Hi again, EastDevil! Thats okay my friend, i do understand your point as well as your valuable insight about our fellow chinese and their way of living under socialist/communist government.. I know how frustrating it is to be stereotyped, but as i have said we have to ride the different waves of culture...we cant control what will others say about us but we have total control about how we will react to them. Again, thanks very much! Syndrome_B
to me i think it depends on what kind of martial arts u practise. Martial Arts have its own style and badminton has its own style. if u were to combine badminton with karate or muay thai, then i think u would get more strength with smash. If you to combine with TWD, Wushu, Sanshou, or any martial arts that involves with the foot or kicks, then your footwork would be good and u would have no problem playing around the court. But martial arts alone won't make u a good badminton player, u would also need the skills and the form to play badminton. Its like how martial arts need the right form to do kicks or punchs.
There are many common things between MA and badminton. One such thing is .. the stance. Yes it may sound very irrelevant but I actually found it's very important to have a good lower body pose in order to play lifts, drives and especially powerful smashes. It's more tricky to have good lower body pose in badminton because you are always moving, however. As for the use of muscle, when i started to play badminton, I tended to harden all my muscles (at least from the abs to upper, lower arm and fist). But it never works for me. I found my smashes stronger if i can keep my whole body relaxed upon impact, except for the grip.
syndrome, don't let some harsh critics get u down. I don't think u were judged fairly. You had clearly referenced to kung fu movies and badminton games as ur premise. Your 'intent' was clearly not degradatory nor offensive i find. Stereotyping is not a black and white thing, often it has some basis and history to it, some alot, some very little. It is how stereotyping are applied that judge the character of a person. Stereotyping can be a positive thing too, sometime funny (comics use stereotyping in their content ALOT). Of course, negative stereotyping can be downright harmful and deadly (like how hitler use it against the jews). back to topic. Yes, i think MA would help badminton alot. Combination of fluidity, timing, accuracy, power with stamina, explosiveness movement are all essential in both of these arts. It is known that jet li plays badminton to maintain his quickness and flexibility when he's isn't doing MA. It is not that simple to conclude badminton popularity in china is all due to its success in the world tournaments. Why are new asian immigrants in canada and US still gravitate to badminton instead of football, basketball, hockey, baseball especially when these sports are all well entrained in their school programs here as I have went through. We (asian) play badminton more so because it seem it is easier to pick up and improve on the game for them. Badminton is about balance, too big and strong is not optimum, too skinny and lightweight to be quick not all good either. It is also mentally demanding too as no one has the optimum physique, your brain is required to juggle those strength and weakness and to out smart your opponents, just like life.
I think Syndrome B has a point that alot of people has mis-understood. Alot of chinese don't do martial arts but alot of people would like to do martial arts if the had the time, inclination, money, discipline, courage, etc, etc, etc. Alot of Chinese people like to play badminton and improve their game cause they find it cheaper, more fun, more competitive, a good way of excise, etc, etc, etc. So Yes, I do think their is a strong correlation between badminton and martial arts.... (but hidden sub-consciously in our minds) and the fact that most of the best players in the world are oriential is testimont to that fact. Do I like fighting other people ?... no. Do I enjoy playing a really good game and beating (out witting) my opponent in badminton ?.... yes. Is there that big of a difference in our minds ? I see badminton like sword play.... the best badminton players are the best swords people....ha, ha,....> agility, strength, balance, skill, quick thinking, etc, etc, etc.
LOL. Very funny, cooler. Here's a quote from another MA movie, Hero with Jet Li. While MA does help a lot with badminton, I just hope this particular belief won't be applied: "Swordsmanship's first achievement is the unity of man and sword. Once this unity is attained even a blade of grass can be a weapon. The second achievement is when the sword exists in one's heart and when absent from one's hand one can strike an enemy at 10 paces even with bare hands. Swordsmanship's ultimate achievement is the absence of the sword in both hand and heart." I wonder how the Badminton world would take it if the 'ultimate achievement' becomes the absence of racquets... hahaha
I think a lot of MA focuses on speed and agility. Eg, Taekwondo focuses on leg power and aims at attacking ur opponent at the further distance possible from your weaker parts of your body (smashing at the highest possible point of contact??). Tai Chi is a different concept when Master Cheung Sum Fong developed it. He harnessed the energy of the opponents and converted it against them. Can we link it into badminton? Eg, the harder the opponent smashes, the more rebounce the shuttle will have and when you just slightly tap it so that the birdie crosses over the net, your opponent will have a hard time to rush forward. Did you watch Shaolin Soccer btw, guys ?
Martial Arts can contribute a lot to Badminton.I am a black belt in Karate.(1st dan).Shfting body weight to racket while smashing,staying in the air for a split second,waiting as if we have left the shuttle and hiiting at the last moment,staying without kneeling down even after fully exhausted,changing shuttle velocity by apt hits etc..are more easy for a player who has got training in martial arts.To cap it all,the peripherral vison of a martial arts trainee will be wider and he will have a very good reflex.
I have two years of training in Ninjitsu and it DOES help! I feel it is much easier to return smashes even to the side lines. It's now easier to jump and the footwork improves as well I'd definitely agree that martial arts contributes to badminton!
Martial arts would not only improve your speed of reactions, your muscle fitness and balance but also your state of mind so its hardly a wonder that someone who has achieve a good level of skill in a martial art can transfer much of there skill/strength to a ball game.
This is interesting thread to read. It will be a great reference for me given i also have martial arts background prior to badminton.
I only got a general idea from this thread. That is that elastic strength is one of important component in badminton. I think you need good core for quick recovery movement in badminton and reduce chances of injury. I am having back aches nowadays since i seldom train my core. I found that it is important to train back muscles too to prevent these niggling back aches.
anything improve your physical strength and mental clarity, will improve badminton games, for example we all have good and bad days on court, doesn't mean your skills and technique sudden change better or worse, but your physical and mental change your games. you may have strong supper strength without mental clarity, you may hit the bird out, so power must go in hand with control, strength vs mental. I find yoga help me improved my games, on physical such as strength , flexibility, ... and my mind is clear and relax on the game, so control the breath, eliminate short breath results more error on shots (before practice yoga). just 3 45min/ sessions/week. now I can't get lazy, if I don't practice yoga, I lose the game for sure, it's a way to recharge my energy. I think other sports also benefits badminton and vice versa, if you use it right. I plant to work out 2-3 days a week to improve my smash and endurance. since I just got a heavier racquet, which wears me out faster
Any competitive badminton players who also practice martial arts often? Do you find that it helps you more than just pure badminton training? I am wondering whether training both will help you improve your badminton. Take Tae Kwon Do for example, a discipline that focuses on legs more so than arms. Increasing your leg strength and flexibility will help in badminton. Will actively pursuing both forms of training (with badminton training) make you a better player or can it cause some conflict in badminton strokes and patterns?
I don't do martial arts, but I'd imagine some things can cross over. Like balance, stance, core muscle use, focusing of energy at strike, etc.
I think it will be of help in one way or another. building up your stamina, agility, alertness, balance, etc.
Depending on the martial art you practise and how you deeply you are into it, you may not find conflict. But if you are already deep into an art, some habits can't change. For example, in southern Chinese martial arts, there's a very strong emphasis on strong and stable stances. That can bring about rootedness in badminton.
