this is another problem i have.. when i hit ... sure i can control it.. and when the bird comes to my side.. wow i can see it comin becuz i have good eyes (20 /20 vision) but i have one big problem.. my reaction tiem is slow.. how do i imporve that.. and also .. when i play boys doubles.. and serving short..ill be in the front.. im freaked out about being in teh front becuz i dun want to be smashed.. how do i stop from being scared.. and how do i work on reaction time?
Reaction Time training Some (behavioral) optometrists offer sports vision training for athletes. They work on quite a number of different visual/mental skills... reflexes, peripheral vision, visual tracking, convergence, dynamic acuity to name a few. As you can see, it takes a lot more than 20/20 vision when it comes to high-speed sports. Another approach is to use software that performs training that is similar in many respects to what sports vision training optometrists can offer you. One such piece of software that was available for quite a while is called ThinkFast. It has number of training exercises that develop faster physical reflexes, improved peripheral perceptions & sharper visual discrimination. It was developed to boost powers of attention, concentration and awareness. One place that you might find this software: http://www.toolsforwellness.com/ht100.html It's not very easy to find ThinkFast anymore becuz the original sotware developer has started a new company and has decided to offer the training thru online testing instead. He has actually updated the software for the online version & has added more visual/mental exercises. The web site that has been licensed for this online testing offers a 2 week free trial. Check it out... www.mybraintrainer.com
About netplay Heh, I was actually gonna suggest something similar to SystemAnomaly's suggestion, although not as "specialized" to badminton. Try cross training-- with video games. I mean, if you've got a console system, pop in the resident version of Street Fighter 3, or walk over to your local arcades. Videogaming has been proven in some studies to increase hand-eye coordination, dexterity and reflexes. Hell, if you're "one of those people", try playing DDR and get some cardio at the same time. I suggest fighting games in general though, because in those, you can play against human opponents who are unpredictable-- and thus, you're forced to react to their playing style, as opposed to getting used to specific timing and "reading ahead" (like with DDR). Don't laugh. One of the things I do more intensively than badminton is play videogames, and I'm sure that on the whole, videogaming has added a few points to my badminton in varioud areas ranging from reaction time to on the fly analytical ability... I forget just which American hospital it was that was mentioned in the news, but surgeons at this place actually do warmups before surgery by playing videogames. I'm not saying that videogames are ALL you should do to improve reaction time, a badminton specific training would be more intensively useful (like forcing yourself to play the net position), I'm just saying that if it's available, it helps. As to badminton specific training, if you are playing the net, what you can do to start off and "build confidence" is to keep the net-tape between your eyes and your opponent's racket head. Sure, it doesn't work very well if your opponent does a jump smash from up close (!) but it'll make the mid and back rank smashes/drives seem less dangerous. I don't know if it's something different for you, but when I started playing the net I wasn't afraid of getting hit on the body, just in the eyes (thanks to a gym teacher who always told horror stories of this infamous teacher who lost an eye). If you keep your eyes with a guarenteed shield in front of them, you'll start to feel less worried about getting hit and have more time to concentrate on tracking the bird. Perhaps, in the end, it isn't that your reflexes or reaction is slow per se, but rather that the "threat" of a high speed bird is shocking/stunning you because of it's possibly harmful nature. So, remove the possible threat, and you get rid of the possible shocked/stunned reaction. Just note that it's tiring to CONSTANTLY keep your eyes below net tape, so try to duck only on impact (keep your racket up!) and maybe throw in that split step for good measure. Eventually, put less and less emphasis on ducking... ducking may be good for your eyes, but it will slow your mobility and maneuverability-- we're just hypothesizing that it's a necessary sacrifice until you can erase the fear of getting shot and confidently play the net. Eventually, remove the explicit ducking and just maintain a slightly lower version of your ready stance, with your racket up for quick kills. Unless your partner feeds them a juicy float in their midcourt, you should feel ok to dodge or at least avoid any eye shots eventually. Some beginners like to use their own racket as a screen in front of their face, but I find this is a bad idea because it is doing exactly that-- SCREENING your view.
