Advanced Drive Technique

Discussion in 'Techniques / Training' started by drkzxeraph, Jan 12, 2010.

  1. drkzxeraph

    drkzxeraph Regular Member

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    I'm an intermediate-ish player. =D

    I've gotten much better in doubles recently, and have been playing against better and better opponents (still losing a lot...but maybe because I really like playing people that are better than I am?), and realized my drives, while accurate and powerful when I'm not being pressured, are absolutely horrid when the pace of the game gets faster or when we're fighting for the offense.

    For a powerful drive, as far as I know, you need some sort of backswing to get enough leverage. My typical backswing is almost ONLY supination/pronation for forehand/backhand drives, respectively; I don't use much of my elbow for driving at all (assuming that I'm driving back a fast drive that's not very far in front of me when I hit it).

    It seems to me as though my backswing takes up too much time. If I'm returning a fast drive with a netshot, I easily have a fast enough reaction time. But most of the time I try to drive back a drive, I end up hitting too late, causing the shot to be mishit/go at an upward angle/be weak.

    I was wondering if there's a way to get ready for a strong drive with the shortest amount of time possible. Should I use other arm muscles? Should I stand so that I favor either my forehand/backhand for drives? How low should my stance be? Or should I just stand farther back?

    Any ideas would be much appreciated. =D
     
  2. shot3gun

    shot3gun Regular Member

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    Wrist all the way. if a drive seems too low, use a slight push+wrist to make it into a slow drive/netshot
     
  3. stumblingfeet

    stumblingfeet Regular Member

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    pronation and supination is useful when the bird floats a bit above the net, it's like doing a flat wrish with either the forehand or backhand.

    When the bird is a bit flatter (or going downwards), pronation/supination is too slow and ineffective. Instead you should rely on finger power + a tiny bit of body rotation to get your power. Here's how to do it:

    1. stand with your racquet out in front of the body
    2. keeping your arm relaxed, turn/shift your racquet shoulder forwards -> this gives your arm some forward momentum
    3. by holding the racquet loosely, inertia will push it back slightly against your hand and open the face of the racquet towards the bird
    4. just as you're about to hit, tighten your fingers momentarily to drive the shot with finger power
     
  4. TheBear

    TheBear Regular Member

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    That indicates to me that your drives are pretty good if you're early to the shuttle. It seems that when you are late then it starts to deteriorate. Could the problem be in your movement, rather than your technique?
    Also, when under pressure, do you find yourself tensing up ? The muscles then fight against you, rather than working with you like they do when you're relaxed.

    Just a thought, hopefully of use.
     
  5. ixoye

    ixoye Regular Member

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    I have this problem, too. But not with all opponents, just a handful who like fast, flat drive exchanges. I avoid it as much as possible.
     
  6. milford30

    milford30 Regular Member

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    i don't know if your doing it, but i'd like to point out, if you hold a short grip, you get more power for a short swing, sounds to me your using the long grip with a large swing to generate enough power. a short grip + small angle swing >> long grip + small angle swing...
    personally with a short grip it's easy to drive right to the back (obviously not as fast as a full swing), a very small angle is required, and a balanced racket helps... head heavy seem to gives less speed...
     
  7. wannaliquorbox

    wannaliquorbox Regular Member

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    locally, there are two camps for drive techniques, being taught by 2nd tier ex indo nationals (men) and former chinese national players/coaches (ladies).

    indo uses full thumb grip, much of the power comes from supination.

    chinese uses a modified natural grip (rotated towards the thumb, but not full rotation), much of the power comes from the elbow. the forearm goes back in a quick short arc before exploding forward - like drawing a CHECK (tick) mark.

    i have been taught both. and when i asked, they both said the other way is incorrect!

    nationality aside, i wonder the difference in technique comes down to ladies requiring more power?
     
  8. milford30

    milford30 Regular Member

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    i think the full thumb grip would be more accurate, but uses more energy... and the modified you don't have to use as much energy which gives a smooth motion... i personally don't like the thumb grip, doesn't seem to have the smooth motion to move with the foot work and is pretty relaxed, so my muscles don't get pulled as much.. just use the one that feels right to you..
     
  9. Athelete1234

    Athelete1234 Regular Member

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    If you want explosive drives, you need good finger power....you'll get power from no backswing at all. It's pretty much just explosive grip tightening.
     
  10. Mikael

    Mikael Regular Member

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  11. drkzxeraph

    drkzxeraph Regular Member

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    Okay, so this seems to be the consensus:

    I SHOULDN'T rely too much on supination for a backhand drive, but instead use...uh...ulnar deviation, I think it was? That motion with your wrist where the side opposite your thumb is flexed?

