tension. is it true?

String one racquet to 22lbs.
String another racquet to 26lbs.

Practice smashing 50 times with each racquet.

If the higher tension racquet gives lower power than the answer to your question is yes. If the other way around, the answer is no and then report your answer here.

 

if you search around the forums you can find it. its all relative to the person. if that were true then everyone would have 30lbs+ on their racquets now wouldnt they?

 

why would everyone want less power?

 

Many players I know do. To prevent from hitting/lifting the shuttle out. Lots of strong wrists out there. Just a tiny "snap" too hard and the shuttle goes long.

 

i said if it were true that high tensions give more power everyone would have 30lbs+ on their racquet. and as dink pointed out, less power and extremely high tensions can give better control.

 

the first post said "-tension is higher, the power is lower"
and it appears that you read it the wrong way round

 

i stand corrected =P.

 

if you want to find your best tension try one tension, then try another tension that is 2-3 lbs higher, if it give you more power then try to add 2 lbs next time, if its low power, go down 2 lbs, and repeat till you find the best tension for you.

 

Hi,
For beginners, its always good to test out at low level tension first. Then slowly progress further. Badminton is a journey, not the end by itself. Tension will change from time to time. Enjoy man!

 

Lower tension does give you more power than higher tension. But as you get better, low tensions will become to feel "mushy". By that I mean it feels like hitting the bird with a sling shot - power is good but control is terrible. Higher tensions creates a tighter stringbed (less trampolining) making shots more accurate and predictable.

That is why advanced players choose higher tensions that they feel comfortable with in order to get the optimal mix between power and control.

 

Many players also find that higher tension gives them more power.

For me, higher tension gives me more power -- until the tension gets too high, and then I can't hit anything and my arm hurts.

24 lbs is definitely more powerful than 21 lbs for me. But once I go much higher than that, the strings feel like rock and I can't even clear full court.

 

For me it's different with every racket and string but in general, assuming with the Woven 11 and Ashaway PG65, my max power is about 26-27lbs. I get better control at 30-32lbs. So my happy median is about 29lbs.

I tried 32/35lbs. a few times and the shuttle coming off the racket sounded tremendous but a full court clear became a chore.

 

My current working theory is that neither high tension nor low tension will give more power to an individual of unknown characteristics. I believe what determines the level of power for such an individual is the depth of depression he can cause the shuttle to make on the racket playing surface upon impact. If the shuttle depresses the string surface greater than the optimum depth, power is lost. If the shuttle depresses the string surface shallower than the optimum depth, again power is lost. I believe the optimum depth for producing maximum power is constant for a given string, irrespective of all other factors.

To achieve the optimum depth (implying maximum power) on low tension string, the amount of arm power applied must be reduced. If the arm is already weak, then the player need to do nothing but just play normally and yet still have great power.

To achieve the optimum depth on high tension string, the amount of arm power applied must be increased. If the arm is already powerful, again the player need to do nothing and just play normally and he will have great power.

Now lets consider a scenario where a weak armed player attempting to play a high tension string. As he hasn't the power to depress the string to the right depth, his shots would not be very powerful. So how can he compensate ? He can increase the momentum of his racket either by velocity, mass, or both. The increased momemtum would increase the depression towards the optimum and allowing the weaker armed player to play powerfully even on high tension.

For a strong armed player wanting to play with low tension, all he has to do is reduce his racket momemtum through mass, velocity or both. The momemtum reduction would reduce string depression towards the optimum depth, once again giving the player maximum power.

If you want to play with a tension higher than what you are used to, the key is in using a racket that is heavier, faster, or both. If you give your racket sufficient momentum, even 40LB tension would be child's play.

 

I've been thinking about this for a while (probably since I joined this forum a few years ago, lol), and I think I have an understanding of what's going on.

I don't think that depressing the stringbed is the main issue here. A tighter string will store more energy for a given level of deflection - or conversely, will require a lower amount of deflection for a given amount of energy stored. This is advantageous because the stringbed remains more uniform during contact, leading to better control.

The issue here is the effect of the forces being transferred into your hand. A tighter racquet will transmit energy to you hands at a faster rate than a loose racquet, by having a higher peak force. During contact, certain muscles have to "stiffen up" so that energy can be stored and released elastically through the tendons. The ability for your muscles to do this is known as reactive strength. If the peak force for a given contact time is greater than the individual's ability to generate intramuscular tension to oppose this force (i.e. contract isometrically) then what results is a eccentric contraction in which energy will be absorbed by the muscle, rather than being stored/released. The result is less energy transferred to your shot.

An example from sprinting would be the ability to keep your heels off the ground during foot contact. It is quite possible that someone that has strong calves in the weight room would be unable to do this while sprinting. As a result, their sprinting times will suffer because their calves will be absorbing energy (doing -ve work) at each foot strike.

Higher level players will tend to have higher levels of reactive strength in their hands. As a result, they can handle higher tensions. Keep in mind that reactive strength is a combination of sports specific strength and skill - it is usually trained during sports training rather than in the weight room. For example, my coach trains us with a high volume of drives and shots where we "whip" the bird (he always tells us to 'snap' as we hit). Often I find that after a long period without playing much badminton, practicing drives for a while tends to bring my game up the most because it improves my reactive strength levels in my hands, which is a benefit that can carry-over into large amount of shots.

So, if I were to start practising drives more frequently, would that result in greater levels of reactive strength in my hands? Only to a certain extent. High volume would certainly refine your technique, but to develop your maximal reactive ability requires intensity, in the form of higher bird speed. So, you would have to have a training partner who can hit the bird very quickly, which isn't always the case. This is comparable to "shock training" (i.e. plyometrics) that was used in the Soviet Union as a training method. Athletes would jump off of high boxes and quickly bounce off the ground in a maximal jump as a way of increasing their reactive strength in their legs.

 

stumblingfeet has given an erudite discourse on string tension and power. I commend it!

 

Cool, that explains a lot of things, at least to me.

 

yaya... i normally play 24 or 25 lbs, cuz this is the tension that suits me. t give me the power that i want. i normally dun goes up more than that, cuz i try 28 lbs before...totally doesnt look good too me..

well..just get the tension that fits u the most.

 

Is there any form of plyometric training for wrist power?

 

I agree, very good explanation. Also explains to me why I cannot go to high tensions even though I have a strong arm - it is all about wrist. With over 22 lbs tensions I start losing power rapidly.