is the one handed backhand a more manly stroke?

[Gadz]

Hi all,

I was wondering if you think the one handed backhand is classed as a more manly stroke providing very few women use the single. I know we had henin and a few other women who used the single but is it just a stereotypical view to say the single handed backhand is a more manly stroke? Its obviously more elegant and graceful looking but would you say it's more so than a two handed backhand?

 

[Topspin Shot]

Is this a serious thread?

 

[LeeD]

Looks is everything.
In that case, this thread is valid.

 

[Postiez]

Definately. They don't call him Stan the Man because of his forehand.

 

[BreakPoint]

Most definitely! If you look at the percentage of men at the pro and recreational levels who use 1HBHs and compare that to the percentage of women at the pro and recreational levels who use 1HBHs, there is no question that the 1HBH is more "manly" while the 2HBH is more "feminine".

 

[Shroud]

LeeD hits a one hander so there you go!

 

[LeeD]

But so do you!
You know what's really strange looking? When a 220 lbs MAN hit's a two handed backhand.

 

[BounceHitBounceHit]

Hi all,

I was wondering if you think the one handed backhand is classed as a more manly stroke providing very few women use the single. I know we had henin and a few other women who used the single but is it just a stereotypical view to say the single handed backhand is a more manly stroke? Its obviously more elegant and graceful looking but would you say it's more so than a two handed backhand?

I'm glad you asked. And yes, yes it is...... BHBH

 

[ShahofTennis]

Say for example there Is a unisex product available in two colors that don't have an obvious gender associated with them, like grey and green, and a bunch of women get to it first and buy mostly the green version of the product. Then the men come by and see that a majority of the women bought green and now the majority of what's left is grey. This doesn't mean that the grey product was masculine, and the green was feminine. But this is mankind we're talking about, so eventually men would rationalize some psycho theory as to why grey is more masculine than green even though the only reason they went with grey in the 1st place was because they didn't have a choice into what color was available to them when they got there. On the other hand if a woman was asked why she picked green, she'd say that grey was a boring and plain color.

It's more or less the same with backhands. But in the case of backhands, the madness ensues when most women on tour are seen to be using 2HBH's. Of course there's nothing wrong with that, it's just that people have a tendency to make absurd associations.

 

[Shroud]

But so do you!
You know what's really strange looking? When a 220 lbs MAN hit's a two handed backhand.

Yep. I have a vid of me hitting 2 hands and ugh it just felt soooo wrong....

 

[LeeD]

Yeah....
But bud, lefty John, at 6' tall and 220 lbs., with shoulder's as wide as Tom Brady's shoulder pads, has been hitting 2hbh's lately. The shame.
BUT, he had double rotator cuff surgery 3 years ago.

 

[Shroud]

Yeah....
But bud, lefty John, at 6' tall and 220 lbs., with shoulder's as wide as Tom Brady's shoulder pads, has been hitting 2hbh's lately. The shame.
BUT, he had double rotator cuff surgery 3 years ago.

Ouch. Thanks for reminding me to hit my crossover symmetry shoulder workout. If lefty John can have issues shroud is in trouble. Pretty sure he kicked the crap out of me in doubles one day. Forget who my partner was but he was tall and good. Tracy was watching and there was a peanut gallery and some guy was heckling us. It was alot of fun.

2 hander messes with my left lower back so I dont hit it and I can't seem to get the grip changes right. All these years of keeping the FH grip to hit BHs has made me lazy. I find that I end up hitting slice forehands when I hit 2 handed...

 

[LeeD]

Eh, you're the same as Lefty John.
He has good days, but he played 5.0 around 10 years ago.
He has some really bad days, when he get's beat, maybe thru boredom, by the 3.0 old fart's MWF morning crowd.
We're all in the same boat, which makes tennis fun. 3.5 on bad days, 4.5 on good days.
But, you know, I'm turning 66 in two weeks, and my bad movement is getting badder all the time, day by day.

 

[GuyClinch]

If you like the rest of the 'rec' population tend to hit 30mph dink push shots with your 1HBH - its not very manly. If you can rip it like Stan - its manly.

However if you can hit a 2HBH like Novak - and rip the crap out of it - it is a ton more manly then most rec backhands. Manliness = pace and spin - not just style.

Another example of this phenom:

A Dodge Challenger with a stick and a 392 Hemi is a 'manly' car because its big fast and powerful. A Versa with a CVT is not manly because its slow and ugly.

So yeah this means that Serena hits a more manly backhand then you do - also a bigger more masculine serve then most here. Sorry..

 

[LeeD]

Some some posters here think Madison Keys is the most manly player.
And girly boyz like TommyHaas, Fed, are just that, girly slicers.

 

[Shroud]

Eh, you're the same as Lefty John.
He has good days, but he played 5.0 around 10 years ago.
He has some really bad days, when he get's beat, maybe thru boredom, by the 3.0 old fart's MWF morning crowd.
We're all in the same boat, which makes tennis fun. 3.5 on bad days, 4.5 on good days.
But, you know, I'm turning 66 in two weeks, and my bad movement is getting badder all the time, day by day.

I get the boredom part. Ugh was playing a mixed match this weekend and the 85 year old granny bored me to death. No pace, all lobs, no miss.

Come to think of it, both guys had one handers and the ladies had 2 handers. ANOTHER answer

When I was in highschool in the 80s all the two handers on the team were openly mocked as being wusses. Heck my first day I was hitting with the #2 guy and he caught my slice Bh and told me to cut the "Pu*** Sh**" and hit like a man. Times are different now.

Dude you need to start eating an anti-inflammatory diet and ditch your $4 tuna salad sandwiches that last 2 days.

 

[geca]

yes I can rip it like Stan. And usually people from the next courts do stop and look at me hitting the manly backhands.

 

[LeeD]

Probably should post a vid, to back up such a wild claim.

 

[geca]

I don't have a camera. But I can explain how to rip this shot.

 

[chatt_town]

No doubt it's more used by men...you ever noticed that many women use two hands even when volleying on the backhand side. I use the ohbh myself. I played baseball so before I ever knew there was difference I was using one hand. It was too much of a mental issue for me. It was almost like batting left handed if that makes sense. So I took one hand off the very first day I was introduced to tennis.

Hi all,

I was wondering if you think the one handed backhand is classed as a more manly stroke providing very few women use the single. I know we had henin and a few other women who used the single but is it just a stereotypical view to say the single handed backhand is a more manly stroke? Its obviously more elegant and graceful looking but would you say it's more so than a two handed backhand?

 

[chatt_town]

awww snap...you hitting it like that dawg? I agree with LeeD ...lets get a video. ..I might can freshin my own ohbh up.lol I swing a pretty mean one myself but don't think it's at the level of Stans.lol So I need to see yours. Stans is off the chain....he ***** slaps Nadal's high bouncing forehand.

yes I can rip it like Stan. And usually people from the next courts do stop and look at me hitting the manly backhands.

 

[Sentinel]

I even run around my forehand to rip backhands.

 

[geca]

I even run around my forehand to rip backhands.

I do that too. I actually hit my bh harder than my fh.

 

[geca]

awww snap...you hitting it like that dawg? I agree with LeeD ...lets get a video. ..I might can freshin my own ohbh up.lol I swing a pretty mean one myself but don't think it's at the level of Stans.lol So I need to see yours. Stans is off the chain....he ***** slaps Nadal's high bouncing forehand.

I meant I can rip it as hard as my physical abilities allow. Even on balls that are above my head.

 

[racquetreligion]

I sometimes run around serves to hit a single BH

 

[chatt_town]

I meant I can rip it as hard as my physical abilities allow. Even on balls that are above my head.

oooo okay...I thought you were saying your backhand was as good as Stans.lol

I sometimes run around serves to hit a single BH

I do to now...just the opposite of 2002 when I started...then I would run into the alley on the backhand side and then have to recover...got older and tired of all the running...lol

 

[Spin Doctor]

I use a 1HBH to hit all my serves. That's how good it is.

 

[Rozroz]

no, it's a retro posh stroke that will soon be gone.
total crap! :twisted:

 

[winstonlim8]

I shave my legs backhanded with one hand. Does that count?

 

[1HBHfanatic]

I sometimes run around serves to hit a single BH

I use a 1HBH to hit all my serves. That's how good it is.

haha
and yes... 1hbh rules

 

[chatt_town]

You got that right fanatic. It does rule.lol

haha
and yes... 1hbh rules

 

[Maximagq]

Do we use one or two hands to pleasure ourselves?

One.

Do women use one or two hands to pleasure us?

Two.

There you go.

I notice that men often drive a car with one hand and women often use two hands to drive a car. What does this mean?

 

[Say Chi Sin Lo]

Is this the same idiot who has been starting dumb threads left and right, only to abandon them?

 

[sureshs]

I hit my serves like one-handed backhand smashes just to be manly.

 

[sureshs]

I use a 1HBH to hit all my serves. That's how good it is.

Underhand serves don't count

 

[sureshs]

I am thinking of getting my left hand amputated so that I don't hit 2 handed BHs by mistake

 

[Shroud]

I am thinking of getting my left hand amputated so that I don't hit 2 handed BHs by mistake

Hey Suresh,

I can save to the time to inquire. Home Depot and Lowes don't carry amputation saws. At least they didnt a few months ago when I asked....

 

[WildVolley]

Marat Safin was often run off courts by other players because he hit a girlie 2hbh.

 

[kilowatt]

yes I can rip it like Stan. And usually people from the next courts do stop and look at me hitting the manly backhands.

Talk about humble!

My one-handed backhand has always been my best shot, but I can get into trouble due to sloppy footwork sometimes. When it is on, though, I can hit backhands pretty hard. I'll try to post a video some time, if I can get someone to video tape it.

 

[VoodooBoot]

Yes.

10 chars

 

[thomasferrett]

Depends on which way you look at it.

On one hand it's easier to hit powerfully with the 1hbh because of the longer lever arm.

Because the 2hbh is a bit choked up, it is necessary to muscle through the shot more to achieve the same weight of shot. That's why when you look at close-up footage of even skinny girls like Sharapova hitting the 2hbh, their muscles appear to be bulging because they're having to be quite tense to muscle through the shot. So that's hardly feminine.

But the 1hbh is more of a risk/reward shot, trading stability for more power potential. That sort of recklessness and risk-taking is probably a masculine trait.

 

[GBplayer]

Certainly more stylish and almost certainly more alpha male.

 

[Rubens]

Yes, and so is the platform serve.

 

[encylopedia]

It often used to be thought of that way. Not long ago, two handed bh was seen as being for children, women, or anyone else lacking the strength to play one handed. One handed was seen as superior, and something to aspire to. Connors and Borg changed that image for young boys.

I think inherently and naturally a 2 hander always implies some weakness (even when there is none - of course not among the pros for example), so if you associate with manliness with physical strength (again, a natural correlation), there will always be a slightly more manly impression made by a 2 hander.

But in the end.....does that matter?

 

[Will Wilson]

Definitely, no question - for sure. There is nothing more studly than someone ripping a beautiful topspin one handed backhand.

As I always told the juniors (all with two handers) that I coached - boys, women swoon over a good one-hander.

 

[kingcheetah]

Women are attracted to guys that win, so if you have a crappy backhand, chances are you'll struggle. If it's solid (be it 1h or 2) then you've got a better chance.

Del Potro destroys the ball and he has a two handed backhand... so the one handed shot isn't the only way to be masculine.

 

[oble]

http://youtu.be/Mon_XaGk2FY?t=15s

So manly.... :twisted:

 

[Sentinel]

the forehand slice cross court drop shot is one macho shot

 

[comeback]

i always thought tall guys like Todd Martin and Jersey Janowitz looked silly hitting a 2 hander...heavy set guys look a little funny too

 

[Deleted member 120290]

"is the one handed backhand a more manly stroke?"

I would say so. Sometimes my 2HBH catches my skirt.