Confusion of Tactics Against Women

Discussion in 'Techniques / Training' started by MeowMeowCats, Jun 16, 2012.

  1. MeowMeowCats

    MeowMeowCats Regular Member

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    I am actually pretty confused; when I played in high school most of the girls had either weak clears or couldn't clear for doubles. And I would read online with people telling me to never lift/clear unless you were in trouble.

    My old-partner and I were pretty even in skill level, but we were able to clear well and able to execute most shots to a degree. My coach would tell me when I play against other high school girls to lift or clear because a lot of them had weak clears. Or to clear to them to get them "off rhythm" This did confuse me because I usually want to smash or attack at any possible chance. But my coach would tell me to clear against girls even if I am able to attack.

    But when I play against and with male pairs they say thats a bad idea. I'm pretty confused. :confused:

    Thank you for your time!
     
  2. JukUx

    JukUx Regular Member

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    I think when you play WD, I don't see anything wrong with clearing. I mean, if you know the other girls have weak clears then you should keep doing attacking clears to the corners. That way your partner will probably get some nice half court clear returns and smash them down. As you said, you like to attack/smash, and you can do this by setting up the rallies for your partner and yourself to do that. If clears are the weakness of the other girls, don't see why you wouldn't want to keep clearing to them lol. I think your coach means to attack their weak points, which is the deep clears in this case. I know a lot of girls in HS that can't clear either, so its a good way to set up for some easy half court kills.

    When you play with guys, its different. Guys can generally hit harder than girls (not being sexist) so you play a clear, they'd just smash it at you or do whatever, because you're giving them so many options. In MD, like you said, I only clear when I am in trouble and I try to keep an attacking formation whenever possible.

    But that is not to say that, doing clears is not necessary a defensive thing as you can do attacking clears to catch your opponent off guard and either win points or set up the rally.

    So guess that's the difference. More food for thought, watch the Jap girls play. They play very traditional (defensive and a lot of clearing) while if you watch the Chinese pairs play, they're very aggressive (smashing, etc) But never underestimate a clear lol :) clearing can do a lot!

     
  3. urameatball

    urameatball Regular Member

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    generally, guys have huge attacks and lifting means you're okay with letting them hammer down at you.
    Girls are physically weaker, trap them in the back and there's not much they can do to beat you.

    just look at singles, girls serve high and guys serve low. Similar concept.
     
  4. tigerlam92

    tigerlam92 Regular Member

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    Drop with 'attacking clears' is very effective actually. But also women smashing from rear court should not be very deadly and you should be able defend or attack back. Hugh
     
  5. NanoBatien

    NanoBatien Regular Member

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    In general, when people give you advice "dont do this or that", there must be a "because...". So if the "because" does not apply, then the advice no longer applies.

    Most girls after a certain level get very very good at defending. They play alot with guys, guys smash at them, they get used to it. So in WD the balance of power between def and offence is a bit more towards defence. So for WD, feel free to mix it up more, there is not that urgency to attack like in MD, you have to work your way in using a variety of shots. MD is kinda stale in that sense, the straight smash is far too dominant. Sometimes if both sides are too consistent and good at defence really the only way to win is counterattack, trying to tire them out, or hit to middle and hope for confusion.

    Generally there are 3 options, even in MD:
    opponent standing normally or slightly forward: you smash
    opponent standing too far back (cos scared of your smash): you drop
    opponent standing with racket low, and in normal/forward position (they are thinking to cover your smash since they have a low racket, and cover your drop since they are more forward): you flat clear

    Of course, the advice above is just a guide, sometimes its better to deliberately do the second best option, just to mess with their heads (esp for smarter opponents).

    When lifting/clearing, you can lift/clear to either one. So even if one has a monster smash, you can still clear to the weaker one :).
     
  6. amleto

    amleto Regular Member

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    Sometimes a flat smash can be quite good + also funny in this case :D
     
  7. mindfields

    mindfields Regular Member

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    It's quite simple.
    You start with standard tactics till you find a weakness, then you exploit that weakness till they find a counter & then you adjust.

    Lifting is generally not a good idea because the opponents usually get to play an attacking shot, playing against men that's usually a risky option.

    Some women can't play effectively in the rear court, If you find that's the case then you exploit it.

    I think the basics that most people test a new opponent are: attacking the serve, test backhand, mobility against drop shots, defence against hip aimed smashes, flat drives.
    If you find a weakness there it's often worth a couple of cheap points. .
     
  8. FlamingJam

    FlamingJam Regular Member

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    Lifting against a strong female opponent is a bad idea, lifting against a weak female player is likely to be ok resulting in a net shot, kill or weak clear. However since they are weak you could beat them in a more traditional manner so i would advise against constant lifting unless it seems like the only option.

    I mainly play mixed doubles in tournaments and my mixed partner often receives a large number of lifts/clears wrongly from the male opponent. Fortunately she is more than capable of full court clears and accurate smashes in result we win games much quicker as many opponents believe forcing her to the back constantly giving away the decision making in the rally is a positive tactic which it isn't. Basically lifting constantly in doubles is quite negative (vs a male or female) and unless you are superior as a doubles partnership anyway you are unlikely to win.
     
  9. canti

    canti Regular Member

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    As a high school badminton coach myself I would agree with his logic. In high school badminton at certain levels if you keep clearing and stay consistent your opponent will just mess up on their own. However since you used a past tense phrase I'm assuming you're older now so you'll be playing against higher level people. Throw that logic that you learned in high school out haha. Always attack when possible except if you're trying to deceive them with a follow up drop after a smash.
     

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