So I've been playing every week for a good few months now, having got back into playing regularly and am starting to play to a better standard all round. Then out of the blue last night I have an absolute shocker. And the worst thing is; I can't explain why. Nearly all my drops were falling short of, or straight into the net, my smashes were awful, my footwork was terrible (streteching to reach some of the most basic shots), serves were easy pickings....the list goes on. It reached the point where the majority of my clears were effectively just perfect practice for my opponent to smash Thing is, I didn't feel tired, or stressed or anything and I have no idea why I played so bad. I hope it was just 'one of those days' Anybody else had similar experiences? SO frustrating! hah
Hi there, This is actually a very common problem magicsushi, every badminton player, faces this problem once or more, in their playing eras. They do get out of it too. There are various causes of such problems. Over training, training with too much effort, getting bored Unconsciously in the process, are some of them. There are numerous ways to get out of these problems too. One most common, easy to do and effective is however, to rest. Either to completely stop playing badminton for a small period of time, say one week or a little more, or to play more casually, playing less games, playing basic game, revising the basic strokes, for a given small period of time. The one I would recommend is not to play for a week, then playing casually for some days, then starting your game from start. Playing basic strokes, practising basic footwork, doing drills for the shots. Remember to not indulge in complex kind of training. That could worsen your game again. Keep in mind that you can not possibly, always win. You have to lose sometimes. Take any professional player for example, Lin Dan, has he always won? For example, just before the All England final in 2004, he had reached 5 tournament finals, winning 3 of them only. This is called a real good performance. Now when a professional can not always win, among players of almost his own class, then you can not win among opponents of your class always. You have to lose, lose, win,lose, then win. So you do not need to get frustrated. Come on buddy, it's just a common problem, which can be a result of over playing. Just rest. Hope that helps Furqan.
Thanks Furqan Thanks Furqan, I'm not overly concerned by it really. Just annoyed, that's all. I think you could be right about the overtraining thing. I have been pretty full on with it recently. Perhaps that's the problem. I think I may just take your advice and give it all a rest for a week or so
when you say you play everyweek, does that mean once a week, or every day of the week? also, it would be helpful if you tell us what level you are at.
True ... Warming up definately helps you get better . When I played w/o warm up once , I couldn't get my drops over the net
Hey, i know how you feel. I took a 5 month leave, and started playing again yesterday actually. It took a while for me to get back to the rythm. My footwork is off, and my backhand doesnt feel as natural. Also my jump smashes were way off. So i wont be jump smashing any time soon. I'm still glad that i have my technique down pretty good and my forehand clears were down effortlessly. As for offdays... it happens all the time... It could be nerves too?
arg had a off day yesterday morning at the school badminton club:crying: all my clears woudl hit the roof i couldent smash right and whenever i went for a high clear there was nothing i could do but let it drop in or ealse i woudl hit the wall swinging for it, my drops were the only good part of my game for a while my serve was all messed but then it came to the backhand and i coudl not hit a single shot from it i was getting agravated cause i can make some decent shots from my backhand there was the footwork but i think that was just me being lazy...never a good thing. arg i hate playing in the morning i should warm up longer next time hope it makes a difference.
Hello, try not to get too frustrated. It's only a game, and you're there to have fun also to improve. That will never happen if yu become aggravated when playing badminton. Keep a positive attitude. Thanks, Chhayalak.
Hi there, I mostly experience this problem in the terms of timing of the shuttle and footwork. Some days i have to actually shout at my feet to get them to move!
Happens to everyone, no doubt about that. I'd have to agree with Furgan about resting. Maybe not taking as much as a week off badminton (unless i'm playing bad for several sessions and not just one or two) but more often than not, if i'm honest with myself, bad playing is the result of psychological unrest or physical tiredness. There's a whole list of reasons why something might be totally off, that I might not even notice while playing... Have I had enough to eat? Have I been sleepign well? Are my shoes comfy? Are my socks dry? How's the grip on my racket? Any sore muscles? How was school today? Do i have any homework due later? Am I gonna be late for work? A lot of the reasons for underperforming on the court are often not even related to the court at all, which is why a lot of physical education programs in schools nowadays advocate "overal wellbeing" in a very broad sense, not just a class-specific sport. Of course, everyone's reasons for having a bad day are potentially very ellusive to detection... I mean, if people could identify all their subconcious ailments, then no one would ever choke under pressure. But yeah, it's normal-- it's like "writer's block", you just gotta work through it, or take a break and try the situaton from a different angle.
Kenneth Jonassen Interview I bough the badminton revolution cup from the tournament in calgary. Kenneth Jonassen (the winner) was asked after the final match what he believes is the most important factor in badminton for new junior players who eventually want to go pro. He said that he almost quit badminton a few years earlier because he wasn't improving at a good rate and wasn't getting the same enjoyment he was earlier. So he took a break and came back not taking badminton as seriously saying 'its just a game'. Now hes 5th in the world.. i've read a bunch of books about sports and the main theme all athletes promote is that you have to be having fun and not take the game as a matter of life and death, you have to ease up. Hard to find a grounds between easing up and not caring and being totally intense all the time.
Just had consecutive bad/off days. I had not been playing for 2-3 weeks and just started a game last Thurs. Was playing doubles with my brother. I just kept hitting the shuttle into the net, no matter smash, net shots or drops. The next day, it was even worse. I was playing singles with my colleague and lost 5 out of 6 games (Only won the last game as I was in slightly better shape than him). I cant even hit the shuttle on my backhand. I hit the smash at midcourt into the net, even though I would get a winner normally. All the net shots just tumble back to my side after hitting the tape. I just cant get the shuttle to my colleague's exposed side (of the court). During training and other days, my shots were okay. Probably the break has affected my judgement
Mmmm, the most ridicolous thing I blamed for one of my off days was my hair........I didnt cut it in 2 months and it was getting so long it, I could almost see through them. I'm used to short hair, and so whenever i jumped, my hari would bounce around, and i fricked up every shot. Anyways, now my hairs shorter, my off days are becomign less and elss
who ealse doesn't has had them...im sorry but im not sure what your trying to say there. anyways i have had another off day last week thursday when i went to play at the gym i had played badminton on the tuesday and wednesday at school and was doing great my smashes were all good and my servace was good same with drops and clears but then thursday came and bam when i started to play my smash was off timed it looked so bad, my serves kept falling short and i was so mad so i took a break and then started to play again i started to gain more confidence but the day was a total waste for me i think the only part was that me and my doubles partner played together but i dident play as well as i usually do...it felt like instead of imporving my skill i actually went down in skill level so now i have to wait till thursday and friday this week for badminton to be at school i just hope that i am back to my regular level then and that i dont have a bad day then or ealse im screwed...
man... i had this exact thing happen to me a few days ago at a tournament... my partner was very pissed... hahaha during the 2nd match, i started getting my touch back but it was too late... we lost 15-1 the first match and 15-12 the 2nd... maybe i wasn't warmed enough during the first game, or maybe i got tired of playing... but whatever the reason, it was the worst possible time to get my "off" match...