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Tony's Table Tennis wrote: on Tuesday, February 06, 11:28 AM
#5
penhold is not easy
if you going to play for fun, then why not
if you want to play serious, then don't do it.

Very bad advice.
If a player is playing in a tournament , he is not a fun player.
There is no such thing really as "playing for fun" if you are a tournament player.
f you are a tournament player , you are playing primarily to compete.
Fun & exercise are just happy byproducts & benefits.

Claiming to play for fun is usually an excuse for something else & most common is why you lost.
That is just dishonesty

That said, it is not a question whether a given grip is easy or hard. All grips are easy or natural depending on what is the best grip for you as an individual.
Grip is something you are born with. If you are a natural penholder that is the best grip for you.
You should not switch to shakehand just because everyone else around you is doing it.
In countries other than Far East Asia (Europe or North America or Africa etc) everyone usually starts and sticks with shakehand because that seems to be the msot popular
In Far East Asia (China, Japan, Korea , Vietnam, etc) most (if not all) probably start with penhold but may switch to shakehand.

But you should not choose your style based on what works for other people. It is what is best for you & is natural to you as an individual.

However all above said, penhold is still the best grip in table tennis. Also most penholders can also play shakehand but most natural shakehanders are horrible if they try penhold.

Also genrally if you had played penhold from an early age & do well with it as many do in far east Asia , you are probably a natural penholder & you are lucky.

I agree.
Your best grip is what comes to you MOST naturally of all grips
Huge myth is table etnnis is that any player can play with any grp equally well if they train hard enough. This is pure nonsense
Most penholders (or Ameican grip users) for example can play decent shakehand also .
But that is no way implies that all shakehanders can also play penhold equally well. They can't. Most shakehander are usually bad playing penhold howevr hard they try. Of course all this is talking from a competitive standpoint nor recreational hitting around mindlessly
I agree with Tony that it does not matter if you are playing for fun , whatever the hell that means but if you want to be a competitive player you want the best grip that is natural to you.
I saw a post somewhere by James Z I think, where it explains why penhold is the best grip. I can't seem to find it

ZAShakeholder wrote: ↑February 7th, 2024, 2:16 am I saw a post somewhere by James Z I think, where it explains why penhold is the best grip. I can't seem to find it

I think you are talking about this thread below (Click on link below)

Is penhold still a viable grip