What do you think? Do leftys have the upper hand?

i hope so!:D but i guess not!;)

don't know if it is true. lefties can have better handling of everything that related to speed and time. and they also have faster reaction.

don't know if it is true. lefties can have better handling of everything that related to speed and time. and they also have faster reaction.
Interesting. Whoever told you this, did she/he explained why?

Interesting. Whoever told you this, did she/he explained why?

yes. he said a small part of our right brain is actually in charge of that function. therefore, lefties have better ability to deal with something which needs quick response or fast reaction.

I always feel they have an advtantage - except when playing against other lefties.

i heard lefties r half a second faster than righties. don't know if it is true.

i heard lefties r half a second faster than righties. don't know if it is true.

1/2 a second? haha..:D shouldn't be that long! otherwise, lefties will definately dominate the sports world!:D

yes. he said a small part of our right brain is actually in charge of that function. therefore, lefties have better ability to deal with something which needs quick response or fast reaction.

it is indeed very interesting. If it is true than reaction can be well trained by using one's left hand a lot: e.g. playing piano, using massage chinese balls or sth... Even 1/2 sec is ok. 8)
Can you give us a link to read more, red000?

BTW, I always knew that working with hands makes you smarter, but reaction...

it is indeed very interesting. If it is true than reaction can be well trained by using one's left hand a lot: e.g. playing piano, using massage chinese balls or sth... Even 1/2 sec is ok. 8)
Can you give us a link to read more, red000?

no link at all mikie. got that info from a tv programme a couple of years ago.

BTW, I always knew that working with hands makes you smarter, but reaction...

hehe........i think a reflex action doesn't count!;)

my fren use left hand...
and i use right hand...
i always playing with footwork and net .... sometimes i will do smash..
but i can i know what the big weekness if he is left hand?

im a lefty, imo its b'cuz you guys(if your right handed) are used to play with other right handed players so when you play with lefty's your kinda mixed up, im a lefty but when i play against a fellow lefty i also am kinda confused. when you send your shot to the back hand of a righty its the fore hand of a lefty.

I dont think it gives a very big advantage, just remember now that the other players backhand is opposite from a normal right hand player you face before

im a lefty but when i play against a fellow lefty i also am kinda confused.

i agree! coz i m a lefty myself!:D but such kinda confusion won't last long for me. i will realize that instantly after one mistake!:p

guys i play soccer with mi left foot(left footed) but play badminton with mi right hand(right handed)...although it dosent affect mi coordination...do u have the same problem?

i heard that left handies have an advantage when playing with feather birds because of the way the feathers are cut. the direction of the cut of the feathers makes it such that the natural slice direction of a leftie's drops allows a steeper and faster drop on the bird

i heard that left handies have an advantage when playing with feather birds because of the way the feathers are cut. the direction of the cut of the feathers makes it such that the natural slice direction of a leftie's drops allows a steeper and faster drop on the bird

Yup i heard that 2
One of the commentators for the Yonex All England 2006, kept goin on about it while Lin Dan played

As for hitting onto a leftys forehand, don't, leftys have no advantage if u just take a note and play em all over the court, like u shud do with rightys 2

I don't like playing Lefty's, purely because when I hit a high clear to what I think is the backhand corner of the court, it's smashed or cleared back to me.

The only advantage I've ever found in doubles is that if you're playing against a lefty and a righty, you can smash it down the middle and they'll either both go for it or both leave it because they are either both on their forehand or backhand. (I think that's right... :rolleyes:)

i found one website to test ur reaction time
http://pbskids.org/zoom/activities/sci/reactiontime.html

i agree! coz i m a lefty myself!:D but such kinda confusion won't last long for me. i will realize that instantly after one mistake!:p

yup same here, maybe the first couple of rallies im confused, but after that ill always take it to the leftys back hand side, a little combination, some razzle dazzle then KAPOWW:D:D

The only advantage I've ever found in doubles is that if you're playing against a lefty and a righty, you can smash it down the middle and they'll either both go for it or both leave it because they are either both on their forehand or backhand. (I think that's right... :rolleyes:)

Such thing only works when against less-experienced players/pairs, as team work is the key in doubles. For such pairs, even if they are same handed, they still can leave the shot or clash the racket in the middle, due to poor team coordination.

Once you face more advanced players, the lefy/righty combo could be deadly, if work effectively. Just imagine the 2 different hands covering all courts with a flawless forehand smash/drop/drive. :rolleyes:

im a lefty, imo its b'cuz you guys(if your right handed) are used to play with other right handed players so when you play with lefty's your kinda mixed up, im a lefty but when i play against a fellow lefty i also am kinda confused. when you send your shot to the back hand of a righty its the fore hand of a lefty.

