Attitude when playing socially at clubs

[pcll99]

if i am not aggressive enough, i will lose.

but if i am too aggressive, other people might not like it.

what should my attitude be when playing socially at clubs (ie not playing tournament)?

PS: I am intermediate

[Borbor]

other people not liking it is their problem. If you DO play tournaments, then unless you step into your own bubble all the time, how are you going to get into that bubble come time when you really need to in a tournament setting?

As long as you respect your opponents even in club setting, then that's enough. Or, find like-minded players in the club to play with and let the social players enjoy their own game.

[visor]

Depends on your partner and opponents. If your opponents are weak, then there's really no point in smashing to the ground every single lift they give you and then celebrating with a shout and raised fist only to have the game end 5 minutes later at 21-1. In such cases, I just take it easy and practice placement shots and net and flat shots instead.

[kwun]

i think whether you are playing aggressive or passive, the right attitude to have is a positive attitude.

[visor]

^^ What if a player plays with a positively passive aggressive attitude?

But seriously, play with some civility and respect and at least give some face to your opponents... otherwise others will avoid you.

[Shinichi]

What's the problem with playing aggressive? That's your playing style. No worries

[captaincook]

keep track of the score. Go easy when u r far ahead, and practice some placement shots. step on the gas when opponent catch up a bit.

[extremenanopowe]

when leading at 18, smile and pretend to make them happy.

Or ask them to come for my coaching. lol.

[chris-ccc]

if i am not aggressive enough, i will lose.

but if i am too aggressive, other people might not like it.

what should my attitude be when playing socially at clubs (ie not playing tournament)?

PS: I am intermediate

.
This is my opinion;

Play against their best strength/abilities; Don't play against their weaknesses;

* If they cannot return your smashes, don't smash at them.
* If they are weak with footwork, don't make them run.
* If they are good with certain shots, give them the opportunities to use them.
* etc, etc, etc, ......

If you do the above, you may not win the game; But they would understand that you are giving them chances to apply their best skills against you.

But it would help you to train (how to face against difficult situations) for real competitive matches.
.

[raymond]

That's exactly right. I learned it from a lady many years ago. She told me - "If you want to win, play to their weakness. If you want to practise, play to their strengths".

[Fidget]

Good advice from all. But if you are a player who is still improving and gaining experience then it might be a dangerous thing to practice "playing to opponents' strengths". You see it can become a habit. I played low level social baddy for years before finally challenging myself and rising from the muck to play with mid-level players. One of the hardest habits for me to break out of is poor shot selection. I still find myself occassionally choosing shots that would have created no problem against Old Mr Smith, but are outright suicide against Joe Cool. This is not to say you shouldn't play as chris ccc has suggested against lower players, but at least be aware and make sure you have enough challenging games on those social nights so as to "keep the edge on your knife". :-)

[raymond]

@Fidget. I wouldn't disagree with you. The analysis on strengths/weaknesses in either case should be the same. Then comes shot selection. E.g., you may have identified their net is weaker, or back is weaker, or one player is much weaker etc. With this recognition, you then take mental notes on your shots and where to hit to. If you're relying on habits to play your shots, then you'd probably have problems when you're supposed to play to the weakness in either case. It'd also help if you're much better than your opponents, in which case you should have more time to get yourself out of the auto-pilot that you reply on in faster games.

[maxout]

"OFFICIALLY" I wouldn't suggest "throwing" the games like Chinese, SKorean or Indonesian girls at OG

But, if playing SOCIALLY, I have always found it FUN whenver you win one or two and then they win one and in most cases, keep the scores tight - 21-16 (at worst). Just don't thrash someone under-10, no nice for SOCIAL baddy .... well, that is how I see it ...

If you are uber-competitive type, better go and join an AGGRESIVE group or club, at least everyone is out-or-the-kill, no quarters given ... birds of a feather sticks together ... (goose/duck)

[AirStyles]

You can go just as aggressive, but just don't glare at them or shout.

Instead put on a smile.


I'm known to be angry in tournaments, but during club sessions, I'm smiling most of the time.


Really, just need to adapt and be friendly, if you got nothing to lose, you don't even need to win. (Heck, I actually lost to weak players on several occasion.)

If you're worried about losing ruining your image(I think this might be the reason), you don't have to... Believe it or not, a good player can always tell if you're good or not, just by the way you stand, the way you move, the sound the shuttle makes when it makes contact with your racket etc etc.

You don't have to kick constant butt to prove that you're good. You just have to win when you're having more serious games.


Again: Good players do notice other good players.

[Shinichi]

Again: Good players do notice other good players.

Yup...Agree with that

[Cheung]

I think there is no hard or fast rule.

Yes. If you are good, you get noticed. I don't think you have go full out smashing and being aggressive throughout the game against people at a lower level. But do make it hard for them and a few times in the game show some aggressive features.

It's really a judgement call so you have to assess the persons you are up against. Are they the competitive sort? Are they more social types of player who like to rally, and run during some points but need to slow it down on other points.

Is it a new club where you are trying to make an impression or a new club where they want to have fun?

Just recently I went as a guest to a club. Didn't play aggressive, but rallying style. I went just to be accepted. After a couple of times, I changed the style to being more aggressive against their better players. This club actually has a range of players and so they can cope with different styles.

It's all about having a balance and using your judgement.

[diverdan]

Try and improve on your weaknesses otherwise you will end up just practising a few shots. Develop yourself!