Hi, As per topic i would like to get some insight from dear forumers. Basically i can perform overhead clears pretty well .. so that's not much a problem to me.. But things turn out different for smashes.. they hav the "bang" sound pretty loud but i realized that they aren't really that effective.. what i realized was that my clear and smash grip tightening are similar and there's still space for me to further tighten the grip especially during smash.. so are you guys using the same/similar grip tightening for both shots? or tighter for smash.. cause i realized my racket was still wobbling when i smash.. so do please share your experience
You can and should tighten your grip much much harder in a smash... maximally in fact (as compared to a clear) because you don't have to worry about it going out.
Same grip tightening, but contact point of the shuttle further out in front of you, meaning you have to change the timing of your grip tightening. Grip too early and your smashes lose a lot of power. Grip too late and you lose power and the shuttle flies much flatter rather than in a downward direction. Where are your opponents returning your smashes? At their stomach hip area? Knees? Or at their chest/shoulder area? Also if you are slicing the shuttle during a smash you may hear a slight "wooshing" sound instead of a loud pop like when you hit clear's and lose a lot of power that way. Here are other possibilities: using incorrect grip, gripping the racket in the wrong place to maximize grip tightening (not in the palm, he racket should rest pretty much at the base of your fingers), not hitting sweet spot consistently (work on timing), swing technique not optimal
i felt my smashes were suboptimal although i usually contact them infront of me.. most of the time it's would end up with a "bang" but what i realized that my racket was wobbling and i felt that i was losing some power.. then i tried further tightening the grip, i realized that my forearm muscles would contact.. could it be that i may not have fully utilized a very tight grip for my strokes previously?