I was reading Gollum's advice on performing tight low serves in this thread-->http://www.badmintoncentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=28806 And I was wondering how should I hold the shuttle so that it (the cork) points towards my body? Should I hold it by the Feathers (I actually play with plastic shuttles, but you get what I mean...) or should I hold it by the Cork? Also, should I hold it so that the cork is exactly at 90 degrees with the racket or should the shuttle still be slightly pointing downwards? Thank you, Mathieu
That thread suggests one way to perform a more advanced low serve. Advantage: tighter serve. Disadvantage: could be inconsistent. Don't even consider these advanced variations until you are confident with the basics. For a backhand serve, I recommend holding the shuttle by a single feather tip, between your index finger and thumb. The other fingers should be kept out the way. Holding the shuttle by a feather tip allows you to let go later. If you hold by the cork, then you will let go too early, because you don't want to hit your fingers. I also recommend pointing the shuttle inwards towards the racket. How much? That depends on your style of service. Lee Jae Bok suggests pointing it towards your knees. There are many small variations in the service action; experiment and find a style that works for you. When choosing a style of service, look for these results (the most important are listed first): Consistency of low serve to the T Consistency of flick serve (direction not important) Identical appearance of service action for low and flick serves Consistency of angled low/flick serves (control over direction) Perfecting the low serve to the T (tighter, dips faster) Fancy low serves have great potential, but to be useful in competition they must be consistent. Some pros use a fancy low service; others don't. Pointing the shuttle inwards is more awkward with plastics, because the skirt tends to sag. For forehand serves, it's different. You drop the shuttle into the path of the racket. For forehand serves, I recommend gently cradling the whole shuttle, and dropping it straight down by opening your fingers.
