hmm, it's not really back hand prep, but is maybe more face-down that I would normally have it. I changed the type of contact with the shuttle a few times - some are brush, some arent
too late for edit... The prep is more like receiving service, but because of the grip for the shots, the racket is a bit more closed than normal.
I would definately slow down the feeding, feed the shuttle a bit deeper and move back a lot. Your left arm is tucked in and the right has poor extension. If you are going to play a tumble net shot off a very wide shot (probably a drop) most players would play the with outwards movement (from your left to right) not inwards, as the inwards requires you to move further out to the corner and is often going to be against the path of the shuttle if its a cross or outwards drop. You don't want your racket face so downwards after the shot, even if it was a return serve stance. You probably want to get your partner to spin some shuttles up from a lower position for brush/kills or brush lifts and to throw deeper for the flat lifts.
First points are well taken and I saw that for myself. I think I will be tougher on coach about feeding speed - this will help give me more distance to cover and force better extension. hmm, do you keep switching comments on BH from prep to after the stroke? I'm getting confused about which you refer to. After the shot, the racket really isn't very face down I dont think. I know what you are saying about inward/outward tumble (I play both), but if you are playing from very wide, you cant play outwards as you push the shuttle out. In any event, it's not what the drill was all about
Hi, I enjoyed watching this match. You are a very good player. You're movement is great and you have a strong smash... Although I felt it was too strong at times. The power of you're smash is a very strong part of your game, however at times during that game it put you into trouble because you tried killing everything far too soon, you had little control over the placement of this shot. What I mean by this is that you smashed right to you're opponent and once he returned it you where left surprised and off balance for the next shot. My coach always told me that in singles you should work you're opponent out of position and then control a smash into the open court (always move the opponent out of position to open up a section of the court or to force a weak return). A controlled smash with plenty of angle is much better. So Clears and drops first... then smash when you're on balance and have opened up a part of the court to smash into. Also 1 last word of advise, keep you're serve low. You have a very good low serve and from watching that game it set up lots of straight winners for you. If you look back, you will notice your high serve wasn't deceptive enough and you opponent pounced on it. Try to work on making the flick serve more deceptive and use it sparingly... keep on improving. You are a very very very good player Hope this helps.
Aimed at me- Pun intended? Haha, Eitherway thanks for the comment I was very impatient I know, mainly because my arm was in severe pain for good few parts of the game, which is why you saw me taking a much larger percentage of those "risky shots". I thought that if I drew out any of the points longer than I had done I probably would have lost quite badly in the long run. If I had shown you a video of me playing in the semi finals you may have realised that I don't always play like that , but it is certainly something I was aware of at the time. I agree though that moving my opponent is usually sidelined in favour of the big hits. My preferred game is doubles however, so that does explain part of the reason I play so agressively. Something I think i'll probably look at, one of our mottos at university is "love the rally", but it's only used in a context when some people do that, because we tend not to haha. In response to the serving comment, I don't know why I personally go for the flick serve ocasionally but you're right, it's a bit too weak currently .
Ye, You where probably right to take that approach then if you where injured In terms of the flick serve, you are right to try different things. I am always changing my serves when I play singles. I try everything, drive serve, low serve, deep high serves... just to try things out. Once in a game my opponent had a really good disguised slice drop shot, which he performed directly after my high serve which I struggled to return. So I played drive serves at his non-racket shoulder... and figured out that he always returned a block to the net... which put me at an advantage because I knew where the next shot was. So ye just try things out. When you flick serve... hold the flick of the wrist for as long as possible. Only flick at the very last second as you are about to make contact with the shuttle. Also think about the trajectory. If your opponent is tall, flick flat. If your opponent is small, flick high. Use the flick serve sparingly however. If your flick serve isn't very deceptive and you flick too often in a game it becomes useless. Your opponent will pick up clues in your action that give it away. So practise and practise getting a very deceptive flick serve and using it on one or two occasions. I remember once in a doubles game. I man flicked served me right at the start and caught me out... just because I didn't know what his serve even looked like never mind his flick serve! ha. He never used it again cos I knew what it looked like after. Cheers
You need "time" to "show a hold" to your opponent. The coach's feed is too short and fast for you to practice the hold and hit effectively. You wouldn't have time to effectively wrong foot your opponent from a net return and in any case why bother when you have the whole diagonal at your disposal. If it's off a dropshot from the rearcourt then yes the hold and hit is an effective shot so the practice needs to be similar to the game situation, ie a racket feed from a deeper position in the court. Bearing in mind also, your opponent is moving in from a rearcourt position so any shot you play back to the rearcourt needs to be accurate especially if you're crosscourting to his forehand side! Feeding from the right place will also present you with a shuttle of similar pace and weight to the shot in the game. Practice the stroke move and accuracy at the same time.