I agree, this is could be one of the key factors, especially when we talking about less experienced players.

The righties have much less chance to play against lefties, when compare to the other way around. Due to the lackness of experience, the right handed players fall into a disadvantage for "not get used to". :rolleyes:

When I play a lefty, I'm playing a mirror. For example, when you rally with the wall and you hit a shot to your backhand, it comes back at your backhand. When I'm on my backhand netside(my fakes side :D) it just makes it so much easier for me to fake it and hit a low shot to their backhand, with a shot that goes straight down the line.

Keep that in mind so when you're on your forehand side of the court hitting a clear you'll know that it's to their forehand. Also, don't WORRY when you lift there. Some people just lift there and they go "OMG they're left handed I forgot!!!" and they completely miss whatever comes back at them.

If you want to be REALLY good, watch "Prince of Tennis," 178 episode anime. The main character comes to a point where he uses both his left and right hands, in addition to a one-footed split step, which is supposed to increase your reaction or whatever. While he's split-stepping, he is free to switch racket hands along with using the footwork so he can have a double-sided forehand. What I'm very basically trying to say is train both hands and both sets of footwork, just to see what happens ;).

wouldnt that make you slower? tennis has a big court, you have time to change racket hands. with badminton, the time you switch rackets hands the shuttle might be already landing on the floor.

Quote:
Originally Posted by llp1kab0oll
i heard that left handies have an advantage when playing with feather birds because of the way the feathers are cut. the direction of the cut of the feathers makes it such that the natural slice direction of a leftie's drops allows a steeper and faster drop on the bird


That's what most of the coaches say :cool: so personally I think left handers have a slight advantage, of coz I'm one too :D hehe

just like lin dan:D

wouldnt that make you slower? tennis has a big court, you have time to change racket hands. with badminton, the time you switch rackets hands the shuttle might be already landing on the floor.

Very good point. 100% agree. ;)

Originally Posted by glencomienda111
wouldnt that make you slower? tennis has a big court, you have time to change racket hands. with badminton, the time you switch rackets hands the shuttle might be already landing on the floor.

Very good point. 100% agree. ;)



But what if you are facing a defensive clear to your backhand? You would have the time to change hands and then also have the option to smash the return back.

Originally Posted by glencomienda111
wouldnt that make you slower? tennis has a big court, you have time to change racket hands. with badminton, the time you switch rackets hands the shuttle might be already landing on the floor.

Very good point. 100% agree. ;)



But what if you are facing a defensive clear to your backhand? You would have the time to change hands and then also have the option to smash the return back.

To 99.9% of people, switch hand (as well as footwork/stance) will cause much more effort and confusion, than practice over the head strokes. ;) If switching hand/footwork is so effective with small amount of effort, you should see all the top elites start training on it. The reality is very rare. ;)

I think leftys definetely have an advantage.... I haven't faced many but it sometimes screws me up.... Sometimes my natural reaction in a sticky situation would be to make your opponent play on his/her backhand..... With a lefty you think that and then hesitate for that fraction of a second when you remember he/her is a lefty. That hesitation can sometimes cost you alot and I think leftys for sure have the advantage because everyone is used to playing rightys....( even other leftys)

Heh! If lefties cause so much confusion and trouble, imagine them playing against one another:p. At higher level of play, left-handedness cease to become an advantage.

hahah true true

To 99.9% of people, switch hand (as well as footwork/stance) will cause much more effort and confusion, than practice over the head strokes. ;) If switching hand/footwork is so effective with small amount of effort, you should see all the top elites start training on it. The reality is very rare. ;)
maybe they havent seen prince of tennis ;). lol joking, i'm aware of how slow it'll be to switch hands but imagine being able to make the switch in the time that u do a split step. that would include super-reaction to see where the bird is going and then having to make the switch, then running for the shot.

Originally Posted by llp1kab0oll
i heard that left handies have an advantage when playing with feather birds because of the way the feathers are cut. the direction of the cut of the feathers makes it such that the natural slice direction of a leftie's drops allows a steeper and faster drop on the bird.

...Although the primary use of a slice is to make the shuttle slow down, although it looks like a strong smash/ clear. So slicing it quicker would be a disadvantage. I suppose you meant the opposite though... that it slows down the shuttle even more than a right handed slice.

Left handers do have an advantage because of the direction that the shuttle fearhters are placed in and the way it rotates through the air. Lefties are supposed to get better slices and the shuttle drops slightly steeper because of the rotation of the shuttle.

