I was watching this video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=fvwp&v=JhEfJMo3gTc&NR=1) of Lee Yong Dae and Ko Sung Hyun playing at the 2011 Canada Open, and I noticed the Koreans sometimes defended with their non-racket foot forwards. Does anyone know why they do that?[FONT=arial, sans-serif] Thanks.[/FONT]
with the non-racquet foot forward is a very aggressive stance and you have more maneuverability with your forehand push and drives. the koreans must've felt comfortable with the speed of their opponents attacks and smashes and felt not threatened enough to be more defensive but instead more aggressive with their stances. edit: also if you look closely, the person with his non-racquet foot forward is always staying square to the opponent. so if he's on the left side and the opponent is smashing from the right side, he naturally rotates to face the opponent. from a straight back angle he may look like his non-racquet foot is in front, but if you look from his angle, he's very square to the shot
I watched the first two minutes of the video, and I only saw the Koreans on the defensive twice, at 0:40 and 1:35. The left hand defender is standing with his left foot forwards so that he's facing the shuttle. Draw a line from the player to the shuttle: the feet are square to this line. Why the right hand player isn't standing with his feet square, I don't understand. Maybe he prefers forehand defence? How consistent is it in the rest of the match? Does it change according to who is standing on which side?