coachgary, agree, thats the point I was making, the feed/situation is wrong and the stroke isn't deceptive
Got a video of myself playing. I'm the one wearing a yellow singlet. Being a badminton addict that I am, this game happened about 4 hours before my marathon. LOL. I was supposed to be relaxing, but I just couldn't help it. I needed to play. [video=youtube;TIbxkn1SiZg]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIbxkn1SiZg[/video]
Hi! I like that "almost face down grip". Somehow it gives a relaxed feeling. That's why I try use that a lot.
Venkatesh I liked your game. You are always looking for kills near the net, your service is good & you are always looking for the attack. To me, these are the essense of badminton doubles. But it is difficult to judge your game by this video. You are not playing in a group who are really aggressive. Nobody is a hard smasher. And you partner is not attcking enough-He is relying on drop shots mainly. And many mid court smashes are also not finished. These all indicate, the group is not playing a really attacking game. Isnpite of that, you are doing your part decently. While serving, your racket is nearly upright-why? More horizontal racket may give you flexibility to play other shots and give more control on low serve. Just my thought. I woulf like to see you playing with a more advanced grioup where you will be really tested. Here, you don't need to earn attack-they are just gifted every now and then. Does not happen with good opponents. All the best Prince
yes, I have found that it feels relaxed too! It's similar to gade receiving! venkatesh: I noticed you could improve your positiong a bit - when your partener is in deep forhand corner, you seemed to stick to the T a bit when you are at the net. I think it would be better to take a step/step-and-a-half to the forehand side. Curiously, you already do this on backhand side but not the forehand.
I'm very glad that you liked the game. Thank you for the compliments. The essence of badminton doubles you just mentioned ... I learned it from BC. That's why I'm very thankful I became a member of this forum. These people are my Saturday group. I'm actually a member of a lot of groups. Some of them are more aggressive than this. I like playing with different varieties of players, may they be newbies, intermediate, or advanced. Of course, I'd rather play with advanced players so I could learn from them, but I try to play with lower levels so they can also learn from me. Have you seen Gao Ling serve? I'm a big fan of hers. I really like her serve. I have never seen a match of hers wherein she was not able to trick her opponents with her flick serve (add to that her very tight service). Her service is even more vertical than mine. Well, I got used to it so I just stuck with it. I tried serving almost horizontally. Well, it wasn't my cup of tea :-( Yes. I agree with you. If I get the opportunity to video it, I'd post it here. I still have a lot to learn. Thank you for the time posting this
Yes. I'm glad you noticed. I deliberately stay on the T when my partner is in the forehand corner. That's because I know that he doesn't like smashing much. If you're going to observe, he likes to hit a slow cross-court drop from the forehand. That entails that I have to protect my backhand side from counter drops instead of wait for a weak return from a smash, which is rarely done by my partner. Don't you think this is a better strategy as regards the positioning?
and it's not the net shot that will be problem - you can still get to it easy enough. it is if their shot is line drive/push that you cant get. Then he definitely cant get it.
The match itself is not so thrilling, mostly because of the slow pace, but you play very well. I noticed you hold your left arm in a somewhat awkward position sometimes, you never 'pull down' when you do a smash or drop shot. Doing that helps with upper body rotation - which you lack in some situations, most noticeably the smash. You have a decently powerful smash, but it could be better if you included upper body rotation. You just flex your body forwards, much like a football player on a header. Look at one or two videos of FHF or LD smashing (there are loads of slow-mos on youtube), they both have incredible smashes.
