Post videos of yourself playing

Would it be useful to switch my straight and cross court smash into body shot smash?

 

Only occasionally. The body smash is more useful the taller your opponent is, and no offense, but you're both no giants. It's good for a surprise now and then, but straight and crosscourt smashes should be used much more (like 3:1 or 4:1 at least).

 

Only occasionally , but it has to be very accurate , otherwise it would be an easy block for your opposition.

 

agreed, if you use it occasionally, then a well placed smash will result in a short lift, which you can kill off.

 

you mean "drop, net, lift", right?

so many short lifts

 

I have a problem with my the shuttles my coach uses - they are all pretty bad 'knockers', so it's impossible to know when you start to skimp on length, because everything goes short anyway :-/

 

OK, so here's a clip of the last half of the second set of a match I played recently. I'm the one with the white shirt. I'm playing a guy that's 1 division rank above me but there are a few things that have been pointed out to me. 1. I was hitting to the back too much, 2. My drops were scarce and inconsistent and 3. Indecisive about some of my shots.

I'm playing in my division this weekend, so any tips on improving are welcome.

Here's the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGw5wG7rRU8

 

@ kingmarioxv
1st You need to improve you footwork

2nd You have to be in balance at the moment your opponent is hitting the shuttle and do a split-drop (http://www.badmintonbible.com/articles/footwork/movement-elements/the-split-drop.php) .
Just watch a video of a pro match in slow motion. And watch at the feet. They will be always in the air at the moment the opponent hit the shuttle.

3rd Lower your center of gravity -> broaden your legs. So you can change direction faster.

 

Thanks for the pointers - I'm continually working on my footwork and I think in this match I was hesitating a lot, leading to more reactionary shots without proper footwork.

I never really noticed that split step very much. I'll have to work on that. As for the center of gravity - I'll have to be concious of that.

On another note, I played in my division yesterday and though I still lost, it was a better match in terms of footwork and balance - I'll upload it for comments soon.

 

kingmario: you seem very 'lazy' in getting to the shuttle - especially the last step. It's like you don't want to strike the shuttle high, but prefer to let it drop. Similar thing for lots of your overheads - very low strike point. Just watch rally at 5mins for example. Low overhead, no movement to shuttle for the next shot, and no footwork at all!

 

My most recent video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=noUf0ph39I8&feature=channel_video_title

I know i'm not that high a level at the moment, but basically if you look at my first few videos you'll see how i've come along in less than 2 years playing at university (one of which I could not play for 4 months due to unrelated ankle sprain).

Any constructive criticism is always welcomed, always looking for improvement .

 

which are you?

.........

 

he is the one that is left handed...

 

yeah, looked at some other vids.. good improvement!!


here is a vid of the most fun I've had in training recently - love deception type things,


[video=youtube;_lCvKqIZdzM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_lCvKqIZdzM[/video]

 

amleto, nice video, as a coach, can I suggest you give yourself a bit more time and space on this sort of practice. Also your left arm is inactive meanign you are very cramped up. When you are doing the lift you seem to finish with your racket in almost a backhand position (on the forehand side) ? Hope you don't mind the comments, good to see someone practising and putting up a video

 

Guilty...

I've been rewatching the complete videos of my match and concur - I am guilty of laziness in getting to the shuttle! As you'll see in the one I'll post soon - I became content with getting to the shuttle just in time instead of getting to the shuttle early. And as someone else posted, I've not been aware crouching to maintain balance so my footwork becomes less effective. That's something that I'll focus on as I start training at my school this semester. Thanks for the points!

 

I agree with needing more space. I should mention to coach more that I feel he feeds a bit too fast sometimes so I dont have time to get back to starting position, then my step into the shuttle always brings me closer and closer.

As regards, the racket finishing position, yes, I think it is necessary for the shot! The motion is like holding a sauce pan (hold), then quickly turn it upside down (flick). The grip is a bit different, but you get the picture. I think if you have strong wrist, you dont need to do full 180deg flip. I think this motion is key for the deception because there is no back-swing at all!

I also like to use the 'three levels of deception' from the lee jae bok vids (even though there are only two levels of deception!).

Thanks for observations

 

Thanks amleto. I agree that a large part of the shot is in the forearm rotation but at the point where the next shuttle is being fed you have your racket in a backhand preparation on the forehand side, clearly this is not something that would be happening in a game. As you say it may be down to the feeding, or it could be some sort of learning aid rather than actual play. In order for the shot to be deceptive you need to "hold" the shot as if you are playing straight net, in order to do that you need to present the racket as if you are taking an early shuttle and playing forehand net, and the earlier you show this the easier the deception.

The shot power comes from forearm rotation but the fingers tightening on impact for a sharp shot and the racket head finishing near the 12 o'clock position (more like 100 degrees rotation) unless you are trying for some sort of brush/topspin effect?

There's a good Gade demo here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4rmdWxhjls&feature=related its in Danish and for straight lift but its worth watching.