Hi, a friend mentioned to me that I am not holding low enough at the racket handle when smashing from the backcourt in doubles. Some time ago, I shifted my grip up the racket handle in doubles because it enhanced my quickness and racket maneuverability - two elements that I have found to be invaluable in doubles. I stuck with my new grip up the handle and almost all elements of my game improved in doubles. Since then though, various good players have told me to shift my grip down at least for smashing from the back court because it increases my power. A few good players that I have talked to don't even shift up/down at all and keep their grip in the same place. However, one of my friends also mentioned to me that I should shift my grip down the racket handle when smashing from the back court and to shift it up the handle when playing the net man for quickness and racket maneuverability. His source on grip shifting up/down were two past national players in Canada and that really made me want to explore this issue. I can confirm that after watching closely on tape the past mens doubles matches of Indonesia vs Denmark (2000 Thomas Cup), China vs Korea (2000 Thomas Cup), and Korea vs Denmark (2002 Swiss Open), some of the professional mens doubles players do have a grip that is rather high on the racket handle at some point during the match. Specifically, one of the Korean players in the mens doubles final at the 2002 Swiss Open that was using a pink colored grip, had something like 5 to 6 cm of space between his pinky and the base of his racket handle at certain times during the match. Hence, this confirms some of my ideas of using a higher grip in doubles. Unfortunately, I was not able to confirm whether they grip shift down the racket handle when they're at the back court because I could not find a camera angle that zoomed close enough to their hand when they played the back court. Hence, my questions are as follows: 1) How many of you advanced players out there grip shift up and down depending on your position on the court? 2) Is grip shifting up/down only useful for doubles? What about singles? 3) If you do grip shift up/down, are there professional players/national coaches that you know of that have suggested using this technique? (I notice that in the article at http://www.badmintoncentral.com/badminton-central/techniques/doubles-defense.php, it does mention that "many players choke up on the handle, which increases maneuverability and racket head quickness" when defending the smash) Help would be appreciated. Thanks! Ramza
IMO, if you normally grap in the middle of the grip, you dont really need to care much about shifting it up and down unless the position of your grap really affect the placement of your shot. But, if you normally grap higher or lower on the grip, then it is good to grap it lower when smashing from the back court, and grap if higher when you are playing net shot.
I use this as a natural part of my game. I don't think consciously about it anymore, it just happens. Although it is used more extensively in doubles, it is also used in singles. In singles it is not so common to choke up a lot on the handle, but you would definitely change often between a "normal" grip and a low grip for a smash from the back etc. This should be practised so that it becomes automatic. If you are looking for an extreme example of the choking technique, take a look at Indonesian pair Candra/Sigit. They (especially Sigit) wrap their grips very high up on the shaft, to choke up higher in fast net duels... and for smashing they grip at the very end of the handle. If you take a look at this image, you'll see what I mean:
ramza, My suggestion is for you to try the suggested grips. After experimenting with them, do you see any improvement? Of course you have to try it for a while (not once!). If no improvement, then they might not work for you, at that time.
Hmm...never thought too much about but I've been told/taught that for faster response for net and defense shots is to choke up on the grip and for power clears and smashes, to grip at the bottom of the handle. I've gotten used to switch grips back and fro that it is no longer an issue which grip to use. Similarily for the forehand and backhand grips but there are players who will use the new continental grip which allows them to use the same grip for both forehand and backhand. My advice is to experiment and see whatever works best for you.
It really depends on what kind of a player you are. If you are a fast, quick player who always uses instant bursts of energy, it's best to hold your grip short, as it will enhance your strong points. If you are more of a smasher, who works mostly at the rear, it's best to hold your grip at the middle-end of the racquet.
my grip changes to where i am... when i am defending or in the front, i hold higher up, but while i'm in the back, my grip is lower...