I seen many badminton videos and the commentator (jill ) constantly emphasize on sudden injection of phase and movement and also change of phase ... i don't really understand what is she saying so imma asking yal forumers to help me out =) and how do you do Sudden injection of phase and change of phase ya?
It's pace, not phase. When talking about "injecting pace", it means adopting a more aggressive, energy-intensive style of play - often one that would be unsustainable for an entire match, but is used at pivotal moments (eg. towards the end of a close game; at the start of a game; when you've got a small lead, and want to extend it enough to "break" your opponent). At other times, you might want to change the pace if your opponents are getting too comfortable - so it might mean using more drops, sliced-smashes and clears if you don't want to get drawn into the fast, flat rallies. It can be kind of like how a baseball pitcher uses a changeup after pitching a lot of fastballs.
Variation of pace is better imho. e.g. Smash, smash, smash, drop Drive, drive, drive, netshot Clear, clear, clear, smash etc Fast to slow shots or slow to fast slots...
Sketchy is right. Gill Clark refers to injection of pace. She is not talking about just the pace of the shots played but the sudden increase in speed around the court. Lin Dan is the perfect example of this - he will rally at one speed and then suddenly increase his own speed when his opponent lifts to his backhand corner. He ups the pace, gets to the shuttle earlier than expected, and then normally plays a decisive/winning shot (smash or half smash normally). How to achieve this? It must be possible for you to be able to rally at a very high intensity as standard, and then suddenly increase the intensity even further, to gain an advantage within the rally (opponent expects one shot - "normal" shot, but instead receives something completely different).
whao....so this injection of pace is vital in singles ...how about doubles is it useful in doubles ? and in what situation is best to use this injection ?
I don't think it is seen very often in doubles. Because you have a quick partner in doubles, the players seem to play a very high intensity (and take quite a few risks within the rally, trying to intercept/rush the net etc), there isn't quite the same effect to be had - professional doubles players seem to just play at full speed all the time. In singles though - yes, its extremely important. When to use it? Visor has it: critical situations. This doesn't just mean you are match points down, it might mean you are 8 all and want to get to the interval with a 3 point lead. It might be you need to stop your opponent because they are on a run of 4 straight points. Use it when you need a point NOW. You could maintain the speed for a couple of rallies, to build a bit of momentum. Then drop back down to normal pace for a while, try and win a few points, and then crank up the pace as and when you need. I think LCW is the most impressive player I have seen. In his match vs Peter Gade in the indonesian super series, he was playing at full speed (highest intensity) for the whole match. Awesome.
get it now ...but say what shot means injection of pace ? in the rear court i am quite limited to 3 shots smash , clear and drop ...are there other shots ? i heard of rear court drives and half smashes but i just never use it cause it seems like a bad choice
It's not the shot itself. You would still play the same drop shot for example, but you would invest more energy in following it up to the net quickly, to hopefully allow you to play a more attacking net shot. As MSeeley says, if you were already playing at 100% (rushing to every netshot as fast as possible) there's nothing more you can do to "inject pace". That's the context in which commentators most often use the phrase. They also sometimes use the phrase in a different context - like Badmintan described. For example, "When the attacker played a sliced smash, the change of pace wrong-footed the defender, who was expecting another power smash". I think (British) commentators also tend to use it as a euphemism when talking about British players. For example, "Nathan and Jenny really need to inject some pace now" - which is just a nicer way of saying "Nathan and Jenny are being completely outclassed right now" (when it's clear that they're already giving it 110%).
malaysianfreak: sketchy explained it! It has nothing to do with the shot! You will MOVE faster, and then play any shot of your choice. You may move faster and then play a slow drop shot - the mere fact that when your opponent looks at you, you are already hitting the shuttle, will rush him and upset his rhythm. He thought the rally was going at a certain pace (defined by how quick you were moving before), but you changed it and made it quicker, catching him off guard. You will hear a lot about "variation of pace" - this is to do with the shots. The slice smashes, the fast drops, the punch clears, the high lifts. Injection of pace, in the context of the commentary you hear from Gillian Clark, refers to movement.
