Blocking smashes

[swubaka1]

I am a badminton player in my high school team and i have having a lot of trouble blocking smashes. I can move across the court quickly but whenever a smash is hit straight to me i just cant seem to defend it.

any tips to react faster?

[BennyC]

If you for sure know they are going to hit at you, take a step back, spread your feet out( but not too much to the point it feels awkward lols), lean forward a bit and make sure to stay on your toes. Most people will defend with their backhand, so get in that position and when the smash comes at you, take a little hop back when you deflect it. The most important thing is to stay on your toes because it allows more movement compared to being flat footed.

[Heong]

You just have to be steady & be ready for the smash.

have your right foot in front & move back a little & spread your legs wide so you can see the smash coming better & just put your racquet where you think it's going to hit.

A good thing to increase reaction is driving.

[Smichz]

Train ur hand reflex.U can do that by playing against the wall.Play it fast though..

[HDoan]

I am a badminton player in my high school team and i have having a lot of trouble blocking smashes. I can move across the court quickly but whenever a smash is hit straight to me i just cant seem to defend it.

any tips to react faster?

Get a friend to smash it at you continuously until you get the feel, me and my friend always do that when we practice. Eventually you will get it, for me if its going towards me, I take my right foot, pivot to the left and just hit it. It's basically a reaction, keep practicing it until you got it in your blood (Not literally).

[swubaka1]

Get a friend to smash it at you continuously until you get the feel, me and my friend always do that when we practice. Eventually you will get it, for me if its going towards me, I take my right foot, pivot to the left and just hit it. It's basically a reaction, keep practicing it until you got it in your blood (Not literally).

thats exactly what im doing, and im starting to get the hang of it . it turns out as long as im able to touch the shuttle it gently drops over.

[SilverDJ]

bend your knees too.

[ScubaSteve]

To work on reaction time and getting used to defending fast shots, I also use the smash/defense drill but on top of that you can also have a friend stand near the net and drive down at you while you are toward rear of the court.

[reiji]

You may wanna refer to Lee Jae Bok's video on Smash Defence. Found it to be quite beneficial!

[Abhorsen]

If a smash is coming straight at you the best way to return it (in my opinion anyways) is to do lunge forward with your right foot in front and have your racket going forward in front of your body at about your chests height, remember to keep your head at your rackets height as it will be much easier to hit the bird. I suggest you practice this a lot before using it in a game since by instinct we move away when something is coming towards us rather then throwing ourselves towards it.

[lwiew]

I find that it helps to not be afraid of smashes. If you know that your opponent is a big smasher, make a big effort to be not afraid, and be confident in your ability to return it. I know it sounds kinda flakey, but I find that if you just relax and react, flicking back a smash is a lot easier than if you're tense and scared.

[Elixau]

Keep on practicing. Have a friend smash it at you

[jrmanu]

put your racket infront of u and anticipate the shot.bend a lil but try 2 read his smash if its very fast,try hitting the shuttle 2 the corners so he cant smash at weird angles but try just pushing the shuttle slowly first

[77suns]

It may also be your racket is too near your body and does not give you enough space to draw back your racket and position the block/return. One of my friend has this corrected and i can see a hugh difference in his smash return.