merry christmas. i have been reading a number of these threads, mostly at random, but a few referring to overhead techniques like the clear, the smash and the drop, and more specifically at the mechanics involved. first off, thankyou for all the suggestions. tips on arm pronation shoulder rotation and wrist movement have been very helpful. however i would like to add a little more to these threads. i am not a coach and i didnt start playing till my mid twenties, but i have been conscientiously learning from my own mistakes and from better players on and off the court. this isnt a tell-you-how thread. i believe that, given a bit of instructions, most able bodies at this level has a natural ability to coordinate their legs, the trunk and the arms for any given motion. however, i find one of the most common mistakes committed by intermediate players (myself included) is on occassions concentrating too much on certain intricacies of a particular stroke at the expense of weight transfer, momentum and balance. just a reminder. happy holidays.
One big difference between an advance player and an intermediate player is balance. This is obvious from watching players right from their warm ups. Intermediate players tend to ignore legwork, as a result, they strokes are hit off balance. At this level, they do OK by compensating one way or another. Without being self-aware however, these off balance shots become habits and tend to break down in tougher games against better players. I cannot agree with you more...back too the basic.
I am just a beginner. my friend said that an overhead shot is like a tennis serve. He also told me to get my elbow up and back, can someone please explain.
the similarity between the mechanics of a badminton overhead and a tennis serve has much to do with weight transfer and momentum. they both involve turning sideways with the weight on your racket leg, then and exploding up, throwing your weight into the shot along with hip and shoulder rotation. ideally, just before the moment of impact, your hip should be facing the direction of your intended target with your arm and body fully extended. of course you have to find your contact point through practice. during practice, when you are preparing for the shot, you may want to exaggerate the weight transfer motion by lifting your front foot off the ground just enough to feel your full weight on your racket leg. getting the elbow back is very important. when you pull your elbow back, you also turn your hip and upper body away from the shot. this motion loads up your muscles before turning back into the shot at impact. the elbow-up is optional, it mostly affects the arc of your forward swing and your point of contact. what goes up must come down, and vice versa. generally you get more power when your elbow has to travel longer distance, but i find that people who generally start with their elbow down tend to hit up even when they intended to hit down, because at contact their arm is still travelling upwards in the arc. whereas, if you start with your elbow up, there is nowhere for it to go except forward and down. i apologize for the wordiness. it is always difficult to descibe a shot. but i hope this helps.
Try watch professionals on video and take note of their weighing and unweighing. One good example is this year's world championship singles final between Gade and Hendrewan. Gade's preparation is particularly noteworthy, bent knees shoulder's width apart, racket arm back and elbow held high. A picture is worth a thousand words, please do not try to learn a stroke from a message board.
A friend of mine lent me an instruction video with Simon Archer as part of the demonstration team. He hits very hard and steep without having to jumpsmash. What seems very obvious is a very pronounced weight transfer and a solid follow through.
