Adjust Your Grip Depending On The Shot (MUST LEARN SKILL) 

I’ve seen many videos on the different grips but Tanner tells us not only how but when and why. Excellent. 👍

Here in germany pickleball isn t so popular like in The USA, so we have no many trainers here. That is why i am looking so many you tube pickleball training videos. Your videos are short and directly, and although my english is not good i can understand the most. Thousand thanks for your fantastic videos, it helps a lot!!

Excellent execution of the instructions (with the angles and short clips) right to the point and easy to understand.... thanks you so much Tanner!

Huge difference in the grip shift. NOBODY but you has shown how to do it on the fly without using the other hand. Great job!!!

This is the best grip video I’ve seen yet. Thanks Tanner!

Tanner, when returning serve from the left side with a backhand stroke, do you use the eastern or continental grip? I had been contemplating this grip change because it kept happening by accident in the course of the game. I decide not to, to keep it simple, thinking I would be doing too much. But your explanation has influenced me to go ahead and make grip changes in the course of the game. thanks.

Been using continental and I finally get what you're saying about how I'm capped. This is such a crucial video. Thank you Tanner. BTW awesome that you competed gainst ALW and Ben Johns!

I’ve been looking for a video like this for a long time! Thanks for explaining this so well!

Gold -!!! I’m a 4.5 and now questioning my grips.. so I found this - answered everything!

Maybe I shake peoples hands in a weird way. But for me, grabbing the handle like a handshake puts me in eastern. And grabbing the handle like a hammer puts me in continental.

I asked a question and you delivered. Amazing video man so helpful. I can't wait to try it out tomorrow!! Thank you 🙏

So with that backhand speed up it seems like you're just going back to the Continental from the semi Eastern grip

What should I do when I have a two hand backhand, come from tennis, and that continental grip is how I get topspin for my 2 hand backhand?

I'd really like to know how to practice QUICKLY going from the backhand eastern grip to a forehand that can attack or defend if you get a speed-up to your chicken wing side. Seems like the arm have to would swing too fast to get a proper grip change

Too bad that serve wasn’t actually continental grip haha😅

Will be good if you do a close- a grip on that backhand speed up. You can just do it the left hand who cares about them right-handed people. 😆 🤣

Great video. You’re like a personal coach for free. An excellent coach! Hope you get lots of followers.

How tightly are you gripping your paddle when dinking?

Hey Tanner - great videos. Noted you're using a different paddle here. What's the main paddle you use?

Good to know and use w caution but-difficult if you get a speed up at your backhand….

why is Tanner the only RU-vidr who addresses this?!

“Slight” eastern grip= “semi- eastern grip.

I appreciate the video Tanner. There are very few quality grip videos.

Excellent tutorial on advance fundamentals. I shifted my paddle by releasing the hold and rotating the wrist slightly. It’s more about the brain to signal the hand on the timing.

I like how you demonstrated both grips, how to hold the paddle, and how each grip affects different shots. I may not have caught the following; continental grips will require more wrist movement and are more difficult to hit topspin; slight eastern or eastern grips will give you more ability to hit topspin without having to be too wristy. In the end, biomechanics and flexibility in a person's wrist will dictate what works best for them, but as you mentioned extremely well, that semi-eastern to eastern grip is the ticket to easier success. Keep up the good work on your channel and in your endeavor to make it to the pros!

I'm watching this again, remembering that I never got better at quickly switching grips from a backhand punch to a forehand eastern for the chicken wing speedups. I'd consider it my biggest current weakness😥

I am concerned your courts/park are empty! Good grip advice 100%

Good video on adjusting the grip. Continental is the hammer grip. Shaking hands is Eastern. Rotating more is semi-western. If you’re right handed, the base of your knuckle on your pointer finger is on bevel 2. Eastern is on bevel 3. Semi-western is on bevel 4. At least it’s this way in tennis anyways.

I really like your channel … you give best advice. Keep it up … I find your channel amount the most helpful all among all Pickeball channel .

Great video, Tanner! I’m curious to see another video that discusses when to use Western grip, such as JW Johnson’s form for forehand dinks

My secret grip is, putting my thumb on top of the handle, which creates a modified Eastern grip. It's interesting that others in my community comment that I have improved my skills immensely, since the change from the standard Continental grip! LOL

You teach amazing !Not too many coaches teach all this ! Wow”” thank you 🙏 for making theses videos!

Thank you for this lesson. Hope to use this to increase my consistency without losing power. Also, this may help explain my wrist pain post games… overextending my wrist while topspin flicking with a continental grip.

Thank so much for your expertise!!! appreciated.

Amazing video. I loved it and learned a lot. How do your grip shift during a hands battle, for example, you hit a high dink and they speed it up at you, and you counter with the punch but they return it back to you, would you stay continental or does it depend? Thanks!

Semi western-western for backhands here

Hey @tanner.pickleball. I found this video and felt it hit me hard as I've been using the continental grip ever since I started playing pickleball, and I felt like I was stuck/plateauing. I've been trying the eastern grip for two weeks now, and I love how aggressive it is for corner drops and third-shot drives. I have a question, though, and hoping you can help me out. For context, I am a lefty like you ( a major reason I subscribed as soon as I found your channel), and my question is about middle drops. If I'm playing on our strong side (right side) with FH down the middle, I can drop aggressively to the near side corner with the eastern grip. I'm having difficulty dropping middle and to the far corner with the eastern grip. They keep popping too high, and I'm immediately in a midcourt defense scramble. Do you change the grip back to continental to hit middle or far side drops? Thanks, and keep up the great content!

