1. To me and to my colleagues happens several times that in face to a drop shot, we stay glue to the floor seeing the shuttlecock landing slowly on the floor! We are in good position and with fisical capacity to get the shuttlecock. What should we do to improve our reactions? 2. How can we improve our reactions to our oponents smashes? Thanks
I think it's not a problem of your reaction, otherwise you wouldn't see the shuttle falling down slowy... I think it a problem of your stance, footwork or your initial step... Normally when you see the shuttle falling down and can't move, you have been caught on the "wrong foot"... You thought you opponent plays a clear and you "start" moving back too soon or you are not mentally ready for a drop shot anymore... Because of my bad english I can't explain it much better... Try to stay relaxed until the moment you opponent hits the shuttle or a little bit later, then do a quick initial step and start moving when you see where the shuttle is flying at... NOT EARLIER! Don't move to early just because you think you have to start moving very early because of your slow reaction. It will make it worser not better. And don't stay flat footed, stay a little bit on your toes... Did you ever watch some matches from world class players and tried to "copy" their stance? And be mentally ready for ALL strokes (also or espacially for a cross drop), not only for the stroke you think your oppent will or should play... Are your opponents better then you? Do the use some good deceptions? For how long do you play and what's your level of skill?
keep moving! when you played a shot don't just stand still. keep moving on the balls of your feet. and just before your opponent is about to hit: do a very small jump upwards. This way you pre-llaod your calves for the explosive leap you will do to get to the dropshot.. as for the smashes: do it a lot. do some smash drills with your partner. like this-> stand on half a side of the court. player A lobs to player B. B smashes and A returns the shuttle low (not too close to the net) player B returns it short, player A lobs again. or do a multi-shuttle feed if you know how to. or get a player C-> B stands int he back, C at front. A lobs at B, B smashes, A returns to C, C does a netshot, A lobs... your defence will improve if you get used to the speed of the smashes..
It sounds like you guys were flat footed. To avoid this stay on your toes and keep your feet moving. Also remember that you don't hav to be on top of the birdie to reach. You lunge and stretch so get the mentallty that you're not going to make it out of your head. Other then pre load your legs like jerby described, which btw is their a name for? I hear it being called loading, pre stepping, half steps, etc.
Do you practice other physical activities? Some activities could help you improve your reaction time - i.e. soccer (futebol) or basketball. More specific to the sport, you can practice your footwork going from the base to the net. When you are happy with your footwork pattern, you can then work with shuttles - have somebody to throw you the shuttles and try to receive them using the footwork you practiced. Reaction to smashes is a bit more complicated in my opinion. You may need to work on the defensive strokes and footwork altogether - you can check the photos section and see some defensive forms from the top players. Then you can ask your friend to smash and you will try to return the shots. Your friend can control the power of the smashes if you have problem returning them. By the way, where in Portugal are you located?
I have played during 1 year, 20 years ago. No I am playing has 3 months, 3 times a week (1H30). Iam having good results, because I am practising several exercises and I have study several tutorial videos that I have found here. My results are not bad, even in comparison with other players that play continuously during several years. But, I am learning an I do sveral errors; being clue to the ground happens some times, but its not very frequent. Your sugestions helped a lot. Today, I have played and I have got better results. It is incredible that a few words, that seams to be vey simple, helped. Thanks.
Portugal is at Europe and is a EU member. You can see the location here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portugal
Good to hear it's helping. Another thing I noticed is that occassionally you won't be able to see the rear guy execute his stroke. Eg. His partner might obscure your view, or simply some other possibility. In this case and possibly whenever you're playing, listen for the hit. If its a soft hit, then it's probably going to be a drop. Even if you can't see it, you significantly raise your chances of receiving the drop if you at least take a hop forward before you actually see the bird and think "oh. drop shot". If you hear a cut drop, then I'd start moving quickly for the net =). In any case, sound is a part of badminton that I think people underestimate.
