Hey ! I just came back from 2 months of left handing practice bcuz of a wrist injury. I felt very excited to play with my right hand bcuz a lot of ppl told me how good i was with left arm. Except I had no power, i was able to do some accurate net play, coming back & forth without losing too much energy thanks to a great footwork as well. Sadly, with no power, most of your points are taken from opponent's mistakes or lucky net shots. To be honest, i've been very disappointed when i came back with my right hand. Mb it's bcuz this is my first day, but my footwork is not as pure, i cannot do clear shots & i get exhausted pretty fast. I think i've been too proud by thinking i'd be the best of my club instantly. Some friends were teasing me, they said i should come back with my left arm ^^ Playing with left arm did not improve my skill with my right one, i'm kinda worried. Has anyone experimented that situation ?? Are lefthanders more accurate ? why did it feel so easy ?
The motor skills required for badminton do not transfer well when you swap hands. I played with my left hand for a few months, because I was recovering from shoulder surgery. I was much better than a complete beginner, because I could apply my knowledge of the game; but my rearcourt technique in particular was terrible. I think the hardest part was reversing the footwork! Do you actually play better with your left hand than with your right? If so, you could be a naturally left-handed badminton player. Your playing hand is not necessarily the same one you write with -- usually players use their writing hand, but I know several who play left-handed but write right-handed. By the way, please don't centre your text. Centred text is annoying to read. Generally speaking, it's best to leave forum text on its default settings.
I would expect that after 2 months of left-handed play, you won't re-adjust to your right hand immediately after one practice session. Especially if you've succeeded in reversing your footwork and everything. Give it time. Recently I've been playing around with my left hand (just out of curiosity) to see how good I can make it. Let me tell you, it's definitely not easy. I can't get any power from the rear court (even though I have the knowledge of how to do a proper swing and how to pronate using my right hand), and I haven't transferred my backcourt footwork over either so I may in fact be robbing myself of power. Let me ask you: were you the best in your club BEFORE you started playing with your left hand? These skills are not transferable, like Mark said. By playing with your left hand, you might gain an appreciation for how beginners have difficulty with learning new techniques, but it shouldn't improve your right-handed playing at all. Consistency relies on muscle memory, therefore it is only with practicing with your dominant hand that you will improve it.
Nah Gollum, i'd beat myself if i played against my left bcuz i wouldnt have to move from the net, thus i'd netkill all the time since i cannot clearing with left : ) I'm righthanded bcuz in 2months, despite of great improvement, i still am not able to do a single powerful clear shot or smash. No improvement at all here. I'll always throw a rock farther with my right arm, the body coordination is natural. Thejym, you're right. I do have a pain in my right shoulder right now, i have to give it time. 2months without any push up can be an explanation to that even though i trained my forearm with Gripmaster. I was not the best of my club before hurting my wrist tendon (wrong technique on clearshot exercise). This was my first year actually, but a lot said i learned a lot in a short period of time. I tend to become the best in a couple of months, that's the problem when you're both a competitor & a perfectionnist, you go too fast, & if you lose against someone that plays for 10 years, you get upset with yourself & get a little depressed =) I also watch a lot of vids, especially ms & ws, so i guess i have too much confidence in my abilities bcuz they make it look so easy ^^ I'd better try having fun & not putting too much pressure on myself... i came up with a new idea for 2010/2011, statistics in simples training. I dont think this will solve the "pressure" problem since i'd be scared to lose my percentage
@Gollum : My footwork was actually better, i felt at ease coming back & forth. With my right one yesterday, i felt more stress moving back, i also had tip side. Hard to fight with this, mb it's due to extra power or jumping that i couldn't do with left arm that exhausted me more than usual. Against myself i'd definitly win against my left bcuz i'd just have to stand in the front court & waiting for my leftself shots to netkill since i cannot clear or smash. My lifts were very accurate though (only way to play to the back of the opponent's court), just like netplay & backhands. I naturally overplayed the cross court backhand(diagonal), which i never did with the right(straight). @thejym, yeah you right, i practice @home with a feather shuttlecock & hit the wall forehand/backhand. I think that's the best way. I was not the best of my club before hurting myself (too many bad clearshots in training, tendon hurt), i'm just perfectionnist & tend to be the best. I started that year but improved fast. Videos just make it look so easy you know ^^ Thx for feedback, the topic is closed.
