I have a problem with all my overhead shots, other than drive....I can't get a sound shot and I'm extremely inconsistant nowadays...I especially slice the bird too much...I think it's got something to do with my stroke. Are you supposed to bend ur arm back so that it looks like ur scratching ur back w/ ur racquet or do u just turn ur shoulder back to hit? My friends told me that I bend my arm when I hit, thats the problem, but i dont get it!
Confuzzledfreak, What you need is baseline clearing a few times... make that 30-50 times/set to get use to hitting the birdie right. Most players would do that as a warmup. But obviously you need to get the timing right. Keep the motion as natural as possible, like a throwing action (whip) instead of straight swinging.
For effortless overhead clears, why don't you try this : Get a friend to play overhead clears from baseline to baseline with you. When the shuttle is coming your way, you should point your racquet at the shuttle and then draw a circle, in a kind of anti-clockwise movement (for right-handed players), over your head and then just hit the shuttle as you come to the end of this circle. You will be surprised how effortless this technique is. You should have no problem clearing from your baseline to 5 feet beyond the opposite court baseline. If a senior citizen like me can do it, you should be able to increase on the distance easily.
Some players would just swing at the shuttle w/o pronating (bending) their wrists, they also sometimes stiffen the arm throughout the swing. What you need to aim for is something like throwing a ball. Have you thrown a ball overhand? It's similar to that motion. Go into the swing relaxed... only tense your arm when you make contact with the shuttle.
or look for the thread which gave a link to a website that had several mpegs showing people doing different strokes. I can't remember which thread it was, but the commentary was in Polish. or find some videos to download (search again) so that you can see the strokes.
I suggest keeping the wrist and fingers very loose. Now place the racket back a little, then, when shuttle is near you, just flick your wrist forward; keep it loose the whole time, so that the racket's movement is not interupted. Do not tense up. The shuttle should easily reach baseline, or past the baseline, provided, you time the shot right so that it hits in the sweetspot of the racket head.
should I twist my wrist counter-clockwise whenever going into an overhead shot to prevent slicing? it feels so unnatural