Hello badminton world! I've finally decided to join this site. My name is Joseph. I'm 17 years old living in NYC all my life. I'm a Dominican who loves to play badminton. At first I dreamed of becoming a professional baseball player, but that's not happening. I first started playing badminton at my high school in September 2008 and of course I was terrible at it. But I kept on playing anyway. Today, I consider myself an intermediate level badminton player. The only place I get to play badminton is at school with my friends, so badminton is one of the major reasons why I wake up every morning at 6am. I usually don't play my best on Mondays and Tuesdays, but after those days I'm playing great. My main quality in playing badminton is my backhand. People (friends and gym teacher) have noticed that my backhand is pretty good...better than anyone else in my school. I prefer to play singles rather than doubles. In singles, I can move around the court without having to worry about hitting my partner's racket, hands, arms, or face. Everytime I try to play doubles, either my skills decrease or I end up hurting my partner. It's just that sometimes I get overwhelmed/confused of who's going to make the next shot. That's why I play prefer to play singles. About a month or two ago, I executed a backhand jump smash just like how my idol Taufik Hidayat does. I was really proud of myself that day At the beginning of this year, I've started watching badminton games/videos on YouTube. My attention was drawn into Lin Dan, Taufik Hidayat, Lee Chong Wei, and Peter Gade. I thought these were the best badminton players I've ever seen...especially Taufik Hidayat. When I saw his backhand smash videos, I was both shockingly impressed and disappointed. Impressed because, I mean come on, just look at those backhand smashes he does at the court. Disappointed because I finally found a person who does the backhand better than me. But anyways, these players have motivated me to keep playing badminton. I will keep playing until I don't know when, but badminton is one of my favorite sports ever. Thanks for taking your time to read this
Welcome taufikfan86, Glad that badminton found you. It is wonderfully addicting, isn't it? Enjoy your singles. It's good for your technique and footwork. Once you leave school and have to join badminton clubs in a big city, you might not have the luxury of getting singles courts very often or very cheaply. As for how to move on court with a partner in doubles, that comes with time and practice. Until you have done it for a while, broken rackets and broken noses are the norm. Watch youtube not just for Taufik's backhand smashes, but also to learn footwork, grip, stroke technique, tactics and strategy. Make your competitors fear your whole game, not just one aspect. _________________ May you become the best Dominican-American baddy player in NY, NY. (Pretty hard to outshine other Dominican baseball players ... maybe you should try batting "backhand" ).
Yeah, it's an addicting sport alright! I watch lots of instructional videos to improve my game. I just need to work more with jump smashes and net plays. I did one good jump smash today which was pretty effective, but I still need more work. And yes, it really is, lol. Not sure if my 'backhand' will help behind the plate, though
