Have you ever felt like you've regressed in terms of your level of play? This usually happens to people who just came back into playing badminton after a long hiatus from the sport. However, I still notice that some people (and sometimes, including me) who, although constantly playing, just seems to not improve or they even get weaker. Ever since I got demoralized by a certain person, I felt like my defense got weaker. Or maybe it's just me. How about you? Do you certainly feel your improvement? Or do you sometimes feel like instead of progressing, you're going backwards? Do you feel like you're getting left behind? Care to share some of your experiences?
I feel my improvment, I can feel like im floating across the court with more ease, and I am able to preform my moves with the technique I practiced with every detail in mind. I also have noticed that I am able to preform many things that I couldn't before or that Iw as afraid to do.
funny you should ask, venkatesh... I often feel that not only badminton, but life itself is a "2 steps forward, 1 step back" kind of thing. Everything in life cycles in a boom/bust cycle, although generally conditions improve in the long run. Badminton is just a facet of life as a whole, so we experience the same boom/bust cycle in it as well...although I'm sure some people would say that badminton IS the whole!
That's a very good analogy drop2it. One learns about life when they play badminton. And if you're saying that if progress is a to-and-fro process, then they should develop patience, because ultimately, in the end, there's no other way but forward.
i find after prolonged periods of play and training, my edge blunts and i play far more robotic and rather poorly. although my techniques are fine, my mental game goes out the window. after a long break, my mental game is really sharp, but i lack the technical skills and consistency to play well. either way, i play like crap.
Robotic ... exactly the right word to describe it. Yes, I noticed that my strategy is becoming very poor lately. It's like I only return the shuttle just for the heck of it. No placement, no whatsoever. I used to be good at reading my opponents game. Oh man! I need to find the right balance.
its all in your head. all i see in this thread is negative negative negative negative. wake up and enjoy the game more rather than concentrating on winning and losing. When it comes to competition play your heart out and if u win good work if not work harder to get their. but never get down on yourself unless you have not put in the effort.
very very true. but how do you enjoy the game when you train so much that it becomes more of a burden than a joy? i'd never though badminton could become like that, but last year, that's precisely what happened. all i'm saying is it's best to just take it easy. that balance is really hard, and sometimes, you never get it right. interestingly, i found after playing a summer of basketball, i actually played better badminton...
Thanks for the comment. However, I do have to say that this is not about negativity. I just merely want to ponder on the fact that, sometimes, even with constant training, the progress players are so much expecting does not come sooner than expected. I think this was resolved, at least for me, by the input of the previous BCers, explaining that regression, at some point, does occur but is compensated by better improvement after a while. Also, let me add that this regression usually occurs when we become "robotic", which is exactly what's happening to me right now. I agree with what SHIFTY said ... that sometimes, training could also be a burden. On the contrary, we still continue to play badminton because we love the sport. In the end, we still enjoy it. Just like what you said, that's more important than winning.
I just came back from my club. Usually, I don't do to bad. Tonight, I don't know what happened. For the first hour, I was very frusturated. But once I calmed down, I was able to relax a little, and while it certainly wasn't the best night of my life, it could have been a lot worse if I hadn't decided to cool it. The best way to get over those "robotic" phases that venkatesh alluded to is to just calm down, accept that everyone has bad days, and understand that there are good days ahead of us.
