tight or not so tight?

Plllllllllleeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaasssssssssssseeeeeeeeeee do a search instead of asking this question, you will find nobody will reply because they are so fed up of answering this dreaded question. If you do a search, you will find ALOT of results.

Matt

 

I think it's true that higher tension will give you more control but as for power, I tend to think that it depends solely on the player's strength. Sort of like a bow and arrow, you can have a bow strung at a really high tension but if you can't pull it back you're not gonna get any distance on your arrow. On the other extreme, you can have a bow strung at such a tension that you can pull it all the way back till your arms can't stretch anymore, you'll get distance there but not as much as if the bow was strung with a higher tension and you still could pull it back the same distance.

 

i for one, actually do not agree that lower tension gives power... i usually string my rackets at 24*25... recently i tried to string it at 22*23... the lower tension feels very bouncy! no control! and my shots seems to be floating! lobs to backcourt is good, but it's floating! i cant do drive shots!

i think why professionals like high tension is because of the added control and plus, the power!

 

It depends on your technique, and how good you are actually. You can't give a beginner a racket that's strung at 25 lbs!! For sure he can't hit the shuttle far!

Sofian strings his racket at 23x24 lbs but he can sure drive, lob, drop with extreme precision as well.

 

Since professional players can hit the birdie so hard due to technique, timing, physical ability, etc., then they are better off using high tension--they get power and control.

 

You can better direct a ball hitting it with a sturdy stick than if you were to hit it with a moderately pliable object, therefore higher tension translates into better control. Higher tension, however, does not necessarily equal to power, optimal racquet tension depends solely on the player's racquet swing speed. If the player is improving--better technique, timing, stronger, etc. consequently able to hit the birdie harder, only then will switching to a higher tension lead to more power (assuming of course that the previous string tension wasn't optimal anymore for the player) and more control. It would be cool if there was a way to determine optimal string tension for a player, I saw this done once on TV for baseball.

 

That's right, work = force x distance -> power = work / time.

 

Now, I'm no expert but..

Don't forget that the tension affects the size of the sweet spot.
Higher tension makes it smaller.


check out http://www.ashawayusa.com/pages/BadTipINDEX.html


I think the majority of the science done in this area has been for tennis rather than badminton, and although there are many similarities, there are also differences.
e.g. a tennis ball filled with pressurised air reacts differently to a shuttlecock

 

This is from my personal expereince and also what my coaches say.

I have found that higher tension is only good if you have the skills/technic to utilize it.
In other words, if you are a beginner I really advise against stringing your racket high. It has come to my attention that the advanced players are the ones with high tension.(not all some good players still prefer 21 pounds) so if you are just a beginner to the sport or even an intermediate player keep it at around 20-23 pounds. Also keep in mind the tension of your stringing is dependent on the stiffness of your shaft. So say for instance you buy a racket that is stiff as when i see a pretty girl, then you as a beginner will lose power but in turn gain control. So a stiff shaft equal lower the tension(for a beginner that is) if you have a very flexible shaft you can get away with stringing it a little higher. Stiff shafts are again dominant in top of the line models, as they are ment for advanced players whom posses the power to take advantage of it, also in turn they gain better control.

Stay away from carlton's expensive rackets as this company 's design philosophy is targeted towards avanced players, with lots of power(very stiff shafts). In other words for the real demanding hard smashing /hitting player.

 

High tension gives optimal control but it is also like hitting the shuttle w/ a piece of wood. It takes correct techniques and long hours to be able to truly handle a high tension racquet w/ power. Also, you put a lot of stress on the strings, the racquet, and your arm and wrist when using high tension.

there are so many factors into how to generate powers, if all your techniques are correct, strength are developed, you don't need the bouncy low tension flexible racquet anymore and go with a tight stiff racquet for control since you would already have the ability to generate power.

 

Thank you Neil for posting that website, although I don't know why you said it was mostly about Tennis--I found very few references to Tennis, 99% badminton. Any badminton fanatic should check that site out if they haven't already done so. There's just so much new (for me anyway) information there that you're bound to learn something, actually too much for me to remember even when I understood the concept, I guess it's hard for the brain to keep track of all the factors at any one time.

 

Sorry, I meant that most of the scientific stuff about stringing that I'd found on the web was based on tennis.

That web-site was the best I'd found badminton-wise (BC excluded)