Okay, I played him again. I fared pretty well, until I found out he could smash. He kept smashing at my sides, and I couldn't get them. I don't think I have a chance at beating this guy, because he's VERY deceptive. Is there a way I can learn to smash? I'm trying it, but all I'm getting is a clear.
you have to master the smash yourself. watch some training videos online or something to give you a good idea on the basics. Don't worry about the guy who is owning you at the moment. Since you're quite new to badminton just look at it as a learning experience.
No offense, but seems your opponent is just way better than your current level. The reason that you could keep up with him at the beginning, is either your improvement surprised him, or he did not even warmed up, or he was simply showing some mercy. Once he felt like he would like to end the rally, he simply pulled out 1 of the many strokes (which many you did not even see or think before), to finish you off, be it's a drop or smash, or any other things. As the progress goes, which I am afraid for a long time period, you will go through the same cycle of keep pacing for a while, then found he has more "hidden magic" to finish you off easily. Until you have developed a very consistent skill set, you will still be the "easy meat" for him.
if your footwork is fine then you need to work on anticipation a bit better. If you watch matches like Lee Chong Wei vs Lindan you can see what singles is all about. There are so many ways you can go about singles. My recomendation would be if you really have to lift then make sure its a very high full court lift and off to either side if possible. The height will give you plenty of time to get into a strong position and ready for anything. Pushing it off to one side will simply put him under more pressure as he is further out of position. If he does drop and you can easily get to it the play a simple tumble net shot. Pull him into the front and then just continue to push him around. Its all about taking control of the rally. If he is throwing you off with deceptive last minute drops then he is constantly in control of the point. And ideally he would have a huge comfort zone. Id recomend learning "anticipation". If you can pick where he is going to hit time after time and your footwork is quite good then defeating him should be a breeze.
So don't be afraid to stay up front and ready to smash on his drop. He would still likely to drop on you...hope that help
One thing i think not mentioned here is always try to take the birdie higher. If you take it lower (just when it's about to land) at the first drop, then your most probably have to lift it again. So if you really have no problem getting to the shuttle in time, the next thing is to try getting the racquet to the shuttle when it's still on top of the net. Then you can actually just kill it or at worse do a straight drive. From how u r describing it, the guy actually doesn't smash but chooses to drop. So it should be easy to anticipate the drops and get there in time to intercept.
countering dropshots Since you predict he's doing drops most of the time, just stand nearer to the net. Then again, your opponent can still clear and smash. His drops can be punished in a variety of ways, IMHO just offering the possibilities. 1) if you anticipate near the net very early, attempt a lunging netkill like the pros 2) hold and flick if you reach it early 3) hold, lower racquet to crosscourt netshot, again if you reach it early 4) just do a spinning net shot if reach just in time 5) lift to backcourt (straight or crosscourt better) if reached slightly late 6) crosscourt net (desperation) if shuttle drop too low
work on your speed and keep the shots low and fast. This should help unsettle him a little. If he plays many more years than you, it'll take a while for you to beat him. However if you work hard on it, its only a matter of time. Then you can tell him 'Whazup boy'?
work on footwork and overall game (shots etc) and also try an take the attack in every rally and take contol of the net
Thanks for the tips guys! I'll practice some footwork tomorrow. I'm playing him at Friday, I'll tell you guys what happens.
not to be mean or anything but do even have a coach to begin with? You can't just go out there and just practice footwork all by yourself and correct yourself. You should find someone at a higher level that knows his/her footwork. Shadow drill is effective yes but you can't do it unless you get the basics down first. Trust me if you don't know how to move back and land properly and move up to the net, chances are your gunna get certain injuries like shock, shin splints, muscle pull, and the most killer achilles tendon. Now don't get me wrong im not trying to scare you im trying to tell you that you should get a coach first or watch badminton videos on youtube first before you head to the court. Which part of canada do you live in?
Sometimes watching videos isnt enough... You don't really get the contact and communication you need to improve your game. When I watch vids that teach me something I'd like to try it out after i know what it is.. but if you watch a video you can't. With a coach you can plus he can tell you what YOUR doing wrong instead of you watching someone else doing something wrong.
I DID WAY BETTER, but I still lost, :. It was 9-4 for him, but then I saw his weak spot, and then I caught up, but I still lost. Final score was 11-9. Back to practicing. Thanks for the tips everyone!
Badminton is A LOT about experience. For example, yesterday i played against some newbies...won very easily cause me and my partner know the basic strategies and where to place the shuttle and they aren't able to anticipate it. Even when they do, they are forced to lift the shuttle half-court and thats the end of it. But then again, later that day, we played against my coach (ex-national backup player) and another total beginner. Got thrashed 11-1 (we only played 11 points). And my coach wasn't even breaking a sweat. Just played around with the timing and finding weaknesses in our formation. It showed how much one player's experience can make a difference.
thats just like saying Lin Dan vs 2 national players and again it was probably possible to beat ur coach if he was a beginner. If you only hit to the beginner then your coach would've lost. But then again i don't think u wanted to be jerks and aim for him only. Also your playing someone at a coach level, he must be amazing then if he beat you guys without a sweat.
I wished we would have been more like jerks and hit more to the beginner. Then we would have not lost that terribly In a way, we wanted to challenge him more than the beginner...just to see how he would play it. So we kept hitting at him. So if the main point is to win, we should have targeted the beginner (and look like jerks) . Well...he may be amazing...or we really suck
