I'm not sure if this is normal but I find that I get a LOT of stress on my thumb when i hit my overheads with lots of pronation such that after 3 hours or so, it's almost a blister but it's very tender. I've been building up a lot of callous there but even then it will hurt after a long session. I just want to get some feedback as to whether this is normal and it's just what happens over a long session or if I need to make some adjustments in my grip In the first picture I circled the area in which I get the most stress and where the tenderness is always located after a long session. The 2nd picture is a grip of how my hand looks after tightening for pronation, it's NOT my relaxed grip before hitting. I find that it looks like a fist and perhaps that's not how it's supposed look upon tightening on pronation, but that seems to be the only way in which I can do pronation comfortably. I've tried to put my forefinger a little higher up on the grip but it always comes sliding right down to a fist shape when I hit my forehand. I've referred back to the badminton bible but I can't seem to spot the difference from the angles they give me. They also say that ending with a fist-like grip after the shot is ok, but it still doesn't stop the stress on my thumb and it gets pretty uncomfortable after awhile. Does anyone else have the same problem or can offer some advice as to where to place the thumb so I can at least lessen the amount of friction on my thumb at the specific place? Edit: Forgot to add I use the RKEP Ultimate grip G05, which is pretty comfortable and is a lot better than before when I used supergrap and my hand would be in a world of hurt after 3 hours, but the ultimate grip has reduced much of that. Now it's just my thumb instead of the whole hand, but I'd rather have no tenderness or pain.
A few ideas: start with grip light, strongest grip with little finger and the finger next to it. thumb very lightly touching sides when grip tightening end with thumb curled more around handle. All else fails try another grip like bevel maybe
Unfortunately I would disagree with bbirdman: DO NOT try another grip. What I am seeing in your grip is a standard basic grip. However, for a POWER shot, it is MORE common to wrap the thumb around the handle so it is now across this side of the grip (as I look at your second picture) with the thumb between the index finger (the top one) and the middle finger (the second one down from the top). That is how most coaches, including myself and Lee Jae Bok, will coach the thumb position for a forehand POWER stroke. It can be different for other strokes. So it is still the basic grip, but when you have tightened the grip, I would expect to see the thumb curled around rather than remaining straight up as you are showing. I hope that helps Matt
So what your saying is if he still keeps getting a worn thumb to continue trying something that wears his thumb down! As coach zhao jianhua says, who I think from watching videos is the best coach on then net by far, grip isnt that important in power shots. Aslong as you dont panhandle it. I know a county squad player who uses bevel grip, a few other people who can hit it damned hard who use weird and wonderful grips. All I'm saying if all else fails using the basic grip then using another grip isn't the end of the world. By the way matt your response to my comments is getting rather predictable. Just because I am in your eyes no hot shot coach please treat me with equal courtesy.
bbirdman, it certainly wasn't my intention to make it sound as if you advice was inferior in any way. I am sorry. I am not saying that continuing to get a worn thumb is all right. Indeed, my intention in my post above, which I thought was quite clear, is that I believe if he changes the grip slightly, so that the thumb is in a different position, then it will not get worn, and the problem will no longer affect him. I am also aware that changing grip to a bevel grip can have some adverse effects in terms of shot production on the forehand overhead strokes. I therefore instead suggested that he try something else, rather than change to a different grip. Unfortunately, all my advice on what I believe is correct and how IMPORTANT the grip is for EVERY stroke, including power strokes, comes from other highly respectable coaches such as Lee Jae Bok. I did not get the impression from Zhao that grip was unimportant, but maybe I have misinterpreted. Regardless, I have not made stuff up myself, I have thought about it, having heard various different perspectives, and come to my own reasonably informed decision. Lee Jae Bok, in his instructional videos that you have to purchase defines VERY clearly the difference between the thumb positioning for a smash and clear grip, as opposed to a basic grip. In his videos (bearing in mind he is one of the best coaches around) he actually explicitly says that using the grip shown in the picture above is not as good as when wrapping the thumb around. Because I have seen this instruction, and agree with it, I decided it might be beneficial to say that I think this is a solution to the problem, rather than changing grip. Another reason I have said I do not believe that changing to a bevel grip is the answer, is because I know that some people have really struggled to play clears and smashes using a bevel grip, but no one that I know has had trouble with the alteration I described. Ultimately, what has happened is you have given some advice, and so have I. I personally don't agree with the idea of changing from a basic to a bevel grip, and so I said so. You would rather I didn't say I disagreed? Its for the person struggling to make up his mind either way. Whatever works for each of us is fine. Perhaps in future i should withhold the information I have seen from other sources? I have paid for it so don't share it around? Tactim: I think there are two sensible suggestions here, try the bevel grip, or try adjusting where your thumb is. You know which one I think is worth a try, but either way, I hope one of those solutions help. Matt
I had the exact same problem before, though it was not as bad as blisters. I got a callous in the same area and combined with my dry skin gave me some pain. Anyways I changed my grip a bit like Matt suggested and my callous is pretty much gone now. Old habits die hard. I also put a wrap of athletic tap around that area during play for a several weeks while I got used to changing my thumb position. Good luck.
