Footwork Problem

Perhaps the reason you don't have time to move around on the court as well is because the types of shots you are hitting. My foot work is pretty good too, but if I hit the wrong types of shots in singles then i'm pretty much screwed.

If this is not the reason, then maybe you need to practice your shadowing at a faster pace? Do you play against opponents who play a fast singles game or a slow paced singles game?

 

First things first, it takes a lot of practice to get footwork right and it will never be perfect.

Secondly, it doesn't matter how much you practice unless what you are practicing is right. A good coach, who knows how to teach propoer footwork is the only way to ensure this. You may well be practising an improper technique, so making yourself worse.

Thirdly for all the coordination and technique you may have, it is worth little without improving your general agility, to strengthen your muscles & ncrease flexibility.

Good luck - you are correct in wanting to improve this aspect of the game, for almost every player looking to get better, improving their footwork is the thing that it most effective when playing matches and is far quicker to learn than strokes.

 

Perhaps you could try talking to your university coach, he may be able to tell you what's wrong. If your playing an opponent who is superior to you then I could see why you would go sprinting for the shuttle. If you're playing fast paced games, I would suggest doing more cardio if you find yourself out of breath and full of sweat. Your stamina will improve, and because of this you won't be drained of energy and you'll most likely place your shots better and avoid sprinting all over the court

 

Initially getting a couple of hours with a coach should get you through the general pointers, which allows you to practise more productively at home.

It is one thing struggling wit footwork in singles, most people do, but if you are struggling to cover a doubles court, then the footwork definitely needs to improve.

 

The things I have seen have said to practice singles footworks even if you only play doubles because you will still need that sometimes. Many people say it increases their agility and speed overall anyway.

A good book on footwork and practice drills I just picked up is Badminton: Steps to Success by Tony Grice. I got it from my local library. After you get your coach to help you a little, you might want to implement some of these drills - they are really great! (So far - I just got started.)

 

try to do shadowing and footwork with a partner. it's one thing to move on your own, but it's another to move to a place picked by another person. that was one of the basic drills my highschool coach did. one person just stand at net, and point at the 6 locations of the court, front, sides, and back, and u gotta move with the right footwork to every place your partner picked, and always come back to centre. trust me, doing shadowing on your own and with a partner are completely different. on your own, you know before hand where you want to move, with a partner, your muscle has to push you to the place you wana go.

 

The footwork is slightly different, since some of the attacking movements are used occasionally in doubles.

In doubles shorter, attacking movements are used more. To avoid complication though at what I guess is probably your level you are better practising to cover the full court (singles) at the moment and worry about the finer points once the basics have been mastered.

 

When you do training, where do you start/end the footwork, a common mistake is to work with a standard position. Where on the court do you return to?
I forget what it is called in English, but you need to work with the preparing from where you stand to where you are suppose to go. It depends on the situation and thereby the kind of footwork differs.

Above mentioned are important because footwork depends on where on the court you are, maybe anticipation, and the distance you need to travel on the court. So you need to train with different distances (and thereby different footwork), at different places on the court, with different preparing directions.

 

Playing skiping ( jumping with jump rope ) will improve your footwork alot. jump as long as you can, take a rest for few minutes and jump again. Liem Swie King can jump for more than 20 minutes without stopping in his prime time.

 

one of the best ways to learn footwork is learn from the pros. download a match from a player of same gender and handedness as you. youtube is too blurry. get a good video player (VLC is great) and watch how they move, where their base is, how they push off with the split step. use slow mo (reduce play speed) and note down each step. it's lengthy, and often boring, but if you want to save money, it's the best way around.

once you've done that, practise yourself, and tape it. compare your video to the professional one. finally, if you can, get a coach to go over it. once you learn the correct footwork, it's all down to practising like hell

 

I was told to go back to "center" like to the center of the next shot(s) will come from.

 

In basics the only time you should expect to go back to the centre line is if you've played your shot to the centre, all other times you will be slightly biased to the side you hit to unless you are applying some tactics such as leaving a space inviting your opponent to hit into it.

 

In my opinion, age give a significant result for badminton player. I don't know how old are you? Mostly, when people start to play badminton in younger age like 5 or 6 years of age. People who start to play badminton in older of age get more obstacles to accomplish his/her goal.

But perhaps you can practice your footwork skill refer to this helpful link http://www.badminton.tv/partners/profile/FS1194652900.html

Badminton always,
http://badminton-a-hobby.blogspot.com/

 

Practice is the key. If you keep on practicing footwork over and over, it will become natural on the court.

Every time you don't get to the shuttle, stop and analyse why you never made it, and practice on the court in between shots, so that you can get to that same shot next time. You could also ask your training partner to keep playing the shot for you, so that you can get to it OK.

Something else to be aware of is the speed of your footwork.
I was tought by a former Malaysian international. There are 2 speeds of footwork. One for if someone has played an over head clear to you, and you have lots of time, and another speed which can be used if someone drives to the back corner or plays a shooting lob.

If you are only practicing slow footwork, this will be of no use if you are playing someone who plays an aggressive game with lots of drives and smashes etc.

However, practice is key. Even once you have learnt the footwork, it is easy to forget it again if you do not keep on practicing it!

 

the centre is fluid, not fixed. it will vary depending on the shot you've played, where your opponent is standing and will sometimes need to be adjusted to cover any weakness you have in movement.

 

Very true.

My singles tactics guide has more details on this: central base position in singles