Singles: returning offensive push clears

Discussion in 'Techniques / Training' started by aznchopstix89, Jul 19, 2009.

  1. aznchopstix89

    aznchopstix89 Regular Member

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    Hi guys,

    its been a while since i have posted here on Badminton central. ahaha...yeah, i no longer play badminton like i used to(daily), but my little brother has actually picked it up. He now trains at a gym in the bay area, but anyways...

    heres the question, that he asked me to post for you guys to answer:

    What is the proper footwork and stroke to returning offensive push/clears to either the backhand or forehand corners in a singles game.

    i.e. - what i mean by a offensive clears are lifts that are just barely higher than what you can reach with your arm extended up with your racket.

    what i mean by offensive push to the corner is exactly that. a push, majority of the times from the net past the player to either corners.

    Basically, he resorts to using his backhand when its hit to his backhand side and I know that can't be the best solution.

    Also, when a low shot is hit to his forehand side back corner, he catches the birdy usually behind his body by extending his arm back.(if you guys kind of know what i mean. i see it in singles alot)
    The only problem with that is, he can only return a straight drop and its very hard for any cross court shot, let alone a full cross court clear.

    So im guessing, the question is, what would u do to modify his footwork or approach so that hes more sucessful at returning these shots?

    feel free to ask me to provide more info if i wasnt clear above or anything
    haha
    thx
     
  2. krisss

    krisss Regular Member

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    Generally , I would think that a bad shot to the net will result in the opponent being able to do a hard push shot that is too difficult to get.

    Although I know that it is possible even from good shots.

    So I would say , try and anticipate the shot. I think it is generally faster footwork , although sometimes you will have to play this shot if you are decieved.

    If your little brother has done a block to a corner - he should generally be in an attacking singles position with one foot in front of the other , and slightly on the side he played the shot to.

    This means when they play the shot , you are ready to pounce on it.

    I have practiced hitting the shot behind me with my arm extended , I can do shots to the net , both cross-court and straight. And can generate power for to hit it to the back of the court.
     
  3. venkatesh

    venkatesh Regular Member

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    This usually happens to me also. It's really hard to hit the shuttle once it's already gone past you. However, it's still possible to clear from that situation. I've seen Zhou Mi do this several times. I haven't really mastered it, so I guess the best way I can do is to hit the shuttle early and never let it go past behind me.
     
  4. gamepurpose

    gamepurpose Regular Member

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    2 things
    1 increase your hitting power (if you want to clear, if not just drop)
    2 work on your foot work, and If you're foot work already good enough and still can't get those shots, try to intercept it by jumping.
     
  5. extremenanopowe

    extremenanopowe Regular Member

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    If you can practice doing cross court drop or recovery from such position, you can do anything you like. Occasionally you have to whip it hard to the base. Increase the swing and wrist power brudder. ;)
     
  6. Matt

    Matt Regular Member

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    Your brother may need to anticipate the offensive/punch clear because if he is able to do it, he could potentially smash it and put the opponent on the defensive or win the point.
     
  7. uncle_peanuts

    uncle_peanuts Regular Member

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    the most important thing even before you hit your shot is the proper footwork to get to the shuttle. because the punch clear is suppose to be deceptive and very fast, it would be difficult to get under the shuttle and hit it. if the shot is hit towards your forehand, it would be much easier to take a shuffle step, jump and hit the shot (when i mean jump, i mean jumping towards the shuttle, not jumping straight up). you cover more area and you take the shuttle higher.

    if the punch clear is towards your backhand, this will rely on your around the head shot and footwork to get there quickly. worst comes to worst, you use your backhand.
     
  8. gamepurpose

    gamepurpose Regular Member

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    what is punch clear?
    yea I know, I don't know any of the term, I played in high school, and we do not have a good coach, just an old dude know not much of badminton, so yea. enlight me
     
  9. aznchopstix89

    aznchopstix89 Regular Member

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    first off, thanks for the input guys

    and second,
    yes i get your point, footwork is important to not let you get into the situation to begin with.

    i guess let me elaborate a little:

    his problem is not getting to the position to hit the shot, but rather being helpless for the next shot after he hits it.
    Often times he complains that hes afraid to jump and cut it off because if the other person does a quick cross court net, hes screwed.
    Likewise, hes finding that people who play him alot know hes going to drop and take advantage of that by naturally pressuring him by coming up to the net, waiting for the shot.

    keep in mind hes only 14, and hes been training for about 2 years now(daily). hes decent...just sometimes i feel like he doesnt have the power to generate a clear, especially when the birdy is behind you at an akward position.

    but yeah, thanks guys for all the input
     
  10. yippo888

    yippo888 Regular Member

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    well, i would say for the forehand push its easy to suggest an improvement. a push to the forehand rear court is normally quite a threatening and effective shot, especially when im playing a left handed player. and is quite a good stock shot if ur in trouble aswell.

    however, the easiest way to prepare to counter this shot is your racket preparation. of course its a given footwork is the best way around this. but when you really are stretched, you need to make sure ur racket is in the best position aswell.

    alot of beginners dont always have their racket up ready to prepare for the push the forehand rearcourt, and by the time they have swung for the shot, the shuttle would have travelled past their body, resulting in less choice in for shotmaking. if the racket is raised early it allows you to cut shot off, as well as making it easier to play cross court shots as you can flik your wrist to play any shot. also playing the shuttle easier in this way can often catch your opponent off by surprise. also by preparing early this way it allows you to recover quicker and less out of position.

    hope that helps. not sure if i explained it greatly.
     
