What are the basic but required principles of a good smash? Here's what i've come up with, am I missing anything? - Squared to the net (standing sideways) - Turning the Hip (or throwing the hip - Arching of the Lower back (arching the back in the pre-swing phase) - Left arm before right arm (or having the left shoulder raised before raising the right shoulder) - Elbow is far back (before the swing) - Loose Shoulder - Tight Grip on Raquet untill just before impact Swing Sequence is (Hip - Shoulder - Elbow - Hand) - The Elbow must come forward Other Principles - Hitting the shuttle Infront of the body (as much as possible) - Taking It early (the later you swing the more effort required) Since I am not that strong and since my smash sucks I have taken an interest in this - What i've noticed is that I can't hit the shuttle very hard unless I squeeze the raquet first A loose grip gives me some power but far less than when I grip the raquet as hard as I can untill the last part of the swing .. or release during the swing.
i don't know what to say about the lose grip at the point of impact.. sounds to me there is the real danger of shooting the racket at your opponents as well.
For a smash, you want a reasonably firm grip throughout the stroke, so that the racket does not slip in your fingers. Not so firm that you're clenching the handle, but not floppy either. The grip will tighten further on impact.
Hmm... if you are smashing from the back, add on 'scissors' with your legs so that you rebound back to base. And I'd put in a 'look' phase somewhere-- a lot of people see the bird coming and intend to smash and so they smash, but they're effectually doing it more or less blind and not looking at any updates in the opponent(s) position.
Yep, upon impact you will naturally tighten your grip. It's an involuntary reaction to a successful smash. If you (somehow) train yourself to have a loose grip upon impact, the racket will go flying.
Some things I do make my smash a lot harder. I jump, making it more powerful for me. But be careful, when you jump, the timing is very crucial if you want your smash at maximum power. You can thrust your body into the bird like as if it was a tennis serve. But the best way to power of a smash is, PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE. It's not a lie, if you play everyday, you'll definitely see an improvement. Hope that helps. Adam
Strength is of course important (otherwise women and men would have similar smashes), but it should only be used once you have acquired the good technique. You know you have proper form when smashing becomes as easy as performing a drop. In addition, my opinion is that, beyond getting the good "throwing" technique, one should wait to have enough precision and angle before putting more physical strength into it. Mig
I don't see why you can't put in more physical strength to it when you don't have enough precision and angle yet. You can always put in less strength during training to get the feel of the smash and develop your precision and angle. But during a game, whack it all out dude esp in doubles. Angle shouldn't be too hard to attain, as long as you have the right technique. Precision is the tougher one, but it shouldn't be as tough as precision for crosscourt dropshots
Precision in context of positioning, if you have yet to develop them, you are more likely to go all out, and bash without aiming accurately. The best smashes are not just the strongest smash, it's one that's placed as far from the opponent, preferably at the lines, or somewhere nearby. I've seen many players who tries to smash hard, but all the smashes are within one half to a full arm's length from the defender. If you have bad timing, the more physical strength you put into it, the greater the feedback to your joints upon a mishit. Smash, being the one requiring high precision and the fastest swing and strength applied, is equally dangerous on your joints when a mishit occurs due to failed hits (even if you have the form). Put it simply, it also hurts like hell
Agreed with Hagane... nothing offers least resistance to your smash than the lack of a player there to cover it. Though many people use the smash as a shotgun, I think the better analogy would be to compare it's ideal to a sniper rifle. My opinion too is that deffending a smash takes (a twist of the forarm, a flick of the wrist, etc) a lot less energy than performing one . (You might be in a bad position when deffending a smash, but you are seldomg using as much energy as the attacker). Though this is a fitness consideration, and maybe one does want to smash all day, but it would be more efficient to get it right the first or second time by getting no resistence. As the saying goes, "don't give the opponent the chance to show you how good he is at deffending himself".
I have a skinny frame, 5'10, 150 lbs. My smash was pretty weak, but I can get the "sound", and consistently hit the shuttle "hard" without breaking the feathers. My smash with a plastic shuttle is the worst. But seriously, after following a strength training program in school, my smash has gotten soo much better. I think that, nonetheless, technique is important, but strength training, improved your smash alot.
I think both Jinryu and Hagane both make excellent points re precision and position in smashing. This is particularly evident in mixed doubles when the front court player (normally the woman) fails to drop back when her partner's lifted the shuttle. A well aimed smash to the sidelines in the midcourt especially between the front and the rear court players can often be a rally winning shot. A deeper smash to the rear court sidelines, on the other hand, can be relatively easily returned.
