Questions about lunging

Discussion in 'Techniques / Training' started by oab729, Mar 5, 2005.

  1. oab729

    oab729 Regular Member

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    Why do you lunge? Wouldn't it take longer to recover? The only reason i can think of lunging is that it allows you to keep your back foot in the same place.

    Also when you lunge, what should it look like? Should your left leg(i'm right handed) be straight or should it be bent at a 90 degree angle like when your doing lunge walks. Should your right leg be bent at a 90 degree angle? Pictures would be nice. Thanks
     
  2. oab729

    oab729 Regular Member

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    Oh also, are you supposed to slide your back foot forward or not? And should both your feet be pointing straight towards the birdy or should your back foot be turned to the side, so that your ankle is almost pointing downwards, like in some pro pics. The reason i ask this is my coach told me to plant my feet. thanks
     
  3. Dave18

    Dave18 Regular Member

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    All i know is that your shoulder and chest should be kept straight out. Keep your racket up close to the net and try to hit the birdie as soon as possible to recover quickly. Keep your arms loose for flexibility.

    Lunge is great for net shots and I don't see why you won't want to lunge, it gets to the bird a lot faster.
     
  4. Jinryu

    Jinryu Regular Member

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    Depends entirely on the sitaution. I agree that if you don't have to, you shouldn't lunge, because as you mentioned, it takes a relatively long time to recover, but on top of that, countering your full body weight to return to a 'neutral' position takes up precious energy.

    Personally, I lunge during a game because sometimes it's unavoidable... if the shot is out of my way, there are some situations where no amount of quick steps will be able to get me to the bird in time, and thus, I need that extra burst of speed and extra inches from that lunge. The lunge is faster to get to the bird than proper footwork, but it takes longer to recover, so it's a double edged sword.

    Of course, one could train a number of elements of one's playing style to theoretically eliminate lunges from their game plan, such as a better awareness of proper positioning, as well as the ability to predict their opponent's shots... but no one's perfect, and thus, we have to run after those birds and use desperate techniques to get out of desperate situations.
     
  5. AzNl3oi89

    AzNl3oi89 Regular Member

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    im wondering also, is it better to lunge there or footwork there?
     
  6. Winex West Can

    Winex West Can Regular Member

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    Lunging is actually part of your footwork and it acts as a checking step and helps you in balancing (also aids in your recovery).

    Here's a pic of Camilla Martin doing a lunge. See how balanced she is and in recovering, all she needed to down is to push down on her front leg to send her up and back to be ready for the next shot.
     

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  7. MarkinJapan

    MarkinJapan Regular Member

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    lunging is an essential part of foot work. Build up the muscles for a strong return to the base by practice, practice, practice.
     
  8. Gollum

    Gollum Regular Member

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    On a very deep lunge, you can recover better by bringing the non-racket foot forward, in line with your outstretched racket foot. You'll have plenty of time anyway, since in this situation you should have hit a high lift ;)
     
  9. bighook

    bighook New Member

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    Lunging is footwork and is seen at all levels of play.Lunging occurs almost everywhere in the court as you lunge forwards for drops ,sideways for smashes and backwards for backhands and late forehand deep shots.

    Lunging however to work needs to be done correctly.First the most obvious example being forecourt footwork to get to drops.This can be either a 2 step or 3 step movement .The order in a 3 step being a small step with the racquet foot then nonracquet foot followed by the racquet foot.The 2 step method is just minus the first small step of the racquet foot.Anyways it is important to Always do the lunge portion with the racquet foot.If you lunge with the nonracquet foot your upper body is twisting in conflict with the lower body when reaching for the shuttle.The lunge portion should be done so that your racquet foot lands heel toe with you pointing your toe straight so no twisting occurs at the landing or to the knee.The non racquet foot is dragged which not only slows you down but also loads the racquet leg so you can throw your body weight backwards in the recovery from the net. Notice that the non racquet arm is extended which pulls the shoulders back and straightens them in alignment for the shot and this also aids in keeping your upper body centered over you knee and not beyond which would destroy your chances of recovery.The type of recovery following the lunge depends upon what shot you hit and the returns your oppnent is capable of but that is another story.Anyways hopefully the attached pictures help clarify what I described.
     

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  10. ploppers

    ploppers Regular Member

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    Hmm...my coach told me that the non racket foot should always be as stretched out as it can be. I don't think you should ever be bringing the non racket foot near your racket foot in a lunge because it would change your balance. However, I think bringing the non racket foot in takes less energy than to keep your non racket foot straight, but not a faster recovery.
     
  11. oab729

    oab729 Regular Member

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    Really, interesting i always thought that taking in your non racket foot would make a faster recovery because you wouldn't have to wait to get back to normal from the lunge, in fact thats how i used to play, but i think what that guy meant by dragging it in to slow it down, was to drag it in a little bit, so u could get just a little bit more distance. correct me if i'm wrong
    Thanks for all hte input you guys
     
  12. Gollum

    Gollum Regular Member

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    For normal lunges, you use the racket foot to push back.

    For very deep lunges, especially if you are off balance, you will find it more effective to bring in your non-racket foot to help. This only happens during the recovery phase of the movement.

    Of course, you can try both and decide which you prefer. If you have enormous strength in your racket quads, and perfect balance, then you may prefer to use the racket foot. But I suspect using the non-racket foot will still be better.

    Bear in mind I'm only talking about very deep lunges at the net. From this situation you would always hit a high lift.
     
  13. tranvi007

    tranvi007 Regular Member

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    Umm...

    Lunging is very important. It give u a quicker recovery time and is faster too. It also uses less energy. I tend to have my non racket foot forward, and lunge with my right. This would give a greater amount of travel length.
     

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