I'll just start off with my personal experiences. Whenever I play badminton of any sort(singles, doubles, mixed), I find it harder and harder to play when I get more and more pumped up. Even without frustration coming in, pushing myself to move faster and hit better shots makes it so much worse. I mean, I watch some national players in my area and they're really fast. It seems that I can MOVE at this speed but my racket-work doesn't keep up with it. However, playing a slower game(I don't mean the pace is slower, I mean I move slower) helps alot and I find that I still get to the shots with the same speed(more or less ). Maybe I just find myself slower depending on off days and good days. Who knows...Anyone else ever experience a problem similar to this? -HPT
Well, the really good players move quickly, but under control. It's an explosiveness that is very precisely timed and they seem to flow across the court, and mostly don't look bothered by it. As to whether relaxing or pumping up pre-game works, I think that depends on the individual. I'm definitely all about the pumping up... need to get my rather annoying slow-twitch muscle fibres at least THINKING about giving me a chance to win the first game rather than having to do the comeback thing
I'm all about relaxation and a coolhead during games =/. I can think a lot better when im just calm and relaxed and could make opponents lose the shots easier(I can usually predict what kinda shot would throw them off). I prolly play my best at the beginning of the games and/or when im at least 2-3 points head. eheh.
I am prefer getting pumped up, if not i cant play. I remember there was this time i got so pumped that i couldnt believe what i just did on court. Somehow when i am pumped i smash harder and moves faster.
Too relaxed and I cant be bothered to go for some shots, too pumped and I snatch smashes and hit the tape, for me the ideal is probably 80% phsyco, then I go for everything and smash consistently.
well i believe it is dependant on what kind of personality you have. some people like to have higher levels of arousal than others ('pumped upness'). people need to have the optimal arousal to perform at optimium (zone of optimum performance) dependant on which type of personality you have. (ive just been studying it in a level p.e ) minesh
Exactly. For practical purposes, it is necessary to understand how much you're able to change your level of mental arousal during the game. Generally I find that during a match it is much harder to calm down than to get fired up. So, before the match I'll start at a lower level of arousal and move up into that optimal zone. Also, playing while in a high state of arousal is very tiring. Following such a peak is a trough in motivation, which is not something you want in a game. That's why you need to save your mental energy and not psychologically blow your load before the match is over.
i think it varies for different people, i like to play relaxed and enjoy the game, but others i know, only play when they get fired up and in a hot temper. but moving fast doesn't mean good control, because you need to be able to move fast enough yet be stable to play your shots, meaning your muscles might not be able to stablize when traveling to fast.
Personally I find I play a lot better when I am relaxed and calm. Once I'm in the right frame of mind, and I'm nice and calm in my shots (once the match has started), then I usually try to pump myself up a bit. I only go a step at a time though. It's very hard, and often I can't control myself like this but when I can I usually play a lot better. In fact just last night I had a game of singles against my friend. We usually have a VERY close match, and it's hard to predict who will win. However last night I was trailing with the scores at 20-7 . It was at this moment that I just decided "right, I'm going to loosen up, stop being so stiff and nervous and I'm going to win this match"! Believe it or not it really worked. I loosened up and I made just about no errors at all (it was very surprising to me as I usually can't just change like that). I made it from 7 to 14 points before he closed up the set. The second game I played almost perfectly and won it 21-16 (which between us is quite a good score). He forfeit the match then . Anyway when I think about it, it's hard to tell what it was exactly that brought out the best in me. It could have been me loosening up a bit, or it could have been my determination to win. Personally I think it's a little bit of both. So in my case I think I'd pump myself up perhaps, but not go too far and make sure I remain reasonably relaxed. It's important to have the will to win. But it's important to not get too excited about it that it affects your control (pretty much as others have said).
for me singles I tend to take it easy.. (when I play like that I make no mistakes.. but its very hard to adjust to that form..) For doubles I usually go hard.. more intense and exegerated movement because knowing I have another person standing behind covering me hehe
Yeah true, I never really noticed but I do the same in doubles. Completely different to how I treat a singles match.
I play pumped up and my smashes are harder and I am more focused. I think a lot has to do with will power and I think my will is stronger than the people I play with (at the risk of sounding arrogant), in those tight games they feel more under pressure than me because they see that I am machine like and i'm prepared to do that bit more to win. I find with me being pumped up it kind of unerves them without appearing aggressive towards them. I use the same technique in singles it always gets me out of tough situations. I find I can run faster play better shot's and my touch shot's improve rather than deteriorate which naturally you would presume. One bad thing though and I don't know if anyone else does this I do tend to curse after a few bad shot's which help's me HULK UP. IT'S ALL ABOUT THE HULKING UP YEAH BABY!!!!!!!
