hitting the sweet spot consistently

the more you practice smashing the easier it'll get for you. formation is also important. using your wrist is also the key.

 

Every time you do a good smash, take a moment to remember how that one felt, and what you did. Then try to reproduce it.

This works much better in practice than in games, of course...

 

One word to say.
PRACTICE
If you have correct technique and lots of practice the bang sound will come more often than your semi bang.

 

lol don't waste your time taping. your hand movement will be too fast to watch. spend those watching time practicing instead. practice practice practice. try new things as well.

 

im trying to learn this too as well. right now i'm just trying to consistantly use my body weight to help smash. like turning my hip, using my elbow and arms and my wrist while smashing. it's pretty hard times. especially when i can only do this at home.

 

i agree that practising is vital. some things to look out for when you are practising might be how your wrist is cocked, the position of your body - especially where you shoulder is, how far back it is, and how high it is raised - and the timing of your shots. (these are just some that work for me)

for myself, i know if i have my last two fingers firmly round the end of my grip, wrist cocked back, shoulder on an angle back and my back upright, and time my shot, i know i'd get a good smash/clear in. that said, i'm not aware of all the things at the time, but its just a collective observation over time - like gollum said about taking a moment and remembering how it felt -

Having worked out some of the stuff above, am ussually able to pinpoint whether i've missed one of those points, e.g. if i was taking a flick serve, my fingers wont be in position; if i am exhausted my back isnt straight up and is bent; or if the timing is off, then i wont be able to execute it properly.

In a game situation you would be in all kinds of positions, so there would be lots of observing to do as there would be different things to look out for if you were trying to do an overhead smash, or a forehand smash where your hand has to extend outwards etc.

hope this helps *cheers*

 

Just hitting the sweetspot is not good enough. The timing and appropriate power delivery must be part of it. Wrong timing + hitting the sweetspot gets you nowhere.

 

oh yea forgot one more thing. always try to hit the bird when it's in front of you, not above you. so hit it at the 11 O'clock mark from your body. this way you get more power.

 

If you have a high flat wall, you might be able to try hitting a shuttle against it using clears (as opposed to underhand shots which are much easier). U'll prolly want to hit it at a slightly upward angle. Tho it might not help with 'smashing' per se, it will certainly speed up the rate your shoulder rotates/racket recovers in time for the next shot. The faster you are able to 'reset' your start position the more than you chance in actual game scenario to play the shot properly as are less likely to be caught halfway recovering from a previous shot.

U'd have to expend quite abit of energy methinks. Anyone else tried this?
I always have a problem finding nice high flat walls lol...

Hope this helps ^^

 

Unfortunately, the CN Tower at the base is slanted, so it wouldn't be very efficient to hit it up against it. As well, as the area is surrounded by tall buildings, you'll have random gusts of wind steal your birds away from you. And yes, it will hurt your neck.

 

Haha.. shld have specified - "a nice high flat wall which is perpendicular to the ground lol..." ^^

I've never tried hitting on on a slanted one lol, maybe it would yield uber results

 

To hit the sweet spot more effectively there are a few essential things and a few alternatives.
Essentials to hitting the sweet spot:
1. Look at the shuttle as you hit it, simple advice yes but you'll find it easier if you look at the bird constantly when you hit it and watch your opponent with your peripheral vision.
2. Swing at the appropiate time so that you contact the bird at an appropiate height making your hits more consistent and easier in opposition to hitting close to the body.
3. Use the appropiate hits at the appropiate time. As an example: Don't smash when the bird is lower then you're rackets length above you're head.
It might seem like a silly idea to figure out which hits to use when it's easier and play that way rather then simply doing whatever hit seems right but yields better results when attempting to hit it directly on the sweet spot. Of course if you can only do straight hits even if you are hitting the sweet spot you'll be a weak player so do variations between cross courts and straights.

Alternative:
Increase the general strength of your hits so that if it contacts the sweet spot or not it'll still be an okay hit. I would not do this if I were you as it isn't as effective as hitting the sweet spot in a few ways. First it overstrains your muscles when smashing repeatedly is necessary and you have to kill every shot just get an okay shot in. Second this yields an unpredictable and often inaccurate hit which will often not go over the net on a drop shot and go out when near the line limiting your hits to center court. Third it's simply a far stronger and more accurate hit when you hit it with the sweet spot. Period.