Hi, like the title, I played for two to three years and a lot of people have been saying I need to use more ab rotation and less shoulder. How do you prevent using too much shoulder and focus more on ab rotation? Is it true that the more explosive you rotate your abdominal section (with a good wrist snap and pronation), it would increase your swing speed and power? Do you actually need to use any shoulder when smashing or clearing other than holding the hitting arm up? Thank you!
abdominal and core muscles are needed not only for a powerful smash, but also for good recovery. if you go flying out the side of the court, and play a smash, you need strong core muscles to twist your body back, and to stop your body from over-rotating. by doing this, you can get back to base quicker. it's hard to explain, but i've found strong core muscles help a lot.
Yes, you do. You will often be advised that your power should mainly come from the wrist, or the forearm, or even the fingers. This is simply not true. The greatest contribution to smash/clear power comes from the shoulders and upper arm rotation (source, PDF file). Nonetheless, you must learn the correct use of forearm, wrist, and fingers in order to transfer power effectively from the shoulders and upper arm into the shuttle (otherwise, your power is transferred into your joints instead -- ouch!). And, of course, you can get quite a lot of power directly from the forearm too. It's important to learn how to maximise power from a shortened arm swing. Often you will need to smash or clear with very little shoulder rotation. While it may seem here as though your shoulder is playing no active role, and is merely "holding the arm up", it is actually contributing plenty of power. Strictly speaking, there's no such thing as a "forearm only" shot, or a "fingers only" shot. All of them use power from the upper arm, even when the upper arm and shoulders are not moving much.
No shoulder movement? Someone's been inhaling too many shuttle fumes. Shoulder rotation is essential for an easy swing and power generation.
by reading your description we can't judge whether you are using 'too much' or 'too little' shoulder...why not get a coach to evaluate your overhead stroke?
