As an active badminton player, do you feel you've become more proficient wielding a flysquatter than your average Homo sapiens?
Personally I find that quick pronation and well-disguised strikes can be very effective in the battle for air supremacy. Often I cannot resist attempting a smash at my six-legged opponent and usually end up breaking the squatter as well.

Anyone else with similar experiences?

been there done that.
flies, bees (sori may, only the unwelcome fellas)

G'day,

Ever tried to do same thing here in Australia? Our bull and fruit flies are quite big so it usually leaves your strings distorted and a sizable explosive impact on the wall where the fly touchdown.

Some of our local cockroaches are size of a badminton shuttle, so it will require more than a Yonex Ti-10 to excute a perfect smash. A Yonex Ultimum Ti tennis racket would be preferable.

Don't try that though with our local wasps or dung beetles - wasps will swarm and as for dung beetle, well since it eats mammal wastes for a living, will often leave a nasty mark and smell on your racket and walls.

Welcome to Australia!

very tempting, however in canada, we don't have as many variety of insects as in Australia. i don't think it's too dependent on type of rackets but rather the string type. I prefer low gauge string for this application, it gives a bigger knock out punch as it has less open space for the bug to pass thru. Bees are more challenging because it force you to make more accurate swing . We all know the consequences of missing it.

Eh... but does higher tension give you more power?

;)

I took out a bat once. Stunned it slightly. I didn't want to kill it, but more or less stun it from biting me and tossing it out of the house.

hahaha, that's what i call a bull in a chinashop :lol:

With practice you can develop the jumping net kill shot which, when performed correctly, culminates in landing on the target insect to finish the job. Novice swatters should avoid attempting this manouvre with wasps or bees - they are mean mothers when they get angry. Do not forget to wear shoes!

They have a mosquito problem here up in Northern Scandinavia. What string do you recommend for that, and at what tension?

Ah, those pesky mosquitoes. They're what made me move from Sweden in the first place. Then I realised that there are a lot more spiders in continental Europe instead. But since spiders are usually found on walls you can throw your bugsquatter at them (wouldn't dare use a racquet for that). This is a skill I've acquired over the years and I can now quite confidently take out any arachnoid target from a distance.
Could this technique be used in badminton as well? Someone started a thread recently about whether it was legal to throw your racquet at the birdie and actually getting it over, but the official rules didn't appear to treat this situation.
I'm sure there are plenty of Badminton Laws closet readers out there who know?

I do not think the strings are as important as the type of shot employed to address the mosquito problem. Mosquitos are very light and it is difficult to generate enough racquet head speed to actually harm one. Being small they are adept at avoiding impact. I recommend you employ a shot with a closed racquet angle, maximising your chances of impact and potential damage to the target.

G'day,

Why not try a can of spray deodrant and a cigarette lighter? Just make sure you aim well first and ignite as far away from the can as possible.

By the way, that's not how we deal with mosquitoes here in Australia. Althought it would be quite spectacular view come to think of it!

pardon me for the graphic and cruel content of this post. readers discretion adviced.




we just finished dinner preparation and decided to open the kitchen patio door to let some cooking smoke out of the room, a rather hyper fly took the opportunity to enter our house, circuling the kitchen making wheeeee.... sound as if it was victorious in finding today's meal, yet at the same time, terrorizing the occupants.

a war was declared. a war must be fought with a good weapon.

as well as a full stomach. so after dinner time, i took out my MP100 from my bag. and headed into the tiny enclosure of our kitchen. only one living creature will leave the kitchen alive tonight.

the insect was furious to see its domain being invaded, with a bright red weapon none the less. at high speed it cruised around the light fixtures, knowing that the light bulb at a full speed collision with ultimum-Ti will create a spectacular glass shattering experience that will certainly infuriates the wife. but the warrior knows of its ways, with little jabs here and there, the six-legged restless creature will not hang around the light for long.

as predicted the fly, with the attention span of a, well, fly, cannot sit still and flies cautiously out of the light area. only to be met with fast and quick swing of the red ultimum-ti frame laced with bg85 strung at 25lbs, well suited for the offensive. finger power and wrist speed is most important here as the fly can change direction 10, 20, 30 times every second.

