Question 049: A middle-aged tennis player who just reached intermediate level. How do I find the 'grip' that suits me?

Answer

▶Tennis schools that teach the grip first

It might sound blunt, but professional tennis players and advanced players are so focused on the ball that they don't even think about things like their grip.

To explain in order, you have an image of the 'tennis' you want to play, and when you have an image of the 'shot' you want to hit to achieve that, you get an image of the 'swing' appropriate for it.

Once the swing is imagined, the corresponding 'grip' appears.

Tennis (strategy and tactics) -> Shot (topspin or slice) -> Swing (direction of the racket swing) -> Grip (easy-to-swing grip)

This is the proper process.

However, many people try to decide on the grip first.

As proof of this, many tennis schools teach you how to hold the grip first, right?.

They say things like, 'Place your palm on the racket face and slide it down to the handle; that handshake grip is the Eastern grip' (*Note 1).

Then they tend to follow a procedure where they decide on the swing (how to swing) and then hit the shot.

▶Are you going to Hawaii because you bought flip-flops?

However, since there is no image of the shot, you cannot play the game of hitting the ball you imagine.

Following the process of going on a trip to Hawaii,because you first have an image of Hawaii, your clothes and belongings are naturally decided.

If you buy flip-flops first without an image, you will surelyget lost (lose control)wondering, 'Now, where should I go?'

▶The reason you don't want to go to a 'workplace where there is someone you hate'

Of course, this is an extreme analogy.

But even though it is extreme, it is the same thing in the world of images.

Our actions, thoughts, words, and reactions are governed by 'images' (though we usually don't pay much attention to it).

If there is someone you hate at your workplace, don't you reflexively think, 'I don't want to go to work...'?

The way you talk to that person you hate might also become reserved or blunt, even if you aren't consciously trying to do so.

That is becausethe 'image of someone you hate' shapes our actions, thoughts, words, and reactions.

Conversely, if there is someone you love at your workplace, don't you think, 'I want to go to work♪'?

The way you talk to that person might become cheerful, or your voice tone might even go up a half-step, even if you aren't consciously trying to do so.

That is also because the 'images we love' shape our actions, thoughts, words, and reactions.

▶ You just need to rewrite your image!

You cannot resist an image once it has been formed.

The reason you can calmly pet a puppy is because you have an image of puppies as cute and safe, and the reason you absolutely cannot pet a lion is because you have an image of lions as scary and likely to bite you.

Although we are usually barely aware of it, we act, think, and react according to the images we hold.

Therefore, to start liking someone you dislike, or to start disliking someone you like, you simply need to 'rewrite the image'..

If you do that, our actions, thoughts, words, and reactions—in short, 'life'—will inevitably change, even without trying to change it..

▶ Control has nothing to do with grip

Now, let me answer your question.

Judging from the content, I suspect that the latter (a grip closer to a hammer) is more suitable for you.

The reason is clear from your description that the former (gun grip) feels like 'the head doesn't whip' and 'the swing feels sluggish,' while the latter (a grip closer to a hammer) feels like 'I can put power into it' and 'the swing feels sharp.'

If you set your long-term goal for tennis improvement as 'a level where you can freely control fast balls', the former might have slightly better control at the moment, but it is hard to consider it appropriate, isn't it?

The latter seems to have only one concerning issue, which is that it was 'hard to control,' but control actually has nothing to do with grip, so if you make an issue of it here, you will end up in a quagmire of obsessing over form..

▶ 'Form modification' ruins tennis (100 percent)

The factors that determine control are the precision of both 'spatial awareness' and 'hitting timing'.

In other words, these are 'image' and 'concentration'.

Therefore, if your spatial awareness is accurate and you hit with good timing, even with a grip closer to a hammer, ball control will not be a problem at all..

If you think that the lack of control here is due to the grip, the correct association will not be made in your brain, which will lead to a misdirection in improvement by forming the wrong circuits.

For example, if you point out to a player whose spatial awareness and hitting timing are correct by saying 'Your grip is wrong!' and urge them to pay attention to their grip, the player's brain will start working with the consciousness of trying to improve the grip, and the circuits necessary for ball control based on spatial awareness and hitting timing will be interrupted.

As a result, you will become confused, thinking 'My grip is good, but my control is not consistent,' which can lead to a slump.

Or rather, the painstaking efforts to improve or modify one's form will, without exception (100 percent), fall into this vicious cycle, but...

▶ There is no correct answer for grip (form)

Lastly, let me add one thing: there is no correct answer for a grip.

Despite this, common tennis instruction insists on things like 'Let's hit with the correct grip, the correct way to hit, and the correct form,' as if there were a correct answer.

When you reconsider your grip, the most natural grip that you are least conscious of, that bothers you the least, and that feels the most comfortable while holding it, would be the most desirable.

A comfortable grip is chosen according to your current level and playing style.

Try focusing on the ball to the point where you don't (or can't) care about your grip.

If a certain tendency in your grip appears unconsciously during that process, that is the grip that is right for you.

▶ Bonus: Regarding Note 1. Pros don't know 'grip names'

There are countless examples of professional tennis players who have played since childhood who don't even know the names of grips like 'Eastern,' 'Western,' or 'Continental.'

You might tend to think, 'To play well, I need to be knowledgeable about those things!' but that is not the case at all.

If you ever have the chance to meet a professional tennis player, try asking them.

'What kind of grip are you using?'

They will likely answer:

'I hold it by feel, so I'm not really sure.' or something similar.

Kei Nishikori should also be unable to answer the name of the grip he uses.

Naomi Osaka is the same.

Things like which bevel of the grip to place the 'V' formed by your thumb and index finger on are just armchair theories and after-the-fact rationalizations at best, and they have no way of knowing such things. As for the pros who can answer, most of them only study it (to keep up appearances) after they retire and become coaches.

In fact, amateur players are more knowledgeable about such things.

They are more knowledgeable than the Big 3 of the century: Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, and Rafael Nadal.

That knowledge (being an intellectual snob) can sometimes hinder your progress.

▶ Bonus 2: Tennis books published by publishing companies are created by people with 'humanities' backgrounds, not 'athletic' ones

There are people who praise technical explanations like the one above (the V-shape) as being 'easy to understand!'

Especially among book editors with humanities backgrounds working at publishing companies. It's not that it's 'bad,' but the planning starts from people who don't have a wealth of athletic experience (or are rather weak in that area).

The media that (thinks it) leads the world—while perhaps not all of them are like this, and it's not limited to tennis—is usually just like that.

Just because you 'understand' it doesn't mean you can 'do' it.

That represents the principle that 'knowledge is unnecessary' to play tennis well.

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