Pencil Grip

Jacob Unknown Asked 15 years ago

Hey

i am picking up the pencil girp, and my friend told me that you only use one side of the paddle when you play.so the side with3 fingers on it is not used at all. Is this true????

Thanks

Jake

Jeff Plumb Answered 15 years ago

Hi Jake,

We refer to this grip as the penhold grip. And traditionally a penhold grip player would only use one side of the bat. However recently penhold players have begun using the "reverse penhold backhand" which uses the other side of the bat. If you are thinking about using the penhold grip then take a look at our lesson on how to hold a bat. At the end of that lesson we talk about the penhold grip.

And also take a look at the video below about penhold techniques.

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Recommended Video

Fast Serve with Penhold Grip

How do you do a fast serve using the penhold grip? We show you some particular tips about the penhold grip serve.

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Ji-Soo Woo Posted 15 years ago

Further to Jeff's answer, there is nothing in table tennis rules which states penholders can only use one side of the racquet. The only reason traditional penholders use only one side is because the grip itself makes it hard to use the reverse side. However, I do believe there IS a rule that you can't use a side if there is no rubber on it. Most traditional penholders use racquets with no rubber on the reverse side - in which case they could not legally use it during a match.