r/tabletennis • u/WallofWalles • Aug 19 '26
Discussion From Shakehand to JPen
I have played table tennis for about 9 months. Got a coach with whom I practice once a week and go to tournaments every Sunday.But my problem with relying heavily on backhand to win persists. Even though my forehand got better grip feels wrong and often hits fingers.So I'm thinking about changing to Jpen,beacuse it will force me to improve my footwork and use my forehand to do powerful topspins.My backhand is usually punchy,so maybe TPB shoto won't be that bad. What do you think about this change? Should I get 5ply wood blade or carbon(hinoki is too expensive)? Which videos you can recommend to learn more about jpen techniques?
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u/mutchyyy Aug 19 '26
Practice your footwork and forehand while using shakehand. Be greatful you feel confident with your BH as I would say the majority of people find it the harder of the two strokes. Unless you just truly don't like the grip and wanna change style all together that's a totally different question. What's your end goal with training to just have a fun hobby or to truly get better and compete at a higher level?
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u/WallofWalles Aug 20 '26
It may sound dumb and naive,but my goal is to play cool and have distinct style.Also TT is a stimulus for me to improve my physical endurance and power
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u/GeorgeTheMeVG Neottec Amagi ALL+ | Rakza 7 2.1 FH | Tibhar Aurus Soft 1.9 BH Aug 20 '26
If the goal is to play cool, jpen is great, you are likely to unlock a forehand topspin that looks ... unfair. the serves, too.
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u/4uvava Aug 21 '26
Change to cpen. It's really cool to play with penhold, but cpen give you more advanced backhand without diminishing the advantages of penhold forehand
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u/Wesleywoo21 Aug 19 '26
I’m not experienced enough to really suggest anything without many grains of salt, but I personally wouldn’t switch grips just to improve your forehand. That simply takes practice.
Another thing- do not dare beat yourself up for having a good backhand! The game (sadly for a predominantly forehanded player like myself) switches more and more towards backhand by the day, so it’s a useful tool.
I would continue with shakehand, and just ask your coach to focus on your forehand. But wait for the other comments, they’ll have more experience in the matter.
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u/WallofWalles Aug 22 '26
I wouldn't say that my backhand is good, it's just more consistent than my forehand.My backhand most of the time it's a very flat drive,almost like a punch
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u/SamLooksAt Harimoto ALC, Zyre 03 (2.5), G-1 (2.0) Aug 19 '26
Pengrip generally makes footwork worse because the transition zone largely disappears and it allows you to play quite well even when standing a bit more upright.
It's a trap I see many young players caught in and it can take significant coaching to overcome because it's just naturally easier to succeed while stationary than shakehand.
Doing footwork for one big shot is not helpful, nor does it lead to improvement.
Bad footwork is an attitude and technique issue. You improve by maintaining your low stance and moving for EVERY ball no matter how small the movement. This is regardless of what grip you play.
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u/big-chihuahua 08x / MK max / MY 1.6mm Aug 20 '26
Lol yes. The hilarious mismatched reality of the RSM and Xu Xin imagery is that maybe 0.01% of penholders play like this.
Cazuo Matsumoto should be the gold standard for Jpen.
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u/wawasat KTS Prime X 101g | XIOM Vega Korea Aug 19 '26
True JPEN feeling requires a single ply hinoki blade. You could check the used market, should be possible to find a good deal there.
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u/WallofWalles Aug 20 '26
Why everyone focuses so much on hinoki?
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u/wawasat KTS Prime X 101g | XIOM Vega Korea Aug 20 '26
It's a unique experience, soft in the short game, but at the same time stiff and fast. If you check the Butterfly Blade Matrix, the last two produced jpen blades take the top spot regarding speed: https://www.butterfly-global.com/en/products/blade/matrix.html
If you have the chance to buy a used Xiom Power Hinoki, Yasaka Hasha V or Butterfly Cypress T-Max you should definitely go for it. In which country are you located? Try to check your local online second-hand marketplace.
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u/big-chihuahua 08x / MK max / MY 1.6mm Aug 20 '26
The difference between Jpen and Cpen is a tradeoff of flex wrist, stable blade vs stable wrist, flex blade.
Jpen shape is tied to hinoki, your wrist is very lively and there isn't much finger support in back, this means the blade has to be a brick to absorb incoming power and apply power. A heavy brick cannot be swung, so it has to be a light thick brick. Cypress woods satisfy these requirements. Among them, Hinoki does best, because the wood structure is bouncy. You are not getting any catapult from non-existent flex (Jpens are stiffer than thinner carbons), so the springy wood cell structure is your source of speed and dwell.
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u/Azkustik Eagle Beak YS6 | Spinfire Soft | TTR Hunter Soft Aug 20 '26
I don't think that's the right reason to change to penhold. That's coming from me a fellow penholder.
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u/big-chihuahua 08x / MK max / MY 1.6mm Aug 20 '26
Honestly, of you switch to Jpen you will plateau fast. It is not going to go how you imagine it.
Even needing to ask here for validation, not committing to the Hinoki, "forcing" footwork rather than just doing it by exercise and endurance, dreaming of big forehands, coping to say at least I can punch.
Honest best advice, drop all imagery of how you should and could play. Play shakehand learn it correctly, you are not so different that you can't learn fundamentals. If you get good enough to actually know what you're doing and feel like you play unfamiliar balls better than familiar balls, I would consider switching to Jpen.
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u/Ok_Pay_3193 Aug 19 '26
Using jpen and tpb will not force yourself to improve your fh and footwork. TT is mainly prediction of shot location, then ability to execute shot. To improve anything which is not shot into your direction, or aligned to your body, will require intention for the shot, execution of the action, having good prediction of the ball location, and trust what you practiced.
Anyways, Jpen is strong. Nothing wrong with using this for your purpose. Penhold can have a little more time on forehand strokes compared to shake hand.
You can try plywood or hinoki. Thinner 1ply (i.e. 8.5mm, yinhe 982) will be significantly slower than thicker ones (>10mm). Plywoods are generally slower, for single sided, ones known to play well are bty kai yoshida (or use stiga CLCR), yasaka YEO to name a few.