I noticed that when the top players are playing forehand overheads as they complete their backswing their bodies/shoulders are at right angles to the net. Why is this necessary?
Try it for yourself. Hit a few shots without moving your body/shoulders from a position square to the net. You cannot then use anything other than your arm to generate racquet head speed. You will experience a significant reduction in power.
Biomechanics Same reason golfers, tennis players, baseball pitchers & outfielders turn their hips & shoulders. It is biomechanically the best way to provide a lot of power to the ball (or shuttle). By bringing the the larger and stronger muscles (especially the quad muscles of the legs) into play, power is generated very efficiently w/o putting undue stress on the shoulder & arm. The whole motion is a "kinetic chain" of events, a sequence that starts with the feet & legs, tranfers to hip rotation, then to upper torso rotation, shoulder motion, arm extension, forearm rotation and finger movement (finger power). Altho' this process is a sequential chain of events, the various constituent links often overlap somewhat (as links do in a real chain). This whole concept is often known as the kinetic chain principle or the kinetic link system. Other names have been used as well.
If it's a singles player, this movement also brings the centre of gravity forwards so one can move forwards more economically.
Another reason is that it is easier to "hide" your different shots when you generate power through your body. If all the power in you shots comes from your arm and only your arm it will be visible very early on in your swing whether you are trying to drop, clear or smash.
Not sure if I understand this. I assume we're on the topic of deception. If you do the same rotation for every shot, drop, clear or smash, then I'd think the power factor really is irrelevant, as it's a common factor. YOur opponent would concentrate on your arm swing afterall.
I'd say doing the same rotation for all of those 3 shots if more of a deception thing. Its harder to predict which shot you do until the last second.
Sorry that I had to bring this topic up, but I need help with this body rotation. I have been observing good players who are playing and they can do a nice full body movement that seems to be in complete harmony : 1. Turn sideways, racquet and non-racquet arm bent. 2. Body lift with both of the legs - spring action. 3. Racquet sweep in an almost complete circle. 4. Racquet leg kicking forward. What don't seemed to be able to do at all is #3 and #4. While attempting to do #3, I don't seemed to be able to sweep in the circular arc as I felt like the shoulder joints would seemed to be placed under some stress of sorts, or I'd hunched too much in follow through. While attempting #4, I ended up having balance problems when I land, or having the the racquet leg lifted up after contact instead. All in all, it don't feel right, it don't feel like I am doing it in rhythm. This is really bugging me and I know it is actually quite fundamental to the forehand shots. Those I've seen who have mastered this and doing it consistently are very VERY difficult to predict what they're up to, it can turn out to be a smash, a drop or a long baseline lob. Also, there seems to be an explosive power to smashes everytime the do this, the punch of a racquet face resonating after launching a shuttle downwards to the opponents court. Some help will be most appreciated here. It had been bugging me for months. I actually lost sleep over this! Another question is where to meet the shuttle : over the shoulder or above the head or a little off the shoulder?
OK, when I learnt footwork from this coach, I was told everything you guys mention here, except that he told me that when I land after the swish step, my shoulder should be parallel to the net. I used to find it natural to have my shoulders perpendicular to the net when I land. Also, coming from a basic background in cricket where you swing shoulders perpendicular (to the direction you face) to bowl, I find i real difficult to keep my shoulders parallel to the direction I face. Which is correct? 1. Turn shoulders, raise both arms 2. Side step back if necessary 3. Swish step 4. Land with shoulders parallel to the net OR 1. Turn shoulders, raise both arms 2. Side step back if necessary 3. Swish step 4. Land with shoulders perpendicular to the net Of course, non-racquet leg landing first (and at back) to give us the forward tilt to move.
mnanchala, when you say shoulders perpendicular to the net after the hit, do you mean with your racquet shoulder at the back or in front. In the case of the first one then that's definitely wrong, your racquet shoulder should at least come forward hence the rotation but as to whether it should rotate up until it becomes parallel to the net or even more to become perpendicular to the net, that I'm not too sure of. I'd assume that if you could get your shoulders to rotate to the point that it becomes perpendicular to the net after the hit with your racquet shoulder in front, you'd get a lot of power but IMHO, I find this to be a bit overdoing it, it just doesn't feel natural. In the case that you actually meant perpendicular as in your racquet shoulder in front after the hit then just ignore this post . wilfredlgf, I personally feel that hitting the shuttle a bit off the shoulder produces the most power whether it's a smash or clear. That is not to say that you should always get yourself in that position though otherwise you won't be able to play around the head shots.
