Where do you look when you smash?

Where you look and where you aim are 2 completely different issues.

Look: quick glance at opponent position and then concentrate on the bird until the moment of impact.

Aim: yes, as you mentioned, and also down the middle of the 2 players if doubles.

 

Aiming at opponent's(right handed) right hip only work when ur opponent is a tall beef guy ( my personal point of view)

 

true if your opponent is really tall your smashes should be more steeper and make him move fast as hell to the backcourt not the frontcourt as they will reach very soon and try to make most of your shots identical and make him move in the wrong direction.

 

surely i'm looking at the shuttle when i'm smashing, otherwise i won't hit the birdie
where do i aim? i don't aim, i just smash and hope that it gets thru the other side of the court

 

You must be kidding right? When you hit a smash you need to have a intention or purpose. You need to aim to where you want to put the shuttlecock. Can you put any videos of you in youtube and embed it here?

 

smashing of course

 

i mean i don't aim for the chest or the feet, but i do have intention to make the shuttle go down though

 

just try different angles and speeds. You have plenty of games in youtube to see smashes. The intention in badminton is to outmaneuver your opponent using all 6 corners and others you can create with angled and steep smashes, round the head straight or crosscourt, half-smashes to both sides or even drops, fast drops, smashes only using the wrist when you are not really all the way back in the backcourt. When you smash to the body you need to know which are the places you think is more hard to you to defend and just aim to those places. A body smash is mainly used to increase the pace of the game and to cause a error in your opponent, like a bad block so you can kill and the net or simply to go out or make a fault.

 

thanks for the tips, bro

 

but be carefull don't stop after a hard smash the reply can be put behind your back or it can be a really good block to the net

 

a similar question. before someone gains the muscle memory to just hit it, where do you aim: a spot on the floor or a spot above the net?

 

In order to aim your smash, here are some important things to consider:

Being behind the shuttle, looking upwards AND forwards at the shuttle should keep your opponents in your peripheral vision helping you know where to aim.

The further behind the shuttle you get, the STEEPER your smash will be.

Your smash will go in the direction that your stomach (i.e. your hips and shoulders) point when you CONTACT the shuttle. So don't turn so much and you will change the angle of your smash. This is assuming you make a clean and intentionally non-sliced smash.

Where SHOULD you aim? Do you need to aim? Yes, you should always aim. Doubles: down the middle but deliberately not within the reach of the cross court defender is a good choice. The racket hip of a defender is a good choice. The racket should of a defender is a good choice, as long as he is not crouch defending . Down the tramlines is a good choice if there is a gap. Cross court is almost never a good idea, unless you have CREATED a gap cross court.
For singles: at the body is an excellent choice, where your opponent is likely to block the shuttle to the net afterwards, so charge forwards for the kill. Otherwise, the smash can go ANYWHERE in terms of angle, as long as it lands close to the sidelines. Cross court smashes are a good option if you are ON BALANCE.

Hope that helps.

Matt

 

ok, let me try again. suppose I've already chosen where to aim my smash based on where my opponent is and i have already got into position to make the shot. The shot is a steep smash to the service line 'T' in the middle of the court.

Mentally in my head do i aim for the ground (and hope i've judged the steepness right to take it over the net) possibly more accurate in where it lands if it goes over the net

or aim just above the net (and hope i've judged the steepness right to make it land where i intended it to go) possibly more likely to make it over the net but less accurate in where it lands.

Its not just smashes though. with all shots. e.g. when you short serve - do you aim for above the net and let your judged power take it into the opponents service box or aim for the service box line letting your judged angle of hit take it over the net.

 

Aim isn't that important - mixing it up is (hit one smash as steeply as you can when your opponent has been pushed to the back, and then follow it up by a shallow gradient, hard smash when he's at the front - note that the second smash requires a good amount of power, otherwise it will be possible to drive and put the pressure on you). As for where to look, I suggest you look at some of the advice already given so far in this thread.

 

Begin with the end in mind. As you smash, it is important to visualize where the bird will land. Pinpoint accuracy will follow! This ebook helped a lot in getting that accuracy: www.badmintonsmashsecrets.com

 

My spider-sense is picking up non-disclosure of interests.