I know, been there too and I've only changed it recently. It'll feel strange at first changing it, but try to play a week or so w/o caring about anything else OUTSIDE of your racket head must be up when u'r in attacking position before every shot. YOu'll be amazed at how much more net kills u'll be able to get instead of having to play another net shot simply because you saved those few milliseconds by having your racket already in position Incorporate it as part of your ready position
Recorded a video doing some footwork to see exactly what areas I could improve on and where I was lacking. Explosiveness and center of gravity (staying low) were the two biggest things that I noticed so those are things I will have to continue to work on. not a long duration but still a good workout none the less: 2 sets of 20 normal (1 at beginning, 1 at end), 5 sets in middle wearing a 20lbs weight vest. Used a 150gram training racquet while doing the footwork. [video=youtube;gMM0rL7EdLU]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMM0rL7EdLU[/video]
Well done for carrying that vast, I watched the whole thing and thought that your racquet carriage was good at most points, which is going to help when you switch back to a normal weight one. I I've noticed the only time you seem to split really well is when you're defending a backhand smash in your shadowing. If you compare it to what would be a smash defence on the forehand you seem to casually role on. If you could try to maintain a similar explosiveness to that with the rest of your footwork, then you could be upping your level considerably. What i've also noticed is that alot of your rearcourt stuff involves you having time on the overhead and looks like you're only ever at about 60% speed around the rearcourt. For realism sake and match equivilance, would it be worth try incorporating some pressured movement where you do not have the luxury of time to hit a shuttle. You're almost guaranteed to have to face this kind of shot in a match so training for it should benefit you I totally understand how much weights slow you down though, been there! Nice one, If I can get as fast as you one day i'd be over the moon! Andy.
hi nick saw that, too: your recovery after the forward lunge is not perfect. it could be more efficient. you do that "in between"-step (whatever you wanna name it...) but still, very nice vid of a demanding exercise (20 strokes of footwork is hard enough, with additional weight it becomes pretty tough...). good material for all the folks discussing themes like "28.453lbs vs 28.514lbs" or "which overgrip lasts 2 days longer", the answer should always be: "watch nick doing the hard work, THAT'S the way to improve your game!"
I think 28.82 lbs is the perfect tension. But whatever. @Nick: Very impressive. Without the vest, it would be pretty much standard training, but with it, it must be incredibly tough. Hope to see you improve and do well in competition soon
Just watched Lin Dan vs Peter Gade, and felt like playing! Only problem - it's late, i didn't have a court or an opponent. Soo, i took upon the best defense of all! The mighty WALL!!! Here goes - 2 min midnight session vs THE WALL - pretty sure i lost :'( [video=youtube_share;qCsI9OLFQkY]http://youtu.be/qCsI9OLFQkY[/video] I did celebrate with a Tuborg though.
I was wondering when you were going to hit the wall, I cringed when you did because god knows how many times I've done it when trying to practice indoors in relatively cramped areas. You seem much more comfortable on your backhand side than you're forehand as you often take the forehand late when it's coming towards your right hip area (very hard area to defend though). Should get a video of you playing! btw, pretty forehand shot at 2:45 =)
Haha! didnt expect much feedback on this I did hit the wall, and i have done it alot to I think its because i had a table behind my forehand side, so i felt kind of "locked" in.. and when the shuttle is comming low, its hard to press it with the forhand. But i can see what you mean - didn't think about that myself
Finally managed to play my first county match today, was overall quite happy with this game. Unfortunately I seemed to lose the concentration I had at the start and didn't get the win. 2nd game I'm not posting as it was horrid. Need to work on fitness and footwork, they both got a bit degraded too quickly. I'm relatively inexperienced in the singles game compared to my doubles knowledge but I enjoyed this all the same, any thoughts & tips always appreciated. Hopefully I'll be able to upload a few more positive games sometime soon, getting on a strict diet/ training though my court time is minimal at the moment (I only played once over the christmas period) [video=youtube;wuDdEvYCUMU]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wuDdEvYCUMU&feature=youtu.be[/video] Andy. (Edit: i'm the one in black)
looks like you dont get far enough behind shuttle when jump smashing - the look very high + flat. also a lot of unforced errors. There were a lot of flat exchanges and not many good clears/lifts. It looks you both struggled on third shot when serving.
i was really impressed by the first rally! but then things changed somewhat... try to play more like you played in this very first rally: a bit more relaxed, a bit more safe shots, some clers, some drops and wait for your chances! in the rest of the vid you always try to play fast, whether out of position or in good position... this is singles, you have to wait for your chances and play a safer style!
Thanks for the comments so far, I totally agree. I think I got caught up in the excitement of it a little bit and didn't think to play the slow shots. Main thing is I need to learn those "safe" shots, and I hope it will come with experience and training. i.e. High lifts, clears and pushes/ dropshots. The first thing my teammate on the court next to me (in blue in the video) said was "you play too hard all the time" at the interval and said it's more about working the corners in singles to get a chance to attack but if you watch you can see he's quite a handy player! I'm disappointed I didn't record the mixed match I played too. It was more my style- I played against the same opponent but in mixed doubles with a win in 2 sets. I'll make sure I charge the camera next time.
I think I'd play all out too in that environment... that blue everywhere (floor, walls, calling too? ) is just too electrifying!
Variation in your game is the word I am looking for. You tend to play the same shots with the return of serve i.e. either a net or low push clear (used more frequently in doubles). I would be looking for you to prepare the shot the same way, but be able to hit a netshot, push, low clear and high clear as your options. The opponent can prepare easily for your return of serve in this game. You already picked up the 'safe' shots issue. I also describe these shots as neutral shots - i.e. shots that make it difficult for the opponent to create an opportunity. They put pressure and frustrate the opponent. I would also work on controlling return of smashes better to add to your counter attack arsenal. But, in terms of technique, this was a game you could have won. Frustrating, innit!
Purchased a new Canon t3i over the Christmas holidays and finally got the chance to record myself during varsity practice Things I need to work on (Mind you this is my first singles game since probably beginning of December so I wasn't really myself conditioning wise hence the many net shots) 1. Still need to work on the consistency of my SERVE :/ 2. Keep the rally going / mix up my shots 3. Even though I got a point, my smashes aren't as powerful as I want them to be (Need to adjust my technique) If anyone else has pointers or suggestions that you guys can comment on, that would be very much appreciated I'm in the black & white Victor attire btw. [video=youtube;Q4uMKvDWE1U]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4uMKvDWE1U&feature=youtu.be[/video]
