hi im new, i've only been playing for about...6-7 months but i have an instrutor so i can do some of the basics, like dropping, clearing, driving, smashing. The thing is, though, when I try to smash, my arm hurts, especially my elbow and biceps. I think it might be because when I'm trying to go for an overhead smash, my arm kinda flings itself out for my to try to reach the shuttlecock. Is there any way to fix this, or should i just not keep my arm all the stretched out?
smashing shouldn't hurt you at all unless theres something wrong with your technique, by the sound of it, your trying to reach for the bird too early and over-stretching, try timing it so that it hit it slightly closer.
This sort of thing used to happen to me when I started playing. I think the best way to deal with it is to stretch well before playing and do a complete warm up starting with small shots and moving on to more powerful clears and smashes.
I think you're trying to smash too hard and your muscles/ligaments aren't strong enough for them yet. I'd recommend doing some clearing practice without trying to hit the shuttle too hard, maybe 10 minutes or so at a time, because the clear stoke is similar to the smash for the muscles you use, the key to building your muscles isn't to use them full power, it's to use them medium power but with lots of repetition. If your arm gets tired, then rest.
When u smash, dont pull your arm all the way back and hit....this isn't baseball. Use more of your wrist to smash when ur about to hit the shuttle. And a good grip helps cause my smashes improved A LOT just by changing the way I hold my racket.
get him to feed you shuttles to smash, then ask him to check your technique, as it shouldn't hurt when you smash, it should only hurt if you over-stretch, which i recommend you to start looking at the shuttle until you get used to it
