Hello from Oakland California

Discussion in 'Introduction' started by greencar, Nov 18, 2007.

  1. greencar

    greencar New Member

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    Hello,

    I’ve only been playing badminton for ten years off and on. I started playing squash in 1979 but about three years ago I made the complete switch to badminton. Here in America, badminton is one of those sports that’s hardly recognized. If you talk to someone about the game, they give you a funny look, and imagine you playing in the back yard.

    But amazingly there is a surge in interest here in the San Francisco Bay Area. A number of well-appointed clubs have just opened or are slated to open very soon. I previously played on a non-standard court at the Oakland YMCA but now have joined the Golden Gate Badminton Club in Emeryville. There are friendly players of all levels.

    What I like about this game is it’s easy to get started and have fun. I played a lot of golf as a kid (in the UK). You had to have lots of lessons in order to be let loose on the course. This was because, if you didn’t have lessons you would end up excavating the course. That didn’t go down well with the golf-club greenkeepers. Badminton is democratic. Kids can play it and so can those well advanced in years. I am decidedly middle aged.

    I am not and have never been a tennis player. But I read The Inner Game of Tennis,by W. Timothy Gallwey. This book continues to be a runaway best seller with almost three-quarters of a million copies sold. Why am I going on about a tennis book in a badminton forum? This book is about the mental game, not technique. It’s based on a book on Zen. So whether you play tennis, squash, or badminton the same approach of “being present” on the court applies.

    I decided to start to write about this subject on my new blog, Zen Badminton Dot Com. If you have comments about Zen and badminton please visit. I’m an independent commercial writer by trade, so it only seems natural to use my skills on my blog to develop this mind /body approach to badminton. Please come by if you have ideas you would like to share on the subject.

    I am looking forward to exploring more on BadmintonCentral.com, but I am off to do the decent thing and hit the bird.

    Christopher
     
  2. cappy75

    cappy75 Regular Member

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    Welcome to the forum, Christopher! I read the Inner Game too. It's definitely a keeper:).
     
  3. george@chongwei

    george@chongwei Regular Member

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    Welcome to BC forum, greencar...:)
    have fun here....:)
     
  4. ctjcad

    ctjcad Regular Member

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    Welcome aboard..

    ..BCBF, greencar (Chris)!...Yeah, squash and tennis is somewhat similar to baddie; esp. now with the new scoring system(rally), which i believe is similar to squash's scoring system..:)..Anyways, enjoy your stay and happy surfing in BC!!;):cool:
     
  5. greencar

    greencar New Member

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    Thanks for the welcome

    Thank you to all for a welcome. Cappy75, I'm glad you read the book. I'd be interested in what you got out of it. My new blog zendbadminton is a way to write about this approach that could well end up for publication. So I'd value your input. I originally put a forum on that site, but why when there is this one!

    Ctjcad, Thanks. I very much like the scoring to 21. There seems to be both games going on 15 and 21. This makes it a bit confusing, especially as I advocate not thinking.

    When I first came to America (from England) I played the American version of squash. It was unsatisfying and I think it has lost popularity in favor of the international game. Still, squash is all in the past now and I have seen the light (or the bird).

    I haven't figured out how to "automatically" get my signature onto posts. I'd appreciate it if some kind soul could help me out. Thanks.

    Christopher
    zenbadminton dot com
     
  6. ctjcad

    ctjcad Regular Member

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    Auto sig option..

    ..you mean you want to put a sig of your own at the end of your post, automatically (ie. zenbadminton dot com)??..Hmm, that i believe kwun(owner of BC) is the right person to inquire with..;):cool:
     
  7. greencar

    greencar New Member

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    Thanks I shall follow up.
     

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