I began to think that a list of misconceptions of beginners should be brought about .For example alot of beginners think the smash is the be all and end all of badminton.It is just one of the tools and is only effective when used at the right time or used to force other returns which can be exploited.Another one is if only I had a backhand.Backhands are nice shots when properly executed but are often a point of exploitation by superior opponents who understand that often this leads to slower recovery and opens up the court for other attacking shots.Round the head shots are superior and allow one the ability to see what the opponent is going to do as well as power and redirection possibilities are much greater.The weakest points of most opponents( beginner to intermediate and sometimes advanced players ) is footwork to hit deep clears and the technique to hit strong effective clears to move the opponent quickly to back of the court. Errors from the backcourt are the hardest to recover from as they lead faster dropshots from 3/4 court or clears in the midst of running back in any attempt to salvage the rallyor the ending smash.I would say I beat more players on clears than any other shot and I think if you have played any advanced players this is the avenue which leads to the fastest end of the rally in singles and in intermediate doubles.After all without the ability to push your opponent all the way to the back leaves you with only drops and smashes to beat your opponent.Drops can be anticipated by moving your base forward and without a strong overhead motion for clears leaves your smash with not alot of velocity.It is like giving your opponent an extra 3 feet less to worry about and that leaves you doing all the running.All shots are important but without a strong clear you have no foundation for all the other shots to come off.If I can not make you believe I can hit deep to any of the far corners then all my other shots become far less threatening.This why proper grip and coaching are so important to high level play.Still so many look for a magic pill in a new racquet rather than put that money to good use in a coach who can teach them what truly matters in the long run.Without a guide it is easy to find shortcuts that only lead to deadends and boundaries and all too often these people come looking for another shortcut .I don't enjoy watching others trying to teach badminton to others when their skill level is low and technique are incorrect.IF they can't hit a clear all the way to the backcourt then they have not mastered the foundation which badminton is built upon.
yup, i agree, a proper clear is the most important stroke in badminton (after serving), in my opinion. Most newbies want to learn to smash first which should be last.
Yes... i used to think oMg smashes!!! but now i have learnt that only when all skills coordinate...smashes is NOTHING....! well not exactly...
Thank you so much bighook for fixing up my overhead stroke. It's working wonders in my singles games. I can't thank you enough. But I digress. For all you beginners out there, take some time to digest what bighook's saying here. If only someone told me years earlier all the right fundamentals when I started playing, then I wouldn't have had to spend the last 2 years unlearning all my messed up ways. Learn it right, right from the start.
Major misconception The major misconception of beginer is to they can learn Badminton casually and don't follow the Pro to start. It takes a few years or forever to unlearn a wrong shot.
sorry but i don't agree with all that stuff. In my place the difficulty for begginer is to drop the shuttle they can only clear and drive, a good smash involve a good wrist technique, and a clear is a '' easy smash'' like you don't have to make the shuttle down but clear is great too
The wonderful thing about badminton is that it can slowed down so that most people can hit the shuttle back to each other with lousy technique and no footwork but it can also be played lightning fast requiring reflexes ,strength,endurance,flexibility and with proper technique and training push the worlds finest athletes to the limits of human kinetics.If you play somewhere where the standard is low and proper basics don't apply with those who you are playing with and that is all you want to attain in your badminton pursuits then so be it.When you enter the realm of serious players and want to explore a higher potential then the ability to force your opponent so that their feet are within the doubles service backline and the backline when hitting their next shot is the test of good solid badminton.Clears that are cut off in front of the doubles service backline are a point of exploitation for attacking players and leave you with alot of catchup to do.Someone once remarked when rallying with me that it seemed that I was able to get to shots with one step either way.Without the ability to push me into the back corners I could cheat and effortlessly make them do all the running from the extreme back to the extreme front.Good length clears make the opponents dropshots slower and farther to travel and require better footwork from the opponent to follow in .Smashes from the extreme back are also a risky manuever when you don't have good footwork to get to the return.The clear is the neutralizing shot if played properly and can be used as a weapon when you determine their footwork is incapable of dealing with the extreme back corners.
I completely agree with what bighook said, being self-promoted from a beginner to int/beginner some time ago That's why I play with feather shuttles mostly these days because I can't clear far with plastic shuttles but have no problems clearing with feather shuttles (does anyone have this problem with plastic shuttles?). It's just that my pocket has become lighter with every tube of feather I buy May I add one more thing about beginners. They focus only on smashes, drops, nets, maybe clears and ignore the footwork. Footwork is the most important thing in badminton. If I could not get to the shuttle I could not hit it no matter what kind of shot. Yet most beginners don't like footwork practice because it's boring.
bighook. brilliant top quality post! but i have to agree with Tammy as well that footwork is the best compliment to basic hitting skills. a lot of beginners cannot get to your clears and drop because they don't have the proper posture and footwork to move fast enough. being less experienced and thus unable to read a deceptive clear/drop from an advanced player also have a definite factor as well.
Footwork goes hand in hand with the ability to make good shots and is also another misconception that beginners ignore.Beginners get stuck in a short cycle rally.This is related to the strength of their shots and their game quickly falls apart when their footwork is exploited by stronger deep shots and then when they are unable to clear return deep in response their footwork can't save them.Clears from the net as well from the back are probably the most important shots that predetermine what the outcome of the rally shall be.Footwork is the key to making the opportunities present themselves. Sorry for the long paragraphs.I just hope the message is clear.No pun intended.
