i would love to here any views on the subject of back swing. i was taught that when clearing or smashing one should bring the racquet back as far as possible. but i am finding that as i improve i can do just as powerfull a shot with a very small swing. i would like to know if this is one of badmintons best kept secrets or am i just a twit.
depends on the situation. If the bird is behind you, then you'll need to turn around with your back to the net. A full and fast swing gives you the momentum to spin yourself around to face the court again. I also found that a quick tap can be as powerful as a pull swing for backhand shots in which the contact point is in front of you, but in an intense game, that can be tiring. If there's time, i'd go for a full swing to save energy since you don't have to put as much energy to get the same power. If you are using the backhand, then most likely you're going to execute either a drive or a clear. So there's no point in putting more energy than it takes to do the job... plus the bird will either go out or fly too high if you hit it too hard, which is what should be avoided if you can position yourself quickly enough.
When I'm doing a backhand smash or clear, I always prepare the racquet as high as I could instead of as far as I could. If I have more time to prepare I will put my racquet (in a backhand position) as high as I could and preserve my power while waiting. By doing so I could do a powerful-enough backhand smash with a reasonably good control. However, when there's no time to prepare usually I will do a wristy back swing (which never gave me a good result - it's usually too high and too close to the net, which is an easy prey for a kill) or turn my body around and do a full swing (because this full swing helps you to return your body to face the opponent again), again, with a high-position racquet.
The law of physics implies racquet speed at contact(racquet facing the shuttle) is related to the resulting speed of the shuttle after impact. More racquet speed at contact always result in more speed of your returning shuttle. The problem is that most of us when attempting to hit the shuttle with a racquet speed too fast, we tend to mis-hit or not hitting the shuttle at all. Also there is the efficency of your swing mechanic. Some players can accelerate the racquet to a high speed with a short swing, whereas some need a much longer swing. For me, I find the long swing very hard to control, and I mis-hit a lot with long swing. Shorter swing (usually involve wrist and forearm only) is much easier to use and I have more success with it. Who on this forum has good shoulder flexibility ? (like those in major league baseball pitcher).
Back Swing & Shoulder Flexibility Does anyone know training methods for a more flexibile shoulder? The ability to pull the elbow behind the shoulder as much as possible should dramatically increase swing speed, just like those tennis and baseball players. I read that as we age microfiber in our muscles severely restricts joint movement. Is this true? Please help.
I think the back swing you are referring to is for the purpose of generating more leverage for your shots. Yes, you can generate leverage by drawing a small circle in front of you before you hit the shuttle. This is the same drawing of circles with your racquet in all your net play. I do this to devastating effect in my attacking clears. I am 65 years old but not many younger players can match my attacking clears. This of course assumes you have the time to do so. If you have no time then just put up your racquet at the highest point and stroke a delicate steep drop to the net.
First you must get into a good position - try not to let the bird get past you but instead you should hit it in front of you, how far in front depends on whether you want to execute an attacking clear, a normal clear or a smash. So you must really be on the ball, moving very quickly into position. Then don't let the bird fly too low that your return will be compromised in that you may be forced to hit it too flat or worse still, into the net. It should be high enough for you to execute your stroke comfortably, without bending too much of your elbow on contact with the bird. Now comes the moment you really want an answer to your question. With eyes on the bird, your body should be in a steady balance, with left foot forward, left arm comfortably outstretched with hands roughly pointed towards the bird (assuming you are right-handed), racket-holding arm bent at the elbow behind your head then let fly in a very fast, preferably short arc, to hit the bird in front of you at an ideal height. You will note that I did not recommend a long swing or arc as it will take a longer time for you to return to your normal ready position. This is particularly true in a very fast doubles game when speed is paramount. Yes, speed is what will determine how fast and powerful your shot will be. But bending at the shoulders, elbows and wrist to create the angles will give your shots the added power that they need before final execution.
Re: Re: back swing I think this will also benefit deceptive play as well by using the same stroke preparation for different shots.
Re: Re: Re: back swing Isn't this the foundation of deception? Rather than focusing on trick shots and fakes, players should learn to make every shots preparation efficient and the same. Like the poker face in card games.
When executing over-the-head stroke, the stroke must essentially have the same stroke movement for attacking clears, defensive high clears, smashes or drops. The only variables are the different angles and points of contact and a strong whipping action for the attacking clear. To execute any of these strokes well, you must get into position, back swing, forward swing, contact and follow through. Above all, how you use your wrist is even more important as it is the wrist that injects the element of surprise and deception into your game. Players who grasp these fundamentals are extremely tough to play against, as they may send you running one way and the shuttle the other way.
Wrist is what you use for backhand shots, not protonation of forearm, the shuttle will travel much further using wrist and is also harder to control. Short swing tabs doesnt go very far and is consider quick only within short distances. I personally do not recommend using that when I am at the back of the court, slicing and other techniques will do the job and better. The word "deceptive" bascially means tricking your opponent but short swing tabs only give your opponent less time to react to the shots you play instead of being tricky. The follow through and larger swing preparation are what it takes to be deceptive. People doing short swing tabs without preparation and follow through when doing clears play just like beginners.