Well, i find this idea useful to keep the eyes below net tape, i will practise it next time i play. i got the shuttle strucking my eye, REAL DAMN HARD some days ago..and pain just faded away like 5,6 days after impact of shuttle on my eye...man it was so fast. well i was near the net, my friend was near the net too..shuttle was high..and he hit it STRIGHT on my eye...oh well..i lost the rally..and man eye hurt REAL DAMN BAD but tell me, when to keep the eyes below net tape, receiving every shot? or just when you think hes gonna hit at you
Well, at first it's easier to keep your eyes below the tape for all shots, assuming that you're really not confident in your reaction enough to guarentee that you won't get hit. (Or, you could wear safety glasses and be 100% immune!) Personally, when I'm worried about someone smashing on me, because I'm a bit braver and more reactive than i used to be when I started out, I keep my eyes slightly above the line drawn from their racket head (at it's highest reach, that is) and the net tape. It may not afford me guarenteed protection like having my eyes below that same imaginary line, however, it does increase my visibility (looking through a net is obviously not as good as looking through plain air) which is something else to consider. It all comes down to how quick you think you are in relation to your opponent's hard-shot speed, balanced against how much relative safety you are willing to risk. But ideally, you only go into a low net deffense when one of your opponents was dealt a visible 'floater' (either by you or your partner) that they are in a possible position to smash or drive (judging from what you've seen of this opponent's power in the past, do you think you'd be able to stop it?). The worst situation, and i'm sure it's happened to everyone, is when you're playing net, and your partner deals a weak return that floats to their net, which gets smashed right back at you with little or no warning. If there is an opponent playing net right across from you, pay extra attention and probably get lower when your hear your partner's racket contact behind you, because those are the ones that you will have the least amount of time to react to. Even if you can't predict an opponent's shot as a softie (drop/lob/clear) or a smash/drive, eventually your reaction time and situation-based prediction should be good that you can to stay low or stay LOWER after his contact. Staying low all the time is eventually going to become tiresome on your legs and lower back, and as I mentioend, it reduces your mobility... but the netman should almost always be staying low in general, the question really is HOW low. (It's another one of those things you should train, obviously) I mean, even if you weren't trying to protect your eyes, standing too straight runs the risk of your opponent attacking a body, whereas if you were lower, the bird might go over you for your partner to pick off. Keep your racket up! Some of the cheapest (and sweetest) points are the ones where you didn't even see the bird getting smashed back at you, but it just so happend to hit your racket and tumble back over.
Take off speed If you are having a problem with reaction speed, try improving take off speed. That is when ready for a rally raise your heels slightly so weight is more on toes/front part of foot and spring forward. Also use small jump (hop) [have forgotten correct technical term for this]to explode in take off before moving to shuttle.
In doubles, make sure that after you serve short you bring ur racket up in preparation for return push or drive. If they try to hit your face you'll be a lot quicker to react and you can just deflect it.
More on reflex training Another cross-training for your reflexes... play with a cat! You might be able to work on your reflexes by tapping the back of the paws of a cat. If the cat is playful or just annoyed, it will take a swipe at your hand with its claws. If you are not quick enuff, you get scratched. Keep hitting the cat's paws and move your hand quickly so that you avoid getting scratched. Since cats have quick reflexes (for catching mice, birds, and even house flies), this is a good way to work on your own reflexes. As Jinryu suggests, video games can be an excellent way to work on reflexes as well as other visual & mental skills. Some games are better than others, in this regard. Even so, most video games will probably be not anywhere as comprehensive as sports vision training or specially designed software such as ThinkFast (TF) or MyBrainTrainer. However, a decent video game can be an excellent complement to to such specialized training. If you try the 2 week free trial of MyBrainTrainer, I would be interested to know your average measured RT (Reaction Time) for Exercise #1. This exercise, known as Physical (Psychomotor) Reflexes, is the closest of the exercise series to measuring pure RT. The average RT for our species is close to 1/4 of a second which is equivalent to 250 ms (milliseconds). The average non-athlete would probably actually measure something like 250 to 300 ms or more on this exercise. Many amateur athletes average in the 200-250 ms range. World class athletes are often in the 150-180 ms range! My personal best RT is about 185 ms (on a good day), but I usually average in the 200-240 ms range (I'm not as young as I used to be). Most ppl attain their best RTs in the late teens to early 20s. Other than RT, TF and MyBrainTrainer also measure & trains these skills: - Perceptual Reflexes (peripheral & subliminal awareness) - Cognitive Quickness (multiple choice RT) - Decision Making (incl long-term memory recall) - Perceptual Acuity (& subliminal awareness) - Short-term Memory Capacity - Mental Agility (multiple choice RT) - Visual Recognition Sustained concentration (vigilance), accuracy, & consistency are also involved in most of these exercises.
Ha! I like this idea But before you get too cocky trying this, there's something you should know: When a cat is playing with you, it might *seem* like it has fast reactions. But don't be fooled. The speed of its reactions in a playful mood are nothing compared to its full capability. The cat doesn't really want to scratch you - it's just playing. If the cat decides it really wants to scratch you, it WILL scratch you. Cats' real reaction speed is much faster than humans'. This has happened to me before - there I am, playing this game and thinking I'm pretty good at avoiding my cat's claws - then BAM! I don't even see it hit me. Now, if cats could play badminton....
How much you willing to risk for the art? OMG, this is a bit of a tangent on cats, but when I was younger, I used to watch an anime called Ranma 1/2. It's about this kid, Ranma, who wants to train to be the greatest martial artist in the world. One of the training methods that his father used was he had a pit full of starving cats, and then he threw his young son in, who was tied up in ropes of sausage or fish. Needless to say, the cats really messed that poor kid up. But the whole idea was to teach that boy how to learn to fight with crazy speed-- he later developed the "Cat Fist", which is pretty much his ultimate unstoppable technique, because it involves supersonic 'pawing' that can cut through anything. (although, only being a kid when he learned the technique, he was totally traumatized, and has feared cats severely ever since, going as far as screaming, crying and running away until he either faints or knocks himself out by running into something.)
i just took this first test systemicanomaly, and i had like 228...although once or twice i had 201, 202...its good to hear you had 185, that is like awsome..well anyways i am just 16, how old are you?
