Post videos of yourself playing

[Tomus]

Tomus,you totally should win that game.good consistency, good court coverage, and no dumb (lazy) shots.technique looks stiff and your forecourt movement looks like a mix of badminton and tennis footwork (or some other sport).

If something, i am definitely not lazy I do not think i have sny tennis elements in my footwork, but i did a lot of unnecessary steps as i watch myself play. And i was stiff also because i was the outsider of the match and oh, i so wanted to shine

[Tomus]

You need to vary your backhand shots from the rearcourt. In the video you only hit one backhand rearcourt shot that was not a straight drop. Your opponent didn't seem to pick up on that so that might be why you keept doing the same shot over and over, but you might not be so "lucky" in the future. You seem to move pretty fast around the court. Work on your footwork and you'll get even more court coverage.

Yes, this is a problem i have - i can do safely straight drop, cross drop - but then my opponent can just block it straight and if he is fast i am in big trouble. But my backhand clears are terrible - i can do backhand clear in Practice, but not in game situation when pushed far into the backhand rear corner.

[j4ckie]

Footwork already looks pretty quick - although you have to take a few more steps than I do to cover the court I think what you'd benefit the most of would be footwork drills to make it a bit 'cleaner', i.e. make every step count - and stretching. You have pretty quick feet, but seem a little stiff in your legs. Your lunges are not very deep, and you could be faster in your movement forward that way.
Your legs look pretty strong to me, so you'll probably be able to do what I still try to get right with weight training and other leg exercises - deep lunges to the net while keeping your upper body upright and stable. That'll enable you to be very quick in the net area, while still keeping your balance and good control as your body is stable and doesn't drag your arm one way or another.

High backhand could also use some work, you seem very stiff when you try to hit one. Part of it will be nerves because you know it's not very strong, but part of it is technique. Try to make your movement fluid, with a lot of supination (outwards twisting of the wrist/forearm). It's hard to get right, and mine isn't very strong either, but by getting a decent length in my backhand clear (gets at least to the doubles service line), I've improved my game a lot already and can dig myself out of trouble.

[urameatball]

If something, i am definitely not lazy I do not think i have sny tennis elements in my footwork, but i did a lot of unnecessary steps as i watch myself play. And i was stiff also because i was the outsider of the match and oh, i so wanted to shine

whatever influenced your footwork, small adjustment steps followed by a side lunge is definitely not something they teach in badminton, LOL. In any case, out of all the videos I've seen on this thread (I've only seen about 20), I think yours stands out the most because yours show all the signs of a player who is capable of very rapid improvement.

I'm no pro, so take that last comment with a grain of salt :P

[coachgary]

Yes, this is a problem i have - i can do safely straight drop, cross drop - but then my opponent can just block it straight and if he is fast i am in big trouble. But my backhand clears are terrible - i can do backhand clear in Practice, but not in game situation when pushed far into the backhand rear corner.

You need to work on the "round the head" movement into the backhand rearcourt corner. This will give you more shot options in particularly a good punched attacking straight clear. You can then work on an inside out forehand crosscourt dropshot from the same corner. It has similar set up as the RTH straight clear and can be a very deceptive shot.

From your video my tactics would be to play more deceptively against you, holding the hit with a view to wrong foot you, and probably send you back from where you came last. In other words playing two shots to the same corner. Much of the time you don't "split drop/pre-tension" as your opponent hits so this means you tend to be running all over the place taking too many steps into the shot and in recovery.

[j4ckie]

The RTH drop shot is indeed a powerful tool - if played right. One of the few shots I'm somewhat proud of - often an instant winner if you get the deception right and manage to catch your opponent on the wrong foot. Try to make it look like a clear, but at the last moment stop your arm (so you hit over the shuttle, not under it) and turn your racket so that it slices across the shuttle.
The motion should be fluid and quick, and the racket move straight forward. I hit the perfect example of that shot at ~0:54 in last my vid (and one at 7:58)
Another possible disguise - when you have enough time for a jump smash, you can jump up and again turn the racket face just before you hit the shuttle. Most ppl will cover a straight smash in that situation and be caught unawares. Just as effective from the forehand corner, btw. If used effectively (not too often), the fast motion will fool most opponents.

[Tomus]

You need to work on the "round the head" movement into the backhand rearcourt corner. This will give you more shot options in particularly a good punched attacking straight clear. You can then work on an inside out forehand crosscourt dropshot from the same corner. It has similar set up as the RTH straight clear and can be a very deceptive shot.

From your video my tactics would be to play more deceptively against you, holding the hit with a view to wrong foot you, and probably send you back from where you came last. In other words playing two shots to the same corner. Much of the time you don't "split drop/pre-tension" as your opponent hits so this means you tend to be running all over the place taking too many steps into the shot and in recovery.

Good point - I do have problems dealing with deceptive play.

