well i have been playing badminton for a few years, gotten better these last 2 years, but i took a short break of abou 5-6 months, when i started playing again, i easily got back most of my playing abilities, and nothing was wrong, except that my smash was still not as great as it used to be but i thought time would deal with it. However my smash did not return, and one day i forgot to bring my racket to play so i used a crappy one they had in storage, the weight, string tension, grip was all crap, i could push the strings like wayy back, they were very loose, but after a while i got used to it, and found out i only had to use more body rotation and some more effort to get the shuttle moving like it did with my normal racket (or almost like my other racket), but what was actually better with this racket was that my smash seemed so much cleaner and faster. The next week i got my own racket back and my smashing was back to how it was before, of course i had to put more effort etc into smashing but no matter how much effort i put into smashing with my other racket, its not a huge improvement, then i noticed that the crappy racket i used was a stiff shaft and mines was a flexible one... SO my question is, is there a better way to smash with a flexible shaft, maybe i changed my form slightly while i had that 6 months break and im just still not used to it but its a little annoying when ur smashes arent as good as they were and as good as you need them to be. Im no expert at rackets but i do know flexible shafts are supposed to be defensive, is that why i smash better with a stiff one??
that will most likely be why, flexible shafts give you less power but more control, stiff are opposite, more power, less control. if the racquet is heavy, that adds to it as well, as the weight is transferred into the swing, then into the shuttle. loose strings are meant to add to the power as well. but all this trade off for a little more power? cos the heavier it is, the harder it is to bring your racquet up to block and tires you out more. i think you just need to brush up on your technique, but smashes aren't win all kill all shots, they just help you out more. i play with a flexible shaft racquet and although i know there's less power, i get better control and defense, a good trade off for my type of play, which is less smashy and more run around like an idiot besides, power isn't everything in a smash, angles and steepness also affect the effectiveness of your smash. a flat, power smash could be driven straight back at you in the hands of a good player, but a slightly slower, steeper smash means the return goes upwards, so if you're quick, you pounce the next shot
You sure about that? For most people I would say flexibility offers power, stiffness equals more control.
yeah, i'm sure. why do you think Lin Dan and Taufik have AT700s, wit a stiff shaft. they got plenty of control. it's for more power mate. and why does Fu Haifeng, the world's hardest hitter, have a Ti-10, wit an EXTRA stiff shaft.
Because they are amongst the best in the world and cant exploit the racquets capabilities. I know for me (a hard hitter but certainly not a pro) a medium or flexible racquet generates more shuttle speed than a stiff/extra stiff racquet (it also hurts my arm far less).
I think this is one of those things where it's difficult to get a consensus. Personally, I feel a flexible racquet offers more control as the shuttle stays in contact just that fraction longer. A stiff racquet offers more power as less energy is wasted deforming the racquet. That's also why I feel a stiff racquet is less forgiving if you don't hit it just right (and why it may feel like you're getting less power). However, I have heard the opposite as well. At the end of the day, just get a racquet you like - don't worry about it's supposed flexibility. If it feels good, then it's a good racquet. Wayne Young
personally, i think a stiff shaft is better both in terms of control and power... ... after all do we see any professionals using flexible rackets? i think shifty's comparison between at700 and ti 10 isn't very correct.........because AT700 is really stiff already. i also think Fu uses ti-10 because it's longer and produce greater angle and power...
Today players of a high standard and with very good technique will find that a stiff shaft does not cause problems with timing or power because the shaft will not flex overly. They have the "musclepower and technique" to extract this from the racket but need assistance with touch and control for the dynamic game that badminton is these days. (including high string tensions) A shaft that is more flexible offers assistance with power for those that do not have the Musclepower or perfect technique, beginners, intermediate, juniors, club players. The problem comes with a trade off between power and control, speed of recovery, head light, head heavy, singles player, or doubles player. No technique - no stiffy
Just like string tension - if you can generate enough racket speed to flex the racket optimally you can potentially get more power from a stiffer shaft on every power shot, and improved control comes about from the stability of a stiff racket frame. However, if racket speed is not fast enough, one cannot flex the shaft and power suffers greatly. These players are better suited with a more flexible racket.
so would you guys encourage me to try out a good stiff racket, coz the stiff one i used was crap, compared to my normal racket but like i said, i get a cleaner smash from it or feel likes its cleaner, if i get a racket with similair weight, string tension, balance, grip as my old racket and change it to a stiff shaft, would that be better for me?? i use a mp22, got it around 2-3 years ago coz it was the only decent racket i could find, after a while i started noticing it isnt that good tho, (probably coz i tried out my coach/friends racket, which was much better) but everything else were 3 pieces, heavy, things that cost around 20-50 dollars.
I personally don't like stiff rackets. The racket I used for the previous year, a YY Nanospeed 8000, rated an extra stiff, was not much my style, and my year suffered because my parents wouldn't let me get a new one for a least a year. I tried various rackets over the year that I borrowed from friends, and I found that I play better with flexy rackets because I'm not much of a power player. My favorite was the MP88.
who were you directing that to? if you're asking me, then it's an O'lax Hi-Energy Carbon 803, O'lax is a relatively obscure brand, made in Taiwan, used mainly by people in Guangzhou. i like them cos they're a helluva lot cheaper than Yonex ones, they're slightly lighter, which i also like, and are about the same in terms of quality. a downside is that hardly any of them iso shape, mainly oval, but that's not a biggy
I know for a fact that flexible racquets are easier to lift with and stiff racquets give more power. Not sure whether it gives more control, probably though.
my thoughts exactly, but my thoughts are usually muddled so no matter! but like Wayne said, if it feels good, that's all that matters. plus the price as well
I just bought a Carbonex Nano Speed 9000 from a shop in Hong Kong whilst on holidays and didn't know that there were two types of Nano Speed 9000 - the X for "extra stiff" and the P (or is it SP?) for the "stiff" shaft. Perhaps I should have bought the "extra stiff" one instead of the more flexibile one...
i dont think your original problem had ANYTHING (or at least very little) to do with the flexibilty of the shaft. Its the string tewnsion that is the differentiating factor for you. String tension gives you that extra OOMPH when smashing. Lower tensions=more power less 'finesse' shots. also i personally think (ppl on this board seem to disagree) that an oval racquet gives you a better smash/more power (and control) when the birdie hits the sweetspot.
hey that may be true, i never really considered string tension... i guess i should have eh, i'll try to experiment with differnet tensions sometime, i know for a fact that the crap racket i used had looser strings than my own, but it was not like my original racket had a very high string tension, its probably only 20 lbs or so, umm what is a way i can find out quickly?? but then again, theres one point that wouldnt make much sense, before my smashes were more power and better angle and before its string tension had to be higher than it was now coz it only gets looser over time. Why is it that now im losing a bit of power, and it isnt as crisp and clean as it was before.
i think you're trying too hard. racquet, strings aside, it really really is down to technique, and sometimes, when you try to hard, technique goes out the window and you hitsmashes that are horrible to say the least. i think you should restart with half-smashes, just gently ease into it, then, relax and smash. maybe the original loss of power surprised you a bit, and you tried harder and harder to correct it and lost it all. just start from the begining, maybe even go back to drops, then half-smashes, then add some and some more