Deception has different forms. There's a thread on that subject Taneepak, my view is that finger manipulation of the racquet handle with the correct timing can greatly influence the power generated.
Please note wrist movement comes from forearm muscles. Backhand uses supination and very little extension. Forearm uses a combination of pronation and flexion.
In the smash, drop and clears, the wrist plays a key part in injecting the element of surprise and deception into your game. If you use just your hand and arm movements, there is no disguise at all simply because the stroke action is so big and it takes so much time your opponent can read them 10 miles away and have a cupper whilst waiting for your shots. If you do not use your wrist in your smash, drop and clear, you are missing out on one of the glories of the game. Have you ever seen coaches asking their charges/students to practise swinging the racquet with its cover on or using a squash racquet? You swing the racquet using quick, snappy movements, to help you achieve a quickness of the wrist as well as strengthening it. Try this: Close your eyes and practise a smash with all your strength using just your hand and arm, and note the sound of your racquet. Now, do the same smash, still with your eyes closed, but now also using your wrist at the point of impact, and listen to the sound. Now you tell me the wrist is not the ace of spade!
Have a look at this thread I think it is very interesting and forces us to re-examine previously held concepts. http://www.badmintonforum.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=11173&highlight=wrist+flick
I did have a good look and I think it is a lot of sound and fury signifying nothing. The stuff was really not talking of the same thing. Its late now and I am going to bed, but I will explain more later.
I was about to follow up from where I left off last night but I thought I saw something that insinuated that it would be better if I took a pause.
perhaps I can be a little more comprehensive in my line of thoughts. Although, I agree that the movement of each joint contributes to the acceleration of the overhead action as a whole, my impression is that the dexterity of the fingers, with appropriate timing, can greatly influence the racquet speed and impartation of energy to the shuttle. That does not imply the wrist has no influence at all. The reason I posted the reference to Phil's thread was because of the link you made of the wrist being associated with power. By inference of your post, the ability to generate power is one way to introduce deception (possibly I may have misinterpreted this). The other thread I referred to, contained thought provoking discussion and pictures. That discussion, plus other threads led me to believe 'wrist flick' was a misnomer. Therefore, in your opinion, 1) is there any role of the finger in producing power on the overhead shot? 2) what exact movement would constitute a 'wrist flick'? Let me clarify my interpretation of the 'wrist flick'. To me, the wrist flick implies movement of the hand at the wrist joint. To me, means extension and flexion on the wrist joint. Maybe it is being presumptive, but perhaps other people may also have this idea as well. Thus, it would be better to clarify the interpretation of 'wrist flick' in the overhead forearm stroke, before proceeding on. Because of this interpretation of the 'wrist flick', I used to use to flexion/extension movement of the wrist joint to aid in producing power for overhead strokes. Unfortunately, not much came of it despite the physical effort put into the stroke. An Indonesian Chinese coach (also played at high level in China previously), told me my overhead action was typical of many European players *ahem*. (must be from his experiences many years ago). After spending a lot of effort and time changing the stroke, this Indonesian Chinese coach said, 'ahh, now your overhead action is much better'....... With regard to the purported insinuations, nothing is intended. Of course, many people come to the badminton discussion board to learn, share and formulate opinions. Some may ask more questions than others, and on some topics, but not on others. I guess this is my one for today
I agree, Cheung, that the different descriptions people use can be confusing. I too assume wrist flick to mean extension and flexion of the wrist. When people talk about "arm smash" or wrist smash" it doesn't mean a lot to me. In the old days, when I used to only play socially and knew little about badminton, my overhead power shots used little pronation/supination. My forehand power was generated from swinging the arm and using wrist flexion. Nowadays the power comes mainly from pronation. Wrist flexion is mostly used to alter direction or steepness. We've strayed a little from the original subject of the backswing. If I thknk there is a difference between a "full" backswing and taking the racquet back as far as possible. I would call a "full" backswing one that goes back as far as is necessary to allow you to produce maximum power. Any further than that is inefficient and costs you time. e.g. for a forehand with forearm pronation, at point of impact with the shuttle my palm would be facing forward with thumb to the left (I'm right-handed). My normal backswing would be to supinate the forearm about 100 degrees so that my thumb is pointing backwards (and a little outwards). Physically, I could supinate a further 60/70 degrees, but that's too much. A shorter backswing would be to only supinate about 40ish degrees. The point of this is to get the shot in quickly. I get less power, so I tend to use it for shots that "hurry" the oppponent: like attacking clear, fast drop. (That is just isolating the pronation/supination actions from my overhead forehand shot. The full shot includes body rotates back, both arms up (like bow and arrow, as it has been said before. Also like American football quarterback preparing to throw). The during the forward body rotation, the right elbow comes through leaving the right hand behind (the supination happens here-ish) then the forearm whips through and pronates)
