sorry for that question as I'm a beginner but I noticed that the players use extremely small follow throughs. often their arm will literally stop at contact. often it even looks like the racket snaps back immediately after touching the ball as demonstrated by this chinese guy (he most probably be good) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F46HK8cVE0g#t=3m17
is there a reason why players don't really follow-through as much as in tennis? (sorry for the two part post, is there a possibility to edit here?)
A smash isn't an outright winner quite often. With a short followthrough, you are ready for the next shot faster.
The heavier the object you are swinging, the harder it is to change the motion. With a badminton racket, it is easier due to it's light weight. Tennis racket or baseball bat, much harder. I don't think there is much to gain after the impact. Most important is the motion from start, leading up to impact, and quality of the impact. I think afterwards, it's just a matter of preference, everyone has a different "technique" or "form". Of course, I'm just a recreational player.
what mater says. flicking the wrist is much much faster than the whole arm. badminton is about power and not pure strength. the wrist is also much more agile than the arm swing and thus can provide much better leverage and angle when the shot is execute from slightly ideal position.
I would say badminton is more about speed than power... because even trained girls with wimpy arms can smash harder than me... All that matters is how fast you can explosively accelerate into the shuttle at strike... what happens immediately after is not important, so not point wasting energy into a massive followthru...
You're not kidding, I can't count how many times I get taken to school by high school girls who train 5-6 days a week during their badminton season. I will take it one further. I believe it isn't so much speed or power, it's the consistent practice of playing and competing. When you combine the consistent repetitive act with speed and / or power, you have a dynamic result of pure awe. Take one away from the three, you get something less than pure awe.
^ That'd be technique, ie perfect timing and pronation. Then there's the next level of incorporation body rotation, core muscles, etc.
Maybe the weight is really the issue. in other sports the kinetic chain also uses deceleration to transfer energy. the elbow of a tennis server will slow down to transfer energy to the lower arm. energy is transfered by slowing down (also called the "whip effect- a whip handle is also stopped and then the whip cracks) here is an interesting study about that http://oa.upm.es/5310/1/INVE_MEM_2009_69379.pdf however in tennis the arm will never really stop, probably because of racket weight. you don't want to stop because that likely means you have started to decelerate before contact.
here is a golf video that stresses hip deceleration http://www.rotaryswing.com/golf-instruction/golfbiomechanics/golf-kinetic-chain-hip-deceleration.php deceleration is an important part in energy transfer to the next link of the kinetic chain in all sports. probably that works better in badminton than in other sports because of the light racket. the arm can really be braced tightly so that all the energy goes into the wrist and racket. doesn't work in other sports that well because the racket is heavier. however probably energy transfer is not the only reason, more compact swings could be a benefit too.
The player that demonstrated in the first video you showed is regarded by many as the best player ever. No joke In tennis, the follow through is a necessity due to the weight of the racket. At impact you need maximum racket head speed, but cannot safely "stop" the racket afterwards. In badminton, a "tapping" action is much more prevalent most of the time, rather than using a full follow through.
As a beginner I think it's important to focus on following through with the motion. It can otherwise create bad habits where your body gets stiff when you want the whip effect. If we are talking forehand overhead that is. It's a bit different on backhand.
Think the stop method is very good indeed. Nice loose arm then brake in impact. I often exaggerate this in warm ups to get my timing and compactness in my swing right I was once a beginner who could hardly clear 3/4 now can clear diagonally easily and this method has been invaluable.
It's not the stopping motion you should concentrate on, but the sudden acceleration of speed and focus of power just into the strikethat you should do.
what also helps me now is concentrating on accelerating the tip of the racket rather than the hand/arm. first I tried to swing more with my arm rather than my wrist and racket.
^ Yes, do all you can to increase racket head acceleration... including pronation, finger power, relaxed muscles, etc
True but as long its not over exaggerated as I used to. Ended up switching from normal to panhandle grip midway through stroke. A very loose grip works well for panhandle grip shots.