Does holding the racket properly really make that big of a difference? Will it affect my game in the future. I have a pretty weak smash right now and idk if it is because of the way im holding my racket. I've tried holding it other ways but i cant seem to hit accurately. Do I just have to get used to holding it properly? Even though I have weak smashes, I have pretty good drops and netplays, but eventually it gets kinda obvious of what im gonna do in a game. So does the holding the racket correctly affect smashing? Any other tips for smashing is appreciated.
It is very important, and not just for smashes. There are suggested grips, but people inevitably have personal variations, but they are derived from the same grip. If you don't hold the racket correctly, there will be lag time while changing grips, or hitting a backhand after a forehand stroke. Also, if you become too familiar with an incorrect grip, it will be a lot more difficult to change and adapt to a more orthodox grip, as the mentality will make it a habit. For smashes, look at threads about pronation and supination.
your grip is going to be the last "event" or "object" in the sequence of your swing. it may start from a standstill shot involving just your arm or hand, or a full jump smash with power originating from your legs and torso, but in the end, its all going to end up in your fingers before it can be transferred into the racquet. so yes, a proper grip is as important as any other technique, or perhaps some will say, the most important technique to possess. the proper grip will maximize the natural body mechanics allowing you to maximize the power and range of motion you can impart into your swing.
using the correct grip will be easier to manuever the techniques of pronation and the correct technique of the smash. without a good grip it will be hard to accomplish those two things. i implore you to look at the post about forearm pronation. it dramaticaly improved my power *for the one hundreth time* and if your skeptical that grip is important. to me its VERY IMPORTANT. different grip for backhand, drive, smash. it just gives more power. i naturaly change grip because it just gives u more power if you hit it that way.
Actually i usually hold my racket known as the "Universal Grip" in the techniques article here on this site. I can get accurate smashes and shots but they seem kinda weak. Is it just me?
First of all, learn to distinguish between whether a certain grip feels "better" because it is what you're more used to doing, and whether it feels "better" because it gives you power more easily, or helps you place the shuttle more precisely. If you keep assessing your grip using the second criteria, you'll eventually find yourself with the "correct" grips.
Okay, I'm back from my BC semi-sabbatical, calm and peaceful. I promise not to turn this thread into another shrill shouting match About the role of grip in badminton skills Coaches often say that the grip is crucially important. It's true; I say that all the time to players. Yet when the player tries to use the correct grip, it doesn't work. What's wrong? The coach said this grip would give him better shots, so why doesn't it work? Is he a hopeless case, with no talent for badminton? No. Using the right grip is not a magic cure. You also need to develop the technique to match your grip. A good grip is no use until you learn how to use it. In other words: Wrong grip implies bad technique Correct grip does not imply good technique Playing with a bad grip means that you can never learn good technique. About your grip for forehand overheads The "universal grip", these days called the bevel grip (in England), is actually a better grip angle for most forehand overheads than the "forehand grip". Yes, I know this contradicts the advice in my guide. The thumb placement is not beneficial for forehand overheads, however. The thumb position should be more like the forehand grip -- a relaxed handshake position, not straight along the bevel.
For beginners and intermediate level players, yes the grip is very important. However for advanced players, the grip is down to personal preference. More importantly is the forearm pronation, once you can pronate properly the correct grip should come naturally. Weak smashes is probably because you can't pronate your forearm properly yet, so learn the proper smash action and the correct grip will come to you.
It's six of one and half a dozen of the other A correct smash action doesn't work without a good grip, and a correct grip won't help you smash without a good hitting action. What you need to learn is: How to hold the racket How to use this grip with a good hitting action I wouldn't say the grip is down to personal preference for advanced players. Quite the reverse: the better the players, the more similarities in their fundamental techniques (including grips). Technique tends to converge, not diverge, as you reach higher skill levels. It is true, however, that a more advanced player will usually be more flexible, adaptable, and subtle with his grip.
Yes, I would say: Advanced players can ALSO hit with the wrong grip (under pressure), while beginners can ONLY hit with the right grip...
I'd say for 'advanced' players..there're no "wron" grips..just inappropriate grips...(wrong time to use it) If you apy attention to your grip you will/could/should notice your make tiny corrections to the 'standard' grip for every shot you do.. In example: the backhandgrip, and the backhandgrip you do when the shuttle is behidn your body. or: the forehandgrip for a straight lift, or the forehandgrip for a crosscourt netshot... they're all tiny changes, though very hard for beginners to grasp (these things normally come naturally, and so will they for beginners, with time...)
Yep that's what I mean, for advanced players there is no "right" grip, for example lets say you use a slightly different grip for smash and drop shots, then when you do a sliced smash/fast drop your grip can either be your smash grip, drop grip or anything imbetween depending on how you want to hit the shuttle. A grip better for power will be worse for control and vice versa, so I'd say pros use a spectrum of grips instead of a few fixed ones. And learning a proper smash action will force your grip to be correct, whereas a correct grip will not necessarily improve your smash action. The reason most beginners have a wrong grip when smashing is because their smash action is wrong, not the other way round in my opinion. A smash using your wrists and arm moving in a forward direction will cause you to have a panhandle grip, and if you try using the correct grip with the incorrect smash action, you'll just end up slicing the shuttle.
Sometimes, but not always. It's not so neat a division: often a "power" grip can be the same as a "control" grip. Both should be relaxed before hitting. Yes, but that doesn't mean you can teach/learn the smash action without learning the grip. They go together. By definition, a proper smash action will use a good/correct grip, because "using a good grip" is a strict subset of "using a good technique". Nonetheless, it's such an important component that almost all coaches (rightly, in my view) give it a prominent place in technique teaching. It's not just about the grip angle. Much of the fundamental technique is about how you use grip tightening. Players need to learn the feeling of power from grip tightening, if they wish to have good skills. This is actually the very first part of my coaching for smashes, and I return to it often. Pronation by itself is too crude. The power will not be focused sufficiently on the shuttle. You need the involvement of fingers and grip tightening.
I guess i'm one of the few people whom finds grip tightening natural then I've had golf lessons before, and grip tightening and arm pronation came naturally to me in golf, so I picked it up in badminton quite easily.
Yes, you must be one of the easy ones to coach I do often find that the quickest learners have experience of other sports. Most players will naturally tighten the grip as they hit; the problem is that most also start with too tight a grip, which reduces the effectiveness of grip tightening.
@truasianfx: Do you perhaps have a video cam? You could record yourself and we could analyse the video...
sry dont have a video cam.....I'll try to work this out myself by testing a few different grips by hitting.
i cannot stop stressing the importance of the grip, especially for beginner and intermediate players. the grip looks very simple, but how ones grips the racket determines how one rotates the wrist and forearm to hit the shuttle, which in terms determines how one swing the arm, and that determines how the shoulder and body rotation. often, by just changing the grip, that would change the whole look of one hitting action. it is very easy to tell from just looking at how one person hit and tell if they have the proper technique, and often a wrong hitting action can be fixed by fixing the grip alone. i was just at the gym the other day and someone was having problem doing a forehand lift. a good player but the grip was wrong and subsequently he was using flexion instead of pronation to lift the racket. the result is a very awkward looking action which was neither effective nor flexible.
ok, i have no coach, so maybe you guys can help me and be my unofficial coach. anyway, i just want to know if my grip is correct. the pictures might not be clear but maybe you guys can have an overall idea of my grip. thanks in advance for any help and advice.
