Singles.. HELP!

[Iwan]

There's two ways to play against this kind of people. First is as people have pointed out, but I think this is not the way for you to win that is to rally with the person. The point of playing like this ofcourse is to learn to be consistent and deceptive at the same time, don't expect to win this way though, cause its his turf.

If you want to win, work on being faster and more powerful to the extent that he have trouble rallying with you and is forced to lift up the shuttle more often. Then you have to smash him repetitively and rush the shuttle at the net if he blocks it to the net, but you don't have to tap it if its not a clear winner, you can always learn to be deceptive too when rushing the net. If you train your smash to be powerful enough, you might as well finish him off with smashes all the time Remember this: Stick with what you do best, hone your strength and cover up for your weakness. Also, if your smash is very hard, you can always shoot a half smash once in a while to throw off his rythm or a very fast slice dropshot.

[hybridragon]

Well I play singles most of the time, so from what you're saying you seem to be outclassed by this guy. However, having a strong smash is good thing if you know when to use it. When playing against fast players with stamina, deception can work wonders into your game. Some players move too fast away from the same spot and you can attack the same spot over and over again. (Assuming your placement is decent enough) Disguising your smash for another shot such as a drop or a clear can also throw off the rythym of your oppenent.

Since you constantly play with him, you should also notice his strengths. For example, I have a friend who is great at driving the birdie. Pretty much anyone that drives the birdie continuously to him will lose the rally. So to throw his rythym off from driving, I drop the birdie to make him follow my rythym instead. Changing the momentum of the game to your advantage is sometimes quite important in a game. You can do something similar if you play against him.