Holy cow! I spent the last month experimenting changing my Grips. I couldn’t figure out how to change grips during speed ups. . . So I was explaining this to a friend today. Lo and behold your video pops up and I find your channel!! Thanks for the help tanner! Definetly subscribing! Good luck bro

No one else out there has addressed grip changes in a video this completely. and how it's not a rotation but a shift in how the paddle grip sits in your hand by changing your bottom 3 fingers. Personally I go Semi-western (serve) > Everything you suggested going forward. Would be nice if you added off-hand grip for two-handed backhand. For me it's an eastern or the "aggressive continental". Others to add, overhead smash (straight on and directional), tomahawk, one handed backhand Ernie, and tweener.

Hi Tanner! Thank you so much for this video! I looked for a while to find one like this. I have a question. What grip are you using for forehand/backhand drops and transition zone? I assume you don't have time to change grip in transition zone?

Coming from tennis, I already use different grips for forehand backhand and volley. People saying use continental for everything, now it's like ok now the advanced tip is to add changing your grip😑😑😑😑. Not saying you are doing this, but I'm annoyed at how often advice is often different from beginner to advanced in pickleballs We should be practicing the end game from day 1.

dear lord. so good

Tanner, Thanks for this tip. I find your videos very knowledgeable and informative. Good luck with your RU-vid channel and your pickleball journey.

I’ve been so confused about how to hold the paddle. Different grips give me different advantages. It makes perfect sense to switch!

Something worth noting is that when hitting a backhand flick the grip pressure with the middle, ring, and pinky fingers is very slight. To maximize spin you almost want to pinch the battle between the where you index finger meets you palm on your index finger and the same knuckles on your thumb.

I do the grips you mentioned, plus 1. When I have a shot to my backhand that I can put some juice on, I move the paddle the other way, ie, the opposite of the eastern. It gives me lots of power. Hope that makes sense. Tanner, here's possibly an idea for another video: When I watch top players in PB, the person on the left (when at the net) if he's able to, will reach over and hit the ball that is going to his partner, often finishing the point. I find when I'm at that position, I let way too many balls go by me, and at lower levels, I've been chastised for hitting the ball that is on my partner's side of the court.

I like how Tanner "cuts to the chase" right away. BUT ... I've also learned to really pay attention to his last two minutes; that's when Tanner drops some real gems on us. Well done!

I know I adjust my grip during games. Mostly continental but will try to see and to practice this Eastern grip. Thank you.

Can you stay continental during dinking but just adjust form to achieve the same level of aggressiveness when speeding up?

Great video one. About how many inches is your lead tape from the throat up and the top corners? Thanks

Wow phenomenal video man. I’ve been wondering about this for awhile and so glad you made this video!

I thought u said hyperion c2 was the best paddle

Your videos are so popular now. Good jobs! Thanks, 🎉

Thanks for seeing the shift grip in slow motion. I see a big difference all ready

What are your feelings about those that put their index finger on the paddle face?

you are a REMARKABLE communicator. i mean, stellar. You and Barrett Kincheloe are two of the most dynamic people i have EVER seen and i'm 56 years old and opinionated.

Excellent explanation and demonstration in various applications.

This was literally a video Ive been wanting to see made thanks.

Ahhh...so that's what the pros are doing. Now I see!

Outstanding video. I’m left-handed, but can you clarify why you switch back to Eastern on the backhand flick volley. Thank you!

Thanks!

Your videos are getting better and better. Great explanation.

Really instructive lesson, thank you!

This was my lesson today you explained it great

please show more right handed grip

Wow this video was awesome thank you

Thank you for this video!!

Thanks Tanner! I needed this video.

Found it! Thank you 🙏

Gosh your such a good teacher. You explain and demonstrate so well. I watch a lot of videos on different shots and Know one explains them better than you. The pickleball community is lucky to have someone like you taking the time to do these videos

Excellent advice!

One thing that’s also worth mentioning: one handed backhand rolls are much easier in eastern backhand than in continental. Rotate to eastern backhand for a roll, and stay in continental for a punch.

I think you make it a bit too complicated. You should stay with continental grip (hammer grip) and semi-easter grip. That is all. Don't get into extreme eastern grip. Here are the rules that I think is good to decide if you should use hammer grip or semi-eastern grip: 1) During serve or return, you have plenty of time for top spin ground stroke, so use the semi-eastern grip. It creates aggressive top spin without wrist movement. Just follow through with the arc of the stroke and the top spin is generated. 2) During transition, use hammer grip. Your objective is to pick up the ball at your feet and reset. So, use the hammer grip to lift the ball. 3) At the kitchen, stay with the hammer grip for dink and block. For dink, it is just picking up the ball and push over, so hammer grip is good enough. For block, you really don't have much reaction time, so just stick with the basic hammer grip and block over. 4) At the kitchen, in the case of opponent's third ball drop going too high, you have plenty of time to switch from hammer grip to semi-eastern grip, to execute an aggressive top spin flick or roll at the incoming volley ball. This will create aggressive "deny the kitchen line" ball at your opponent. 5) At the kitchen, in the case that the opponent speeds up too high, and you are prepared, you could use a semi-eastern grip to hit back. In summary, applying #1, #2, and #3 consistently will help you dramatically improve your game. And #4 and #5 are opportunities when the ball is above net for you to use semi-eastern grip to punish the opponent.

Great job! @tanner.pickleball really needed this video from watching your backhand flick video!