Question: How have you changed your technique after watching the Pros

Discussion in 'Techniques / Training' started by Richizzle, Oct 6, 2015.

  1. Richizzle

    Richizzle Regular Member

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    As above: How have you changed your technique after watching the Pros?

    I'm very new to analyzing the professionals, and new to trying to relate this to my own play. Apologies for not using the correct terms where applicable.

    Have you taken any shots/ styles and incorporated them into your own?

    For me:

    I was watching some Lin Dan yesterday (where else to start!) and noticed rather than taking a backhand shot where possible, he will always hit it forehand. Even if it is far on his off side and he has to reach over his head with his arm (by leaning).

    This has made me consider how fast one should move to allow a forehand hit when normally a back-hand stroke would be used.
     
  2. Charlie-SWUK

    Charlie-SWUK Regular Member

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    I mostly try to incorporate what they're doing into what I've been taught, and use them as model examples for performing shots.

    Round the head are generally better than backhand shots, especially for attack. It's a lot more difficult to attack from the backhand than the forehand.

    At the moment I'm trying to replicate Lin Dan's footwork and court positioning. He doesn't seem to need to move terribly fast to get to the shuttle, and it seems like a very practical way of playing.

    I found my original pattern and footwork takes a lot of energy, and is difficult to sustain.

    Copying them tit for tat won't work, there are many things the camera just doesn't pick up on, especially on dexterity shots at the net. Rather, use them as a general idea to build up further upon.
     
  3. visor

    visor Regular Member

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    Service action, for sure.

    Taufik's backhand, since my footwork is not good for covering the round the head shot.

    Body stance, in defence, drives etc.

    Some doubles strategies, ie shot selection, placement etc.
     
  4. R20190

    R20190 Regular Member

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    Quite a lot when I think about it.

    1. Shot selection - As I have a reasonably good powerful smash, I use this a lot in doubles but I have since learnt that sacrificing power for placement is more effective - especially when playing against good players or if you have a weaker forecourt partner.

    I select my shots very carefully when playing XD as it is very easy to put yourselves in a compromised situation if you select the wrong shot.

    2. Recovery - whilst this is perhaps more important in singles, I've learnt that recovering fast is key to winning in XD and MD. For example, I no longer jump too high for a smash and focus on my landing and body position to ensure I can get back to base quickly - I find this very important in XD.

    3. Conserve energy - there are moments during rallies where you can reduce your energy consumption by relaxing your body (not your mind) that helps in long tiring games.

    4. Low serve - The only thing I have changed with my low serve from watching pros is in raising my racquet higher - closer to being faulted! I used to serve with my racquet quite low and whilst it was tight to the net, it was often attacked by good rushers. By raising my racquet a few inches higher, I can get a better trajectory and is a tad more difficult to attack.

    5. Defence - Although I have a decent defence, I tend to lift most of the time which encourages my opponents to smash at my partner instead - which often forces a mistake. So I am learning to do more with my smash returns to lessen the pressure on my partner (e.g. in XD). LYD is the player I've been trying to copy in this respect, but it seems to me that in defence he is not really changing grip on FH/BH - something I can't quite do yet.

    6. Forecourt coverage/anticipation - observing quickly the position of the shuttle relative to the opponent's body when it is struck and deciding where it is more likely to go. Also placing shots in certain positions to produce/incite an expected return - and be ready for it.

    Playing tight net shots at the right moment. I've learnt that playing the percentage game is more important than going for winners. So I try not to play net shots too tight when it's not necessary.

    7. Patience. Not to go all out on winners and as above, play the percentage game.
     
  5. FeatherDance

    FeatherDance Regular Member

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    1. Shot variation: Enables you to keep your opponent guessing, opening up some strokes that could otherwise have been killed. Like when in your backhand corner, if you do occasional backhand clears, cross court drops, it enables you to do riskier shots when you're out of options, like a fast flat shot that can be easily killed if your opponent just stands there waiting for you. However, as your opponent is 'aware' that you can do other shots, he would hesitate to anticipate too much. Reference: almost all professional men's singles games. Prime example in the recent Ihsan vs Hyun Il game. Loved all the shots that Ihsan had in his arsenal, but in the end he had a favourite shot, that fast backhand flat shot, which Hyun Il duly exploited.

    2. The soft game. I learnt not everything is in powering down all the shots, but even simple shots with the pace taken off them can force a mishit. Parabolic back and forth drives in doubles need not be powerful to be effective. I knew a player who had many fancy strokes in his arsenal but didn't know how to play the soft game, so that's exactly what I used to counter him. Needless to say I've won every game, and he always blames his defeats on powerful smashes etc. But he seems oblivious to so many mishits he made due to unable to cope with the pace taken off the shuttle, or why people had the opportunity to deliver such devastating smashes. Reference: any professional men's doubles game. I remember watching an international game between a tame Malaysian pair and a scarily powerful Taiwanese pair. The Malaysians were just playing a touch game and at the time, I thought they didn't have anything on the Taiwanese. I was absolutely baffled when the Taiwanese couldn't even get to 10 points.

