Table tennis is such a fast and intelligent game that it can only be compared to aerial combat. Decisions must be made as quickly as possible, react to the movement of the ball as correctly as possible, and at the same time the body must be sufficiently relaxed, but also ready for lightning-fast movements. Anyone wants to immediately learn to play beautifully. But being able to play table tennis professionally is practically an art. And first of all, you need to master the basics of the game, including the rules of holding the racket.
Instructions
Step 1
The way to hold a racket for this kind of tennis is called a grip. It is of two types - horizontal and vertical. The names of these methods come from the position of the racket relative to the horizon. It is also important to know where the back and the palm of the racket are. The back side is the one that is the continuation of the back side of the hand, and the palmar side is the continuation of the palm.
Step 2
With a vertical grip, the index finger and thumb are positioned as if we were holding a normal pen, which is why this grip is commonly referred to as the "Pen Grip". The other three fingers are conveniently located on the back of the racket. This grip helps develop high hand mobility, allowing you to execute a strong, twisted serve. However, using this grip, you can only hit the balls with the palm side of the racket. Therefore, it is practically not used in European table tennis.
Step 3
In a horizontal grip, three fingers (middle, ring and little fingers) wrap around the handle of the racket, the index finger is along the edge of the racket, and the thumb is on the back and may touch the middle finger slightly. In this case, the handle of the racket is located diagonally in the palm of your hand. This grip is called the Knife Grip.
Step 4
Recently, it is this method of holding the racket that has become more and more popular, because it has a lot of advantages. The horizontal grip is used by players to perform complex attacking and defensive movements, it allows equally effective use of both the back and the palm of the racket.
Step 5
This grip has several options:
• universal method (most effective) - the edge of the racket is located exactly in the middle between the index and thumb.
• the edge of the racquet is closer to the index finger, which allows for less strong backside strikes.
• the edge of the racket moves towards the thumb - this method has the opposite effect.
