pro players and their foot positioning ! ...O.O

Ahhh the glamour, everyone loves a smash

They do smash, but they use it at appropriate times often as a 'building shot', even pros rarely hit smash winners from the back of the court because on the other side of the net is another pro who has an excellent defence and is in the correct position on the court!

Have a read of Gollum's Badminton Bible pages on "Singles Tactics" - you'll find answers to some of your questions in there. (I particularly like this bit:- "Against a good defender, you cannot play all-out attack in singles (smashing everything). You will simply lose..."

Basically singles is about getting your opponent into a weaker position e.g. off-balance, out of position etc. and then capitalising on that to win the point.

 

You could be in trouble after your Smash

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Smash only if you can be ready to face a difficult return such as a perfect 'BLOCK' or a perfect 'DRIVE', otherwise you could be in trouble after your Smash.
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Especially in singles, players are often forced to take the shuttle from behind the body. This requires different footwork (step out / jump out, rather than scissor kick).

Because smashing opens them up to counter-attacking shots. A simple block to the net can put the smasher in immediate trouble.

The pros tend to reserve their smash until they are in a good position to recover for the opponent's reply. Before attacking in singles, you must consider your own position. You may simply be offering your opponent a chance to win the rally!

 

Shots that create (build) an opportunity for a winner.

Maybe a simplified example will help:

1. You lift the shuttle to me
2. I drop to your backhand (I hope to move you out of position)
3. You struggle to reach the drop (you are too slow! j/k) and now you are off-balance, all your weight is forward, maybe you even had to dive!
4. You play a net shot return
5. I push the shuttle over your head (while you are still recovering) to your forehand rear corner (I see my drop has created an opportunity)
6. You are unable to reach the shuttle before it hits the ground (and of course lands in)

In the rally above #2 is my building shot and #5 is my winning shot.

The drop has built (created) the opportunity for me to win the rally.

Yes, the swing is the same but in a clear the point of impact is further back i.e. you impact the shuttle when it is above you.

For a smash you impact the shuttle when it is in front of you this means for a smash you often have to work harder to get behind the shuttle i.e. footwork!

Once again I'll defer to the excellent Badminton Bible site for a more thorough and considered explanation!

HTH

 

But you can smash softer too

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I posted "Smash only if you can be ready to face a difficult return such as a perfect 'BLOCK' or a perfect 'DRIVE', otherwise you could be in trouble after your Smash". This is because the shuttlecock will come back quicker when you smash. If you are not fast enough to play to the returned shot, then you will be in trouble.

However, if you like smashing, you can always smash softer (say 60% of your maximum power). This will allow more time to elapse between your smash and your next shot.
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^^
because you'll tire yourself out easily if you smash 100% and use scissors kick all the time

also, having variations in smash and drop speeds help to put your opponent on his toes and also to move him around more

 

also if you're attacking all the time with smashes against a good defender, you'll lose not only from fatigue but also from being counter-attacked, eg. by a drop return close to the neck or a drive return to your backhand side down the line

just like in martial arts, your opponent can easily make use of the energy in your smash to turn the attack against you instead

 

You can't just mainly smash in singles, it will not work. This is where you want out smart your opponents. Techniques and strategy apply here, so if you can get points without smashing (except when capitalizing), you will have of other shot variety to win points without using much energy. Usually this often would determine who is the better player if you were facing an opponent.

This would different than doubles where you would want to try to smash more often however, it still requires stragety.

 

As you say your opponent had a "weak defence" and that you can usually win the rally with a smash I imagine that you are not playing at a very high level....but you want to improve

When you play better players you will find your smash does not win points so easily, you have to use other shots to create (build) the opportunity to unleash your smash, preferably from half-court where it will be more lethal

A good clear to the very back of the court does not provide much attacking opportunity as a smash from the back is easy to return, you have more time to react etc.

You usually do not need to scissor when clearing because it's an easy, relaxed shot requiring relatively little effort so recovering ready for the next shot is much easier, no need for energy-sapping footwork

Also by clearing you keep your opponent moving more than if you just hit a smash, this way you are attacking their stamina

 

Unless you actually seen them in person (if you mainly watch videos), the clear is high and back which in a way which makes the opponent move all the way back time to hit it back, but not in a position to simply smash as the opponent is already in ready position if the player attempts it.

Watching the video, it is hard to tell from the angle and bird from game play since it's from the top view. However watching in person as I had a chance to see Taufik vs Joachim watching from the front row, it is lot easier to see players why they do not simply smash on the clear as you can see the shuttle is moving pretty fast almost behind them and they get their in time to clear it back, but won't smash it. Even if they did smash, the either one of them blocked it and then the rally continues. If it was a bad clear for instance because the player got out of position, then a smash would ensure. Ie. the clear was desperate as it went high but did not go all the way to the back line -> jump smash. Chances are it was blocked but other times it was a winner.

 

malaysianfreak,

One more thing I forgot say. You will not be able to exact mimic what the pros do because they are phyically fit and a lot stronger than us. For one thing, their wrist is about twice as powerful so they can do shots easier than what we can do. Ie, notice how they look pretty relaxed when they do a clear?

 

i would give away my left nut for a wrist like a pro!

really! already have enough kids...

 

correct, not wrist flexion per se, but forearm pronation specifically