Just About Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About A Long Pip Penhold Twiddle Game

I was excited to see that a new youtube channel I recently started following (Table Tennis Teaching Teaching) published a great video series from one of my favorite players, Wang Jian Jiang.

Previously this series could be found on youku.com but I find youtube more accessible and easier to share online. Primarily because it's in English. :)

Wang Jian Jiang is a masterful Long Pip, Short Pip, twiddle penhold player. This is exactly the set up I'm currently playing with now which is why I enjoy learning from him so much. Short pips are relatively easy to learn. The tricky thing is knowing what strokes you should and can do vs various spins with long pips. Once you've mastered that, begin to enjoy the look of befuddlement on your opponents faces as they're not sure what just happened.

• Have an opponent who likes to serve it short with backspin thinking that'll be hard to attack? Give them the swipe.
• Have an opponent who is strong in topspin rallies? Don't play their game. Slow it down and continue that spin back at them with a chop block.

Those are just two the main strokes I believe you must have down pat to play a close to the table long pips game but there are many more shown below.

If you want to learn this style, I recommend watching this and trying to pick up what you can. I will also be adding my own comments where I can, at certain time intervals, to help you better understand what he is doing and how he is doing it.

For the record, the black is short pips. The red is long pips.

Wang Jian Jiang (黄建疆)

Part 1

3:46
A set up point based on the push game. He serves backspin with short pips, opponent pushes, he pushes the 3rd ball, except with long pips, which continues spin (gives them topspin), opponent makes the mistake of pushing that ball. Put away.

Any time the opponent ever falls asleep and tries to push because they saw you with a push stroke, but didn't take into account that you did it with the long pips, twiddle and attack that pop up.

9:06
Demonstrating the ever important, and easy to do, swipe vs backspin. In this point, after the opponent pushes to Wang giving him backspin, perform the swipe with long pips. Face of the blade is flat, your paddle goes up and slightly to the side but mainly forward. That's important. Without the forward action, that ball will go into the net because OX long pips do not have much for power and the topspin returned will arc the ball downward.

Little tip, if your opponents ever catch onto this expecting topspin, you can still push this ball to them giving them a slow deadish ball.


Part 2

4:53
Demonstrating the swipe performed with the forehand. Same concept. Flat to ever so slightly open blade face. Stroke is up and towards the side. Blade also coming forward. Gives topspin. The server hits the next ball long.


Part 3

10:19
Showing vs topspin you don't always have to chop block and reverse spin. Here Wang is going topspin to topspin with the long pips. All be it his topspins will be of very light spin, which can also be troubling at times for players.


Part 4

7:59
Showing a heavy chop block giving a tough ball to continue to loop back. Chop block motions can be subtle, as the ball will reverse naturally with the long pips, or you can show your hand and mimic a heavier chop like Wang does here daring them to try to lift it.