hi to all. ive been going through a very confusing stage right now. its about the overhead stroke. what determines the steepness and the direction of the smash or the clear? is it the wrist? is it how early you pronate your forearms? or is it your position from the shuttle (shuttle is directly above your head, above you but slightly in front). all of this is confusing coz i've seen players from where i play, and videos of the pros, smash even when the shuttle is above and slightly at their back. another thing is, i've seen players clear even when the shuttle is above and slightly in front of them. i can't do this, once the shuttle is above me, all i can do is clear or a drop. and once the shuttle is above and in front of me, all i can do is smash the shuttle. i would really appreciate any help. thnx.
if u dun want to smash the shuttle when it is in front of you, then just clear/drop as you said. how? just dun aim the bird to the ground. or u move urself such that the bird is closer to you so that when u hit it, it is most likely a clear since your arc hasn't reached the downward dipping (or follow through) point when you contact the bird.
There are ideal positions for smashes, clears, and dropshots. Having the shuttle directly above your head/shoulder is the best position for a clear or slow drop. Similarly, having the shuttle slightly farther in front is best for a smash or fast drop. If you are not in these ideal positions, it's possible to adjust your grip and hitting action to compensate; but for smashes, your power will be reduced if you are not in the ideal position.
I agree with gollum. If you can get far enough behing the shuttle so that the birdie is in front, not above or behind you, then it would be best to smash. If the birdie is right above you, you can clear or dropshot. If its behind you then its too late and you have a harder time hitting a good return unless youre advanced. If its GOING to land behind you then just jump, then it''l be above you . The different strokes mostly depend on the angle you hit the birdie.
If you are watching game videos, keep in mind that even if it appears that they are firing shots from behind their heads it may be because they have no choice (they are late) or are doing it on purpose to mask their intent (so that the same stroke could turn out to be a clear, smash, slice, etc all at the last moment). Best way is to watch a specific training video on that technique, and not to look at in-game play since in-game has a lot of compensation coming from the players that deviate from the 'pure' forms of the techniques. It's not that the modified versions of the stroke are wrong-- but it will be confusing at first until you can identify the player's intentions for doing them. Bottom line-- don't emulate just because it's what others do! Understand WHY they're hitting the way they're hitting, and if you're in the same situation, then sure, do it. But find your basic overhead strokes first, which are summed up by Gollum above-- then modify as you see fit later to fit the application's needs.
i think the stroke movement is the same. the things that vary are the racket face, movement of wrist, which should only be shown at the last moment of contact to make it as deceptive as possible. Gollum is right about the 'best positions'. nevertheless to me it somehow boils down to how fast you can get yourself into these 'ideal' positions. the faster you get into your ideal position, the more variation you can play and hence more deception
Steepness of angle of your smashes is more important than pure power without steepness of angle. To achieve this you must use a strong wrist action. For the forehand smash, the point of impact is in front of your body, about a foot or so in front of your head and when it is in line with the head and right shoulder (for righties). If left to fall the shuttle will fall on your head or shoulder. For the round the head smash, the point of impact is well beyond the left shoulder; in front of it for a cross-court smash, level or slightly behind it for a straight one. The round the head smash is where your arm rotation, pronation, is at its best especially for the cross-court smash. However, a very strong wrist action is still required for that extra snap.
