Hi everyone, I have been playing badminton for a 2 and a half years and I still cannot find a way to relax when I am on the court. My coach(es) have been saying im very stiff, and pointing it out during training makes it worse. I am just wondering how does one become not stiff on the court (training or games). Did you pass a mental barrier or a physical barrier?
Agree with the advice to enjoy yourself advice. Can work wonders, rather than constanty worrying about whether you're relaxing. Other advice is related to your overall fitness: Do you do other exercise? Do you stretch regularly? Or do you sit at a desk all day with stiff, inflexible muscles. Pretty hard for a cheetah to be in shape to chase down a gazelle on a Saturday if it's been in a small zoo cage all week. (at least that's my sad experience)
Just thought of another advice which may sound kind of funny at first but to my experience it helps: between rallies think of a nice but simple song you like and play it in your head. Just try it I bet you will be surprised
as you become better and the strokes and footwork become second nature, you will play more relaxed as you don't have to think and worry so much on court as of now, you're probably just developing your badminton and you're putting too much pressure on yourself on court best solution for you is to just go out there and practice and play more! and don't be too harsh on yourself when you make mistakes
Smile while you are playing and have and have a hot camomile before playing. But be careful to not relax too much! ;-)
Stiff as in not flexible, cant bend or lunge enough - more stretching after exercise and after waking up in the morning. Stiff as in too tightly strung - it is an intense game, thats normal. Try not to rush your shots. If you feel nervous take 3 deep slow breaths to try and calm your nerves between rallies. During non-game training sessions practice your technique until it becomes automatic and you dont have to think about it as much during games. Get to know your team mates better and play with familiar people before moving onto strangers.
Thanks for all the advice everyone. I do sit on a table all day and do my work however in the mornings I go for a hard run. In the afternoon/evening I do workouts with weights. I don't just do stretches as they are part of my warm up. Should I be incorporating stretches into my routine? I love badminton and I find it enjoyable. I have a laugh and smile but my movements are stiff. I think johnv and visor are right in that I just need more practice but the things is, I play badminton 4 times a week and each session goes for 3-4 hours. Is there any other possible explanation as I do not have the time to play or train more than 4 times a week.
Wow 4 long sessions a week plus workouts - that is a heavy schedule. If you can stick to that schedule you should have no fitness problems. I usually allow 1 off day after each playing session and weights sessions need 48+ hours for the soreness to subside. That may be partly why ppl say you look stiff - you are still recovering from previous sessions. Try to give a bit more priority to stretching periods after exercise - after an intense session it is difficult to ease off and do something slow - so have to be disciplined to do it. Just read about team Malaysia's training routine, 24 hours per week but only 5 of it is actual practice match playing. That takes some commitment.