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[729 fx]

In table tennis or ping pong, there are two main grip types, the shakehands grip and the penhold grip and each of these has several variations. There are others like Seemiller and V-grip but not so popular as compared with the shakehands grip and the penhold grip.

For beginners to ping pong, I would recommend to start with a shakehand grip, reason being it is more natural to hit a fore hand and backhand using this grip.

The shakehand grips has 2 main version. The 2 main version are
1) Shakehand Shallow Grip - the index finger is extended along the bottom of the racket, with the thumb being relaxed on the blade, rather than the rubber. The bottom three fingers are used to grip the handle. The basic grip is achieved by 'shaking hands' with the racket, hence the name
2) Shakehand Deep Grip - similar to the shakehand shallow grip, but the hand is placed further up the handle towards the head of the racket. The index finger is extended along the bottom of the racket, with the thumb now being relaxed on the rubber. The bottom three fingers are used to grip the handle.

The penhold grip has 2 main variation -
1) Chinese - this grip is similar to holding a pen for writing, where the thumb and index finger hold on to the racket handle, while the other three fingers curl around the back of the racket. There are other versions of the way the three remaining fingers may be held but the overall grip is still considered the traditional Chinese Penhold.
2) Korean/Japanese - similar to the traditional Chinese penhold grip, but the fingers on the back of the bat are extended straight out, not curled. Variations included the position of the fourth and fifth fingers ie are kept close together with the third finger, and in the other variation they are spread out on the back of the blade.

The minor grips are :
1) the Seemiller grip - held similarly to the shakehand grip, but with a 90 degree turn so that the thumb and index finger are used to grip the sides of the bat. Both forehand and backhand are played with the same side of the bat, although the bat can be turned to use the other side. This grip is popularised by Dan Seemiller in the 1970's.
2) the V grip - 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.

[ejunkie]

LOL. I don't think seemiller would appreciated you calling his grip "minor". Different, unusual, or unorthodox may be.

[ejunkie]

By the way I wasn't laughing at you but the way you phrase it.

[729 fx]

Ho Ho Ho. No offense taken, ejunkie.

Actually, I believe the seemiller grip is popular in the US & Canada. Globally, I would consider it a minor (lesser players use this style) comparing with shakehand and penhold.

Cheers.

[varghese]

Danny has coached me some two years ago. He is the best coach I have seen training his students how to top spin.

In my opinion, Danny would never have invented a grip of his own with a purpose. He and his brother Ricky played numerous hours when they were young, and grip might have come as part of their practice. I don't think Danny has ever promoted his seemiller grip, telling people to use it, (and never have earned a royalty on his special grip ). I think he favored a shakehand grip. He and his son both use the seemiller grip, but I think they play more top spin game with a shakehand grip, and occasionally switch to the seemiller grip to defend. This is what I think I have noticed when I have played against his son at the US Nationals an year ago.

It should be a new topic if we want to discuss the pros and cons of seemiller grip.

The beginners at any club have all kinds of grip. It has surprised me sometimes and has asked myself are they using the seemiller grip.