    Anyway, so a combination of finger power and ulnar deviation...

    Hm, I'd never thought of using finger power for drives before...I'd mainly been using it for smashes up until now. Thanks alot for the help everyone!

    ...Er, well, I lied. I have one more question. For drives, how low are your stances? I know that a low stance is good for a compact overhead shot/drive, but when they actually hit the birdie a bit lower and towards your torso, it gets really awkward because of the low stance. A higher stance would make shots toward the body easier to return, but then you lose the advantage of being able to return fast drives well. Any opinion on this?
     
  12. Gollum

    Gollum Regular Member

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    It really depends on what kind of drive you're playing.

    "Half court" drives, played from out in front of you, tend to use more finger power and a thumb grip. When you are farther back and reaching out the side for a drive down the tramlines, you tend to need more arm rotation and a bevel or basic grip.

    And of course, plenty of drives are somewhere in between.
     
  13. longan_defense

    longan_defense Regular Member

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    Proper Grip and Technique

    I think the suggestions for more finger power and strengthening of finger power will be meaningless to someone using incorrect grip or not knowing how to use fingers in their attack/approach/swing.

    The key is knowing how to apply your fingers... if you know how to, then power is not a big issue since everyone has some finger power/strength. When you know how to use your fingers to hit the shuttle, you will be able to use solely your fingers and slight wrist movement to hit decently powerful drives, or add some elbow with it to hit a wickedly lethal drive.

    That being said, if you know how to use your fingers, then your drives can be executed in a split second, and your transitions between drives will be executed in split seconds.

    One key thing to note in quicker drive play is, never turn the racquet around between playing forehand and backhand shots.... you should be easing your hand into the proper grip instead.. ie. slight grip changes to hit forehand and backhand...
     
  14. vinod81

    vinod81 Regular Member

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    Server's poistion - left vs. right half court?

    I serve by standing close to the 'T' and I am right handed. If I am in the left half court, it is easier for me to do a drive serve aiming the rear centre of the receiver's court. Even if I stand close to the centreline, the contact point will be about the width of my body away from the centreline and it is more likely to avoid interception by the receiver. However if I serve from the right side of the court the contact point will be close to the centreline and it is harder to avoid the interception by the receiver.

    Should I stand about my body width away from the centreline when I am in the right half court so that the contact point will be equal distance for both the half courts?
     
  15. TheBear

    TheBear Regular Member

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    To be honest, unless you're playing LCW or Lin Dan, I can't see that it will make any difference !
    Certainly sometimes I over-think things and try and be a little too precise - do you think this might be the case here ?
     
  16. BaggedCat

    BaggedCat Regular Member

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    not sure if this is the right way but the fastest drive i can do is when instead of backswing, you relax your wrist and fingers, move the handle forward leaving the head behind, then twist your wrist and contract your fingers. you whip the racket head like flicking a ruler catapult fashion.
    extending your elbow so your hand pushes out 3-4 inches is much quicker then bringing the racket head backwards for a swing. you also do not have to fight against the weight of the racket head.
     
  17. vinod81

    vinod81 Regular Member

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    <BaggedCat> Assuming you are playing doubles, do you drive on the body of the reciver or drive away from the reciver towards center rear corner. My goal is to get a good horizontal angle so that receiver cannot intercept the shuttle. I am not sure this (serving towards corner) is a good idea in competitive games, but it works well sometimes in club games.
     
  18. BaggedCat

    BaggedCat Regular Member

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    if your opponent is good, it doesnt matter where you serve to, they will intercept it. a body widths distance isnt going to make a difference. serving to different corners isnt really to 'ace' the receiver. its just to provide variation so the receiver cant preempt your serve. if your opponent is not good, it probably wasnt the horizontal angle that will beat them, but the fact you lobbed them when they were expecting a short serve.

    "Should I stand about my body width away from the centreline when I am in the right half court" - no you're just putting yourself out of position. you moving 1-2 feet back to the center is more hassle than them moving their racket 1-2 feet to cover the 'extra angle' you've created.

    a tiny plus to serving straight down the middle when on the right is that if your serve is accidentally short, it will still be in. if serving at on angle and the long serve falls short, the serve will be on the wrong side of the court
     
  19. BaggedCat

    BaggedCat Regular Member

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    also my first post about a easy powerful drive shot was to OP about when the shuttle is in play (return of serve or mid game) not on a serve. do not do as is said for a flick serve, it will just telegraph you're doing a long serve.
     
  20. Pizza Fish

    Pizza Fish Regular Member

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    remember guys, it's been over 2 years since the OP has commented in this post! i don't think he will be coming back to read this soon :rolleyes:
     

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