Played a team of two lefties tonight, murder!

That is so awesome! I kind of wish I was a leftie just to see how that works out.

Left handers do have an advantage because of the direction that the shuttle fearhters are placed in and the way it rotates through the air. Lefties are supposed to get better slices and the shuttle drops slightly steeper because of the rotation of the shuttle.

Played a team of two lefties tonight, murder!

really? but i know a lot of guys who can "cut" and make a shuttle rotate in both direction.;)

really? but i know a lot of guys who can "cut" and make a shuttle rotate in both direction.;)

it doesnt; the rotation suits the left hander better because of the spinning direction making cuts more effective because the shuttle drops more steeply. Shuttles only ever rotate in one direction.

it doesnt; the rotation suits the left hander better because of the spinning direction making cuts more effective because the shuttle drops more steeply. Shuttles only ever rotate in one direction.

thx for the explanation dill.
but any lefty player here had noticed this. the interesting part is when i cut the shuttle in "the other way". it becomes rotating but after it passed the net. the rotation stop and it start to drop more slowly.:eek: what do u guys think? any good with that kinda shot?

one more question for righties. are u guys able to make a shuttle spin effectively like what lefties can do?

perheps not, but well that is nothing can't be fix by a pair of fast leg

the only advantages i know of is the slice... speeding up the shuttle's spin...

and playing against a left + right handed pair in doubles - who know what they're doing - its much tougher...!
forehand smash, you lift and redirect cross-court, only to be greeted by another forehand smash. haha.

i also noticed that, when i slice its faster when i send it to a right-handed players backhand side compared to his forehand side. i have a question: do lefties have the advantage when doing a deceptive shot?:)

i also noticed that, when i slice its faster when i send it to a right-handed players backhand side compared to his forehand side. i have a question: do lefties have the advantage when doing a deceptive shot?:)

Reasoning states they should, but then agian in theory reverse cut for a righty should combat the problem nicely

thx for the explanation dill.
but any lefty player here had noticed this. the interesting part is when i cut the shuttle in "the other way". it becomes rotating but after it passed the net. the rotation stop and it start to drop more slowly.:eek: what do u guys think? any good with that kinda shot?


That is the more effective slice IMO if used right. When you are playing, they can't exactly tell which way the shuttle is spinning, so when you do a regular cut(for leftys), the bird will fly flaster to the net, but since it stops it spin at the net, it just drops and you will get a closer drop. Since that drop is much harder to execute for a righty, thats why the lefty has the "advantage". I'm a lefty and.... im still bad at that shot ^_^

reverse engineered plastic bird will probaly turn that advantage around
^_^

I am a left handed player and I certainly think I have an advantage. Most returns always seem to come to my forehand. Even if you realise your playing a lefty, as someone else said, I think there's always that hesitation......I find it when I play other lefties.I didn't realise about the direction of the shuttle spin though......you'd think they'd design them so they were better for righties because there's way more of them.lol....it makes me feel so special!

pretty sure those goose that grew those feather doesn't have a clue
that there r more right handed then lefty

lol...that's a good point! :D

My brother is a lefty and he can also play with his right hand, lucky for me hes only been playing for a couple of months but when he gets alot better the only way to beat him will proably be head smashes. (nothing like some good old sibling rivalry lol!) :-)

That is sick lol he will have no backhand

AHaha... yea, come to think of it. O_O No Backhand!!???!! If the switch is extremely fast! =D

I'm a lefty and I can say one thing none of you guys have mentioned, that is 90% of lefties are offensive players. I can list a whole bunch of professional lefties like Lin Dan, Zhang Jun, Peter Rasmussen, Craig Cooper, Kang Kyung Jin, and let's not forget Fu Haifeng, on the women side, check for Wei Yili, all of which have an incredible smash. When playing doubles, it is +60% of the time the lefty who finishes the point.

One reason I find is that most righties have been exposed to play against righties. It is hard for most people to unlearn bad habits to lift in the backhand side which is our forehand side on the court. As a result righties create an opening for lefties to smash or drive. In the same vein, as you guys mentioned before, the shuttles were designed in favor for lefties and therefore our opponent can be caught by surprised by these returns, especially fast cross drives on the shoulder area (my trademark :p).

Another secret that I can share with you all is that most lefties in doubles have a weak netplay. For some reason we commit more unforced errors than righties when it comes to cut or cross the shuttle at the net. It is actually true for most offensive players since they have developped their arms for smashing more than having the finesse at the net.

