Prehaps........... Modious, maybe we have missed out on our "good friend's" point......... It seems straightforward enough that you should have to lunge forward fast enough to retrieve sharp drop shots....... Blitz, did we interpret your question right??
Re: Prehaps........... I'm not too sure whether you guys misunderstand or not hee From what I seen in a small video clip, split step is when u're in ready position, then u jump a little with ur legs widen a bit then lunge forward or step forward. The video clip says that by doing so makes u reaction faster by I have no idea whether it really works or not.....
Re: Prehaps........... Yes, it does work. It loads your muscles so they're ready to react. The loading effect lasts only for abt a second, so try to time yr split step to coincide with opponent's striking the shuttle. This timing has a good side effect for me, since it forces me to concentrate on how my opponent is going to hit. I've got a bad habit of watching the shuttle after I hit it instead of watching my opponent(s).
Gregr put something up on this a while ago. Like I said in another posting, you also have to get your centre of balance correctly forward otherwise you lurch and this results in inefficient movement. It will also tire you out over the course of the game...... Another thing is timing your movement so you arrive at the base and then do the split step just as the opponent strikes the shuttle will give you better movement as opposed to running back to base as fast as possible and then just waiting there. Reaction time is one thing, speed off the mark in response to your reaction is another concept. So your original question says "increase your reaction", the answer could say "no". If the question says "increase your speed?" then the answer is "Yes"
Reaction time software There is a software suite that develops reaction time (simple & complex tasks), subliminal awareness and other visual and hand-eye skills to a greater extent than your average video game. The software that I speak of goes by the name, ThinkFast and is available at www.brain.com Behavioral optometrists who specialize in sports vision training can also help develop reaction time, visual tracking and other visial & hand-eye skills.