took me years to learn the "basic" grip. but now i learned that in order for the basic grip to work (at least for me) i need to remind myself of 2 things. 1) relax the last 3 fingers. 2) relax the wrist. the wrist is important (for me). if my wrist is tense, i slice my shots. i used to think that my "tense" wrist was actually relaxed! i never experienced pain or soreness with my wrist so i thought it was correct. but now i know the feeling of a tense and non tense wrist. it really makes a huge difference when hitting the shuttle with the basic grip. helps change grips from forehands to backhands faster too.
that is probably the best advice I have heard. SERIOUSLY... nearly 18 years ago I was able to hit almost any shot with a certain degree of force, enough to send the shuttle across the net at threatening speeds, in a downward fashion. But with the absence of 8 years in between where I did not play, I forgot the need to relax the wrist. I found it rather ironic that while I'm physically much stronger today, my smashes were no where near the speeds I was firing at during my young days. Your post above made me question my very basics of gripping the racket, and I must admit, I felt a world of difference when I played last night. Now thanks to you also, my jumping smashes from the baseline are landing in the front half of the court rather than projecting in a flat-aeroplane-like-motion and landing right at the back of the court. I also realized the importance of getting behind the shuttle a little before smashing, and making sure that it's not right above the head. My confidence level is greater than ever now, and I think my friends are starting to realize that too. Now I just need to work on my footwork, and ability to stretch when reaching to take a shot.
haha no need to thank me. i think the problem with me or i guess most people is that they think their hands are relaxed. i thought my fingers and hands were relaxed. they dont feel tense at all. but hey, apparently they can relax EVEN MORE. now i feel much more in control and im more fluid around the court. its crazy how one little thing can affect the entire body. more focus, more energy and more confidence. a couple of days ago while playing doubles, my opponent cleared the shuttle to my backhand side. i had my racket up, preparing to hit a backhand shot with a thumb grip. but then for some reason, i felt like i had SO much time and i realized that i can hit the shuttle with a round the head smash. and at the very last second, i literally twisted my body, changed from thumb grip to basic grip and killed the shuttle down the line. and it didnt take much energy out of me at all. i hit a hard shot with little effort. i was really surprised i pulled that off and so were the people i played with lol. its not enough to just leanr the grip, you have to understand it as well apparently. its a real game changer. im sooo happy i realized what was wrong with the way i held the basic grip. all of this wont be possible of course without this forum and also badmintonibible and all of those youtube videos. i kept watching them over and over but apparently, i overlooked one simple point. the WRIST
Yep. It's not about how strong your forearm muscles are, but about how well you can whip your wrist and forearm pronation. The analogy is like flinging water off your thumb in pronation, which can only be achieved with a loose wrist.