When talking about possible shots from backhand rear corner: of course I prefer round-the-head movement - I am able to play straight punch clear, also the reverse slice drop shot or straight sliced drop. But there are situations in game when my opponent get the shuttle behind me and I have to play backhand...

[amleto]

U22 MS final of today's C level ranking tournament. These are tournaments where you gather points similarly to international competition - only regional. Despite my lack of sleep and the fact I got a bit drunk the night before a decent match - although both of us show that we breezed through to this match without problems. Stupid errors on both sides, and the pace wasn't really at our max. But we had fun (or at least I did ) and that's what counts^^

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWVKNC1vbgI

I notice that in your addressing of the shuttle/start of overhead stroke, you drop your racket head down to knee-level. I think this is old-style technique from wooden racket age - probably just wasting time now and making your stroke larger than it needs to be.

[amleto]

So this is me... angle is a bit unfortunate, because you can't see the whole court, but the quality I hope is OK.

It's the first game of semi-final match I didn't expected to win, but have won ;-)

split step is missing for every shot! split step will help movement a lot.

[coachgary]

[QUOTE=amleto;1799277]split step is missing for every shot! split step will help movement a lot.[/QUOTE

No matter where you are on court you need to be thinking about pausing as the opponent hits the shuttle. It may only be a split second but it's important to do your split within that split second! LOL

[j4ckie]

Just in case you were wondering - this is a vid about the split step. Sorry, it's in German, but I couldn't find any English vid on it. Basically, it shows different drills to train the split step and the last 2 things are common mistakes (too high a jump and counter-productive first step).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-PSmY5XgG8

[Alapongtai]

all rightyyyy my first clip on this forum...
im ready to take anything youve got to say
i know im pretty bad so.....yeah.
im the one with the crew socks in the far court.

from what ive observed,
-i play very awkwardly
-i serve awkwardly
-i dont raise my left hand too often to balance myself
-footwork needs...work LOL
-smash/clears are weird

[Tactim]

I think the biggest thing is your swing form. You don't really get a "full" swing out of your shots and that's why they look so awkward and you don't get as much power out of it. Your backhand could also use some work too as it has some of the same issues your forehand does, you don't get a full swing out of it. It's more of a half swing because really your backhand is just your forearm doing the work. Granted the couple of backhands you had in the video were drops and it isn't as crucial in doubles, it's important to have for good clears when in trouble.

How long have you been playing? I don't think you play too badly. It's not THAT awkward compared to a lot of people I've seen play. A lot of the things you need improvement come when you have the drive to improve, or you have a coach to help you out. For me youtube helped me a lot in all the areas you listed though I will admit, a coach will be the best option if you have the time and financial commitment.

[j4ckie]

You don't play that bad, don't be too modest
One of the reasons your shots look a bit awkward is that you use a lot of wrist work instead of tightening the grip and pronation. The wrist is not used a lot usually, as it's not as quick/powerful as pronation/gripping.
Often, you wait for the shuttle to come to you and let it drop quite a bit - you'd not only play better shots, but also look better if you took half a step forward and really reached for it (arm up high). This is where the left arm gets important - when you really reach for the shuttle far away from you, stretching out the left arm the opposite way helps keeping you balance and enables you to reach a bit further (as you dont have to lean back to keep your balance).
There are plenty of videos explaining proper technique, my advice would be to watch some of those. Helped me a lot in the beginning. Additionally, do some shadow footwork every time you play - and concentrate on both moving right and holding the racket the correct way when you move to the 6 corners. (hold it high when moving forwards, as if to play a net shot, do a defensive block or drive when you move to the side, and a clear or drop when moving to the back).

[Alapongtai]

thanks for your input! keep em coming

yeah... for some odd reason, i keep using my wrist when i should be using my arm as well... and my wrist is pretty weak. so idk why i keep doing that LOL
and i cant backhand clear for the life of me. something i need to work on...
but for sure, ill work on my movement and full arm swing
ive never really had training per se, since i started in college. about a year ago.
but we do conditioning and drills at our school club, so it helps a lot. and i took a couple lessons from a coach i know. too bad hes kind of busy right now :\

[Tactim]

For only a year that's not too bad. I started in college too about 3.5 years ago a complete newcomer, as in someone who looked like they were playing backyard badminton with a panhandle grip. you just watch people who are better than you, play with them, ask for advice, and try out new stuff when you play. You've actually made a lot more progress than me after I played for a year, so don't feel bad about yourself! It will come with time and experience as you play more with your friends. I will say though, don't be afraid to play the better players in your club. If they're not douches, they will also help you improve and learn the game =).

Otherwise, look up videos on youtube and start trying to learn the correct swing form. It will take awhile but getting started now will save you a lot of trouble in the long run.

edit: Just curious where do you go for college? Do you live there in the So Cal area or are you from Norcal? I'm a nor cal person.

[Alapongtai]

im from socal and i go to UCI. people here are nice! a lot of really good players... im pretty much one of the worst players LOL besides the beginners