the fly is fast afterall, many mishits later, it was resting quietly on the ceiling pondering the next move. but it was not allowed to rest and regain its stamina. a tired and slower creature, abeit with six legs and two wings is a much easier target. a few tap on the ceiling it was forced to go off again. dashing off from corner to corner of the tiny kitchen, looking for cover while the mp100 w/ bg85@25lbs cuts through the air with swoosh, swoosh, sounds.

with the small kitchen, a full swing of the MP100 will be very destructive (to the kitchen, that is ), however, the anatomy of the kitchens means that there are locations for optimum swing. the ever patient warrior will wait till the pea brained fly to carelessly move into the void of its positioning and swings the red offense weapon at it.

and the moment was here. a mid-air collision between the tightly strung MP100 w/bg85, powered by months of finger training, cuts through the air and the insect with devasting effect. an high pitched "ting" sound can be heard in miles.

and then there was silence, all of the annoying "weee...." sound indicated of an invading fly is gone. the warrior knows that he is victorious. examining the MP100, the strings shows no sign of residue, nor displaced, nor frayed strings, signs that the blow was fast, decisive and humane.

a quick survey of the destruction zone shows the power of the MP100. there was the fly lying livelessly on the ground, with its head, body, legs and wing intact.

the tail was no where to be found! :crying:

the tail was no where to be found! :crying:

Please tell me all the pots had lids on them! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA ... nice, Kwun ... nice!

-dave

Welcome to Kwun's Advanced Badminton Training Centre!

Kwun will lock you into an enclosed kitchen / dining room set with cutlery, tall wine glasses, plates, etc., and a chandelier.

Kwun will then release a typical North American house fly into the enclosed room.

Object of your drill...to terminate the fly using only your racquet without disturbing/breaking the houseware nor marking-up the walls, all within 5 minutes.

As you advance, the number of flies increase or hornets will be used in exchange of the flies. :p :D

Note: proper footwork is required as you traverse the room! :rolleyes: :D :D

Happy Swatting! Cheers!

its winter here now though so i can't get my insect killing workout :(

the tail was no where to be found! :crying:

Do flies have tails?

Please tell me all the pots had lids on them! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA ... nice, Kwun ... nice!

-dave

You caught me in the middle of lunch with that.. LOL!!! :(

I got a fly this summer with a tasty, well timed backhand. I lay in wait, eagerly anticipating the optimum time to pounce. The time came and with one swing cleanly removed the head, which fell to the floor. The body bounced off of the opposite wall.

Probably the best shot I played all year... :D

I got a fly this summer with a tasty, well timed backhand. I lay in wait, eagerly anticipating the optimum time to pounce. The time came and with one swing cleanly removed the head, which fell to the floor. The body bounced off of the opposite wall.

Probably the best shot I played all year... :D Wow, I cant even hit a badminton shuttle with my racket. You managed to take the head off an insect and bounce its body off walls with a backhand swing? Very impressive stuff :p. Wait till the animal cruelty organizations see this thread :D

Wow, I cant even hit a badminton shuttle with my racket. You managed to take the head off an insect and bounce its body off walls with a backhand swing? Very impressive stuff :p. Wait till the animal cruelty organizations see this thread :D
It was a perfectly humane killing -- swift and sudden. Probably didn't feel a thing ;)

As for managing to hit a shuttle, my friends and I frequently get our timing all wrong and hit frame shots. The problems occur when you get 3 or 4 in a row during a rally and we start laughing at each other :D

just took out a house fly using a 3U NS7000 with just 1 backhand snap. :DI think the NS7000 work the best :)

I've never used a racket to swat a fly, however my reflexes from badminton have let me catch flies in my hands and hit bees / wasps out of the air onto the ground then stomp them :). One day in grade 12 there was this bug flying aroud our lunchroom, no one could get it. Then it flew over to me and i clapped it making the entire room look at me.. i got it. My friend later said that was how he would always remeber me :D