Hi. I've played badminton for years already, and I must say that my technique have improved quite a lot. I'm still studying, so I only play once a week (and that's my training) for 2.5 hours. However, I do practice sometimes at home by playing with the wall, swinging a racquet with the cover on, doing press ups, jump circuits, and sit ups. I also go jogging occasionally.I've got most of my techniques right, such as my smashes are steep (not floating), my clears will reach the baseline, my netplays are tight, my slice drops are pretty decent etc. Although my techniques are correct already, I really hope I can become a more threatening player. My friends say that my smash is really fast, but I'm still not contented with it. I saw some other players play, and I really admire the 'bang' they have when they smash. The sound of them playing clears is also very enjoying. For me, eventhough I have the ability to hit fast, steep smashes and hit effortlessly to the baseline, I don't really enjoy it myself, because there is really not much banging around here and there. I feel I'm not that threatening. I really hope I can develop some really threatening skills. You see, eventhough players like Yong Hock Kin and Roslin Hashim are good players, I'm sure other players will not feel as pressurised playing them if compared to playing with other players like Peter Gade, Taufik Hidayat, Xia Xuanze which have such tremendous smashes and masked cut drops. I really hope you can give me some advice on it. I must say I can't put too much time in badminton, but I just hope with the time I have, I can develop myself to a even better player. Thanks for all your advice.
Loud smash? Well.... I guess depends on how clean you hit it and I think it has lots to do with string tension and the shape of the racquet head.... Oval shaped, wide bodies are usually louder then ISO heads.. Higher tension gives sharper sound..
Ali, How tall are you? One way of intimidating your opponent is to crowd the front line when receiving serve but be confident that you can jump back if the serve is a flick serve to the back. Another strategy is to attack aggressively (i.e. at the net and catching the shuttle above the net, etc) so as to minimize the amount of time that your opponent has to recover. Shots like fast drives are good if you are in doubles; take a good look at the various matches of Candra/Gunawan and choke up on the handle to shorten the racquet swing arc for faster responses. One thing to note is that you need to be physically fit. I find that I can only maintain only about two matches and by the third match, I am drained and ended up playing more defensive badminton (i.e. more drop shots than smashes, etc).
ALI, there are many ways to threaten your opponents. some are more effective than others. smashing is one of them, however, smashing hard comes at a high expense, and that's your energy level. while it is a good weapon to have in your arsenal, when you are playing good defensive opponents who can return the hardest smash, you will soon run out of energy. the better way to threaten your opponent imho is to threaten them with your control, the ability to move the birdie front and back, move your opponents around, and use the smash only when you see a gap created in their defense. good luck.
Hi ALI Don't push yourself too hard my friend, I know exactly how you feel, greedy of those beautiful shots and thirst of each smooth strokes. However, only perfect practice makes perfect stroke and how you practice perfectly? Hire a good coach!!! That¡¦s the most important thing above all. From where you stated, I believe you must have play good badminton, but, no manner how good you are, you still need a decent coach to WATCH your play and pick up all those minor mistakes you made and correct them. I know some of the coaches actually tape student¡¦s play and watch it over and over again to find one¡¦s weakness and further improve them. Hence, want to play good badminton? Hire a good coach. Ivan
heh, you should try my technique well well well.... lol i'm a high school player and been playing doubles with my partner for the past few years now. we've dominated all the area events and the provincial area.... every year we have to figure out how to intimidate our opponents or in ur case... come off as being more threatning... here's some ideas you can borrow from us lol 2 years ago... played in a tourney with soccer socks up to our knees lol..... a year ago... played with hawainn shirts and shorts.... this year.... wore fake afros.... may sound stupid but when u step on the court, believe me they'll be scared BTW you better be pretty darn good if u're going to dress like that at a tournament
Remember also that your own shots will never sound like other players' shots. Only others can tell what your smash sounds like. Ask somebody, or record it with a VCR for reference. You'll probably be pleasantly surprised.
Having a good smash is useful but remember one thing. When u play a player with good defence it will not be so useful. Then a smash will only become a weapon to open up an opportunity, many players say it is not so much a killer smash that gains points but more anticipating the return of that first smash and moving in for the kill. i am always playing an opponent who has a wide variety of shots eg a flick from base can be flat, sliced or looped and he keeps changing it so that everytime he flicks if you don't watch his stroke you will mistime your movement and return awkwardly. He can do many types of lobs and smahes, it is not just disguising stroke but varying trajectory,speed and pace of shuttle to force errors and misjudgements. Threatening smashes, chops and punched clears useful but not much use if opponents can read your movements and anticipate your next returns.
yup. thanks Bbn. i actually find players who don't smash more threatening. smashing ones. let them smash as they wish, see if they can smash for more than 2 games. the most threatening opponents are the ones who can do all the varieties of shots, and they don't let you know what they are going to do until the very very last moment.
