LCW improved his game. You don't get less passive because of a racket Rackets don't matter that much at the very top level imo.
The pros are obviously thinking different though. If LCW was über-happy with the VT why even bother to fiddle with new prototyes with no real mkt. value in important games at an important event like KO? It may of course be similar to LD.. trying a different racket because of shoulder pain temporary until it healed. But then again why go for a prototype and not a model his sponsor already sell, if he is not looking for improvements. Also, just the fact that you see LD etc. cutstomizes their racket setup, should be a pretty clear indication that they DO care about the material and setup they use. LCW is a brilliant player but if a racket could add 10-20 km/h or so to his smash and still have decent sweetspot/control I think it could be just that little fraction that could give him those couple of "extra" points needed to win 22-20 instead of loosing 20-22.. Racket make little difference. But when the margins are small even a small racket advantage may be significant.. Just for an example that extra vibration dampening may be crucial at 20-20 in the 3rd.. Looking at the game between LCW and Shon, it was obvious that Shon had more power, and I doubt that it is because he has much better technique and strength..
Hehe, you seem to be focussing a lot on what LCW failed to do. Do remember that he had his most successful year using the VT80. Extra vibration dampening at 20-20 in the 3rd being a crucial factor? I don't think so - at that stage of any match, it's 99.99% mental and 0.01% everything else. Shon may have had more power, but we have to remember that it's also possible LCW was holding back on his smash as he didn't want to tire out so early in the tournament. Also, I really felt LCW was playing quite a different style to his usual (see my previous posts about it). Furthermore, it could also be that LCW was going for placement rather than power, for whatever reason (perhaps he is carrying a mild injury etc). Also, as you have pointed out, the top players change rackets frequently. Heck, wasn't JJS chaging rackets during matches? In my opinion, they do this due to mainly psychological reasons. Physical reasons may also be a possibility, as perhaps a heavy racket would be harder to use than a lighter one when you're eg. carrying an injury. Anyway, there is just far too much speculation here, but it's interesting stuff I suppose. Perhaps before we speculate further about LCW, it would be nice to know exactly what/which racket he is using in the current tournament.
Psychology and a good racket goes hand in hand there is no mutual exclusive. It is quite moronic to blame losses on the equipment.. It is also quite moronic to think that you can only train your "mental" toughness to beat a strong opponent.. Going for gold ALL these things need to be in place.. top physique, top technique, top concentration, top tactics, top performing equipment, and of course psychology, mental toughness. You can win games with a weakness in any department.. But I know for a fact that pros would not like to have equipment that are a dissadvantage compared to what his opponent got, even if that tiny "handicap" isn't enough to loose.. Racket also becomes part of the psychology, if you feel the opponent has a bigger smash, better control or faster racket.. You may start focusing on the "wrong parts" of your game as well.. BTW interesting theory that LCW may have hold back on his smashes.. I hope you are right and that he will smash home KO this year. But my guess is that LCW wil switch back to VT80 later in the tournament.. Will be interesting to follow.
Saw his match yesterday, personally i don't think this new racket is suitable for LCW... The main thing is that LCW's smash speed is not as hard or as fast as he used to be.. This is just not 'da racket' for him.. Or maybe he needs time to adjust to his new racket? P/s he puts on his grip differently this time with white grip.. Perhaps it's just an experimental racket for him from Yonex this time?
in the quarter final JJS had an mx70 in his hands until he broke the strings; then continued with the mx80
How can one explain that? He's not happy with SW35? He likes SW37 sometimes? He prefers MX70 other times? He converts to MX80 because it looks better? Or he's just trying to promote Victor rackets in general? Or perhaps rackets don't really matter? twobeer?
I think most Koreans are advised strongly to change to current models, so the SW35 can be taken off the market. Same happened with Yoo and his SW33P. As for JJS, I think his standard racket is the MX80, but due to injury problems with his shoulder he tends to start games with a softer racket (SW37 or MX70), although it looks as if he has only one of those at a time. When he breaks the string on those, he always goes back to the MX80. That's also one of the theories why LD changed to the N50/N50II and later back to the N90 - playing softer rackets will be easier on your arm/shoulder and even back, so when you have slight problems there, it'll be less painful with a softer one.
You would have thought this "injury theory" would apply even more so in tennis. Anyone can verify? One example that goes against this is Rafael Nadal adding weight to the head of his racket, despite the fact that he has admitted he is carrying a (mild) shoulder injury.
I did not say anything about the weight.... Tennis is a completely different sport, and the materials are not similar enough for that kind of comparison. IN this case, I would guess the added weight makes the swing-through easier and the racket more stable on impact, lessening the strain on the shoulder. For me, it's similar - with a heavy, medium to stiff racket (N50, N50II) I feel less impact than with a lighter one, say, a BS10. The follow-through is easier and there is less resistance when I make contact with the shuttle, making it easier on the shoulder. I guess that might be the same in tennis, where the impact is much heavier due to the high weight of the ball.
It doesn't matter that you didn't say anything about the weight - I was just making conversation/speculation, hence the new paragraph in my previous post. I would have thought a heavier weighted racket would put more strain on one's musculoskeletal structure if one is able to generate a comparable swing speed. I know tennis is a different sport, but I deduced that similar principles would apply, since it's also a racket sport. Anyway, I think it depends on what your body is used to. If your musculoskeletal structure is more primed for head light/fexible rackets, then switching to a head heavy/stiff racket may result in more "impact" and aggravation of injury. It would be interesting to hear from a racket Sports Physiotherapist about this sort of thing. Even your own logic doesn't explain everything completely, as why would JJS only "switch back" to the MX80 once his MX70 strings broke? Why not have another MX70 as back-up? Marketing?
I am not sure exactly what you are saying But if your view is that rackets don't matter because a player switches back to the model he used before and felt comfortable with when the strings break on a racket he is trying out, i do not really see the point.. Just as I would not conclude LCW does not care about his gear if he decides to switch back to VT80 from the VT-ZF or whatever he is using in Korea.
Not really the nature of the strokes are completely different in the games.. This is easlly seen by inviting a good tennisplayer with little exposure to badminton and let him try his tennis strokes on a badminton court :-D