It is a sign of hard abusive labour work. Don't complain ok? kekeke.. Its a mark of a true champion mate.
MSeeley is right. For smashes, I would recommend that you stick with the basic grip. If you switch to a bevel grip, it may be that your thumb hurts less. However, this would not be because your technique has improved, but rather gotten worse. Let me explain. Using a bevel grip, you will not be applying the proper amount of power through pronation, because you limit the angle of rotation that you can apply to hit your shot where you want to go. You'll likely use more of a pushing motion by pushing out your forearm, which will limit the amount of power you can generate. It's true that some people can hit really hard even though they might use a slightly modified grip, but this is probably due to two factors: (1) having practiced excessively with their grip to the point where they've developed those specific muscles, and (2) their natural muscle abilities make them very explosive. Chances are, if they had really fine tuned their grip from a young age and practiced with the corrected grip, they would have slightly more power. Now, to solve your problem. If picture 2 is your grip post-swing, your thumb is a little high as mentioned. You can even let your thumb tough your middle finger if need be. That isn't the crux of the problem though. To really fix things, you should keep in mind that you're keeping your racket from flying out of your hand by curling your pinky finger and ring finger around the butt of the racket. Since rackets come with a little tapered butt, it is sufficient to keep your last two fingers tightened around the handle to keep your racket from flying out. To some degree, you'll also need the help of your middle finger wrapped around the handle. But, with just these three fingers, you should be able to swing as hard as you like and the racket shouldn't fly out. Go out and try it for yourself. Once you're comfortable with that, you'll find yourself pressing down less hard with your thumb and index finger, which will make it easier for your racket to slide into your palm after finger tightening. I imagine that's where the blisters are coming from... partly from the fact that your thumb acts like a fulcrum (the racket would otherwise pivot around your thumb if it wasn't for your pinky and ring finger keeping it in check) but mostly because of friction and pressure. I don't think any badminton player's thumb is going to be as smooth as it was before badminton, but it shouldn't be blistering up either.
Thejym: excellent explanation. I like the idea of bearing in mind which fingers are really holding onto the racket. Thats something for me to bear in mind when explaining it next time It reminds me of more of what Lee Jae Bok teaches: that the bottom three fingers (the three you mention) are for power, and the index finger and thumb are mainly for control. Matt
The index finger and thumb are mainly for control . IMHO too, the index finger and thumb are mainly for control. For a forehand stroke, the thumb in picture 2 will interfere with the forward movement of the racket. I would recommend that the thumb to be placed between the index finger and the middle finger. For a backhand stroke, the thumb is best to be placed in position like in picture 2 (high up), and the index finger to be placed lower than the thumb. Summary: (1) For a forehand stroke, the index finger is the control and should be placed higher. (2) For a backhand stroke, the thumb is the control and should be placed higher. .
I have this too in the exact same place. I really like clearing and smashing so after a 4 hour session my thumb gets a blister.
Hm. Thank you for the advice guys, I really appreciate the help in trying to adjust my grip. I'll try it on on Wednesday and let you know how it works. So when I tighten, really I shouldn't be having to tighten my thumb that much and more so with my middle, ring, and pinky finger according to what I'm hearing. But I shouldn't let my thumb hang loosely after the stroke should I?
I taken some of the advice into consideration and swung my racket around in my room to test the grip change with my thumb lower. This is what I ended up with after my swing and grip tightening. It seems that when I let my thumb and forefinger hang off the grip (I have a really thin grip, it's the way I like it), I can a little more pronation and it's less restricted. More importantly it changes the area of friction from a concentrated smaller area to a diffused larger area lower on the thumb in picture 1. I'll have to try it to see how it works or if it'll create another problem =p. Another question, is it ok to have my thumb and forefinger hanging off so far like that? Or should i try to wrap my forefinger around the grip and only let my thumb hang off?
Is it ok to have my thumb and forefinger hanging off so far like that? . Let's look at it this way; * The index finger has 3 bones; top, middle, bottom * The thumb has 2 bones; top and bottom For a forehand stroke, the top bone of the thumb is best to be placed at the front of the racket handle (between the index and middle fingers). This will stop the racket being swung forward out of control. For the index finger (behind the handle), it is recommended that the middle and/or bottom bones to be placed behind the handle. The top bone of the index finger is not strong enough to generate power for the 'Clear', although it can be used to control gentler strokes like at 'Netplay'. .
Yeah, for once the little bit of anatomy I remember from my class actually comes into use. The different phalanges explanation I guess makes sense. Since we're looking at smashes/clears only for this thread, I guess I should wrap my forefinger partially around the grip but let the tip of my forefinger hang relatively loose for these shots. Alright, I'll see how this works. Thanks for the tips, I'll get back to this on Thursday or so.
^ That is the crucial point to understand. The thumb should be allowed to wrap/curl around the handle when playing a powerful forehand shot. When playing a backhand shot, the thumb should be kept straight instead. As for letting your thumb and index finger "hang off" the racket -- that doesn't look good to me, at any stage in the stroke. I can't really see why you'd do this, unless you're just waiting for the blister to heal (in which case, proper rest will work much better).