Here are a few ideas: When you mess up a serve-don't show anyway-don't swear, look annoyed or anything, just smile-cos you'll be smashing his serve (hopefully). Warm up wearing the same kit-tracksuits and tops-then strip off and look like business. Easy net shots and put aways-go for the high power smash-just time it right. That really scares them. Body shots-a bit mean but it works. drive serves at high people's faces-i knew someone who did this at the beginning of a match and we always won that point. Don't grunt like the William's, just lethal accuracy. Drop shots everywhere-sets up put away smashes. Pick up the shuttle with your racquet, and also give the bird to the other team using the racquet-and don't drop the bird like i do. That's all-tell me how well they work with you guys. Also-Hewitt/Roddick/Hass style wrong-way-round baseball caps-but make sure that you win!!
More intimidating?? hehehe Well yes, your height and size may intimidate your opponents. Unlike Volleyball, the number 6 position as we know it, the player in the front center that does all the spiking and central blocking who is usually a very tall player who may intimidate them verbally... hehehe, In badminton we do it other ways... I'm about 172 at most, yup shorter than most people outside asia. hehehe And my parter for that match was even shorter. Hes about 170cm. And our opponents from the American school were about 180cm! To tell you honestly, i was scared of them, during the warm up, they jump higher than us, they take fewer steps than us and they smash like all though they've been taking drugs. They led us about 5-0 to start, but we managed to beat them after we found out that we could intimidate them too, us as the shorties hehehe could imtimidate them too. For example after i served, instead of ducking down slightly and preparing to move left or right, i put my racket high moved towards the reciever, he was forced to lift and my partner smashed. Also, we did plenty of aiming for their shoulders and rib cages, hard to miss. so high!
smashing sound Can anybody else corroborate this? I've had this theory just recently when I told my friend that he smashes harder than me (from sound) and his reply was "no way, your smashes are so much louder" when I hear the exact opposite.
Re: smashing sound How loud and what sound the shot makes really depends on where you hit it, what strings you are using, what kind of shuttle, and even the shape of the racquet head matters. I don't think there is a clear distinctive way to tell how hard a smash is by the sound it makes, maybe if everything else I've mentioned earlier are the same in both scenario, then perhaps the louder sound does mean more powerful of a hit. Also, your own hit should sound very different from others because your hit is closer to your ear. Kind of like hearing your own voice, it's different when you listen to yourself on a recording than from talking.
Personally, I think more practice will boost up ppl's skill, too. True, other work out such as push up, sit up, jogging, play against wall can surely build up ur physical strength / agility. Those are necessary steps. However, play aginst human is totally different than play against a wall. Ur opponent can think, can be smart enough to set trap, to use different strategies to get u in trouble. Therefore, to me, practice more with other club members is a sure thing to improve myself.
There are many things to improve on: footwork speed accurate drive/clear accurate drop smash etc. If you can hit the shuttle from anywhere on your court to anywhere on your opponent's court, then, maybe you can stop improving yourself. As far as improving smash, I would rather improving my smash return. A lot of people focus on smashing because that is more obvious and logical and perhaps easier strategy. But think about this: 50% of the points won are won by serving or immediately after serving. The rest of the times you win by smashing, droping clearing and net play. That means, on the average 12.5% of the time you will win with a smash. That amounts to about 2 points. To get these two points, you might have to smash 20 to 30 times (about two smash per points). Unless you have great stamina, you probably will get tired after couple of games. Ben
Well I think I know what you mean. These are some tips on scaring the opponent(s). - Don't open your eyes all the way, hahaha, it sounds weird, but it adds to the whole effect - When it's the opponent's serve, always scoop and hit perfectly to the person, and when you scoop, act like it's nothing - When warming-up, keep your sweater or jacket on, and when you clear, only use your arm while still hitting it to the back. In the game, once the perfect opportunity is available, smash it with all your strength and if you have the strength,your opponent(s) will be bewildered - Never say anything if you make a bad shot - Try to drive the serve If you really want to be intimidating, be rude. Never say your opponent(s) made a good shot, no matter how good it is. Don't talk with your opponent. When you shake hands at the end of the game, you can just touch their hand lightly or completely forget about it (this is not recommended).
