Hammer Grip for Smash

I've never heard of a different grip for forehand in singles vs doubles..i've never heard or seen it mentioned before until you and cheung have mentioned it in this thread. I've not seen it in any prior posts here. A variety of grips are used in badminton, whether singles or doubles.

It's also not clear to me what somebody means when they say "hammer grip" either. One time I heard somebody say hammer grip, they meant standard forehand grip e.g. handshake, position the V etc. What some might call an axe grip.
Another time I heard somebody say "hammer grip" they meant panhandle grip. Some people might not want to say forehand grip or backhand grip on the basis that there is a range of grips one might use on either side. The terminology on the backhand side can be clarified as the thumb grip , and the bevel grip. But maybe terminology on the forehand side hasn't been figured out so well.

I have heard of some on the RTH side for some shots using a panhandle grip as opposed to a forehand grip, because with the forehand grip you have to rotate the forearm quite a bit to get the racket open.. so a panhandle might feel more natural. But iirc when at the very back, forehand grip might be preferred.. But was a while back when I looked into that. But that's not really singles vs doubles.. Unless one wanted to say it happens more in doubles. Somebody might say that doubles is faster and less time to change grip so somebody might end up with some in between grip. But usually with more training one can change grips.. and that even applies to smash defense and even with drives many would say you can change grips(or choose not to),and it comes down to which method you train.

Some in doubles might say that there's more moving up and down the racket like serving holding the grip higher up.. But you're not talking about that. Whereas singles players might be inclined to just hold the middle. But you/they are not referring to that

So I don't know what they mean. Sounds like a mystery to me. Have you asked them?

 

In that video he doesn't say anything about singles vs doubles.

In that video he doesn't distinguish hammer from panhandle, he is using them as terms for the same thing e.g. his description he says "hammer/panhandle grip" and "Badminton hammer grip - The panhandle grip". His title says "Badminton hammer grip - The panhandle grip tutorial". I think I saw once he said/wrote that in Denmark they call it hammer grip. He says there are small variations of hammer/panhandle grip but he doesn't really detail them. I think at the front some people might curl the thumb round. whereas on a very late backhand overhead, where hammer/panhandle is used, I think one would perhaps tend to have the thumb straight. And maybe traditional panhandle is thumb straight.

A major difference between the various grips so e.g. between Forehand grip and panhandle grip is the rotation of the racket. If you are just moving your fingers and not rotating the racket then you aren't changing grips. And since the racket handle isn't a perfect cylinder, there's going to be differences in finger positions between one grip and another, even if all it were was rotating the racket. I'd look at each grip as its own thing as well as how to change from one grip to another. Rather than trying to distinguish between grips just based on finger position.

 

If pros prefer it you should be able to easily find doubles games where they're using hammer grip?

 

Maybe this one

How To Hit Serve With Correct Hammer/Continental Grip (TENFITMEN - Episode 21)
TENFITMEN tennis

And in his video he is talking about serving.. Serving in tennis is similar to overheads in badminton..

(I suppose / It looks to me like) He is calling what in badminton is known as the standard forehand grip with the V, he's calling that the hammer grip / continental grip.

And when he shows the grip to not use on the serve, he does a panhandle grip and calls it the forehand grip. (that's within the first minute)

That's consistent with what I wrote in post #4 of this thread, of what i've heard in badminton re two alternative meanings of the term " One time I heard somebody say hammer grip, they meant standard forehand grip e.g. handshake, position the V etc. What some might call an axe grip.
Another time I heard somebody say "hammer grip" they meant panhandle grip. Some people might not want to say forehand grip or backhand grip on the basis that there is a range of grips one might use on either side. The terminology on the backhand side can be clarified as the thumb grip , and the bevel grip. But maybe terminology on the forehand side hasn't been figured out so well."

In Badminton one wouldn't normally hear the term "hammer grip", but if one were to, then there is that ambiguity, and one should figure out what somebody means when using the term. Whether they mean panhandle or whether they mean what one could call "the handshake grip" , the traditional forehand grip.

You've seen both. in this thread. One from badmintonfamly, and one from that tennis video. It's not really that one's right and one's wrong. The term's a bit ambiguous, could mean either thing. And it's more an issue of, when talking about what grip to use , people communicating clearly what they mean.

Well i've never heard any badminton coaches say to hold the racket similar to how you hold a dumbell. But also maybe some people have some funny ways to hold a dumbell ;-) I am glad you didn't say similar to how you hold a barbell because there is actually a thing called a hook grip! https://www.catalystathletics.com/article/2167/The-Hook-Grip-Why-How-to-Do-It-Correctly/

 

I notice that that video you mention doesn't mention the term "hammer grip".