Another obvious area that beginners tend to ignore is tactics. Now, tactical considerations are pretty irrelevant when you can barely hit the shuttle, but once a beginner becomes even slightly competent, he should think about tactics. You start with very basic tactics. For example: don't hit lifts to the midcourt. Try to hit the shuttle to a place that your opponent(s) find difficult to reach, not easy. It sounds silly, but many beginners are content to return the shuttle in any way at all. Getting them to think of making the rally more difficult for their opponents is the first step to teaching them tactics.
Yes, footwork comes first without saying. Stroke wise, propering clearing is the most important rally stroke. Gollum, one shouldnt force tactic teaching heavily onto beginners that havent got the very basic footwork and clearing wired into the brain yet. The reason they return the shuttle all over the place is that their brain is fully utilized in concentrating limps movement and body balancing, and hitting the shuttle. Adding tactic technque at this stage would only frustrate the students and slow his/her progress in learning footwork and basic strokes.
I think it's easy to talk about the misconceptions and errors of beginners as players who believe we're no longer beginners. It can be discussed to death, as I'm sure it has in the past, but I don't think it will help real beginners any. Real recreational beginners will usually continue on with whatever skills and habits they develop on their own, and from the people they play with. Those who choose to be more competitive will most likely seek out proper coaching/training on their own after watching better players. The more fortunate, or competitive ones, might start off in a club with a system that will encourage players to eventually seek to play in a club team. The truly competitive players will usually make a decision, or someone will make it for them, to train on a more professional level of track with the ultimate goal of playing professionally. Beginners may come here to read about skills and learn things, but will have to go and experiment, practise, train, and truly experience it all for themselves to really understand and learn. At best, our words can only provide a small amount of guidance, and hopefully give them an idea of what to be looking out for while their out there. Badminton is truly a technical sport/art that requires first hand experience, and tutorage from someone that has truly mastered the art. That being said, don't take it the wrong way, but I wouldn't consider anyone here truly worthy of being a master or gospel of badminton skill, save true professionals like JR, Thomas, etc. or anyone else who has played/coached at the international/professional level. If we're going to bash on the errors of beginners, let's be realistic shall we. Save those few professionals, whom I suspect roll their eyes with every post of self-proclaimed badminton knowledge, the rest of us are all amateurs. Regardless of how good we are, or rather, think we are, we are still only amateurs. The difference between amateur and professional is night and day. Just as top amateurs in North America are nothing compared to amateurs in badminton powerhouse countries. What amateurs perceive as "skill", professionals see as common knowledge. So as much as we can strive to improve as amateurs, let's not get too far ahead of ourselves by trying to help beginners, to real professionals, most of us are not much better than beginners as well. The bottom line, I think the best we can do to help others is guide them to seeking truly professional training. And we would do well to follow our own advice. Sorry this post turned out so long. This year, my eyes were truly opened by an international level professional, and my entire view of badminton skill and knowledge has been completely refreshed. I realized exactly where I, and most other amateurs, stand in the grand scheme of things. Let me tell you that the sky reaches much higher than most of us probably realize. I humbly leave all the passing of true knowledge to the masters! True respect to people like JR who have dedicated their lives to mastering badminton. RESPECT!!!
And that is why..I say what I say, only those that have seen the light truely knows that we are all beginngers and are nothing compared to pros.
That's all very well, but it boils down to: "Aren't the professionals great? They're so much better than all of us!", which is true but not very interesting. Does a primary school maths teacher need to be involved in mathematical research? No. He needs to be numerate, but he doesn't need to be a "professional" mathematician. Likewise, you don't need to be a professional to coach beginners badminton. I agree that beginners and indeed all players will benefit much less from this site than from proper coaching, but the advice here is still valuable and accessible. Let's not knock BF just because we like to worship professional players.
I fail to see the relevance between the "interest" of why professionals are good and anything I said. Also, primary school teachers are very much a professionals. They specialize in teaching young children everything they need to know at that age. If you believe anyone can do this job you are gravely mistaken. Similarly, a professional coach/trainer knows exactly how and what to teach beginners. Amateurs only think they know. Sure you don't have to be a professional to teach beginners, and it certainly explains why there are so many amateur players out there who have horrid basics. As I said, they all picked things up on their own, or learned from someone out there that also didn't know what they were doing. I didn't just make this up to go against the grain here. This is what I've come to realize after becoming good friends with a real international coach and former international player earlier this year. The situation is most likely better in the UK, and other areas, but here in North America, international players cannot believe the low level of coaching that is available here. And even worse, that there are so many "wannabe coaches" here that have no clue what they're talking about themselves, as they themselves don't even have true solid basics! It's no wonder the level of badminton is so poor in many countries around the world, and yet so strong in others. We are all only as good as our teachers/mentors. Please don't put words in my mouth without having the decency to carefully read my post. As stated, I have nothing but the utmost respect for professional players. I never knocked BF... I love BF and consider many of our members as very good friends. You guys and gals know who you are, you're the best!
