After transitioning from plastics to feathers this season, I pose a question as to whether hearing the nice high pitched "crisp" sound you get from hitting the bird is a sign of good technique. I haven't been coached before so to those that have, this answer may be very obvious. ________________________________________________________Playing with plastics, I didn't really delve into technique much. As long as I could contact the plastic well enough, happy with my stroke, it goes where I want. Feathers is at another level. Initially it felt a bit numb, most of the time, it didn't feel it went as far as I would have hoped. I did some digging... looking at badminton guides and this forum, I realised my forehand grip wasn't right, and so changed changed it to the proper forehand grip for forehand shots. __________________________________________________________________________________The result was amazing to say the least. The numb feeling was gone, using 1 yr old BG65 at around 27lbs (I play twice a week so its not a freshly strung string), I get that nice "crisp" sound I haven't felt before, pretty much every shot, soft and hard, and the reaction of the shuttle from the stringbed is a lot more responsive. I'd love the feeling!!__________________________________________________________Now what this leads to is that is this purely a sign of good technique? Should the developing player strive for this "crisp" sound in every stroke?On the other hand, you could go at this the other way, by trying to "find" a stroke, backhand or forehand, and aim for that crispiness, paying less regard to good technique. If you do find it, and it works, could the player be fooled and start developing bad habits?____________________________________________I'd like to hear your thoughts.
Underscores are my attempt to make above post more readable, the forum won't let me start a new paragraph.
crispness just means you are hitting the shuttle with minimum slice. It doesn't naturally follow that crisp sound implies good technique, although there is some correlation - good technique is good for a reason: it gives best chance for consistent power (on power shots) so it is easier to get the crisp sound with good technique, and it is easier to get a *loud* crisp sound with good technique
The crispness of the hitting sound is an indicator how force has been exerted on the shuttle. Hitting with a short and right contact at the sweet spot, which is the proper way, would lead to a crisp hitting sound. It comes naturally with good racket skills but not necessarily the other way around. Badminton technique is far deeper than just getting a crisp shot. The very fine control of the shuttle to all four corners at will is what we're after.
Very insightful replies amleto and fauci. Thanks for clearing that up for me, it just so happens I get more crisp hits as soon as I changed my grip.
If you like that crispness, wait till you change your string to something like BG80 or BG66UM at 27 lbs. Imo, a crisp hitting sound is a good sign of good clean focused contact, with a good hand speed. You won't go wrong if you strive to get it as sharp and short as possible in your power strokes, eg smash, clear, drive.
yes, I that happened to me as well, when I changed to the basic grip, which allowed for better forearm rotation during the stroke. It made my clears a lot louder, like a bang sound.
I always tell my playing partners of lesser skills to 'listen' to the sound as much as 'seeing' the result. I'm no expert but think that added cue helps someone including myself to get to the next level
Yes, I do believe I have been unintentionally slicing the shuttle most of the time. Am getting better at controlling the amount of slice I impart onto the shuttle. My game has started to improve as a result