I am waaaaay past my prime. I didn't take up the game of badminton til my late 20s. I'm sure my RT back then easily averaged much less than 200 ms. But that was more than 20 years ago & I've slowed down a bit. However with the help of vision training and with the TF software, I've been able to keep my reflexes & visual skills fairly sharp even tho' I've had permannent damage to both eyes. I've just using the MBT software in the past few days now and have gotten my average RT down to the 206-212 range. In a number of the trials I noticed that I still got 185 or lower several times. I hadn't been using the TF software too much in the past few months, but when I discovered the MBT web site I started doing a lot of vision/mental training again. I played some tennis earlier today followed a couple hours of badminton. I felt that I played both better than I have in quite a while (depsite the eye damage & the fact that I'm still recovering from a cold).
RT=228 ms is a very respectable avg! With more training & practice, I'm sure that you'll get 201-202 ms a lot more often & can even break the 200 mark! While all the MBT exercises are certainly worthwhile, the best ones for badminton are probably #1, #2, #3, & #5. Others to consider (for badm) are #4, #7 & (maybe) #8.
lol play with a cat.. my reaction might be so slow.. that i may get my whole arm and my hands full of blood before i actually improve..LOL
Another alternative (or complement) to MBT, TF and cats is a piece of software called eyeQ. It was originially developed by A Japanese PhD, who is an expert on brain enhancement technology, to teach people to read faster as well as develop their visual skills. It would appear to have benefits for sports as well as more academic pursuits. You can find more info at: www.eyeQ.com BrainBuilder is another one to look at. It is geared a bit more to improving memory and learning capacity rather than physical reflexes tho'. However, it does have one excellent warmup exercise that develops quick reflexes while exercising discretion (restraint) & vigilance at the same time. More info: www.brain.com www.brainbuilder.com
Oh well, I got 208 on my second try and 203 on my third, of that Reaction Time test, i will check these other sites too. Thanks a lot man. But i wanted to ask something, for example, i got 228 in my first try, 208 in my second and so on, so would it have any difference on my game? For it, to have any difference on my game, how much change should be there then my previous 228? and would the difference be minimal? Would the difference only be there if i keep practising this exercise?
MBT training guides So far, you've made a 10% gain in RT for exercise #1 of MBT. While this is definitely a significant improvement, it is hard to say if this, alone, will have a noticeable change in your badminton game. Perhaps it will, but then there are many other factors that also come into play. For maximum benefit, you would need to run exercise #1 along with the others I suggested (#2, #3, #5 & some of the others) on a regular basis... perhaps 5x per week or maybe even 2x per day. If you run these exercises for while & then stop, I would think that you will retain some of the benefit but certainly not as much as if you kept it up on a regular basis. It's a lot like practicing your badminton or going to the gym to exercise your muscles. If you train your muscles on a regular basis, you tend to improve a lot. If you stop training for weeks or months, you wouldn't lose everything but you could still lose quite a lot of what you had before. I would think that the same thing goes for MBT training. As you do the MBT exercises, several things are happening. The 1st thing is that you get more familiar with MBT & simply just get better at performing the various exercises. But beyond that, you are also training your eye muscles to perform more quickly & more reliably. A large part of our visual skills involves our brains. With the MBT exercises we are also training our brains, not only to move the eyes quicker & more effectively, but also to process & interpret the visual information from our eyes more quickly & effectively as well. Training our eye muscles & brain processing in such a manner would certainly help your sports performance in the long run (& maybe even in the short run). Along with training our eyes & processing power, the MBT exercises should also help you to learn to relax under pressure. It should also improve your concentration & patience as well. All of these factors should help you to achieve a peak performance when you play. Try running some of the MBT exercises as a warmup just before you go out to practice or play badminton. If you do this on a regular basis, I'm sure that you will find that quite often it will help. There will be times, however, when you might just be too tired (or ate too much or perhaps some other factor) and will not see any benefit for the MBT training that day. A word of caution: Don't run the MBT trainining exercises too much at each sitting. Some people run the complete BrainMaster Challenge (7 exercises), 3 or 4x in a row and find that their eyes start to feel fatigued. Some ppl will even get a headache if they run too many exercises too many times w/o a rest. This is a lot like going into the gym & lifting too much weight or doing too many reps... your muscles will fatigue & you could even strain your muscles the point that they hurt for several days.
Okay, it was my third day with this exercise, and on my first try i got 211, and i got 184 on the second try...........!....it's like i really cannot believe how fast i was...and i did not just keep pressing the down arrow key....anyways. why dont other people tell about their results too?
