hi everyone...i just wanted to know..when is the exact time to play a split step..i.e when the opp. hits...or just before or just after...also does the split step have to be parallel to the net.???.. thnx
Idealy when your opponent hit the shot, but that may not be possible always. Hence let me rephrase it as as soon as you see him played his shot.It is better to position yourself to cover the most threttening shot, the opponent is capable of from the given situation. If you are not certain, split drop to ready position-racket foor slightly ahead, which will help you cover all four corners.
check: chen hong/ lin dan footwork http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3v_Mwz4750 split step should be before, but when you land you should know the direction of the shuttle. Go on the count, try and find the right timing for you
The key thing is as the others have said - when you land, you will know where you are going. So you could start very early with a very large bounce (not recommended) or split after your opponent hits the shuttle (i.e. they hit then you immediately split, but this requires a very small motion) or somewhere in between. I personally split as late as possible with as small a motion as possible because this timing works for me. However, I know plenty of people who start their split earlier than me who do a good job too. When watching the professionals, I observe it is more common for them to complete their split a surprising time AFTER their opponent has hit the shuttle - they can then use the split to good effect to cover the court. The feet should be roughly parallel to the net (more parallel is defensive in general) but normally with the racket foot slightly forwards (racket foot very far forwards is deemed "aggressive").
