I was just reading a few thread and saw someone talking about 'stick smash' vs 'full smash'. I know the stick smash is where you don't fully follow through and you just mostly use your wrist. However, because of just using your wrist and not following through could you injure your self? Not sure if I am getting stick smash concept right either.. Thanks again for the clarification and response!
[video=youtube;S-GuE0r0eJE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-GuE0r0eJE[/video] Here's a video I found on youtube. I'd say the right-hander is doing a stick-smash, and the left hander is inviting shoulder problems.
I think one uses both forearm rotation + wrist snap to get speed and angle. If you have time to set up (e.g. your opponent gives you a high clear/lift), you should/can use full smash instead of stick smash. There are times in the game, e.g. receiving flick serve in Doubles, or mid-court interception, when you don't have enough time to do the full setup to get power, yet you want to exploit opening created while your opponent(s) is/are moving. Those are moments when you use them. Some times you may even hit it when the shuttle already passes your body (so you're hitting from a somewhat behind position). In those cases, if you try to use full smash, the shot would probably have completely passed you before you finish your set up of your form to generate power.
It is called 'Stik smash' in a BWF level 2 coaching video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ytHSZSFD6w
Thanks for the responses everyone! I wonder if stick smash can result in injury though since you don't follow through as much .
I always find it weird when people say stuff like this. When I stick smash, I use my forearm, my wrist, and my fingers... am I doing it wrong? Or is your statement factually incorrect and misleading (i.e. not describing good technique). Regardless of whether my technique is right or not, it seems to be rather effective. To answer the original poster - no there is no danger of injury, but don't try to hit it too hard! Its only a stick smash - it won't ever go as fast as a normal smash! Watch peter gade for lots of examples of stick smashes! He uses them a lot (as well as regular smashes).
no harm with stick smashes.. its like 点杀, one of the three major smashing methods depending on the circumstances you use them, especially when you quickly spot an opening and are not in position for a proper smash
I'm just meaning that stick smash shouldn't be done by using significant flexion. I'm not sure how else injury could occur for stick smash if it doesn't already occur for a normal smash
The leftie is not reaching up enough and seems to be forcing it with his shoulder instead of snapping at the shot.
Stick smash is usually hit when your position is not good enough for a full smash, ie your body is too far in front of the bird in order to apply your body wt into the shot. But you still want to apply downward pressure on your opponent and despite it lacking power, the stick smash is still an excellent option because it is downward and has less power, so it forces your opponent to get to the forecourt and input more of his own power to return the shot. Power is not as important as the timing of the wrist snap, which has some pronation and more than the usual flexion to get the sharp angle.
a bit off topic.. but I was wondering, how do some professional players like Lin Dan get so much power from just stick smashes? Is it all just pronation?
I think full smash is actually harder to do than stick smash .. since full smash requires more coordination of the body
