I have a friend whom I want to beat... And she smashes... alot... Being a beginner, I have no idea which would be the best way to return it. Haha, try not to use too many techinical terms around me... XD;;
I would suggest not giving her the chance to smash, such as giving her a lot of net shots, or you can give her back court clears that give you more time to react to her smashes if she does try it. Since you are a beginner, natural reflexes are slow, so building that up should help your defending skills. Train your eyes to follow the birdy, then your body to react to them.
being a guy, i think your reflex will be good to return her smashes... ok, as above said, keep your eyes FOCUS to the shuttlecock (and dont dreaming in the court...)
Haha, guys don't always have fast natural reflexes... most of my reflexes come from playing alot of video games.... =\
In that case, I suggest playing your video games while running and jumping. That would be a great way to prepare. (not too sure if that would be good for your eyes though....)
Just remember when returning the smash to either 1) return (lift) it really far, so that it drops close to the endline, so that she can only hit (smash) it again from the back of the court or 2) return the smash softly so it just goes over the net, so she cant smash again Returning a smash with a shot that she can smash again from midcourt/close to the net is just prolonging your eventual death... Unless you are really unlucky and she is seriously good (even then...), her smashes wont be as fast as guys smashes.
for try to lower your body, this way you can see the birdie earlier cause your head is lower. Also try to pick the birdie close to the ground because it slow down a lot. Mental plays a great deal, focus on nothing but the birdie.
for singles: -keep racquet at chest height, -little hop before she smashes and move toward the shot, -if the shot is straight at you, move to the side (backhand if possible or use forehand) -use hands only, don't need to use whole arm -harder the smash, less effort from you -try to "lift" the shuttle so that it falls tight to the net (use the same stroke as if you're picking the shuttle off the ground) -you can also position your racquet (height) to where you think the shuttle will fly too
if she smashes straight, block crosscourt, so she can't run straight into the net. make sure she covers the maximum amount of court to play the next shot.
hahaha..if u wanna play safe,wear protections!But if u wanna get better,challenge for more.That's what i did to my friends who's good at smashing when i start badminton.I'd ask them to smash during the practice,in order to learn my defense.By time,u'll get better n better.Don't get too afraid to smashes.Stand straight n try ur best to return them. How to defense?Watch more videos of badminton tutorial or matches.U can learn better from it,rather than just sitting here n reading our comments.Learn how to hold the grip n stuffs. A good defense means,u can return his/her shots it to the spot that he/she would put more efford to return,or to attack u again.The better one is that u can make a counter-attack,produce ur own chance to attack.
Since everyone talked about what you should do physically, I'll just talk about the mental aspect. Don't be intimidated by smashes. If anything, remain calm and confident that you can return her smashes. (Especially if she smashes at you or near you and you don't really need to move too far) Confidence in your defense and calmness in your actions will help you see where the bird is going and react accordingly. Panic and nervousness will only make your movements more... twitchy? Like that nervous twitch, so your actions won't be as coordinated as when you are calm. Of course, you'll still have to watch how other people defend smashes to put the physical and mental aspects together. The only way to practice how to defend better is by experience and being smashed at. Use the opportunities to try new ways of blocking the bird and learn by imitating better players and look at what they do in those situations.
are you playing singles? if so, then I suggest you get to know the footwork for smash defence. without the footwork its tough to return the smashes. If we are to talk about returning smashes, I think you might want to drive back or just return close to the net to stop her from attacking you.
another tip is to think why she manage to smash you. You can try using attacking lob (punch) shots to prevent your opponents smashing you. You'll need a strong wrist though. This is another way or more of a pro-active thinking instead of reacting to it . There are just so many ways to skin a cat. Hope this helps.
haha yeah thatz rite =D, umm just do somethign unexpected, if ur a noob and she predicts that you'll return with a drop, make an offensive clear to the back of the court so she messes up, it all comes down to where she's at on her court
Practice this drill. Smash. Block. Lift. Player 1 serves. Player 2 smashes. Player 1 blocks. Player 2 then lifts. PLayer 1 smashes. This is a great drill to practice your block and smash. 1 When blocking feet slightly apart on your toes, in the tiger posistion. Racket in front of you. 2 Square yourself slightly to the smasher. 3 Light fingers, take the pace off the shuttle. 4 Practice. Practice. Practice When you have become competant then you can block cross court. Or whip the smash accross court which becomes a offensive shot.
What i do in this situation is just get on one knee almost and send drop transfeering most power from the smash.
Tap the birdie lightly across the net so she doesn't have another chance to smash at you. Maybe try lifting it to her weak side (right handers-left court.)
