The other day, I was watching the 2014 Victor Korean Open Final to watch Chen Long versus Lee Chong Wei, mainly to spot aspects of their footwork that I could practice. First off, I think that watching both of their footworks, it is easy to tell that they have very different footwork styles, especially in the backcourt. Lee Chong Wei uses many more steps, while Chen Long tends to take fewer, but more definitive, steps. I planned to watch Chen Long because he is known for having strong legs, and strong footwork, resulting in superior court coverage (although, playing against Lee Chong Wei, you could say that they both have great footwork). Much of the time, when Chen Long wanted to play the net, he positioned his feet in a straight line (left foot->right->where he hits the birdie). This footwork is also common in very strong smashing from FHF, Lee Chong Wei, Lin Dan, and Jan o Jorgensen, to name a few. In a related video, the Zhao Jianhua and Xiao Jie, Xiao Jie said that explosive footwork after the splitstep is crucial in footwork, and properly making it to the shuttle for good positioning. I suppose this is a Kinesiology question, but can aligning my feet and the shuttle in a line assist in making explosive footwork (strongly pushing from the base position)? Thank you for your help.
i think in what direction you line your feet depends on what corners you want to cover most and where you expect the shuttle to be hit most you can "explode" the same way no matter in what direction your feet are lined, just that some corners are harder to get to then (i think you get to the corner on your backside the slowest)
if op is asking should your split step be directed to the shuttle, then the general answer is no, unless you're in the forecourt. The split step is generally aligned more perpendicularly to the shuttle, but this is not a rigid rule.
Usually when you start your split step you don't really know where the shuttle will go (except you do eliminate the unlikely corners - unless you're playing a novice), so I guess you can't really direct the split step to the shuttle as such. However part way through the split step, as your muscles have loaded, you should know where the shuttle is going. So you can then use the appropriate footwork to get to the shuttle. The split step is really to enable you to push off quicker and help the initial acceleration of your body - allowing you to be prepared for moving in the most probable directions quickly.
Hmm.. after watching Chen Long and Wang Yihan, all of you are right. The split step is neutral and the first steps are explosive, but stepping towards the shuttle is just common sense and is not part of the split step.
I think if you were to watch the Zhao Jianhua training video again, you would notice that they actually said that in the video: the first step is small and explosive to set your direction, followed by larger steps! Go watch the video again, there are lots of small, important tips to be seen!
The small initial steps are also vital in helping to move quickly over a short distance. It's a bit like 1st gear, the intial acceleration from stationary needs to be powerful just to get going but doesn't cover much ground. Then comes the larger steps which cover ground without accelerating much more.
Agreed. This is a good analogy! What most players fail to realise is that fast players set off quickly - its not that they RUN quickly or MOVE quickly, but they get off the mark quickly! Most people, once moving, run at a pretty similar rate. As such, player who want to develop speed need to practice their first step off the mark, not necessarily the entire movement pattern!
Whenever I fail to anticipate my opponents shot which moves quickly towards the backhand side baseline above my head I fails to reach it quickly..even when I reach their I fails to smash maybe 'coz of my footwork...any suggestions??
You need to take one large quick step with your racket foot (e.g. right foot for right hander), with a nice high racket preparation that reaches out to your backhand side (e.g. reaching over your head to the left, for a right hander), then hit the shuttle FLAT (not downwards - the shuttle is probably quite low, so you need to hit flat to get it over the net). Whilst you hit the shuttle, take a large step with your non racket foot (left foot), further into the corner, so that when you hit the shot you are more or less facing the net and stepping backwards with your left foot. It is very difficult to smash from this position, but your goal should be to simply reach the shuttle if it is travelling fast and flat down the backhand side. Any smash or drop will have a flat trajectory.
What direction is this big step? If I have to move laterally for a RTH shot, I will block jump/step out with my non-racket foot. If your racket foot movement is making you turn away from the net, then RTH seems like a funny contortion in my mind
The big step is in the direction of the round the head corner. The shot you are retrieving is much too flat to block jump it. And whilst you say it sounds like a contortion, it IS a contortion, but every single professional uses the footwork sometimes. It is DIFFERENT from playing a regular forehand from the backhand side (which is not a "round the head" shot - simply a forehand from the backhand side). When you take the step towards the back corner, you could turn your upper body, or you could stay facing more or less forwards. If you turn your shoulders, then it can be fairly stressful - it requires a fair amount of "contortion" or rather it requires your to arch your back a lot. It is not a lateral movement - you have to move diagonally backwards into the court. Shots at the side of the court are, as you said, completely different. Lee Chong Wei turns his shoulders when he takes this step e.g. at 34:15 in this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqYxbR3Jp68 Some players do not always turn. Lin Dan sometimes turns his shoulders when he takes the step, but not always (if he is performing a quick point smash when he sometimes stays with his entire body facing basically forwards). There is an important point to make here about there being two different ways to play a forehand from the rear backhand corner: - playing forehands in the backhand rear corner (where you have time to get into a good position, behind the shuttle) - used often in doubles, and common in singles. - an actual round the head forehand, which requires you to arch your back and reach to the backhand side of the body (often taking the shuttle once it has gone past your body, late, and not necessarily much above net height) - used rarely in doubles and regularly in singles. The footwork I am describing is for round the head forehands. It is physically much more difficult than simply playing a forehand from the backhand side, which requires you to have enough time to get into a better hitting position.
Very good explanation, Matt. If I may add, for best examples of back contortion , just look at WS players like Inthanon, WYH, LXR etc who almost always avoid backhand by playing this RTH forehand shot.
Very true. Those are good examples. But do not be fooled, the mens singles players all do it too - its just their legs are more powerful and they do not end up taking the shuttle quite as late as the women. LCW is an excellent is example for all players to follow - textbook RTH footwork and technique - especially in his straight and cross court smashes, which are extremely difficult given how late he takes them.
Lol... I can only admire LCW in this shot... no way can I copy him. But I can copy say TTY because that is how late I get into the backhand corner.
In less recent times, I MUST include the player Mia Audina Tjiptawan's RTH shots because she turned attacking clears and pushes into smashes, albeit when the scoring system was still to 11 points for women (lol), especially in the 2003 World Championship QF against Yonekura Kanako, but you would need a lot of flexibility to play like that. Also, thank you for clarifying about the first few steps.
ah ok. That first step is the same footwork for if you want to play a normal overhead in the b/h corner (more or less). As you say, hip, shoulder and back motion is a lot different, though
It is very similar, however, if you wanted to play a normal overhead, I would normally expect to see one of two differences: 1. You take a step on your non racket foot first, then use a pivot step on the non racket foot. This often looks just like a big step into the corner, but the way the non racket foot slides gives an extra meter or so of distance before you plant your racket foot to play the shot. OR 2. You do the same as the above but without an initial first step - its more like you jump and twist at the same time.
Nothing wrong with that approach if it is possible... But sometimes the shuttle is travelling too fast and flat that you don't have time to take the extra step. You simply need to hit the shuttle as soon as possible. Its basically the need to intercept the shuttle quickly before it reaches the back line. If LCW doesn't have time to always get into perfect position, the rest of us don't have a chance!
