Bend Sinister

Bend Sinister

Nabokov’s harrowing novel of that name is about political leaning to the left (“sinistral”). Bending sinister is supposed not to be a good thing to do (communism etc.). But we might also use the phrase to describe something more literal—leaning to the left hand. I have been bending sinister regularly. I am a case history in bending sinister, and this is an update (for those who care). First, tennis. I have been recovering from surgery (neck, cancer) for nineteen months—recovering my tennis. My right arm was affected and I decided to try to play with both hands, which meant learning to play with my left hand. I did this practicing against the tennis wall at the Biltmore tennis center nearly every day for approximately forty minutes. It wasn’t easy. However, I had an inkling from early on that two-handed play might prove superior in the end. I think I can now announce that it is. Yesterday I played my regular tennis partner (and friend) Eddy and played better than I ever have before. My left hand is no longer a liability. It feels natural now; I wouldn’t have it any other way. I also wouldn’t have believed it possible nineteen months ago. The backhand has gained considerably in power and accuracy. I bent sinister and it worked out. Knife throwing has also proved feasible using the left hand. Again, that took some time (several months—I’ve lost count). Each time I throw it is a little better than before. I can stick it most of the time from twelve feet. My left arm feels like it owns the knife now; it isn’t an alien presence. This is a source of considerable satisfaction to me (I told my surgeon about it the other day to his amazement). Drumming and guitar-playing have followed suit, surprisingly. I no longer bend dextral. All because my right arm was partially incapacitated. In table tennis I have not needed to recruit my left hand; my right hand is perfectly adequate for that. It is true that I can now play lefthanded as well (though relatively poorly), but my right hand is still my weapon of choice. Here I want to emphasize what I have urged before—practice your serve! Develop a variety of serves: different spins, depths, speeds. Right now, I am working on a type of serve I have not seen used before, though it is fairly obvious. You stand way over to the side of the table so that you are not even standing behind it (forehand or backhand). Then you use a soft backspin to send the ball sharply across the table so that it bounces just over the net on the opposite side, as close to the far edge of the table as possible. The opponent has to reach way over to the side even to make contact with the ball. If he decides to place himself there in anticipation of the shot, you simply propel the ball straight down the opposite side, which he will be unable to reach. I’m not bending sinister with this serve, but the opponent will find it sinister anyway. The moral: try something different, don’t give up, work at it, never say die. And unlock your sinister side.