Power shots with short grip

Discussion in 'Techniques / Training' started by giant_q_tip, Oct 22, 2014.

  1. giant_q_tip

    giant_q_tip Regular Member

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    Trying to take advantage of the shirt grip. How do i do power shots such as a smash, without having the butt of the racket touch my forearm during pronation?
     
  2. opikbidin

    opikbidin Regular Member

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    If you do it correctly, the handle (what's the butt of the racket) won't touch your forearm. Remember it's pronation, you turn your forearm, so don't move the wrist joint too much.

    By pronation, you turn your forearm to the "inside", so the racket head will go "inside" and the handle will go "outside"

    the incorrect technique is using the wrist too much, so rather tahn turning the forearm, you bend your hand-wrist joint.

    The easy way is, try to not move your hand or wrist, just turn your forearm during the smash.
     
  3. visor

    visor Regular Member

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    Why would anyone want to do power shots with a short grip, which reduces the length of your lever?
     
  4. opikbidin

    opikbidin Regular Member

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    Maybe because he is near the net so need a fast reaction for the "drive battle" or must defend a smash by lifting it high enough so it won't be killed.
     
  5. Gary Lim

    Gary Lim Regular Member

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    Maybe I'm rusty after 2 decades away from school, but won't "shortening" the racket reduce the power of the shot? I seem to remember a Physics lesson about it.

    Something about the longer the length of a stick, the less rotation is required at the base to move across a greater distance at the tip.

    So by shortening your grip (to the point that you think the butt may hit your forearm), you're making yourself having to work harder to generate the same amount of speed to the racket head as compared to if holding the racket normally. You'll actually experience either a loss in power or a greater expenditure of energy.

    Also, if you're shortening your grip to beyond the cone (you'll see doubles do this quite a lot but they usually stop at the cone - i.e. their forefinger is at the cone), you're putting your racket in an unbalanced position and it will affect the way the racket is supposed to perform.

    Opikbidin is correct. If you pronate properly, the handle shouldn't come close to your forearm. If nothing else, it should be moving away from it rather than hitting it.
     
  6. Ch1k0

    Ch1k0 Regular Member

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    Reading your question. I think a good example of how it is done can be seen in LYD. Never seen him hold his racket all the way at the end of handle ever before and he still produces pretty decent smashes from the back power wise. Try checking out All England 2012 either China Masters or Open. They have slow mo replays during intervals of players when they play at the back.
     
  7. Gollum

    Gollum Regular Member

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    I've never seen a top player hit a power smash with a short grip. If anyone can find video of this, I'd be interested to see.

    Some players will have the grip a bit longer compared to others.

    Some smashes may be hit with a short grip. You might do this for a clip smash, for instance. You might do this when receiving a flick serve.
     
  8. Ch1k0

    Ch1k0 Regular Member

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  9. Halcyon.Days

    Halcyon.Days Regular Member

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    Front-court players (like LYD) will usually have a 'natural' short grip. I wouldn't classify LYD as a power smasher though. It is fairly obvious who powers down the smashes in his current partnership with YYS. Nevertheless, there is no doubt that LYD's smashes are powerful compared to mere mortals like us.

    In most cases, using a longer grip will give more power & a shorter grip more control. But I think giant_q_tip's problem is that his racket is hitting his own arm. This should not happen and it points to the wrong technique being used. opikbidin is right. You need to pronate more.
     
  10. MSeeley

    MSeeley Regular Member

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    Hate to say it - but thats not a short grip. Granted, its not the same as JJS, but its clearly in the middle of the grip, not near the cone.

    With that in mind, the original poster will be able to benefit from the first video of LYD - which shows how the wrist and forearm move such that the butt of the racket is never anywhere near your arm. Hitting your own arm MAY be a symptom of using the wrist too much. However, to me, its the symptom of using a panhandle biased grip - which restricts the range of motion of the arm/wrist/racket.

    Good luck to all!
     
  11. Ch1k0

    Ch1k0 Regular Member

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    Yeap I know. But it's the closest thing I could find on video from a Pro. Either way he consistently uses that grip from everywhere on the court unless scrambling for a shot from out of position e.g. Retrieving a drop.
     
  12. orangenetic

    orangenetic Regular Member

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    These are just some personal thoughts about those two videos.

    1. Koreans players love wrapping their grips over the cone and a bit over the shaft. So from the first clip, it looks like he is gripping the middle but LYD is probably using a mid-upper grip.

    2. Since LYD always used medium flex shafts (BS9, BS12, BS LYD etc). Gripping towards the tip of the handle will give less flex compared to gripping at the bottom of the handle. So it keeps his smashes steep and prevents it from going flat.

    Just some personal thoughts :p tell me what you think about them.
     
  13. Gollum

    Gollum Regular Member

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    Good find with those slow-motion shots. :)

    LYD is gripping almost as low as he can, given that he has built up the butt of his racket a lot (look at where the base of his hand is, not just the fingers).

    JJS has a longer grip. But both of them are "normal" grips, rather than short grips.
     

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