This is what we call it in Scotland when you hit a forehand on the backhand side above, or level with your head. This is my first post, so apologies if it's a duplicate, but I really want to talk about this one. Also cross reference to srikrishna717 's post about shoulder pain. I did a lot of badminton coaching when I was a kid (80's - early 90's) and it was never taught. After playing recreatonally for another 15 years I got friendly with some good club level players in Oban, and they helped me to improve my game. A very nice lady at the club coached me for over an hour in practicing the round the head shot. As a clear. As a smash. As a drop shot. Now i had always played the backhand smash - cos lets face it - anybody who's ever pulled one off well knows who good, stylish and "flair" it feels, but it always leaves you off balance to the right (if like me you are right handed). Playing all these as "round the head" shots - once you get the technique - allows for much superior choice of shot, power and accuracy - and is also extremely deceptive and hard for your opponent to read. But the icing on the cake is that you remain facing the net, and not dragged round off balance as you so often have to do to get sufficient backhand power from the back of the court. Adding this to my game pretty much left me looking for better opponents to play with - Steve hasn't played me for weeks! - and if you can master it I reccomend anybody to add it to their game if not already there. I did find those better opponents! Now, I have never experienced any kind of shoulder pain before until I introduced this shot in to my game, After two days (Sat and Sun) playing over two hours of singles each day my shoulder was killing me - and thats with plastic shuttles! Although green (extra slow) does make it harder! I have only ever started to feel any pain in my arm since I started playing this shot. I am still however taking the attitude that it's just the pain of new muscles developing and playing through it. Obviously I would be interested in any information on this shot that any of you can give me - thanks in advance! Is this why this shot - despite being a match winner - was never taught? Cheers Davey
I wouldn't go so far to call the round-the-head short a match winner but it does extend your forehand significantly into the backhand area. I've been told to do this shot since I started playing seriously and we almost never trained our backhand. I was really young and agile then. I use my backhand a lot more nowadays to get out of situations (which arises much more often) but I still have a tendency to use this shot when possible. Can't answer the injury part. I've never been injured due to the round-the-head shot.
Personally, I find the round-the-head shot indispensable in doubles, especially for dealing with aggressive returns of serve where there isn't much time to react. But I hardly ever use it in singles. I take the view that if the opponent lifts the shuttle high to the backhand side, then there should be enough time to run around and take it on the forehand. (And if there isn't time to get in position properly for a forehand, then I'm off balance and shouldn't be trying to play an aggressive smash, so a backhand clear is the best option.) If you've been in the habit of playing a lot of backhand shots in singles games, and now you're trying to take the same shots on the forehand, it means changing your footwork patterns. Maybe you'll find that things improve as you get used to the new footwork.
I think it's normal to feel the pain at first. Your muscles there may be weaker since you don't use it before. You may have stretch your ligaments/tendons of the rotator cuff. Gets better with some rest and recovery. Once you recover you can do push ups or shoulder raise with dumbells to build up muscle/ligament tissue.
It's definitely a vital movement in the serious player's arsenal. Pros go to great pains to play a round-the-head shots instead of regular backhands - within reason of course - for the same advantages Dobson quoted earlier. Lin Dan is a great fan of returning a push/lift to his backhand with a round-the-head, down-the-line smash. Peter Gade plays an increadible cross-court drop shot from a round-the-head position. No logical movement should be left out of anyone's game, but it's important to know how to perform them without injuring oneself or putting too much stress on one's body. Get that shoulder checked out by a professional, see what the damage is, then take steps toward performing round-the-head shots without physical drawbacks. Enjoy your newfound arsenal!
I use round the head very often in doubles, but a lot of backhand clears in singles. I think I am put into more pressure with the speed and aggression in doubles and so I tend not to be in a comfortable position for backhand clears in doubles. I guess it is footwork and speed and then RTH or BH, shouldn't be too much of a difference. Ok... maybe RTH gives u more option (smash, clear, drive, drop, cross...?) which my backhand normally cannot reproduce.
Have played a few more games since the first post, and it's all freeing off. Think I probablly over did it a bit playing 2 hours two days on the bounce. Thank you all for your advice - especially the footwork which has made the biggest difference. I always wondered why I played better badminton when I'd been playing football the same week, and never put the two together! I have also changed racquet to my new Browning big gun CTi. The heavier head is helping the control despite the looser string tension, but it's a bit slower to swing about. My previous bat was a very highly strung Wilson N4 which left my arm soaking up most of the impact, but is still useful for counterattacking against fast opponents. I think I'll soon use the browning all the time as my arm gets used to the weight I think I'll soon be able to swing it much faster - but watch this space! Have also been splitting a lot of wood this week which is an excellent way to build the shoulder muscles for power in the smash! Thanks again Davey
