Grip in Clear/Smash

I have noticed for a while that even while playing for well over a few months now, that I still have not yet been able to understand the proper way of holding the racket during a smash and clear. Can someone tell me the proper to hold the racket during these movements? To give you an idea of how I hold the racket, imagine a handle for a racket and a compass. For normal side hitting, smash, and backhand, my thumb would be on the west. For clearing, i rotate the racket slightly counterclockwise, where I then place my thumb onto the northwest part, not on the north flat part. Is this correct, or is it entirely wrong. Also, I have noticed that when I come to smash down, I am just not able to pronate enough to have the racket completely face down upon impact of the bird. It would still be diagnal, so when I go to strike the bird there is no power whatsoever. Could the reason that I can't pronate enough be due to my grip on smash? Thank you in advance for any replies.

Also, another side question I would like to ask is how important is the grip you wrap around your handle. (Just in case, I am referring to the grip tape)

Justin

 

Cheung

Sorry I am not an expert at these forums. I'm not entirely sure how to go look at the earlier post that you suggested. Could you tell me how to view it or paste a link so I can directly link there, it would be of great help. Thanks.

 

I'll try to give you a quick idea. The grip for a smash, and indeed a dop or a clear should be that of a traditional forehand grip. You will find a demo of this in all badminton books, but the basic summise is as follows.

Hold the racket with the head facing either side, iee you are looking at the sie of the racket from on top. Then loosely grip the racket as if you are shaking hands with it. This is essentially the forehand grip. The V between your forefinger and thumb should face down the shaft of the racket, and the thumb should be wrapped around. Using this grip then, the action for a smash is as follows.

Start in the ready position, and as the shuttle rises, move side on.pull the racket arm up and cock it behind your head (ever seen a tennis serve? that kind of idea) and then using your other arm point at the shuttle rising. When the time is right, bring your racket arm forward, rotating the wrist slightly to make sure that the contact is with tthe flat head of the racket. Follow through with your racket foot, to get full power behind the smash and then back to ready position. I know this is hard to get from a text, but a basic badminton coaching book will show you. There are variations as the player ability increases.

With regard to the grip, it is personal preference. I use a towel grip, and quite a thick one, my friend uses a karakal grip and only a very thin one. Try them out and see what you like.

Hope that helps.

Mark

PS I am a registered coach with the Badminton Association of England, so i anot making this stuff up!

 

Glad to hear you aprove of my explanation, can you post the address of your site, or email it to me at mhaines_99@yahoo.com so i cant ake a look. If you want anyone to help you out, then give me a shout!

Mark

 

Mark, do you mean that when you bring your arm down for the smash, that your arm rotates and comes down to contact the bird, or do you first rotate you head flat then come down to make contact?

 

given the intention to smash, when you pronate depends entirely on your preference as long as the racket is flat at the moment of impact. though i find that if you can hold the pronation till the last sec, it gives you more options on the choice of the stroke. but if you know that its a sure zinger, then you might as well line the bird up and hit the floor - -so to speak.

practice with a friend good at returning smashes, warm up your shoulder, practice making the steep angle at medium speed, then let loose a few zingers ( dont worry about the angle). eventually you will combine the two. if you want to smash hard in a game, you have to smash hard at practice to get conditioned to the timing.