2-4 feet behind the line. If I could run or leap backwards any faster than I can, I would stand just behind the line. How many people can effectively flick serve?!?
1-2 ft in front of the middle of your boxits easyier to attack the flick serve and return with a drive or possible rush the net and kill it. offense is the essence of doubles, if its flicked to the back i would rush back and hit back an offensive clear or a drive if possible. it all depends on the opponents, where i would stand.
i stand right behind the line, so i can attack the short serve, or rather, try to attack the short serve.
The nearer you are to the front service line the better. This is because of two reasons. One is time, the sooner you take shuttle the less response time for the serving side. The other is taking the shuttle early, possible only when you toe the front line, gives you more options with none that is taken below the waist, as would be the case if you stand too far back.
Not likely against a "killer" flick-serve because your response time is simply not quick enough for such a short distance. You may cut the angle off only with luck. In the end you still need the ability to spring back to take the flick.
i usually just stand behind the line to not only attack the serve early but also to presure my opponent into making a mistake and serve to the net and flick it over the line.
i stand just a little bit over a racket length behind the line. this way i can attack the short serve. my reflexes are quick enough against _decent_ flick serves so its no much of a problem.
over a racket length? isnt that a bit too far from the line to attack the short serve? u must be able to lunge forward pretty quickly!
well its not really a racket length, what i do is i stand behind the line, i touch the head of my racket to the line then place my left leg (im a righty) under the handle, stay on my toes and lean forward a bit. it's not that far really considering i am quick enough against the short serve and i lean just enough to attack it. my friend stands a bit further, but that's because he's taller and he's able to. like i said, i only stand that far back to protect against the flick serve since im not worried about the short serve.
Deciding where to stand when receiving serve is all dependent on two aspects; your and your opponent's skills and level. Toe-ing the line to receive is not effective if you are unable to get back to either cut off or retrieve a flick serve (if your opponent's flick serve is good). Standing further back to guard against a possible flick serve allows your opponent to do a low serve that most likely by the time you get to the shuttle, would require you to do a lift (nothing wrong with that but the initiative to take control of the rally is now back with your opponent). I see the serve as a building shot in that I want to utilize it as a way of forcing my opponent to give me back control of the rally. If you see it as a way of winning the rally outright, then I think that's a wrong approach as your opponent will be seeking to take control outright since your serve has to travel UP and OVER the net within a predefined area. If you haven't already, I would recommend Jake Downey's books (available for free online at http://www.badmintonbooks.com) and although the books are dated, the concepts are very sound and I think it basically gives you the basics and a framework for improving and encourages you to experiment and learn based on your current level.