(To people who came in to scold me for repeating a thread....please stop and read first:D ) Sorry for that.

Okay. Now we get into the topic.

http://www.badmintonforum.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=7026&highlight=Problem+hitting+shuttle+at+the+highest+p oint

My coach says that this was caused by the childhood playing of badminton. When i would a child, my dad would bring me downstairs to play badminton. Of course, there was no net and the ceiling is too low. And i don't use the full swing and got the habit of hitting the shuttle at a lower point.

A habit is hard to break. And this habit of my caused me to be unable to smash with my full strength. So, my coach asked me to throw shuttles. But it does not seem to work for me.

Then, he asked me to put my left hand up to gauge the shuttle and to hit it.

I am still trying it.

Anyway, would me starting to play singles help? I play doubles now and if i change, i would get to lob more, and probably help me in my swing too.

Asking all forum readers, would it help???

If this problem is that entrenched, I don't see how playing singles would be any better. If anything, it may be worse because you have to move around so much more.

I think there were some pretty good suggestions in that other thread. Were you able to try them?

Well, i did try some of it, but it did not work too well for me.

And, this problem is mainly hindering my smashing.

Lobbing, well, i have to use more strength, but that is not a prolem.

When i smash, it always would not be a winner. And smashes are important in doubles.

Yar, and there is something too.

My coach says there are some professional players who have the problems too but the swing is improved in 2 to 3 years.

And my coach said that as i have only 4 years or being in the school team. This would not be too good for me.

2 to 3 years would be too long.

how low are you hitting it?

i went from choking the neck on a standard racquet to three-finger grip on a extra long racquet (8 inch difference!) for smashes. I had to "force" myself to hit it earlier than before, even though my arm didn't want to move. Is this what you are refering to by habits?

I changed my mind set and imagined that i had a ridculously long racquet. (Imagine a giant pole for a shaft!) Oddly enough it worked after a few games!

How low am i hitting?

Well, i hit it low to the extend that when i want to smash, i end up hitting the shuttle to the floor and as i used a lot of strength, the shuttle bounced back.

i did used a short racket when i was young... you know the type that was half the size of a normal racket. Still dunno why my dad bought me that racket. Anyway,I find it a co-incidence that i used a normal sized racket and once choked up high up on it too!!!

After entering the secondary school, i tried to alter my grip into the middle of the grip. And i am using it ever since.

Anyway, bigredlemon, i would definately try your new "idea". It does sound promising!!!

P.S. Would throwing a tennis ball help??? I thought of it just now.

hold teh very bottom of the racket n hav someone feed shuttle to u... keep hitting until ur constantly hitting at the highest point??

Just a thought
Dunno if it actually helps tho... :D

Sorry i forgot to add on.

In a bid to hit it at the highest point and to use it the little pinky method, i hold it a the lowest end of the racket now.

(Kwun, you should be happy about that.:D )

Originally posted by ljq

use it the little pinky method


wut's that?

Originally posted by JChen99
wut's that?

Finger Power Revisited (http://www.badmintonforum.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=5506)

Hmm, I can hit the shuttle high, but my weak point is net play. Just can't seem to get the shuttle over sometimes, sometimes I send it too high, making it easy for my opponent to tap it down. Sorry I can't tell you what to do, ljq.

it definately won't take you take long to correct your technique. how often do u play a week? if it takes 2-3 years to fix your swing then something is wrong. if you have only tried to correct your swing a few times then you're not trying hard enough.. the clear is an essential shot in badminton and must be learned.. basically half your shots are derived from the swing technique.. how old are u now? if i were u, i'd keep your arm up at all times, this may be tiring but u need to build up muscle anyways. and stick to the real technique no matter how crappy you're doing.. i know sometimes when i try new things it looks really bad, but when you get it u can make them look bad. if people laugh at hard working beginners then they've got no character.

ljq,

Maybe you could clarify this for us.