This link about tennis grips http://www.tennisnation.com/lessons-classes/ultimate-tennis-grip-system-guide/ doesn't mention hammer grip

So perhaps it's not really a conventional term in tennis.

That tennisnation site says of contenential grip "Many coaches state that a V is created by your thumb and forefinger on the top of the handle when holding the Continental Grip." That's consisent with what the video I mentioned said of continental grip.

The video you mention, shows shots on the forehand side, and says that the traditional tennis grip was continental and now is semi-western.

This link https://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/index.php?threads/semi-western-grip-serve-very-wrong.50989/ says serve is done with continental grip not semi-western grip.

So those two videos are inconsistent with each other.

For what forehand grip is in badminton.. i'd say most people would mean the "handshake grip"(continental in tennis). But I have heard it used in the sense of, the grip used on the forehand side, which could be a range of grips.

I did see a post here mention that panhandle in badminton is like the semi-western tennis grip.

Forehand grip in tennis could be a range of grips.. eg people mention the western forehand grip.. (or there's the semi-western or the continental).

This agrees https://mytennishq.com/tennis-forehand-grip-the-ultimate-guide/ "The range of forehand grips runs from the continental, via the eastern and the semi-western, to the full western."

The tennis video that I mentioned didn't say that forehand applied only to what we in badminton call panhandle He just used the term forehand grip, to refer to that.. And the info you gave explains why. That nowadays players use that for shots on their forehand side. (and not the serve!).

And the video you mentioned states that the older players like John McEnroe would not change their grip to the modern one 'cos all their training is with the old grip, the continental. So, maybe an individual tennis player wouldn't use a range of grips on their forehand side. But in tennis, spanning across time, there are different possible grips on the forehand side,

Anyhow I wasn't using that video to say what is a forehand grip in badminton! I was using that video as an example of what is hammer grip. To say that hammer grip is ambiguous it could be panhandle(as in badmintonfamly), or could be like the "handshake grip" in badminton.

A post on this forum mentions "The hammer grip is often used for stick smashes" (clearly he's referring to the handshake grip / axe grip / the commonly termed "forehand grip" in badminton) . Technically one could do a panhandle on the RTH side and stick smash with that, but I think they meant FH on the FH side, stick smash, so they meant the axe grip. . So that agrees with the tennis video I mentioned that uses the term "hammer grip" to refer to continental grip.

I take it you don't agree with the badminton guy I spoke to that uses the term forehand grip to refer to a range of grips on the forehand side. And indeed most people in badminton use the term forehand grip to refer to the handshake grip / axe grip. Most of the time in badminton if somebody says forehand grip i'd assume they mean the handshake grip / axe grip.

It is possible that the term forehand grip might get used less in time, in badminton, just like the term backhand grip gets used less now. Or it might get used for a range of grips, (e.g. axe grip is one, or like axe grip but turning it a bit towards panhandle). Just as backhand grip now in badminton if used, can refer to a range of grips - specifically either thumb grip or bevel grip. And that link all about tennis grips didn't use the term forehand grip either. Or it could remain as it's commonly used for now, to refer to the V grip / axe grip.

Hammer grip in badminton has two meanings, is my point. And infact even without pointing to any tennis source. The badmintonfamly video uses it for panhandle grip,(and i've seen them write that's common in denmark). And a post on this forum some years back from a user from Germany, that used it for that grip used for a stick smash, (no doubt they meant forehand grip / axe grip), he said they use it for that over there.

 

The only time I've heard hammer grip in badminton is for jump smashes. And I have not even mastered the jumping and rotating bits yet

 

well presumably you don't mean this , which is the thumbnail that appears in your post before even hitting play.



If I pause it at this timeframe here



Then i'd say if anything that looks like the tennis continental grip, the grip that we in badminton usually call forehand grip.

So your video of the guy holding the hammer, as example of hammer grip, if we take that timeframe of 0:07 (which I guess is a good example of what you meant?), is in 100% agreement with the tennis video I showed where the guy did a continental grip and called it hammer grip.

So your usage of the term hammer grip seems to agree with the tennis video I mentioned, and not with the idea that hammer grip means panhandle. What the hammer holding guy is doing there doesn't look like panhandle to me. That looks like a handshake grip.

 

Changing grip on a smash depending on whether one is jumping or not, / whether or not it is a jump smash, isn't something i've heard before.. It sounds a bit odd. Have you seen any video making this claim?

Any idea what the reason would be behind where you heard that from?

And if you would change to a "hammer grip", what grip would you have when not jumping?

Do you think people practising dry swings for example(assuming good technique), would use a different grip to pros doing a jump smash?