racket to face one's self, and striking the ball with the opposite side of the racket. This stroke has greatly improved and strengthened the penhold style both physically and psychologically, as it eliminates the strategic weakness of the traditional penhold backhand. Shakehand The shakehand grip is so-named because the racket is grasped as if one is performing a handshake. Though it is sometimes referred to as the "tennis" or "Western" grip, it bears no relation to the Western tennis grip, which was popularized on the West Coast of the United States in which the racket is rotated 90°, and played with the wrist turned so that on impact the knuckles face the target. In table tennis, "Western" refers to Western nations, for this is the grip that players native to Europe and the Americas have almost exclusively employed. The shakehand grip's simplicity and versatility, coupled with the acceptance among top-level Chinese trainers that the European style of play should be emulated and trained against, has established it as a common grip even in China. Many world-class European and East Asian players currently use the shakehand grip, and it is generally accepted that shakehands is easier to learn than penholder, allowing a broader range of playing styles both offensive and defensive. Seemiller The Seemiller grip is named after the American table tennis champion Danny Seemiller, who used it. It is achieved by placing the thumb and index finger on either side of the bottom of the racquet head and holding the handle with the rest of the fingers. Since only one side of the racquet is used to hit the ball, two contrasting rubber types can be applied to the blade, offering the advantage of "twiddling" the racket to fool the opponent. Seemiller paired inverted rubber with anti-spin rubber. Many players today combine inverted and long-pipped rubber. The grip is considered exceptional for blocking, especially on the backhand side, and for forehand loops of backspin balls. The Seemiller grip's popularity reached its apex in 1985 when four (Danny Seemiller, Ricky Seemiller, Eric Boggan and Brian Masters) of the United States' five participants in the World Championships used it. Stance The stance in table tennis is also known as the 'ready position'. It is the position every player initially adopts when receiving and returns to after playing a shot in order to be prepared to make the next shot. It involves the