just wondering. what do u all think about predicting an opponent's shots. is it better to try to guess what your opponent would do, and ready yourself to receive the shot, or depend on your reflexes so that u move only after the shot is played? i know many might say it would be good to excel in both areas but sometimes i find its really hard to change your strategy midway in a game. if u start off the game by predicting your opponent's shots, its hard to try to change your mindset, to try to depend on your reflexes until after the game. or so is the case for me
http://www.badmintoncentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=22123 found this. but not really sure if its applicable for non professional players like me
Not a good habit to try and move before your opponent strikes the shuttle - otherwise when you meet better players you will be deceived very frequently. it's better to watch your opponent contact the shuttle, and then move quickly. If you try watching the actual contact, and not the birdie, you will find you are much faster to get to the birdie, and you will not be deceived as frequently G
I found that for ppl that u play with rather often , there are shots u can predict cos u can read if they have a certain weakness and if u attack that point u can limit their choice of return in a way predicting the next shot cos u know you are actually limiting his options, to me it happens a lot in doubles as you can leave a part of the court to your partner and focus something u think that will most likley happen. like i have a friend that has a weaker backhand clear so if hes covering the back court and his partner is serving, i would rush the net and flat drive to his back hand side. He has a tendency to do a back hand drop on a straight line and i'll be expecting for it. I would be albe to make better returns as the supprise element goes down. If rarely he does a clear then my partner would be able to put it down. Making logical guess helps my game a lot, and ppl would wonder if i have become quicker on court but the truth is that i'm just more prepare for it. Of course there r gonna be shots that caught u off guard totally.. but in general if a person make a shot different from his own playing habbit, the quality of the shot might goes down and i guess its not a bad trade off. Pros r different from us as they should have the all proper skill to make all different shots that keep their options open so its much harder for us to enticipate their next move. But thats a whole different level and when pro vs pro, they would place their shots tatically to PUT the oppoent in a situation where they have only a limited choice of return. They dont' just randomly predict a return.. they force it so. But hey thats why they'r pro and we'r not. btw when i say predict a shot i don't mean making big move before the contact, i mean i'm just mentally telling my self what to watch for. If you make early movement, any decnet player who is actaully watching the court when they make a short can easily change direction at the last second and u'll be caught red handed.
try cheating to where you think its going to go. take a half step in that direction. watch international matches, they do it all the time. especially when returning a smash they stand on the same side as thier opponent.
That's tactical strategy (See IBF Videos posted in the Video Sharing forum). For any clear shots that's closer to the side tramlines, you stand at the same side to better cover the area. In return, you have to have better footwork and reaction, as a cross court smash/drop means you have to move quickly. Not saying it's impossible, but it prevents an easy smashed point.
All this goes under the category of cheating on shots, which is perfectly legitimate. I'll definite cheating as more than just mentally predicting shot selection by your opposition but positioning yourself to accord with that prediction. Cheating on weaker players with obvious limitations(weak lifts, backhand) is a definite yes. Cheating is easier if you have great footwork yourself. Cheating should be done just before your opponent strikes the bird. Cheating can save you energy as you end the point by winning or losing points faster. Cheating makes the game funner and forces you to think during the game. All in all its a much preferred strategy that all pros do, and is better than just brainlessly running back to the middle like alot of tennis players do.
its so much more fun when you think. I remember in grade 12 I used the word funner in some paragraph i had to read in front of the class... people still make fun of it today.
Watch your opponent to see how he/she reacts under certain situations. When under pressure people often just react with a certain shot that they're comfortable with, so then you can anticipate them. Figure out what the shot(s) and situations involved are, then move directly to counter this move. If it works, keep repeating until it no longer works.
Imho IMHO: I'm not sure if you noticed it, but if you look directly at an opponent's face, you'll be able to see where he/she is looking, most of the time, unconciously, that's where they send the bird flying. But obviously moving into position will make your opponent change shots in mid swing. So its sometimes best to stand your ground, just make sure that you have your side of the court covered. Is it the reflex? Sometimes you just move on instinct!
and i love playing against eye follower they go where my eyes goes even though the bird goes somewhere else
I agree with blckknght. It's not good to guess where your opponent will hit. Last week I had a play with a better player. Before the game, I played with some other weaker guys. Since they're weaker than me, I can predict their shots and move ealier to the proper place. But when I play with the better one, I always move ealier like to those weeker players. This makes me lost the game absolutely.:crying: :crying: Another thing is I don't think I have enough time to look at my opponent's face. And I don't think it's very important. His position and body action are keys. Also, when your opponent do baseline clear, can you see his face? At least, I can't.
Maybe he plays a different game. His techniques could have been harder for you to read. If he were to play a better player them himself. that person will pick up the pattern of play much earlier. Most people have a pattern of play. It depends wether you are experienced/smart enough to notice it. Needless to say you have to be able to play rallies of more than a few shots. This gives you more chances to pick up the pattern and stroke choice of the opponent.