A chap at work is a leftie and it's not problem paying agiasnt him.

When we play doubles, the shuttle is either hit to both backhads (lefty + righty) or both of their forehands. When it's the backhand - that will clearly result in a weaker return. But when it's both forehands, there is usually some confusion or hesitation over who takes the shot.

Obviously the later point wouldn't be a problem at higher levels of the sport as the doubles team would be able to work with each other and know who takes which shot when.

nah. some left hand ppl even write with their right hand or soemthign so takes out some consentration i never seen right handed ppl do that. well as for right vs left, is just gonna be forehand to fore back to back so is odd but no advantage

i think lefties are stronger :P iuno y but when i play against a leftie whereever i hit they'll be there when i look

Even Federer is now saying that it's hard to play against a lefty. He mentioned this during the recent final where he lost, again, to Nadal, a lefty.

federer lost to nadal AGAIN?! wow...that youngster is gonna be GREAT

nadal tht guy is crazy
turned pro in 2001 ... currently 19......:eek:
15 year old pro ??? :eek:
Name: Rafael Nadal-Parera
Plays: Left-handed, but is right-handed; two-handed backhand
ummm what does tht mean

Ever play against two lefties in doubles. Was the oddest badminton game ever. We kept on trying to adjust, but then we'll just pop it up instead. Oy...

Lefty vs. Lefty is also quite hard. I remember being on the verge of losing a match at a score of 12-4.... when my partner suddenly told me that the opponent with the strong smash was a lefty. It was only then that I realized that I was clearing to the wrong side :p So, lefties like me also have trouble against others :o

Wooow, whoever told us that left handers are quicker and quicker in response must be a left-hander himself!.

The only difference is this: left-handers are used to playing right-handers
Right-handers are not used to playing Left-handers.

And thus Left handers have a small advantage.

Yeah, lefties are somewhat harder. It's my instincts to clear to my right side. Of course, I clear to the left when he's a lefty but I'll have to think a bit more. Lefties, they make me so mad that I want to.... :mad:

Nah, just kidding. But they're sometimes harder than righties. Like Lindan and what I did to my coach yesterday (he's a lefty and I just realised that I was clearing to my right).

Cheers!
Keith

My teammate is left handed and well I've somewhat gotten used to playing against him. They have the same weaknesses as Righties do, but only on the opposite sides. I just play my normal game and if I do an attack clear, it'll just be to the opposite side. However, contrary to what some have said, my teammate that's left handed is brilliant in any kind of drops. Net drops and backcourt drops are executed quite well. And I do notice he does drop at a steeper angle than most people with a backcourt drop. But if you do play against a Lefty, don't adjust too much. It'll just mess up your normal game and create inconsistencies.

don't know if it is true. lefties can have better handling of everything that related to speed and time. and they also have faster reaction.

Yeah, true, it is due to the fact that one half of their brain (left side or right side) is "more" developed than the righties. This part of the brain corresponf to the reaction speed and time.

Another fact, is that most players are righties so it is pretty hard to switch style against lefties (play on their back hands).

This is my opinion.

An interesting article about left handed vs. right handed:
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=498707&page=1

i use to be left handed, when i was young but my parents made me switch to right, i cant use my left hand anymore =(

i use to be left handed, when i was young but my parents made me switch to right, i cant use my left hand anymore =(

Is that possible?! :eek:

a lotta oriental parents does that in the old days
i got a copule friends who was forced to become righty that way back then
and they end up doing a certain things with one and a certain things with the other..kinda interesting cos they'r not 100% interchangable..one that i know play badminton with left but write with his right but he can't do it vise versa

As a lefty i would say no i don't coz all my mates who play with me are used to the fact i am a lefty. However i would say that i struggle when i play a lefty as i don't play them regularly as all my mates are right handed. But you only make the mistake of lifting onto a lefty's forehand once or twice so in conclusion i would say no we as lefty's don't have an advantage.

I remember reading something about lin dan and when they mentioned he was left handed they called it an advantage and i was just wondering why that is.

