice to Timo, so remember that in the end you have to decide what you think would be better for your game.
Best of luck!
Greg
