Just looking for some very good drills for singles players...I typically do front-back, drop shots, clears which are very good but basic...Any ideas or videos to mix it up? Thanks
I think the best drill is to improve footwork. Everything else comes next. [video=youtube;VBqsh72hkrM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBqsh72hkrM[/video] You could also practice some classical tactics in singles. Look for videos of Chen Weihua. There're detailed demonstrations.
his movement is just awful dont know if this video is meant to be a joke or what? worse (or funny) enough it is posted on youtube it is even posted as a recommendation for singles drill lol srsly wtf i also fear this guy breaks his ankles lol his body has no tension at all
Haha. Is that dancing???even if he got the fast movement. His body is very stiff there is no art and style at all. Try to have a look at lin dan for example. In his stiffness he got the swift movement plus the art of move itself. The stroke is like a flow. The complete and balance flow will generate the smooth transfer of energy in badminton. That is what used to move the shuttle in every stroke. Have a look at coach lee in youtube. That one much proper. This one. I am sorry. He got the speed. But that is not badminton. The badminton is an art by itself that must be honoured.
It's a demonstration how to reach all four sides and corners. There's no way I will describe his footwork as awful. What kind of words would you say about the footwork of many pro players out there then? You don't play exactly like that of course, because the rhythm will be different in a game. I think his steps are beautiful. They remind me of Sun Jun.
I had another look The music comes from a song in 1985 by Paul Young. The shoes are not those really thin rubber shoes the China players used to use in the early 80's. Looks more like those Yonex shoes in the late 80's Although the body movement looks inelegant, the footwork is very fast. It could be the guy doesn't act very well? Or given some instructions for the demonstration that doesn't come across very well? You can see some modern elements of badminton footwork but it's not a video that shows the 'rhythm'.
well for me i still watch this video once a day and laugh my ass off he looks so funny! his upper body moves in the direction he runs like a second delayed so bad posture, no core strength to keep the body stable at all! then i watch his ankles how he is slipping and buckling there.. poor body his he has very fast feet but he is definitely hurting his body there i dont think he can play controlled shots with his dangling body btw is any of you guys playing the backhand with the nonracket foot? im speaking of the situation when he moves to his left..he makes the big step with his left foot! i make the step with my right leg as coach lee taught me
Sometimes. When defending smashes to the backhand side, it is quicker to lunge with the non racket foot. However, you will struggle for distance. When professional singles players retrieve smashes on the backhand, they will either take a large lunge with the racket foot, OR the non racket foot. It is mainly just personal preference. And for those who seem to think his body looks very uncoordinated (which it does), it seems to me he is doing this as fast as he can, practising having to scramble around in defence, hence he is always "late", and having to lunge quite deep. If you see ANY player practising constantly lunging deep, when out of position, maybe even having been deceived, they will mostly all look like this. I imagine if you saw this same player practising his "on balance" aggressive footwork, he would look quite different. His steps remind me of Morten Frost... very quick feet, but not as much rhythm as there is in modern footwork.
Exactly. It seems most people are looking at that video and criticising his imperfect form. I'm looking at that video and thinking, "bloody hell, that is fantastic focus in a shadow footwork practice!" I wonder if he had an assistant to indicate the corners? It's incredibly realistic. Lack of realism is a huge issue in shadow badminton training. I remember Tracey Hallam bringing this up at a coaching conference. We had some decent county juniors also doing shadow footwork, but the difference in intensity between them and her was like night and day. They were going through the motions; she was out for blood. When she shadowed a net kill, you felt sorry for the imaginary shuttle. I quite like the method that Donna Kellogg used in her training. She would have a partner on the opposite side of the net "leading" the shadow footwork, whom she shadowed.
A very good point about being realistic to a game situation and one I keep raising with our coach. We are constantly tweaking his routines with input about being realistic about the movements, which helps us and him.
What we always do when practicing footwork is starting at a slow pace (just walking), but making sure you take the steps in the right way, also remembering how many steps you need and taking in notice how far on the court you have to go to reach a shuttle. After that do it little faster, then top speed, little faster and slow again. Our trainer always watches if we start making mistakes after doing is really fast and if we still remember how to do it correctly (when really tired) when we are doing it slow the last time.
I'd contrast that video with the one below: [video=youtube;up5M-mirAcI]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=up5M-mirAcI&list=PLB9C8E7DA57553F9C&index=119[/video] The first one emphasizes speed, while this one here emphasizes rhythms. If I were to practice, I'd definitely pick this one here.
I think both are useful. The Rasmussen video is a great example of a practice that's good for learning and maintaining footwork quality, and if you had to pick just one style of practice, maybe this would be it. However, it's also useful to practise footwork at full speed sometimes. It's often difficult to transfer technical skills learned from practice into games. Using increasingly realistic (i.e. game-like) practices is important for improving this skill transfer. In particular, agility cannot be learned without practising in response to a stimulus. A lot of footwork training forgets about this. This is where a partner comes in handy, or possibly a recorded audio cue. That doesn't mean the "basic" practices become redundant. That Rasmussen drill could be useful for any level of player.
