Hi! These days, while playing badminton, I felt that I have difficulty in gaining base position after hitting from the rearcourt. Normally, do you all 'walk' (or perhaps, stride) to the base, or use a chasse to regain the base? I face a problem, that is after hitting the shuttle, I could only go to the front, if my opponents hits back to the rearcourt, then I'm finished. And, if somebody hits a perfect clear to the forehand rearcourt, do you feel that the turn of the body (to transfer weight and also to assist in moving forward) is very big when you hit the shuttle? Normally, when I hit the shuttle and turn the body, I felt a little imbalanced. I'm not a good player, so I hope all of you would help me. Thanks a lot!!!
Hmm... I don't mean to sound rude, but I think you need to train more! Try this half-court excercise: Distribute five to ten shuttles (cork pointing up) along the front service line (remember, half court only!). Do this both on your and your opponent's side. Then, play a half-court game using clears only. After each time you hit the shuttle, you must run up to the shuttles on the floor and hit one (anyone), and then back again to receive the next clear... Continue until all shuttles have been hit. Rearrange them and start again. It is quite strenous! Do this regularly, and you will definitely improve your front-back movements.
hi Mag could i get you to clarify something ? when you said "......you must run up to the shuttles on the floor and hit one (anyone),....", do you mean just run up to the shuttle on the floor and "touch" it or actually picking it up and hit it over to your opponent ? Sorry for asking such a stupid question, i really like to understand how this exercise work since i too have trouble moving front/back. Cheers Jim
Sorry, I'll try to clarify: Play with the same shuttle all the time. Between each shot you must touch one of the shuttles on the service line with your racquet. You could also skip the shuttles on the floor altogether, and just touch the service line instead, but then you might end up breaking your racquet once you get tired... Good luck!
Thanks for the clarification, it sounds like a useful exercise to train front/back movement. I will give it a go this weekend! Cheers
I assume that you are talking about singles here. Note that, altho' you should ATTEMPT to move back TOWARD your base position, regaining this position will not (and probably should not) always be the case. As you are moving back into position, it is more important to perform a SPLIT STEP just as your opponent's racket moves forward to contact the shuttle. Do this step even if you haven't reached the base position that you are striving for. This split step is a timing HOP; it is a very brief momentary pause initiated so that you land on your feet just as the shuttle comes off your opponents racket. At the instant that you land, you should move to the expected direction of your opponent's shot. If you time the step correctly, you should be able to easily move in ANY direction in response to your opponent's shot. If you split step late or are still moving toward your base as the opponent is hitting you will find it difficult to move back from the direction from which you just came. One other thing that could help in hitting shots from the back court is to employ a scissor kick in you footwork. This is very common for overhead smashes in singles (and sometimes) doubles play. As you are performing the smash, your feet exchange places. Your back foot moves forward and your front foot ends up behind you as you finish the stroke. Your weight shift as you finish the overhead stroke should propel you forward and down into the middle of the court. This footwork should give you a head start on recovery.
Scissor kick for more of a description of the switch step (or scissor kick) see this post: http://www.badmintonforum.com/forums/read.php?f=2&i=15135&t=14845
Another base question... Gregr, thanks for all your help. I really appreciate it. Well, I have another question regarding base position. Normally, when you see international competitions, you'll see that players stand with their legs very wide apart and their body square to the net when they're anticipating a smash. But, when they're anticipating a drop or a clear, they will turn their body slightly facing the left (for a righty) and their legs are not so far apart. I feel that when I spread my legs wide apart and my body square to the net, I can receive smashes easily, but it's hard for me to receive sudden dropshots. On the other hand, if I'm waiting with my body slightly facing the left, I can receive drops and clears easily but not smashes, especially to the forehand side. Why is it so? Thanks for all your replies!
Another base question... Gregr, thanks for all your help. I really appreciate it. Well, I have another question regarding base position. Normally, when you see international competitions, you'll see that players stand with their legs very wide apart and their body square to the net when they're anticipating a smash. But, when they're anticipating a drop or a clear, they will turn their body slightly facing the left (for a righty) and their legs are not so far apart. I feel that when I spread my legs wide apart and my body square to the net, I can receive smashes easily, but it's hard for me to receive sudden dropshots. On the other hand, if I'm waiting with my body slightly facing the left, I can receive drops and clears easily but not smashes, especially to the forehand side. Why is it so? Thanks for all your replies!
Where is base position.... This is a quote from viver. "If you practice the 4 corners by always going back to the base you are not training for the requirements of the game. Often during the game you will not have chance to start from your base. You have to reach any point of the court from where you returned the shot." I will add, after having played a shot from the corner, in many circumstances, one "split step" or "shuffle step" or "step" towards the middle of the court will suffice. The landing of this step should more or less coincide with the opponents shot (as Gregr stated). Since only one step has been made, the opponent is less likely to play to the same corner and you yourself have to prepare to move to the other three corners. If you have reached the centre of the court after playing your shot, then any subsequent shots by the opponent to any of the four corners will become much more difficult because you are now trying to cover four corners instead of three.
Re: Where is base position.... excellent points Cheung. you more or less have to establish new, temporary base positions depending on the location you executed your last shot & the type of shot (high/low? fast/slow? net/deep?) you had just executed. a high deep clear from any position on the court will usually give you ample time to regain the standard base position; (of course if you hit this clear when your opponent is already in the backcourt, you will have less time to recover). if you hit a net drop from one of the front corners then you will only have enough time to take one step (or possibly 2 quick steps) toward the central base. if you try to move too far then you will undoubtedly still be moving when your opponent replies and (they) can easily burn you with a re-drop.
