Backhand Technique - How to backhand clear, smash, and drop

Nah, Taufik already has one on YouTube.

[video=youtube;lYiij4CU57Y]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYiij4CU57Y&feature=youtube_gdata_player[/video]

 

Naw man, that's a girly hop not a jump!

 

thejym,

some backhand defenses would be appreciated and the correct technique for forehand drop shots

There are those very tight net-kill I see from the pros ...the shuttle is barely over the net and they launch forward and still have the technique to kill the bird

 

thanks for the vid! i gotta try that reverse slice backhand drop shot sometime...
i have some questions though

1. youre not supposed to lock your elbow when youre doing any of those shots correct?

2. is your grip pretty loose most of the time? you just grip firmly at the moment of contact?

3. you need a strong wrist for backhand smashes/clears correct? or is it just good technique?

 

Shucks man, you should've specified that you wanted a manly jump.

 

visor, kenzo, I was disappointed with you responses but they are so true. I guess one cannot twist his wrist 360 degree either. Anyway, thanks to this thread, I realized how important backswing is in any shot. See how this guy (Holvy De Pauw) bended the racket, which would be impossible without a powerful backswing.

 

Yeah, and as a result you can see why jump smashes are so powerful. You can store a hell of a lot of energy in your quads, and if you know how to transfer it to your forearm then you can generate a hell of a lot of power. ;D

 

Hmmm...would that be to have strong and coordinated core muscles?

 

Nah, I don't think you need particularly strong anything except for strong quads, shoulder and forearm. When your quads reach peak eccentric load, if you kick out you'll see that the power just transfers automatically up your body to your head, and once it's at your head you know how to transfer it to your shoulder and hence forearm. But if you jump smash a lot you'll find you naturally get stronger muscles in the line that the power gets transferred due to stretch shortening cycles. Hardest thing is getting the jump timing right, jumping so that you hit peak eccentric load in your quads when you want to kick out.

 

Hm, I think I was being slightly ambiguous here. That's not to say you shouldn't have a strong core, since you aren't only relying on your legs for power. At each step of the proximal-distal cycle you are adding power by concentric contractions as well, but if you can smash then these muscles should already be developed.

 

I think the main reason one needs a strong core is because this area acts as an anchor to all the other muscles. Without a strong core, it could be potentially dangerous to use all the power from your (powerful) quads (for example) because the required stability for the movement (a simple act of keeping your balance in mid air whilst your legs powerfully generate a substantial force as you kick out your legs) would not be there. A lack of strength in the core thus predisposes someone injuries. As kenzo said: they do not add significant power in themselves (although they do add some), but they ARE a necessity to make sure that power can safely be generated elsewhere, and then co-ordinated through the body.

 

Whaa?! I never said that! A strong core can add loads of power to your smash!

Yeah, just imagine disproportionate people with massive quads with no abs or chest trying to jump smash hah! But yeah, you shouldn't be trying to jump smash if you can't handle a decent smash from the ground. If you can, then your core should be strong enough to handle jump smashes.

 

Fair enough! Not sure how much power the core muscles "add" myself, but I agree that they help relay the power to the rest of the body. However, not properly training your core will likely result in muscle imbalances, particular with regard to the lower and middle back - a common area of injury for people who play badminton at a recreational level. Anyway, to be safe: make sure you train your whole body for badminton

 

Try it out, from standing just use a smash from just your shoulder vs a smash starting from a twist at your waist and a snap of your upper body.

Interesting note, quads exert the most torque starting at 120° according to this, useful to keep in mind for jump smashers

Er that's knee angle at 120° for anyone who is confused by that

 

Wow excellent video, thanks! Also saw your vid on how to clear and smash.

 

Kenzo: valid point! I guess I am thinking that the motion feels like it is started with the quads (even in your example) and that trying to do this rotation without using the legs first doesn't seem to do much (that I can tell). It feels once its started that everything else is just "along for the ride" so to speak. I guess this is the point though - the system works together, so it must all work properly.

Now time for some backhand practice methinks in particular need to brush up on my straight drive from the deep backhand corner. I am going through a phase of hooking it just out at the moment. Grrr.

 

When performing a backhand clear why is it important that your stance and body is in the correct position? For example, whenever I perform a backhand clear I tend to stand side-on instead of having my back directing facing the net and my opponent. As such I never seem to generate the required power or distance in the shot. It's a bad habit I have never really rectified. However, I have observed on several occassions that I get much more power and control from the same shot when my back is directly facing the net and my opponent. My grip and swing action does not change. Perhaps somebody could explain to me the mechanics as I am interested to why.

 

For the very same reason as getting more power from the forehand when approached side on. You recruit more of the core abd and back muscles to generate more power than just the shoulder and arm alone.

 

Thanks for that pictorial advice, finally I have a clear idea how to execute that shot - gonna try in training tomorrow.