<html>I was wonder how do you counter drives that are going right through your head, face or body?<br>It's really hard to position my hand to get those shots. How can you hit them? </html>
if the shuttle hits you in the forehead and bounces back across the net, just shout "Sepaktakraw Boleh!" if you are playing with Malaysians
With drives, a common problem I have is I don't have the time to swing my arm with power and i usually just put the racket there. This sometimes leads to a very lucky drop but mostly a lift for a deadly smash.
with some practice you can hit inside the sweetspot and drive it back with alot more speed and power. so unexpected and powerful it only took me about 2 weeks to master with practicing 6 hours a day. Also try to work on youre reflexes.. I got picked on often when i just started and smashed at alot so i trained my reflexes in a way.
How about bending your knees-like a squart-and with your hand holding the racquet nearer the cone, just block or push them back with little or no backlift?
erm... i choke the cs cone all the time and i only change grip when backhanding... prolly cause im weak and skinny lol i find that if you choke the csc you get alot faster swing speed using less power
When defending against drives, you should try to cover as much as possible with your backhand (with the exception of the area above your head on the forehand side but if somebody drives you there it will probably go out anyway!) Your receiving stance should be with racquet well out in front of you, backhand side facing opponent at an angle. It's pretty much the same ready position as when you are receiving smashes, but you keep your racquet slightly higher up, and body weight not so much forward. That way you'll be able to either drive back the shuttle, or at least do a block to the net -- which is often more effective as it often forces your opponent to lift. In the case of a fast surprise drive straight at your face, often all you really need to do is put your racquet up without a backswing. Kneeling down and driving back with your forehand, as some previous poster suggested, can also be effective. You see the pros, especially shorter players, doing that a lot. However, keep in mind that this involves a higher degree of anticipation, and it puts you in a more vulnerable position. And of course: practice, practice, practice. This is fun to practice one-on-one. After 10-15 minutes of flat driving back and forth you'll find yourself in a trance-like state.
Personally, I dodge the shot and do a round-the-head drive to their backhand or a drop to their backhand. This should cause them to lift giving time for me or my partner to attack or get ready. The other way that I would block a drive is to dodge and backhand clear or drop. What I was told to do though, is to drive it RIGHT back at them at their face/body w/e. They should be caught offguard by his especially when you apply force to your shots. Since they're offguard and you increase the driving speed, you are sure to win.
I would actually suggest not to drive it right back at them, unless you know they are a weaker player with bad form. The people i drive against are usually better drivers than me :crying:, so at best I keep it flat across the net. Most effective is to drive them away from your oppenent or alternating back hand and forhand. Another thing non pros do is that they grip their racket too hard for more power. Next time you try driving, grip it semi losely, youll find it stronger and the recovery time faster. Feel free to correct me by all means
Yup... playing against experienced players, you need to vary the power and angle of your shots. Once they get used to your shot intensity and pattern, they could use your strength against you.
hum drives well i spent some time doing this with friends and well we would just drive now i will always hit with my forhand and add power unless it on my backhand side and im going to drop. i never hit it back at them i will hit it cross court with angle on it and it can catch some of them offguard and force them to lift. it is not that hard to return drives no matter where your located or where there going, as long as you always have your racquet up its very easy.
Oops. I missed the fact that this thread is almost five years old. The discussion is good of course, but if we're trying to help the original poster we're probably wasting our time.
