Perfecting how you play badminton will also involves changing all the bad habits that you have once and for all. Other than perfecting your footwork and techniques, if you still have few bad habits that have become a second nature to you in how you play then, whatever you’ve learn will eventually not improve much since your bad habit will influenced how you play and therefore you will end up playing bad at the end. Whatever bad habits that you have that you want to change, there are 2 important habits that should be your primary priority that you need to adhere and install as a second nature to you and should be forever embedded in how you play as long as you’re playing badminton. These 2 important habits of all are: ALWAYS hold your racket level high ALWAYS address the birdie at the earliest opportunity Habit 1 : ALWAYS hold your racket level high When you’re in a stance of readiness, holding your racket head high while preparing yourself in retrieving the incoming birdie is one of the important preparation criteria for developing a quality return afterwards. This is also an important preparation criterion for any quality return when performing the next follow up return also. How high is high? Every level of your racket’s head above the waist can be high by anyone definition but then, what will be the most optimal height level? An optimal racket head level is any level above the waist which has the highest chance to produce any quality shot. To be on the safe zone, have a habit to hold it constantly at roughly slightly below face level be it playing single or double. Regardless whatever level of your racket head that is comfortable for you, as long as at that level of height you can constantly produce quality shots, then that will be your optimal racket head level. Most people will say that some world class player oftently don’t hold their racket head high enough (even sometimes their racket head level seems to be touching the court) but still able to produce quality shots. This is due to the fact that their reflex is super fast hence able for them to address the birdie early hence increasing the opportunity to make quality shots. Unless you’re a world class player then, if you seriously want to installed good habits in how you play badminton from today, holding your racket head constantly high is one important habit that need to be a second nature to you. Why it is so important to hold your racket head level high? It is so important to always hold your racket level high and installed it as a second nature habit to you because: A. You can address the birdie at the earliest opportunity This is true since by holding your racket level high, you will have the advantages to address the incoming birdie earlier since the distances of your arm and racket head needs to travel in addressing the birdie is shorter. If your racket head is low i.e. below waist level or touching the ground then logically the distance that your arm and racket head needs to travel to address that birdie will be at its furthest distance hence not allowing you to address the birdie at its earliest opportunity. B.Your response time in addressing the birdie will be quicker Since the distance that your racket head needs to travel to hit the birdie has shorten, your response time to hit the birdie will be quicker hence giving you a more higher chance in closing the window of opportunity to your opponent to make a good return. Habit 2: ALWAYS address the birdie at the earliest opportunity This important habit has been always highlighted in every technique of strokes since it has the most important role as far as if you want to produce any quality shots is concern. Why it is so important to address the birdie at the earliest opportunity? It is extremely important to address the incoming birdie at the earliest opportunity because it will give you a higher chance of producing quality shots that will be a winner by itself or opening an opportunity for a winning shot later. If this is fully understood, therefore, by addressing the birdie earlier: (i) If you’re performing a net play Your chance to play a tight net shot is higher since the resistance for the birdie to pass through the net cord is lower since you’re taking it higher. Most importantly, the chance for you to make a quick net kill is also far greater. (ii) If you’re performing a clear/drop or smash Your chance to deliver a solid and effective clear/drop or smash is higher since the contact point of your racket head against the incoming birdie is at its optimal height. Such solid shots will maybe be a winner by itself or if it’s retrievable, it will mostly be a weak return that will eventually open an opportunity for a follow up winning shot later. (iii) If you’re performing a deception The quality of your deception is more convincing since by taking the birdie earlier will provide you sufficient time for that millisecond delay and enough room for that complex racket head and arm movements to facilitate you to perform that deceptive shot. 4 important criteria that will give you a higher chance to address that incoming birdie early are: Constantly hold your racket head level high Focus on the trajectory of the birdie Having the mental initiative to address the birdie earlier Follow up with a fast and correct technique of footwork movement Regardless if you’re a beginner, intermediate or an advance level badminton player, installing this 2 important habit as a second nature in how you play badminton can facilitate a lot in regards if you want to produce constant quality shots in your game play. Since changing bad habits into a good one is not a quick transition, its extremely important for you to continuously remind yourself be it while playing or training to install such habits in how you play so that it can eventually be a second nature to you. SS
shooting stroke: Thanks for the excellent article. Could you also explain how can I relax the racket arm in between the rallies.
When you're too stiff while playing, your mobility is limited and this is because your muscles are tensed. The key in relaxing your racket arm is your whole body also should be relaxed so that your arm, wrist and waist are flexible to move, hence, making your racket preparation more comfortable and maximizing your movement while playing. SS
Hi pcl99, Don't relax your body too much my friend. When your shot is not accurate or missing because you're to relax means that your racket grip and your body tone is too loose. Your state of relax while preparing yourself for any shot can be reflect by the muscle tone of your upper torso, your racket grip, the height of your racket head and your balance and foot grip while on stance of readiness. Too loose or too relax will make the tone of your upper muscle torso less alert for that quick body movement, your racket grip loosen that will cause you in accurate shot, your racket head will not be at its optimal height and you lost that foot balance and grip that will reduce that footwork agility. Your state of relax should strike equally in between not to be so tensed and to be so loose until the above situation can occur. SS
Hi! I agree that holding the racket high and taking the shuttle early are important points in playing badminton. However, as far as holding the racket high is concerned, I suggest not to state that this should *ALWAYS* be done. One counter example would be defence of smashes. In such a situation, holding the racket head too close to height of the face may be too high: If the smash creates a steep angle and a high shuttle speed, you are probably forced to take the shuttle close to the ground, and if the racket head is initially close to your face, it may take too long to guide it close to the ground. Therefore, at least what I could see in some coaching videos, the racket head should be a bit lower, just above waist level maybe, when it's about defending such smashes. With respect to taking the shuttle early, I totally agree. Just one thing I'd like to stress (for those who - as I did when I started playing badminton - may misunderstand the meaning of taking the shuttle early): This does *NOT* mean to always take the shuttle at its highest point of the trajectory. Even more important, it does not mean that taking the shuttle early has higher priority than the proper technique to execute a stroke: Because I misunderstood this point, I used to overextend my elbow when I returned a clear with a clear (this way, I took the shuttle at a higher point, but it resulted in elbow pain). In conclusion, make sure your elbow is always slightly bent. This way, you take the shuttle at a slightly lower point, but with proper technique, the quality of the stroke and the shot will be a lot higher - and you protect your elbow (safety comes first). In order to reach the shuttle at a higher point, you better jump than overextend your elbow.
While those points are both important, I would say the most crucial habit revolves around footwork. A player must always go back to their base position or follow their shot if there is opportunity. Too often have I seen players hit a shot from the backcourt and have them just stand their admiring their shot. It's a simple concept and will help improve a players ability to move around the court.
Stefan, just semantics, but shooting stroke said to *address* the bird early, not take it early. Slight but important difference. Once you're addressing early, you open up your options to take it early or late or even change directions, ie deception. But the success of this element will completely and absolutely depend on your footwork.
this is probably the biggest issue most beginners/social players have - it's so hard to concentrate and keep moving
NEVER do this if you want to be number 1 or 2 in the world at mens singles (unless u are in a driving battle or really close to net and dominating) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCc6l1BDQuo
for doubles, the two habits are good. look at the difference between YuYang and ZhaoYL. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJrFjWkrLWU
Hi shooting stroke,are you badminton coach? I'm from Sabah too. Where are u located? Maybe I can drop by and learn something from you .
Good one. Add in the word Follow the shuttle, Intensity, Concentration and wrist work. You need to train up to get your racket up. Takes time to get used to it.
