Penhold vs. Shakehand: Full Explanation for Two Table Tennis Grip Types
Table tennis players have a variety of grips to choose from, but most players want between two main grip types, the shakehand and penhold grip.
These are the two grips that are best for beginners and are also the grips you’ll see most top level players using.
Each has its advantages and disadvantages along with their variations to help you get more from each grip.
Here, you’ll find information on each grip and its variations to help you become more familiar with each one.
The Penhold Grip
The penhold grip is aptly named because you hold the paddle in the same way that you hold a pen when writing. To do this, position your thumb and pointer finger at the top of the handle near the paddle face with your remaining fingers gripping the rest of the handle for support. There are three variations of this grip, the Chinese grip, the Japanese/Korean grip, and the reverse penhold backhand grip.
The Chinese Grip
The Chinese grip is the traditional penhold grip described above and is the most popular of the penhold grip variations. You can modify this slightly by holding your thumb almost parallel to the blade of the paddle while curving your pointer finger. You can spread your thumb and pointer finger to different degrees and even have your pointer finger overlapping your thumb slightly. Your back fingers can also have different positions including touching the blade of the paddle if you like.
The traditional Chinese penhold grip is great for free wrist movement (more so than the other grips). This will help you perform better forehand strokes and also give you more power on your serves. Blocks and pushing are also easier with this grip because it allows you to make forehand or backhand blocks. There is no crossover point with the penhold grip as there is with other grips, too. This means that you always use the same forehand side for attacking, counterstriking, and defending shots.
The downside to the Chinese grip is that it can be difficult to get consistent topspins on your backhand shots. This is because you’ll have to contort your arm to an unnatural angle to get that spin on the ball. It also takes away your flexibility to cover both sides of the table properly. You’ll have to cover the table with forehand attacks instead which can drain your energy quickly. Players, therefore, choose to stay close to the table so they can attack with forehand strokes and block and push with their backhand.
The Japanese/Korean Grip
This is the second most common variation of the penhold grip and is referred to frequently as the Japanese grip or the Korean grip. This grip is similar to the Chinese grip as your thumb and pointer fingers grip the handle in the same way, but the difference comes in the back fingers. Instead of curling them around the handle, you stretch them out onto the blade. You can further modify this by keeping your ring, and pinky fingers fanned out on the blade of the paddle, or you can keep them close to your middle finger.
The Japanese/Korean grip gives you attacking power in your forehand as your extended fingers will give you additional support. It still gives you more wrist mobility and also helps you get a stronger spin on the ball.
The disadvantage to this variation of the penhold grip is that the actual movement of the blade from the top of the paddle to the handle is a bit restricted thanks to your extended fingers. The positioning of your fingers stops you from adjusting the paddle’s angle for your backhand. It also poses a problem for backhand topspins, as the Chinese grip does. You’ll also need the same stamina required for the Chinese grip to cover the whole table properly.
Players that seem to like this variation are those who like forehand attacks. They also tend to stand further away from the table than those who use the Chinese grip. Blocking and fishing are done with their backhand while quick footwork allows them to make powerful forehand shots, so they aren’t always playing defense.
The Reverse Penhold Grip
This is the final variation of the penhold grip. Here, you similarly hold the paddle to the Chinese grip but you hit backhand side balls with the back of the penhold. In addition to the actual grip technique, a lot of players who use it choose to also utilize inverted rubber for their backhand in order to achieve better topspin balls.
The reverse penhold grip has the same advantages as the Chinese grip, but it also gives you a more powerful backhand. This is different than the weak backhand of the traditional grip. You can use this backhand to attack short balls, achieve better topspin balls with your backhand stroke, and have a wider reach. It can also be used along with the Chinese grip in a game since it’s not difficult to switch between the two.
There are a few disadvantages, however. One is that this grip creates a crossover point—where you need to switch from backhand to forehand. This decision usually has to be made quickly which can present a problem for some players, especially beginners. This is why more experienced players are better suited for this grip. Another downside is that it’s hard to create backhand side topspins with the reverse penhold grip if the ball doesn’t have some sidespin to it.
Wang Hao is a former famous star used this technique:
