Hi drummers

I will post one quick and basic question. What is the proper way of holding the matched grip. Somebody told me that you need to have the fulcrum on the first line of the index finger. This is not on the middle joint of the index finger but on the first joint of this finger (looking from the nail up). I also saw this technique reccomended by Gregg Bissonete in his videos. Second method is that you have your fulcrum point in between the two joints on the index finger and manipulate the stick with the fingers. This method is recommended by Terry Bozzio in his video. Third way of holding the stick is the one taught by Jim Chapin on Vic Firth site. It is the method for hard hitters (by the way I am pretty hard hitter myself too). He shows this method with no fulcrum between the thumb and the index finger at all. He just sort of grabs the stick with the last three fingers and pounds it. He said that this method is good for hard hitters because it dont wreck your hands from wrists up. Can somebody give me some hints or suggestions for the best way, because my wrist hurts sometimes and I think it is mainly because I try to keep the fulcrum to tight sometimes and  I am squezzing the stick to tightly, resulting in not beeing relaxed behind the set. Which method works the best.

Thanks                                               Matt

My index finger (first knuckle) and thumb are the fulcrum, fingers almost touching on the bottom side of stick.  I always maintain back-pressure using the 4th digit (first knuckle).

I use all 3 grips described, and proabably some others too!

It all depends on what I'm playing, how I'm playing it, and even how I physically feel when I'm playing it.

My sticks are constantly moving in my hands.  I don't really think about it, they just go where they are supposed to at any given time.

There is no 100% answer to your question.

Isn't that a French grip?

Many metal drummers do use that grip, and many others don't.  One thing with "thumb on top" is you lose a lot from your wrist's range of motion.

You may find you are able to control sustained faster beats with thumbs on top, but there are also other grips that are just as fast (with a lot of practice of course) that also do not restrict your range of motion with your wrist.

But again, knowing and learning them all is beneficial