Hi everybody. I didn't know where to post this and I hope I won't get booed at or banned or something. I thought this is a good place to get some advice. Let me start. Recently I got a job at a new firm, got myself into a great department (everybody's great and friendly, almost all in their 20s and 30s) and everything seemed peachy. Until I realized that everybody's sport of choice was badminton. You see, the firm has it's own courts and each department has reserved time for its use. And everybody plays. I mean everybody. Since I like sports n all, I was initially very thrilled, but soon I realized that I am no match for any of those guys. Every time I play with them, it's pathetic. I know i am new and they play for some time but you would think after ten or so matches you would see some progress. Yeah, right. I would really want so much to improve my game, but now am finding my self simply giving up. I cannot get a coach since there simply isn't one available. My town doesn't have badminton clubs as far as I know. I scoured the web for useful information (this site has some great stuff), I tried to immitate the correct grip, overhead shots etc. but still my colleagues make mince meat out of me. I tried to learn from them but all of them are self-taught and everybody has his/her own tips, often contradictory. Nobody even holds the racket the same! Some of them don't even follow any of the basic suggestions I have found on this site, but still they manage to catch everything I throw at them. And then some. Anyway, can somebody give me some advice, apart from the "use correct grip" or "mind your footwork"? Should I find another absolute beginner and then just play "barbecue" badminton with him or would that just worsen my play? Or should I just bite it and play as much as I can? Thanks for any kind of advice.
If you want to learn badminton the proper way. Get a coach is still the best way to learn the basic fundamental. Some people do self taught like your friends , but i'm sure it takes longer time to learn as they play compare to you learn from a coach. Reading books, watching videos or even surfing the web for info is still not enough. It really depends on what level you want to be in. If you just want to learn as you play.. it might take longer time. And sometimes like what you say, all the advice can be contradicting. At the meantime, to prevent from grilling from your frens , you may op to play with beginners at your level to get the feel of badminton. However try to watch the better players play.. see their strokes and basic footwork. Try to mimic and see how it goes. Like what i say.. get a coach is a better way to solve your badminton worries.
Well here's my story... I started playing badminton regularly (well, once a week) again about 2.5 years ago. Before that I used to play at school but that was years ago! I've never had coaching before and just used to play with my sister and brother-in-law, both of whom I could beat pretty easily. This year I joined a gym that has badminton courts and a club that meets twice a week. I started going to those club nights which are run by the club coach, and you get 5-10 mins with him during a 2 hour session. It doesn't sound like a lot, but my game has vastly improved since going, and now I go 2-3 times a week. The other good thing is playing against people who are better than me - before I feel that I wasn't improving because I had no incentive to, but when I first joined the club I couldn't beat anyone Now I am right up there with everyone else, and playing someone who you know can beat you just makes you more determined to give them a harder game! Basically I would try to get a few coaching sessions if possible. You can be a good self-taught player but coaching will make your shots easier and more consistent. It also gets you in the habit of questioning your game - realising that you are making mistakes is half the battle
http://www.badmintoncentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=20867 I believe kwun has a great article on it!! I don't think I wrote half bad either .
Keep playing agaist them, you can only improve by playing against better players. I know how you feel (I started playing singles, and most games I don't get more then 5 points), but don't give up. Trying to find a coach would be a good idea
You see, that's the basis of my problem. In my town there aren't no badminton clubs, so getting a coach is out of the question for now. If I want to learn the correct technique those web articles and videos are all I have. As for learning from others, as I said the biggest problem is that noone plays alike. I've had someone explaining to me how the best grip is having your index finger aligned with the racket handle, which I think is totally wrong. Yet he can smash the shuttle like you wouldn't believe. This other guy steps on the wrong foot (according to the tips) while hitting, but also that doesn't seem to hinder his play at all. The point is, I don't want to "learn" some wrong techniques from that and yet they are all I have for real-life examples. Well, at least we'll be employing some fresh blood in autumn. I hope that they will be total crap at badminton too so I'll stop being at the rock bottom.
find someone in your group that u think is good and using techniques coming closest to what were said in this forum. Then ask him or her to workout some drills with you using half and full court. Practice using tips found here if partner advice seem to conflict with what are said here. It dont sound like your coworkers are better than B's level but they would look superb if ur just starting out from backyard picnic level. (D's). By the way, any new job openings
try to beat the wall... hit the birdie against the wall as many times as you can, don't let the bird get above shoulder level. Well.. start with not letting the bird get twice as high as you, this will greatly enhance your hand eye coordination as well as ur speed and consistency and will work out ur arm, shoulder and maybe even chest if you get good enough at it. Most importnant aspects (imo) for begginer 1. Hand eye coordination 2. Overhead shot 3. Serve 4. Footwork 5. Underhand Fitness shouldn't really be an issue until you get a bit better. I will outline the techniques for each of the 5 aspects. Also ibbs.tv is great http://www.ibbs.tv/IBBS/home/home.aspx, one of the best coaches in the world. 1. Hand-eye: comes from practice, talent (natural ability). How can you play badminton if you can't hit the bird. Grip: pretend your shaking someones hand with the grip base of racket. 2. Stand shoulder facing the net sideways, legs shoulder width apart, get under the birdie, swing forward trying to hit the sweet spot (middle) of racket (raquet?! omg..can't spell). Try to contact the birdie as high as you can without sacraficing strength and control. 3. Serve. Begginners should almost all use long, high serve. Lee Jae Bok reccommends practicing serve 300 times 5 days a week for 3 weeks... thats if you want to get good in a hurry. Just practice a few times until you get the hang of it. 4. Footwork. As a begginer just try to efficiently move around the court. Don't worry too much as to scissor kicking and giant lunges... just remeber to try to take a few steps as possible to reach the bird. Lunges come naturally once you try to minimize the amount of steps you take. 5. Underhand shots: Just hit the shot and keep it in.. bottom line. Keep in mind that consistency is the biggest difference between begginners and intermediate players. I've been lucky in that I've been coached by Canadian champions, one world champion and one who was second in the world. My grandpa is from near Olso so thats why i'm trying to help you out so much !! Also last point search for emule on the internet, download it, and download badminton movies / games. Emule is the best p2p client i have found for real badminton games, the players are international quality so regardless of what the players at your work tell you... this is the way 2 do it.
