Hi friends, I have a question about the proper technique for executing the Overhead clear & smash. Do u raise ur arm n hit the shuttlecock when its directly in the center of your vision or to your right(if u r right-handed)?
if i remember right, you should not be square to the shuttle when hitting a clear. you should be slightly turned away on your right side as a "coiling" motion before the swing, then turning your toe, hips, waist, shoulders, and finally arm into the overhead swing.
The contact point with the shuttle should be approximately above your head, when possible. If you are hitting it significantly off to the right or left, then the quality of the shot will be lower.
Thanks for the explanations. Is the motion of hitting a overhead clear or smash similar to throwing an object e.g. a baseball?
In many ways, yes, and this is such a common analogy that coaches often call it "the overhead throwing action". In particular, the correct hitting action is much closer to "throwing a ball" than to "throwing a dart" (at a dartboard). "Throwing a dart" is panhandle-style, which is to say, weak.
proper way of striking the shuttlecock should be above the player's head and in front of the player. When you strike the shuttle, the shuttle should be approximately in front of your body and above your head (forming 45 degree angle from ) you will get more control over the shot rather than striking the shuttle above your head. When you perform a drop shot, smash, and clear the racquet movement should be in uniform so that it "fools the opponent" You may be thinking that your able to perform clear, drop shot and smash above your head but such shots like drop is easy to control if you perform when the shuttle is above your head and in front your body as well as smash to obtain full power.
Gollum, I recently discovered that I have been using almost a full panhandle grip for all my overhead shots. I have a full court clear, decent smash, and a deadly hard drop. Should I continue using my awkward grip or should I just start over completely and try to relearn how to play with the proper basic grip?
If you're keen to improve, then absolutely yes -- you need to fix your grip. It's not necessarily a case of "starting over completely". You can gradually shift your grip away from panhandle, while starting to use more arm rotation in your shots. Your current shots may be working because you're a very good player in other respects -- for example, you may be physically strong, or you may be making good use of grip tightening. It might also be that you're playing with fast shuttles (this is common with plastics), or that your opponents' defence is a little shabby. In any case, learning to use the basic grip will greatly improve your badminton. You may find that you initially get worse, while you're still learning the technique; but stick with it, and you'll become a much better player.
Yes. All of my friends happen to compete at a high D, low C level, but I'm constantly getting beat, though not too badly, usually only by 6-8 points, and we always try to use feather shuttles, 77 or the too slow 76. It's near impossible to find 78 around here. My main strengths are net play and deception because I could never outpower my opponent because of my very sub par smash (my hard drop is twice as fast as my smash). Thanks for the advice. I'll try to gradually switch to the proper basic grip for overheads. I tried to simply switch over last night and it felt so alien I wanted to throw my racquet away. Thanks again!