  11. t3tsubo

    t3tsubo Regular Member

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    well, if he can jumpcut it off, then he should be able to jump, flick wrist punch-clear back. Once your opponent knows you can do this, the plain old cutoff becomes so much more effective since they have to cover both the very front and the very back when they have little time to recover from making their punch-clear shot.
     
  12. t3tsubo

    t3tsubo Regular Member

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    and tell your brother to match more pro singles videos. Those guys almost never do huigh clears, so any clear you see is likely a punch-clear. The only time they do high clears are when they themselves are out of position.

    And let me tell you, they are never in a disadvantageous position after a punch clear if they're ready for it. Watch and learn
     
  13. the_oro

    the_oro Regular Member

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    if it's from a return of serve then that's why you stand a bit further back in your serve.

    if it's during the rally (like a flick from the net), if you can't clear and a drop means death, then drive!
     
  14. illusionistpro

    illusionistpro Regular Member

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    1st option I would say it go for a cut off shot. Get to the birdie and bring it down quickly. If you are too late and its behind you, then you cant "cut it off" obviously. Then you gotta just go for your two remaining shots, 1- attempt a clear 2-desperation drop shot. If you do try for a clear you should be mindful of your position. A lot of times players will be too close to get a good extension/stroke and end up too close making an awkward backhand flick 1/2 clear and then smashed on. If you are just way too late, then a low cross drop would probably be your last reasonable shot. This will only work if your opponent is out of position or moving towards the front side of the net. Since they are so far over or moving that way they will be unable and unready to get that one shot.

    Key here is keep your shots tight so you dont get into these situations.
     
  15. Matt

    Matt Regular Member

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    The offensive clear is also known as the punch clear or vice versa. Different wording terminology however, they are referring to the same thing.
     
  16. hiroisuke

    hiroisuke Regular Member

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    There are some different options as mentioned above. However, these all depend on both the situation as well as the player trying to hit the shot as well as how good the opponent is. In general however, there should be varied responses to this shot.

    1) If your brother plays with his racket foot (right if righthanded, and vice versa) forward, then for his backhand side, he should be able to recover quickly (with his body already geared to face his backhand side), take a step or two, and if he is tall enough, cut off the shot with a backhand (drop or clear, and perhaps if he can, cross drop and potentially cross clear). If the shot is too fast or he is not tall enough (or a combination of both), then he should probably go all the way back (perhaps an extra step or so), and give himself enough room and time to hit a straight drop, cross-drop, and if he is strong enough to do so, a straight clear. However, if you make it so that you have to run all the way back, the bird will be too low to realistically pull off a decent cross-clear. If your opponent is not expecting it, you may also try a drive down the line, but this shot is riskier and should be used sparingly.

    To the forehand side, he will have a bit of a harder time, but he should be able to start with his right foot moving back first, then two more steps (right left right is the overall sequence), and the best choices are drops (straight and cross), but a clear and/or drive is better if the opponent has a bad habit of playing close to the front when he/she believes you to be trapped in a corner. A cut-off jump drop or clear is more realistic from the forehand side, and should not be much of an issue.

    2) If your brother stands facing forward with feet to the sides or with non-racket foot forward, backhand shots will be less of an issue if he can cut them off with an around the head forehand, but more of an issue if he has to hit them backhand, as he will have to turn around more to get to the backhand position. So play slightly more backwards if standing in one of these positions. Forehand should not be an issue in this case.


    In any case, footwork and stamina should be improved on to make this more of a non-issue. If you know what to do here but don't have the speed or footwork for it, you'll be in trouble anyways. Also, work on drops, as poor drops lead to the situation in the first place (usually, unless your opponent is doing this shot from his/her clear, in which case you were out of position or they have good clears). If you have good drops (or work on them to make them better), you should be able to recover back and drop, be able to move forward quick enough to return the situation to a more neutral position.
     
  17. Mark A

    Mark A Regular Member

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    I'd go even further and say a punch clear is a clear with a delay element - you gear up for a normal overhead but delay the hitting action as long as possible. This delay gives the opponent the impression that the upcoming shot will be a slice or drop and they may commit in either weight shifting or actual footwork (even better). If you normally jump into an overhead, delaying the hit until you've landed makes a brilliant punch clear.
     
  18. hiroisuke

    hiroisuke Regular Member

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    As to the footwork issue, turn your body around more so you have more space to cross it if need be.

    @Mark A: A punch clear doesn't need to be delayed, although I'm sure some are.
     
  19. Gollum

    Gollum Regular Member

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    In the forehand corner, choose the "jump out" footwork (a block jump) if you can, so that you can intercept the shuttle early and attack; otherwise, use the "step out" footwork.

    In the backhand corner, you have less choice. Block jumps are only possible if you manage to get behind the shuttle. Normally, you'll need to use standard round-the-head footwork instead. If you're under too much pressure to play a round-the-head, play a backhand (a straight drive-drop shot is a good option).
     

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