    3. The pressure game. There was a time when I was frustrated with coping with smashes in men's singles. I thought smashes generally shouldn't give an opponent too much of an advantage in singles (my clearing length and height was totally fine!). What I began to notice was that sometimes even Lee Chong Wei couldn't cope with them at all, yet other times he seemed he could retrieve them perfectly with his eyes closed. I found that even if LCW had fine length and height in his lifts - if it were directly to his opponent, or he didn't force his opponent to move too much to get there, it's gonna be a tough one to return. So I learnt that I must always keep my opponent under pressure in a men's singles game. Smashing from the baseline is still devastating if your opponent was waiting there. Incidentally, I have applied this to myself every time my opponent fails to put me under pressure. Got me a lots of points from half/full smashes to the sideline.

    4. Speed and footwork. It's so important, especially in international singles. If your opponent is just moving faster and better than you are, there are few things you can do. So I have made footwork the Holy Grail of my game. Outpace your opponent and their options will be highly limited (more applicable to singles).

    5. Playing a simple and perfect game. Fu HaiFeng and CaiYun inspired this. Nothing really fancy about them, yet in their heyday, they were a darn scary pair to contend with. Nowadays I love it when opponents try to do all those fancy shots. I have an opponent who has a strong backhand and loves using it. But with any player, a backhand stroke has a lower % of success compared to an overhead. So since he likes to use that backhand, I let him use it :D and play to his backhand side to induce a weaker return than he could have done using an overhead shot. Another opponent loves to do difficult, fancy net shots, so I try to provide him ample opportunities to use it and fail 1/3 of the time :cool:
     
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  6. Richizzle

    Richizzle Regular Member

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    Great replies guys, thanks. Its fantastic to use how other people change their games as a way of considering what could be applied to your own.

    I think for my next games tomorrow I will work on 1) footwork/positioning and 2) not going for a winner every shot as a starting point.
     
  7. SSSSNT

    SSSSNT Regular Member

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    Whenever I watch LYD/YYS matches, their legs do this 'quick tap dance' whenever they're waiting for opponent's reply to their lifts. So I've been trying that in the past week.
     
  8. racketman123

    racketman123 Regular Member

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    I think we've all tried a few trick shots from some of the legends.
    -PG's deceptive lift
    -LD's aorund the back clear/lift
    -LCW's reverse slice backhand drop (I actually did that once. Never done it again though.)
     
  9. Richizzle

    Richizzle Regular Member

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    I am not familiar with these, have any links to the shots? :)
     
  10. racketman123

    racketman123 Regular Member

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  11. Richizzle

    Richizzle Regular Member

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  12. racketman123

    racketman123 Regular Member

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    You're welcome
     
  13. FeatherDance

    FeatherDance Regular Member

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    Do you mean the split step? Forgot to mention that was one other thing I observed in professional matches, but eventually my training had me do it anyway.
     
  14. SSSSNT

    SSSSNT Regular Member

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    No, not split step, everybody do split step. It's the little tap dance before the split step. Like mini split steps while waiting for opponent reply.
     
  15. visor

    visor Regular Member

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    Lol... YYS does that a lot... while waiting for his partner to serve or receive serve, and while waiting for a smash. It's just to get his feet moving and not stuck in one place imho.
     
  16. Richizzle

    Richizzle Regular Member

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    Tried taking tips on footwork last night; making sure I returned to a central position and being ready to move quickly for a return, and it seemed to make a good improvement to my game!

    Still not sure about these over the head forehands yet though!
     
  17. s_mair

    s_mair Regular Member

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    One specific thing that I started to focus on is the use of your non-racket arm to balance out the movements of the racket arm.

    For example Viktor Axelsen is doing this excessively (just take a look at this => https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ccwYwcFLxw) and I figured that it helps a lot to reduce the number of off-center or frame hits in netshots and gives you a far better balance and thus a quicker recovery after a shot.
     
    #17 s_mair, Oct 8, 2015
    Last edited: Oct 8, 2015
  18. Richizzle

    Richizzle Regular Member

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    That's something I have never considered but I can see why it makes sense! I guess its quite a natural thing to do, have you seen it make any difference when the movements are considered?
     
  19. s_mair

    s_mair Regular Member

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    Especially if you do wide lunges towards the net or the side I feel that this helps a lot to keep the balance centered and move back to base position more quickly.

    The physic is quite easy. For example you lunge forward with the racket arm extended close to maximum. So at the moment when you hit the shuttle, stop your movement and start the recovery, the center of balance is very much in front of you which makes you need a lot of energy to get your body stopped and moved in the opposite direction. If you raise your non-racket arm and extend it in the opposite direction, you shift your center of balance backwards and more towards the center of your body which makes turning around much easier and with less effort. Just try this during training, you will feel the difference immediately.

    The only problem I still have with this is that it works brilliantly during training sessions where I have enough brain-resources available to focus on it. But as soon as I am in a serious match, I mostly stop doing it. And the tighter the match gets, the less I do it. But I guess that's just a matter of enough practise.
     
  20. MSeeley

    MSeeley Regular Member

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    Try to focus on how it feels to do it right, and then get this feeling in matches. Focusing on extending the arm is just not possible during matches, but focusing on the feeling of being balanced (which includes extending the arm) should be more manageable.

    But you are right - after lots of practice, it will become natural because its the easiest way to cover the court.
     

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