Strange "backhand"

Discussion in 'Techniques / Training' started by SixSeven, Mar 29, 2011.

  1. SixSeven

    SixSeven Regular Member

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    [video]http://union.bokecc.com/flash/player.swf?vid=84B2B0F19C3216AF&siteid=753537DF98F6365E[/video] (there will be a 10 sec ad before the video start)

    I saw this in a Chinese badminton forum. The girl in the video is hitting the shuttle in a very strange way. Please comment.
     
  2. kwun

    kwun Administrator

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    very interesting. it is like a mixture of forehand and backhand.
     
  3. visor

    visor Regular Member

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    isn't that what the "backhand king" uses? guo
     
  4. WoOZY

    WoOZY Regular Member

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    That's almost like what I do on backhand clears.... I must admit I use a lot of my tennis and squash strokes in badminton....
     
  5. cobalt

    cobalt Moderator

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    Yes, that's right; he uses that method sometimes. But what's interesting is that the other girl is hitting the traditional backhand with much more ease! :D
     
  6. quahjarrod

    quahjarrod Regular Member

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    Looks like it would be very hard to hit a shot with that grip if the shuttle is behind you though... or to do a backhand smash with that.
     
  7. Sketchy

    Sketchy Regular Member

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    Very strange indeed :O
    Technically speaking it's a forehand. It doesn't seem like the way forward though - looks like she's putting a lot of effort in, and the shuttle's still falling a foot or two inside the doubles long service line. Plus she doesn't seem to have much control, and I can't imagine how she'd play a shot like that below chest height.
    Surprisingly good consistency though - I doubt I could do two and a half minutes of backhand clears without messing up on a few of them.
     
  8. visor

    visor Regular Member

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    Xiong guobao is the one who introduced this stroke. You can see it on YouTube.

    Few problems I see with it. Grip changes to and from panhandle during a heated rally are going to be challenging. Also requires a violent not so graceful throwing action of shoulder and arm. IMO the standard backhand with forearm supination produces much more effective power than this stroke, as demonstrated clearly by the other girl in the video.
     
  9. Blisse

    Blisse Regular Member

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    It requires too much effort and time to switch grips like that. Probably impossible to do during faster rallies.
     
  10. winstonchan

    winstonchan Regular Member

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    this stroke is basically a forehand overhead but with your body turned, and i see a few problem with this stroke:

    very little or no control of the shuttle at all, you probably cannot execute a quality drop shot, you can only do high-clears
    wouldn't work when the shuttle has flown past your body, only works when you're behind or in-line with the shuttle
    prone to shoulder and arm injury in constant use of this stroke... and not energy efficient
     
    #10 winstonchan, Mar 30, 2011
    Last edited: Mar 30, 2011
  11. MSeeley

    MSeeley Regular Member

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    Slightly confused. Does everyone here think that the shuttle is being struck with the forehand side of the racket (meaning the side we can see most easily when they prepare for the shot)?

    Watching in slow motion using my camera, I am fairly convinced she is using the backhand side of the racket face, because it looks to me as if her thumb is pushing from this side (as we look at it). At contact, I can also see the colour of her racket handle (the frame rate of the video doesn't let me see on every swing but certainly of some of them) which would only be possible if it were actually a regular backhand hit (with supination). And afterwards, the follow through is definitely with the palm facing upwards, which to me indicates it was struck after full supination. The reason I tihnk it looks so strange (and not very powerful) is the racket is pointing near horizontal throughout the swing (like a sling shot) rather than being quite vertical, which would give you far more power from supination. If anything I would simply call this a fairly elegant "danish swipe" for those of you who know what I mean by that.

    What do people think? Am I wrong? It is hard to tell because the videos frame rate is terrible, and even my camera struggles to pick up the details on every swing, but I am fairly sure its just a low contact on a regular backhand (with a fairly extreme preparation - similar to the great Xiong Guobao).

    Matt
     
  12. visor

    visor Regular Member

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    Here on this YouTube video, shows Guo hitting backhand distinctly with forehand grip.

    [video=youtube;cwZ08re-VS8]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwZ08re-VS8&feature=youtube_gdata_player[/video]
     
  13. visor

    visor Regular Member

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    At around 7:18 into the video, he shows a slower swing and you can see better.
     
  14. chris-ccc

    chris-ccc Regular Member

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    Using the forehand side of the racket face to do her Clears from her backhand side

    .
    Check it again. She was using the forehand side of the racket face to do her Clears from her backhand side. That's why it's so very strange.
    .
     
  15. kwun

    kwun Administrator

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    yes. using a forehand grip to hit backhand it not some uncommon. esp when the shuttle is behind your back.

    but using the forehand side of the racket to hit it is what is happening in the video. which is very unusual.

    that's why i initially says it is a combination of forehand and backhand. backhand body, backhand posture, but the actual hit the wrist is twisted over and the forehand side of the racket face is used.
     
  16. madbad

    madbad Regular Member

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    Also note she never hits the bird at, or even close to the highest point, which would allow her opponent a split second more to recover. She's definitely in deep doo-doo after the bird is past her.
     
  17. chris-ccc

    chris-ccc Regular Member

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    It is a very unusual stroke

    .
    Agree. It is a forehand stroke played when her body is facing away from the net.

    It's different from a forehand (around the head) stroke, when the body is facing the net.

    IMHO, when this strange "backhand" stroke is played with a forehand method performed with the body not facing the net; it is a very unusual stroke.
    .
     
  18. MSeeley

    MSeeley Regular Member

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    Thats fair enough guys. Like I said, from my slow motion analysis, I believe that she is actually using the backhand side of her racket, not the forehand side. Thats just from the slow motion footage I have watched. I listed the things that made me think it was a backhand above.

    The forehand grip doesn't bother me. Plenty of people do that. But It would be very strange if she were hitting with the forehand side of the racket.

    Again, the main reasons I think it IS a backhand, and NOT a forehand are: I can see (slow motion camera) the bend in her elbow pointing upwards when she strikes the shuttle (as in her elbow is pointing DOWNWARDS - impossible for the "forehand" stroke to my mind) and I can clearly see the follow through is with the backhand side of the racket facing downwards, having fully supinated. Again - this seems unlikely from using the forehand racket face instead of a backhand.

    Matt
     
  19. flite

    flite Regular Member

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    It was the backhand grip.

    I was there at MBA during the demonstration by XGB back in May 2010 when the TC was held in KL. During contact with the shuttle, it was the backhand grip. He uses the forehand grip to generate more power before switching to backhand grip at the last minute to hit the birdie. Also his special racket grip were designed to hit that way.

    Generally speaking, it is wrong to hit a backhand shot with a forehand grip more so by a professional player.
     
    #19 flite, Apr 5, 2011
    Last edited: Apr 5, 2011
  20. bbirdman

    bbirdman Regular Member

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    I was thinking like everybody else, in preparation its like shes going to hit it forehand, but after reading matts and flites comments now think at the last moment the racket is rotated and hit backhandside. Its hard to tell because it happens too fast for video to pick up
    Grip seems to me panhandle with thumb shifted like for backhand.
     

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