For each of the two different types of serves (underhand and the other one, don't know what its called), what should I look at? The shuttle, the oponent, the target, or a bit of each? Thanks in advance.
If you get consistent at short serves, u can often trick your opponent by looking at a certain spot on the court but hitting it somewhere else. You dont wanna always look at your target cuz your opponent can kinda read where it's going. Look at your opponent but focus on where he/she is standing on the court. I prefer using my underhand and serving short to the person's backhand or very close to the line.newbie wrote:
For the most part you should be looking at the shuttle AND the contact point while serving. You can look at the opponent and the court b4 you start your service. As you are serving, VISUALIZE your intended target (w/o actually looking at it). Before you start the forward motion of your racket, hold your racket in the back position for a moment or 2; don't rush it (make sure that you are settled & mentally focused). You might be able to peripherally see your opponent move or shift their weight b4 you start the forward motion. Don't be too eager to lift your head to follow the shuttle as it leaves your racket. People often lift their head just before or while making contact. Hold your head still with your eyes on the contact point for a split (fraction of a) second after contact is made to be sure that you are not lifting it prematurely. You will, however, want to follow the flight of the bird in time to see it cross the net. If you have extraordinary racket-hand-eye coordination, you can try a head fake or the eye fake that Allen suggests.
I do the eye thing all the time! I look far back like I'm gonna flick it and then I serve short! Of course when the opponent notices this I still look far back but this time I will actually flick it and catch them off gaurd. As gregr said, looking for opponents shift in balance is probably very important too. If you take your full 5 seconds, your opponent might shift his balance a bit forward and as he does this you do a flick serve!