From what you described, it sounds like you are not hitting the bird when it is over your shoulder, that is, if your arm is like the hand on a clock, instead of hitting the shuttle at 12:00-12:30 position, you are hitting it out to the side, like at 11:00-10:00.

Or it may be that you are hitting with a bent elbow, so you are not extending your arm full length.

This does not make it impossible to play, you are simply giving away some downward angle, power, and time (getting to the bird lower means more time for the opponent to prepare). For your opponent, it would be like playing someone who is several inches shorter.

ljq,

here is my suggestion.

firstly, forget about the birdie, you need to first teach yourself how to execute the overhead stroke correctly. even, forget about the racket. just hold a birdie in your hand. i am sure you have seen enough badminton players and video to have an idea how the "correct" stroke looks like. try to execute that motion without hitting the birdie. just do it at home, in front of a mirror. make sure that it "looks good". if you think you have master that. then take up a racket and do the same.

when you execute that stroke, make sure you prepare with racket head facing up/forward, elbow back, and then rotate the racket head back, elbow forward and pointing "UP" and then use your elbow to rotate the racket up and forward for the hit.

see if you can do that in a mirror first. trying to do that in the gym will just be too much stuff to handle. practice in front of a mirror many many times.

then if you think your muscles are toned for it, try to go to the court, get a good friend, feed you slowly some birdies, hit it really slowly. don't worry about hitting it hard, just hit it half court to half court light clears. see if you can do it and always think about what you practiced in the mirror.

hope that will help. but honestly, i think you need to find a coach. have him teach you how to hit overhead from scratch, and learn it the right way. just unlearn everything you had before. this way, you will go much further in the future.

yes, try to do it at home first.. u save much time that way. even if u do not really hit a bird far at home it is fine. i worked on my short serve at home and now it has devastating effects (at least i think so). i just put a bucket far from me and served back and forth. make sure you have the technique right!!! that is the most important part! and u need a good friend like kwun said :P

forgive me for being blunt, but just forget why you can't swing properly, forgive your dad for buying you a half a racquet, and forget what ever strokes you used previously to clear. just go in front of the mirror swing that arm and go to the gym swing that arm using the correct technique. once you revert to your old way, or get frustrated, you have lost all you have gained.

Californian,

issit that i have to hit it at an absolutely straight, the 12.00, angle?

I have tried it but it feels strange and i start having some pain in my arm joint. Sometimes i do hit it at the side but at the 11.30 position.

I suppose that should be okay.

And Kwun, what do you mean by holding the birdie in my hand, my left or right. I am a right-hander, so do i hold the birdie in my right hand?

TOmike, i am 13 years old.

Originally posted by ljq
Californian,

issit that i have to hit it at an absolutely straight, the 12.00, angle?

I have tried it but it feels strange and i start having some pain in my arm joint. Sometimes i do hit it at the side but at the 11.30 position.

I suppose that should be okay.


As I said, there's nothing to prevent you from hitting the bird without reaching. It's just that you give something away to the opponent by not taking full advantage of what you have.

If you're having pain, there may be something more going on than we can help you with. Sometimes it's hard to say what's wrong just from a description.

Californian,

Sorry for saying about the pain, i mean muscle aches, typed wrongly.

What you clarified was right, and i guess my problem is in my timing, angle and any others?

Still trying very hard to correct it. Got some improvements.

I personally started playing with a hammer grip. Everything was fine except my backhand (well... almost everything :rolleyes:)

The proper grip IMO just makes it easier for backhand shots, and easier to exert power onto the bird. However, I've been constantly changing my grip whenever i play (if the proper grip doesn't work for me for the day, I'll go to an alternative grip[of course, it's also gotta be able to handle backhand shots]) which sometimes work better for me, but then my playing style will have to change a bit for the time being to compensate for the change of grip(ie more clears and less drops or something like that)

I think that u SHOULD teach the kid the proper grip. Just because it's "proper" Once he gets used to it, he can choose which grip style to stick to(the proper grip or the one he was playing with). That would be his own disgretion

please kill above message(and this one)... somehow i posted in the wrong forum... ^^"