Giftedness: Understanding Everyday Neurobiology for Self-Knowledge
Styles of play
1.
2. GRIP
- The manner in which competitive
players grip their bats/rackets can be
classified into
two major family of styles
> Penhold
> Shakehand
But, numerous variations on gripping
styles exist.
3. GRIP - SHAKEHAND
- Try imagining shaking hands with
your racket
- Pointy finger pointing downwards &
thumb across the other side
- Don’t grip too firmly (it hinders your
capacity to generate spin)
5. COMMON QUESTION?
Why not use the forehand grip from holding a
lawn tennis racket?
>>It’s a little unstable
>>Having the pointy finger pointing downwards
gives you more control over the racket and
helps you determine which angle is your racket
at
6. GRIP - PENHOLD
- Try imagining holding a pen using
the handle of your racket
Advantage:
• No crossover
• The wrist has more movement and flexibility
Disadvantage:
• Backhand is a little difficult to execute
12. 1 / 5 OFFENSIVE STROKES
- the racket is perpendicular to the direction
of the stroke when executed
- focused on speed than spin
- used mostly to keep the ball in
play, applying pressure on the opponent
to return their shots as fast as they can
SPEED DRIVE
13. 2 / 5 OFFENSIVE STROKES
- reverse of speed drive
- racket is parallel to the direction of the
stroke
- it will arc quite a bit
- not as difficult to return as speed drive but
will likely to rebound off the opponents
racket at a high angle, easy for a smash
LOOP DRIVE
14. 2 / 5 OFFENSIVE STROKES
>> Categorized in 3 variations by the
Chinese players:
1. The “Loop” – slower; ultra-topspin; has a
higher trajectory; more loopy arc
2. The “Rush” – combination of loop &
speed drive; as fast as a speed drive &
has a flatter trajectory as a loop if it
bounces; it spins
3. The “Hook” – top-side spin; bounces
sideways/downwards upon hitting the
table
LOOP DRIVE – 3 CATEGORIES
15. 3 / 5 OFFENSIVE STROKES
- it’s usually a counter attack against drives
- racket is near the ball, hit with a short
movement “off the bounce” (before reaching
the highest point) , hence the ball travels
faster to the other side
- with timing & accuracy, it can be effective
as a smash
COUNTER DRIVE
16. 4 / 5 OFFENSIVE STROKES
- a short topspin stroke played from over
the table, using mainly the wrist and
forearm, typically against a
short serve or push
- it can also be a backswing that is
compressed to a quick wrist action
FLIP (OR FLICK IN EUROPE)
17. 5 / 5 OFFENSIVE STROKES
- A forceful shot with an emphasis
on speed.
- It is a power stroke that will
have the intention of winning
the point. Also known as a flat
hit or kill.
- Usually executed when the
opponent has returned a ball
that bounces too high and/or
close to the net
SMASH
18. 7 DEFENSIVE STROKES
1. Slice
2. Chop
3. Block
4. Push Block
5. Side Drive
6. Lob
7. Stop
19. 1 / 7 DEFENSIVE STROKES
- the racket cuts
underneath, imparting a
backspin and causing the ball to
float slowly to the other side of
the table
- it’s used to make it too short to
be attacked rather than to over-
spin
SLICE
20. 2 / 7 DEFENSIVE STROKES
- a chop is bigger &
heavier than slice, taken
well back from the table
- has so much backspin
that the ball rises & is
difficult to return
- difficult to execute since
it takes a tremendous
amount of spin to return
the ball over the net
CHOP
21. 3 / 7 DEFENSIVE STROKES
- short or simple
shot, barely worthy
of being called a
stroke (since it’s not
a full swing)
- it is executed by
simply putting the
racket in front of the
ball then the ball
rebounds back
toward the opponent
BLOCK
22. 4 / 7 DEFENSIVE STROKES
- adding a small topspin
movement to the ball
- it entails a little push / and a
slanting angle of the racket
PUSH BLOCK OR ACTIVE BLOCK
23. 5 / 7 DEFENSIVE STROKES
- this is alternately used as
defensive / offensive maneuver
- it puts a spin on the ball either to
the right or left
- its execution is similar to slice
but the rackets angle is sideward
not downward
SIDE DRIVE
24. 6 / 7 DEFENSIVE STROKES
- it’s deceptive & the most
visually-impressive shot
- it is done by lifting the ball to
enormous height before it falls
back to the opponents side
- it’s unpredictable because of its
heavy amounts of spin
LOB
25. 7 / 7 DEFENSIVE STROKES
- it’s a high level stroke, used as
another variation for close-to-
table strokes (like slice)
- it’s done by positioning your
body close to the ball and just let
the ball touch the racket without
any hand movement
STOP OR DROP SHOT