Yes, I know Portugal is in Europe and have been there a few times. I was asking in which city you were living in Portugal. Also there are some articles in the Federação Portuguesa de Badminton site - http://www.fpbadminton.pt/MovimentacaodeCampo.pdf. Haven't read it but might be useful.
We actually looked at this in a camp yesterday. There are two components to movement in badminton... the 'compression step' and the 'vector step'. This is just what one of my coach calls them, I know it's not the official terminology, but I like the imagery they convey so I will use them. The compression step is a brief, almost imperceptible vertical hop where you re-arrange your feet to the direction you want to go. The vector step/movement is where you push off, and actually move in the direction of hte bird. You're probably finding yourself caught flat-footed when a drop is hit... it's likely that you aren't using hte compression step in this situation. When it comes to badminton, getting to a shot is in fact mostly an educated guess by your brain looking at the probably trajectory of the bird. They said that Wayne Gretzsky knew where the puck was going to be before it got there... it must be the same with footwork. The compression-step must occur an instant after the opponent strikes the bird, which prepares you for the fast action to get there. How to train this? Isolation drills are a great way, specifically ones for serve/return of serve. Put your opponent in one back corner, and start the drill with a long forehand serve. Your opponent can only hit a straight clear, a straight drop, or a cross-court drop (these are the best shots to hit when receiving serve). The receiver should work on the deceptiveness on their stroke... not being tricky, but making sure all three shots come from the same form. This puts you in a position where it is difficult to tell where the bird is going. It will be very hard at first, but after doing this drill for perhaps three sets of five minutes a few days a week, you'll find your reaction speed in getting to the bird will drastically improve. I hope that helped somewhat.
Sorry, I misunderstood what you have asked. I am at Almada. The pdf from portuguese badminton federation is very good. Thank you.
No problem. When I go there I stay in Carnaxide. You mentioned that you are caught sometimes with your feet glued to the floor. Sometimes this could happen during the game, and you will need good feet to help you move faster, improving your reaction time. Footwork that you watch in videos will help you in form. It's important that you have good technical form but you also need strength and agility to execute it. Many exercises (drills) in futebol can help in this aspect - like for example, running on the spot with high tempo.
Pre-loading jump, bending knees and other small adjustments (not quite familiar with all the English terminologies) are part of the footwork form. Shadow practice, in my opinion helps develop the form and stamina. It may not help much on speed - I think for speed and strengthening the form, multi-shuttle drills are more efficient. At least it worked for me and the students I had.
Just shadow moving forward only to wherever the issue area is. You also work on your preloading jump while doing it. Shadow with a weight jacket definately improves speed if you do the shadow explosively. Don't just maintain a speed, explode away from the middle to the corners and sides, then get back to mid again.
Play with a wall, stay closer, do not stand far away from the wall. Stand close to the wall, do a harder serve, shuttle will repel back pretty fast, return hard and it will repel fast. If you dont want it to be so hard, try not to hit straight back cause it will repel right into your body unless you wanna train defending pushes or smashes at the body. Keep doing that you will train your reaction.
First, I do not recommend wearing a weigth jacket for practicing footwork - it could easily lead to injuries. Shadow drills can help you with the form. You do not have the exterior stimulation to make you go faster; you make your own time and form adjustment to reach the destination point. If somebody throws a shuttle, you'll have to reach it in time - the shuttle is controlling your speed and reaction. As a player I did lots of shadow drills - alone, with a partner (i.e. follow the leader), group practice, specific running combinations, coach directing, etc... We even have lights built for the shadow drills. For consolidation, reinforcement of the forms and reaction time plus control, we go for the multi-shuttle practice.
Another drill you can do for improvement in reaction is have someone stand behind you with 20-30 birdies. Then get them to toss the birds over your head one by one and differing intervols. Look at the tape on the net the whole time. Don't look up. Its hard but you get better at it. Try moving your arms in different places and being relaxed or really tight - see what works best for you.
Almada is at the other river bank (Tejo river). It is where the club is. When you came again to Portugal you will be welcome in our club