I don't know if it's coincidence, but I remember growing up in Romania, several of the most dynamic smashers were left handed.

i would think so actually.. i HAVE heard about some scientific reasoning about a slightly faster reaction time but I can definitely not prove this :confused:.. i think the main advantage is the fact.. left handers MOST of the time train/play against right handers.. same for right handers.. so if the right hander faces a lefthanded player.. he might have to change strategies and such.. while the left handed player is more likely to be used to playing right handers on a daily basis.. so yeah.. i would think a lefty vs lefty would make it neutral tho

i would think so actually.. i HAVE heard about some scientific reasoning about a slightly faster reaction time but I can definitely not prove this :confused:.. i think the main advantage is the fact.. left handers MOST of the time train/play against right handers.. same for right handers.. so if the right hander faces a lefthanded player.. he might have to change strategies and such.. while the left handed player is more likely to be used to playing right handers on a daily basis.. so yeah.. i would think a lefty vs lefty would make it neutral tho

very true.. this is what my left-handed friends told me... and when they started to face another left-hander, they really felt confused..:p:p

its because left handers can slice better, shuttle feathers are left over right when they slice theres more spin, I heard this from commentors once in the Thomas Cup 2004 final and Asian Games 2006 final, they were talking about LinDan,

its because left handers can slice better, shuttle feathers are left over right when they slice theres more spin, I heard this from commentors once in the Thomas Cup 2004 final and Asian Games 2006 final, they were talking about LinDan,

But Lin Dan doesn't slice a lot, if at all. Bao Chunlai does, for his cross court drop shots, but they don't appear to be particularly effective.

In contrast, Taufik has a very deceptive cross court reverse sliced drop shot from his backhand corner.

I am pretty sure Zhao Jianhua, in his heydays, plays very deceptive slice shots. More recently, I have only heard commentators saying how deceptive Wong Choong Hann's forehand cross court sliced drop shots are.

i really dont know about it but i have a very bad record against lefty ..in our state i won against the lefty after losing 5 times to him ,winning against him for the first time this year.i am comfortable with others but against him God knows ...have to do a lot of thinking !..guide me if you can

But Lin Dan doesn't slice a lot, if at all. Bao Chunlai does, for his cross court drop shots, but they don't appear to be particularly effective.

In contrast, Taufik has a very deceptive cross court reverse sliced drop shot from his backhand corner.

I am pretty sure Zhao Jianhua, in his heydays, plays very deceptive slice shots. More recently, I have only heard commentators saying how deceptive Wong Choong Hann's forehand cross court sliced drop shots are.

actually its not deceptive, left handers slicing will give the shuttle more spin so the drop will be faster

actually its not deceptive, left handers slicing will give the shuttle more spin so the drop will be faster

Excess spins beyond the natural spin in both directions will slow the shuttle down faster.

I don't know of any study that has shown that negative spin (excess spin in the direction opposite to the natural spin of the shuttle) slows the shuttle down faster than positive spin (excess spin in the same direction as the natural spin of the shuttle).

A left handed slice does not necessarily put more excess spin on the shuttle than a right handed slice, but the excess spin from these two slices are in opposite directions. A left handed slice and a right handed reverse slice both puts negative excess spin on the shuttle. Again, I don't think there is any study that shows that the left handed slice puts more negative excess spin on the shuttle than the right handed reverse slice.

very true.. this is what my left-handed friends told me... and when they started to face another left-hander, they really felt confused..:p:p

quite true... i myself am a lefty too... my coach says that it could actualy help me protect my overhead as our forehand is their forehand our backhand is theirs too... i guess thats the ,main thing...:)

no advantage at all

stop all the arguments..lets ask mythbusters..haha

im a lefty, imo its b'cuz you guys(if your right handed) are used to play with other right handed players so when you play with lefty's your kinda mixed up, im a lefty but when i play against a fellow lefty i also am kinda confused. when you send your shot to the back hand of a righty its the fore hand of a lefty.

Yea that is the problem I have with lefties! I'm so used to clearing to the right side [A right handers backhand] that I give the forehand shots to the lefties. :(

yay we lefties rule, cause so much confusion! No actually I really don't feel like I have an advantage over a righty skill wise...

its just that LEFTIES are use to playing rightys. Technically speaking, For us to play a righty feels the same as if a righty were to play a lefty. BUT since we have alot more practice of playing a "mirror", lefties usually have more refined strategies. therefore: for a righty, it FEELS like its harder to play a lefty(b/c they arent use to it). Same goes with leftys playing leftys; it just feels weird b/c I dont have refined practice in playing lefties too.


errr i hoped that made sense lol.

Technically speaking, "For us to play a righty" feels the same as if a righty were to play a lefty


Is that a mistake or did u mean to, because even if you play righties (your a lefty) you're still used it since the majority of the players are righties.

Is that a mistake or did u mean to, because even if you play righties (your a lefty) you're still used it since the majority of the players are righties.

Thats exactly what i mean. leftys have more experience over the righty vs lefty situation so they know what to do strategically b/c leftys play alot more rightys than vise-versa.