I think that in singles when you'r smashing from the back you should finish with shoulders perpendicular to the net as you'r expected to move forward. In doblues if you smash from the back end expect that you will stay at the back of the court (your partner covering front court) you should finish with legs parallel to the net as you will probably move to the left or right. However, if you expect you will exchange posstion with your partner (ex. you have an easy smash so you continue to move forward, while you'r partner moves back), you chould land with you'r shoulders perpendicular to the net.
IMHO, this one with point 4, mostly perpendicular Note this is for the basic overhead stroke. Certain game situations will demand different variations. wilfred, maybe you are not relaxing after striking the shuttle therefore the shoulder feels tense. As for the movement, perhaps it is just coordination.
Someone tell me that before you rotate hip and start hitting the shuttle, both of your shoulders should rise up and begin your swing at the same time.
I had some personal 'coaching' from my brother and his ex-school-level doubles partner. Both of them hammered two things into my mind that night : #1 : The body must be stable before you hit anything. What they meant by this is to have both feet planted firmly on the ground on the balls of the feet only, and as the shuttle comes, the legs would 'automatically' spring upwards as you reach for the shuttle. "To hit the shuttle when your footing is not firm is like trying to deflect a blow while one of the support pillar is moving around; you'll lose balance, and the deflection will not work properly". "As you spring upwards and downwards (action-reaction; elasticity), the moment you body 'accelerates' downwards will be the most ideal time to hit the shuttle if you are hitting the forearm shot, encouraging your racquet head to move forwards". "And as you folow through after that (properly, that is) your racquet foot would automatically move forwards to compensate for the momentum - PROVIDED that you tilt your balance forwards when you hit the shuttle. THIS, is what I think as what you meant by 'body rotation'". This is how I understood what is said up there : 1. Shuttle comes. Ready position, body facing 3 o'clock (right handed), left hand upwards for balance. 2. Spring upwards with the balls of your feet with the balance of the body moving forwards to meet the incoming shuttle when it is at an optimal height of reach. 3. Contact. 4. Recovery. Compensate body momentum by using racquet leg to stabilize. #2 Keep wrist above the ear level when doing the sweeping action "By doing that, you will allow you to do a complete 'sweep' or rotation of the wirst as you swing the racquet. Keep your elbow above your shoulder". "You may still hit to the net, but this has something to do with accuracy and timing which is another aspect altogether. Concentrate on the foundation first before you begin building the floor" "What is said before this (above) is the basic in doing proper forearm shot that allow your returns to go over the net. It helps to keep your reach high and while this is done in rhythm to the 'body rotation' that you always tallk about, you have added power that cannot be found with improper technique while allowing a higher degree of accuracy and consistency which are obviously missing when done the wrong way". VERDICT ====== The fed me close to 60 shuttles just for me to smash downwards - emphasizing on the attacking aspects of the game. 1. My smashes had some additional power to it which is not very common when I execute them the usual way I do. What is more important here is that there is a newfound level of consistency in the : i. Targetting - almost all, perhaps 40 out of the 60 hitting just about the very same radius of target about 3 feet after the service line. ii. Sustained power - when done according to the above, most of the smashes that I did will rocket forwards with almost the same velocity - maybe 20 out of the 30 proper ones out of the 60 that I did. iii. Balance - I am less prone to the need to be too conscious of the my balance as I ended up more or less more balance that I usually do, in turn bringing about more... calmness as I felt a greater readiness for the next shot. Also, the aforementioned slouching? It was dramatically reduced. iv. Rate of entanglement - The number of shuttles caught at the net lessened. CONCLUSION ========= Here's a conclusion that I have made about the lessons above : 1. Getting into position by getting behind the shuttle; do not let if fly past your face. 2. Stand on balls of feet to do the spring action. This should apply as the primary stance in the entire duration of the game. 3. Keep wrist above ear level when preparing to hit. Also, keep elbow above shoulder level all the time when it is done. 4. Keep body balance in check - imbalance will cause a chain reaction of failure in all the above. Well, people - advice from old timers, experiments, verdict, conclusion. Your comments and debates, please. I would like to see how it can be further refined to complement the 'body rotation' concept. I'm sure this can be of great help to many other BF-ers out there. PS - This applies to normal forearm shots; jumping smashes is advanced level and I am nowhere close to that. Yet.
