That Whole Darn Inverted Forehand Backhand Thingy

What the heck is this?

I don’t see it often and I imagine I overlook or completely miss it the first few times it occurs on court.  But, what is that awkward stroke, if it can be called a stroke, that tennis players do, whereas using their forehand grip, turn the racket head 180 degrees, bringing the racket across the body (I need some graphics here), and then punch, hit, swat (whatever) at the ball?  This is all obviously in lieu of performing a normal and natural backhand stroke.

This is like using your left hand to shift gears in a car (in the U.S.), opening a door with your elbows or serving a meal on the bottom of a plate.  I don’t know.  There aren’t enough bad analogies.

I’ve seen some odd stuff out there (usually just apparently unorthodox), but this one totally baffles me, not so much from the novice, but from those whom have been playing tennis for quite some time. Perhaps this is a way of promoting tennis elbow.

Would someone strike the ball with the racket handle instead of the racket head or serve from the fence?

Okay, so this doesn’t go without understanding that this is due to not learning, practicing or possessing a decent backhand stroke, but with all the different stroke mechanics and variations out there, please help out a friend with eliminating the Inverted Forehand Backhand Thingy from their repertoire.