Well, I'm a 22 years player who started my training half a year ago. My coach claimed that I am advancing to intermediate level as I already know the basic skills in badminton except for my footsteps which still seems very unnatural. However, what I'm concern in is my coach told me I'm bit too stiff in my play as every shots I performed looked very stiff. He told me that it is probably caused by the fact that I did not engaged myself in sports when I was in high school (which is true!). So I wonder, is there anyway I could improve myself in my game play as I do feel I'm very stiff in my action and so. Whenever I tend to move to the ball, I couldn't flex myself to the maximum to retrieve the shuttle or I move very slow in the court. I can't even cover my partner at the back especially the both corner at the back court as my movement are really stiff. Is it natural born or is there a way to correct such awful style in my game play? Hope someone could pinpoint me some ideas to improve myself. Truly appreciate it. =)
LOL, but I don't think I have the time to attend dancing class anymore...but thanks for ur advice, any ideas other than that?
Your coach needs to teach you some footwork drills that you can do by yourself. Eg shadowing on the court without a bird. Start at base position and go to all 4 corners and 2 sides, always returning to base everytime. Start slow and concentrate on smoothness and fluidity first. Also watch some YouTube videos of some of the top pro men singles players eg Hidayat, Lee Chongwei, Lin Dan. You'll see how smooth and graceful it should be.
if you're looking for a quick fix, there is none. Basically, it's practice practice practice to train your muscles to work smoothly and efficiently. I had a relevant discussion a couple weeks back with another coach. We basically saw that a lot of kids who join badminton these days never got regular exercise (video games?), so when they sign up for badminton training, they need to start off with very basic stuff... like how to run properly, followed by how to throw a ball... and eventually they can graduate to swinging a racquet.
Thank you guys for your recommend on how to improve myself better. I know there are no quick solution to my problem but my own efforts and time. Well, just based on curiosity,does doing stretching exercise and jogging helps in my condition too?
The footwork drills are an excellent idea, as are the things like skipping mentioned above. This should help develop footwork. It often helps to remember you ARE quick around the court, you just haven't realised it yet Watch some professionals play, especially lee chong wei, and watch just how effortless the movement is. Because it is effortless, look how RELAXED they are. They are not relaxed because they are that good, they are relaxed because being relaxed enables them to be that good. If you don't have time for dancing (which is a really good idea), consider playing some high tempo music in the hall whilst you play. It may help you relax and fit with the rhythm of the music. The idea with this, is to keep your feet moving to the rhythm of the music - even if you are not going anywhere - just having your feet going on the spot may help you to relax. All the best Matt
