I know that you are supposed to be patient and bump up your string tension 2lbs at a time but I bought a new racket and jumped at the possibility of high tensions. So I went from 8 year old factory strings to Ashway MicroLegend @ 26lbs contant pull. Now I worry that I've gone too high so I was wondering which stroke people find most telling when they've gone too high? I can drive it from the back singles corner to the opposite back corner with my hardest forehand and my attacking clear goes all the way to the opposite corner. But my smash is kinda mediocre and I dink it a lot more. A couple of possiblities... 1) My smash sucks. That is a very distinct possibility and it's certainly not spectacular but I seem to have a lot more dinks now. I have enough power for the string tension but not enough control to handle the smaller sweet spot. Given the different racket length and weight, I need to adjust my smash swing to hit it cleanly. This was certainly true for my defense. After 2 sessions I was convinced that my defense wasn't going to be good enough with the Woven 7. After 6 sessions my defense is just fine...maybe not great but good enough. As good as before. Since the racket hasn't changed I'm assuming that I've adjusted my swing. Any suggestions for strokes that people felt dropped off the most when they went too high on their string tension?
I think that the tension has come down quite a bit...at first it was hard to straighten out the strings. Now they pop back into place when I run my thumb over them.
In general, if you find yourself having to hit the shuttle harder to make it go at a speed that you are use to, then chances are you have the string too tight. Keep in mind though, if you aren't used to playing with strings that tight then there is also a learning curve, getting use to it. Be aware though if your elbow starts to hurt, tennis elbow, not only is that another sign that the strings are too tight for you but you should stop using that racket and have it restrung. BTW, if you are playing with Ashaway Micro Legend, try it at 24lbs. (23x25lbs.) on a side note, ML loses tension rather quickly so give it a few days to settle and see how it feels then.
Thats not because of tension drop. Its because the string has eaten into each other and there is friction.
Oh yeah I guess I forgot to mention that part. I haven't had any pain in any of my joints since moving to the much higher tension so I'm not worried about doing damage to myself. Just trying to figure out if I need to back off the tension or keep working on my technique.
And back to my original question (which was probably lost in the long post), which stroke did people feel suffered the most when they went too high in tension? Clears? Smashes? Forehand? Backhand? Netgame? High serve?
ML is a rather soft string even at 26lbs constant pull tension. The reason you are not able to smash as well as you drive is that your striking the bird speed is not fast enough. Your smash has probably gotten into the habit of smashing with a more trampoline effect with lower tension You need to use a more snappy action and this also requires some timing adjustment.
You are definately correct about me using the trampoline effect. With my drops I didn't even swing, just let the birdie bounce off the racket. Of course that didn't work at all at higher tension and now that I have to swing for my drops my control is MUCH better. And I have a netgame where before I basically cleared all drops 'cause my netgame sucked. Hmmm, that makes sense about the smash too. I started off doing half-smashes and they felt like I had lots of power but when I play games I'm sure that I go back to all my old habits. Maybe I'll go back to half-smashes and work on using my wrist and keeping the birdie in front of me.
Oh sorry forgot to answer the question. Smashes for me was most noticeable, but adjusting your swing/technique as taneepak mentioned will bring it all back in due time.
Most of what everyone is saying is correct...The main fact is that 26# is too tight for most players whose technique is not yet established...Your dinks indicate your adjustment to the new racket balance etc is not yet accomplished...even after you get used to the racket you will still have to hit in the sweet spot to generate good power and this is mainly technique...
It takes time to get used to any new equipment, never mention a combo of such a lot of things, with string tension going up 10lbs in a day. I will say take it easy, and give it a bit more time. In the meanwhile, try not to push over the edge, which can be dangerous considering injuries on joints.
On friday I started doing jump smashes and my smashes felt a lot better. I felt like I was hitting them solidly (or maybe cleanly is a better word) and and had almost no dinks. And my opponent was having a lot of trouble returning them so I think that I was getting more power. I'm not sure why my jump smash would be different from my regular smash but it felt great. I think that I'll stick with 26lbs constant pull and work on my technique. As for injuries I've felt great so far. I play twice a week so there is lots of time in between playing to heal up. And I think that I know my body well enough to stop if something feels wrong or different than the usual muscle soreness. So don't worry, I won't push it too much