<sigh> Some people have all the luck. :crying: My only suggestion is not to worry about winning/losing. It's not as if your raise and/or bonus depend on these matches. (Do they?) Just enjoy the matches, competition, social interaction and the learning process. You'll get better with time. I guarantee it. Providing if you keep playing, that is. If you don't believe me, look at your colleagues whom you said use all the wrong techniques but still play well enough. If you're really interested in badminton and learning the sport, watch as many "proper" matches as possible to learn from them. Local club, county/state---or, whatever the equivalent of it is in Norway---and international. In person would be best, but on TV/video would do as well. There are a couple of members here, "Han" and "bluejeff", who sell match and training DVDs. You can search for the relevant threads in the Marketplace forum. All in all, just enjoy learning. You're not going to be a "Badminton God" after playing 10, 50 or even a 100 matches. You're not going to lunge and recover as effortlessly as Chen Hong. You're not going to play as fast as Peter Gade. You're not going to pull seemingly impossible shots as easily as Taufik makes them look. But, they shouldn't stop you from trying. If you do stop, we will lobby to ban you from this forum. Or, at least, stare at you as menacingly as possible.
When I started, I was also among lots of people better than I. But I never gave up and just kept playing for fun but with determination to keep on improving. After a year, i pretty much outplayed most of the people at the club. So i went to another club to find better people to play. I became competitive with those people in 6 months and now I play with the best of that club. Your skill is definitely a social aspect but you must work hard to improve it. Badminton is not as easy as it seems as you may already know so don't expect to get any better within 10 games. You must keep analysing yourself and try to improve your weaknesses. That's what I did and i played people who are regularly coached. They ask me where i get coaching and are suprised when i tell them i've never been coached. I'm a a huge plateau in my development right now so i'm gonna get coaching this summer, but the point is, that compared to your current state of skill, you can improve astrnomically on your own.
also, try not to learn incorrect ideas/techniques/footwork. Theres a reason why everybody in this forum works together to help each other out. If you are unsure about anything, just ask. Better safe than sorry. Even though your friends may use incorrect techniques/grip DO NOT copy them. If you learn the correct ideas, then you will surely overcome them in an instant. Also most people HIGHLY recommend going to ibbs to pay/download/buy his coaching. Its well worth it
I agree getting a coach is the best solution, failing which, try watching some badminton on TV. Keep your eyes focussed on one of the players, watch the ready stance, court movement, racquet preparation and swing. Then make a video of yourself playing, it might be painful to watch (I admit I still look terrible!), and try and pinpoint errors. Then....play some more! Sometimes the reason why you are getting whacked is not so much inferior technique but that your colleagues have been playing much longer and have better tactical awareness, but that comes with experience. Good luck and enjoy the game!
Ah... so this is what it feels like to miss one miserable digit in a lotto draw! Bizlowsky, I hate you for having the luck I should have had:crying:!!! Man, my week is just going downhill from here onward.
Dam you bizlowsky you have probably one of the best jobs in the world. Try nt to worry too much about how good you are compared to everyone else, I mean nothing especially important is hanging on it is there? Just keep playing and have fun, and your badminton mind will come to you. I should know I was in a similar situation a while ago. If you cant find any coaching you could just try and get some basics from either this site or from some of your colleagues and then practise them when you can. You will develop form there trust me
Well my job really isn't PLAYING badminton, gee... but yes I get your point, it's nice to have a badminton court at your disposal, although it's just once a week and it's not a particularly nice court - people play mini-football on it, too. People from OTHER departments that is, my colleagues are badminton all the way. ( btw I must scour the other posts here, surely some of them are regulars here). And I'm not exactly from Oslo, I am actually from a smaller town near it which you would probably find unpronouncable . I think Oslo has some badminton clubs, but it's a bit too far away from me just to go there strictly for badminton-coaching purposes. Than again, you never know...
Ha, i didnt mean to have a go or anything (I probs should have stuck a 'lol' in there), what I was trying to get at is that you seem to have a good situation regarding having friends to play with etc, and you shouldnt let the fact that youre not as good as them yet affect you. Hey youve only been playing a short while right? Dont put yourself down so much. Dont focus on 'its been 10 games and im no good', think of it in terms of 'hey i did a good shot there, ill try that one again etc'.
Well I prefer u to ask one of those people that play over there to help u if they are not doing anything
I've got a radical idea for you. Take a badminton holiday! Make sure you're next vacation will be in a country where there's proper badminton coaching available. You'd be surprised what difference a few sessions can make. If you don't like to "waste" your vacation, you can train in any warm climate country here in Asia. I think the training costs are low enough here to make the idea feasible. Here in the Philippines, rates are about US$10 per hour for a one-on-one coaching. Sometimes there are 10-session mini-camps at about US$60 for the package. These rates include court fees and shuttlecocks. Anyway, it sounds like you haven't been playing a long time. You can't really expect a lot of progress after just 10 games (specially without coaching). I heard someone say that badminton is a lot like ***. You don't have to be good at it to enjoy it. So keep at it!
