hi, okay, step by step: right hander singles game, standing in middle of court, shuttle is hit by opponent towards backhand corner you turn and move you hit the backhand now which direction do you turn to get back into the central position? left or right? (note that you just hit the backhand shot and your back is facing the net) i tend to turn left after this (meaning i do a 360) which way is better? right or left?
Depends on how many degrees to your backhand do you have to turn in the first place just to hit the backhand. After a certain degree turn to your backhand, not only is the momentum and inertia carrying you towards completing a complete turn, it is quicker and more efficient to do so than to try to turn turn back to the right, in which case you would have to go against the momentum as well as rotate alot more to get back square to the net. When you have to do a jumping backhand to hit the bird near parallel to your body, which is the case when the shot is high and quick towards your backhand, its natural that you do a 360 spin in air just to get back in place. This can be seen most often in Taufik's game.
Right. 1. You return faster to middle court. 2. You can follow the shuttle with eyes. It's very risky to lose track of the shuttle.
i do both (right hadned). If I am hitting a more relaxed backhand I'll come to the right, as well as backhands where the shuttle is behind me as i lunge into it with my right foot i reach forward (towards back of court) and snap it back over the net. Both cases i come back around normally. The occasions where i do the 360 are when I say hit a really poor shot and it gets driven back to the corner fast and i have to "dive/jump" towards it and snap it back, in which case i land on my right foot only. My left foot then passes my right foot (so when both feet are finally on the ground, my left is crossed behind my right... and im facing the back of my court). I push off back towards the middle of the court with my left foot and spin. It is a very fast motion and is the fastest way for me to get back to position. I'm not the fastest player around (195lb singles player - I rely on efficient movement, strong wrist in trouble situations, and little tricks like this that I pick up on my own), and when i get into trouble this gets me back into it (as long as my backhand is a good shot). So instead of landing on your right foot, and pushing off with your right foot (which is a delayed motion, as you have to use all your strength to transfer the intertia that is moving outwards, back towards the court. By crossing your legs and pushing off with left leg it naturally transfers your weight back and naturally spins you back around when you push). Important to note: what I just explained is what I do in a situation when i'm in BIG trouble. It will be very benefitial to stay in control, especially when going to your backhand... in which case you should turn back towards the net instead of doing a 360 (in my opinion, and probably most others) Also another note, this is something I just picked up naturally on my own when i was thinking about how to get out of that situation the fastest. Also it's very important to always know where the shuttle is, which is another problem (as Loopy stated above).
yup, for some people its easier. for me, i can do a 360 and can quickly regain sight of the shuttle and get back into play. thats me, personally. it may be different for other people.
I go left just becuz I dun like to go against the flow of my body =p. It's scary sometimes though when I feel like I hit a bad backhand and my back is facing towards the net as I turn and I cant see where the birdie is >_>. But no problem yet.
if you manage to follow through correctly, then turning right is the more correct way. after following through, your head will have turned and tracking the shuttle and your opponent.
but thats actually not the problem YET because i have a poor (extremely) backhand, so usually yeah, you know, poor shot then get smashed at.
it also highly depends on the shost you take. theres tons of factors that affect which direction you'll turn back in. if you have to turn far enough around so that your back is completely turned to the net... chances are your most feasible shot is a clear. and if you clear it, you're going to have lots of time to complete the 360 rotation and reacquire the shuttle. in this case, i'm sure many will agree it is safer to complete the rotation rather than trying to stop the momentum your body already has.
It depends... most of the time, backhand shots would be a desperate clear and when you clear well, you have time to make 360 turns. 360 turn is not efficient and you only do it when you're facing slightly to the backcourt after taking a shot very late. If you're not taking the shot too late past your shoulder, you should always pivot back the way you turn.