Description and Photographs:
The V grip in table tennis is so called because the blade is held between the index and middle fingers, which are spread apart similar to the 'V for Victory' sign to begin with. The index and middle fingers are then curled down to grip the blade, while the last two fingers wrap around the handle. The thumb is placed where comfortable.
Advantages:
Reported advantages of the V Grip by Tom Veatch on his website include the following:
- An extended reach, which means more leverage, and thus the ability to produce more power and spin.
- The ability to produce shots with wide angles.
- More control, since the larger muscle groups of the body do more work than the smaller muscle groups.
Disadvantages:
The following disadvantages of the V grip are noted:
- Shots to the player's elbow can be difficult to return, since the area of overlap between the forehand and backhand stroke zones is smaller than for the shakehand grip.
- Since the grip is little known, it is difficult to find a coach who is familiar with teaching the grip.
- The grip is unproven on the world stage, so whether better players will be able to find other weaknesses of this grip remains to be seen.
What Type of Player Uses This Grip?:
At the moment, this grip appears to be mainly experimental, with few players on the world stage using the V grip. We will have to wait and see whether this grip will gain enough users to become a major grip in the future. Perhaps if a V grip user can break through in the top world ranks, this could happpen. It would be a brave person to risk their career by trying to use this grip instead of the conventional grips - but you never know!
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