Pushs

Are you asking about a push shot or a drive? It's difficult to determine from the questions you ask. A push shot should not go anywhere near the back line (Endline?) but a drive could (but sometimes only goes midcourt).

The push shot is usually executed from the front (or even midcourt) at about net level. If taken somewhat above net level, then the push can be a quick agressive shot, almost a mini-drive (but not quite a kill shot). This shot can be hit in somewhat of a downward trajectory. Push shots taken at net level or slightly below would be slower=softer with a slight arc to its trajectory.

Perhaps ppl have other names for the range of shots that I'm describing.

The push shot normally goes deeper than a net drop (but not as deep as most drives). The push shot is would be placed midcourt (or maybe even in the forecourt). The mid-court push is often used for serve receive in doubles. It is usually hit toward the singles side line or into the alley (note: this shot is never hit crosscourt).

The intent is to hit the shuttle tight to the net, pushing it past the server (or past the net player). You usually want to hit it mid-court. It should be hit short enough so that the rear player is forced to lift the shuttle up to you and your partner so that you can assume an attack.

Does this sound like the shot that you are asking about? Some of the shots in the following video are push shots (other are net drops or push drops):

badminton.tv/content/item/doubles-net-play-technique/106.html

 

ooh la la, Donna Kellogg has nice legs...

ummm... what were we talking about again?

yeah... so anyways... all shots can be described either by the technique used to hit it (technical emphasis) or by the objective of that stroke (tactical emphasis). The push shot is one where the racquet has purely translational motion with no rotation about the handle. The consequence of this type of motion:

• little force generated since it doesn't use the big "power movements" of shoulder and forearm rotation
• simpler motion of the racquet head, resulting in more precise placements

Since the stroke has little power, it is a shot that is hit from the front half of the court. However with its precision it can be useful playing shots close to the net -> even if the bird drops slightly below the tape, you can still push it across flat in an effort to maintain the pressure on the opponent. A couple common uses of this shot:

• when counter attacking a weak drive or drop - step in quickly and place the shuttle between the net player and the back player. The intention is to have enough pace to get the shuttle past the net player, but soft enough so that the back player really scrambles to make the return
• when the net player faces a flat shot that has dropped below the tape, the bird can be pushed slightly upward at a slow enough pace that by the time it crosses the net, the bird quickly drops below. When executed properly this can keep the opponent from transitioning in offence

 

Net Kills

The kill shot that I mentioned is commonly known as the net kill. This shot can be hit flat if the shuttle is not too tight to the net. It can also be hit with a brushing motion, the brush net kill, if the shuttle is so close to the net that a flat kill shot might cause the player (performing the shot) to hit the net with the follow-thru.

The net kills are not really power shots -- they are not hit with a full swing. The kill is often used when a player has hit a drop shot that travels a bit too high over the net. The opponent quickly moves in to catch the shuttle above the net & quickly hit it down to the floor (in the forecourt or midcourt area) with a short quick tap. Low intermediate players often try to swing at this shuttle & end up hitting into the net.

The net kill can sometimes be used against a poor short serve in doubles.

When hitting a flat kill, "finger power" can be employed to accelerate the racket head into the shuttle with very little swing action at all. The link below is a thread on brush net kills:

badmintoncentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=28975

 

Net kills (part deux)

One or two in the net shots in the free Badminton.TV link I provided above might be characterized as net kills. If you are willing to spend a little bit of money then you can view some vids that specifically deal with net kills. One of these is an 11 minute vid on Lee Jae Bok's IBBS web site:

IBBS.tv/IBBS/home/mainvideos.aspx?ID=3&IsActive=2


Badminton.TV also has 2 short vids on net kills for paying members. One is on basic (flat) kills and the other is on brush net kills. Following is text excerpts for those 2 videos

Basic Net Kill Technique:

To kill a shuttle in the forecourt area you need to approach the net with your racket up, so that you can come from above the shuttle in order attack it. The key to an effective net kill is to use a short sharp action and to squeeze the fingers on the grip on impact. In the forecourt area you do not have time to take big swings at the shuttle...

For forehand kills the grip is such that the palm faces the net to open up the racket face. For backhand kills the thumb needs to be placed across the back of the handle to help control the shot....

Brush net kills:

Brush net kills are used when you want to kill a shuttle that is tight to the net and avoid hitting the net with your racket in the process. The racket face comes across the face shuttle from out to in, in a short sweeping movement. Early racket preparation for the shot is also important in order to strike the shuttle before it drops below the height of the net.

The simple way of practising brush kill technique is to pin shuttles on the net that then have to be brushed off...

 

I'm not sure how much I like this exercise. One good thing about it is that it makes sure that you swing very close to the net, so you can get comfortable with that. However, often the more difficult part of getting the brush is getting to the net quickly enough to be able to hit the bird downward. Since the shuttle is pinned to the net, you could take as much time as you want to get the shot.

The way I usually practise the brush is by having a partner toss the shuttle as tightly over the net as possible. A key thing here is to have this partner throw the bird as arrhythmically as possible -> if there's too much of a pattern, you'll start moving in before the shuttle is thrown, which greatly reduces the training effect.

 

Badminton.TV also suggests this method of practicing net kills. An advantage with this is that it is easier to practice flat kills as well as brush kills. As the student masters both types, the feeder can vary the height of the toss over the net so that the player can decide to hit it flat or hit is with a brushing motion.

Caveat:
There is the potential of hurting the feeder if the kill shot is hit into their eye.

I actually do a variation of this method quite often & find it to be very useful. Started doing this many years ago b4 I even knew what a brush kill was. This type of practice made me very deadly at the net, even when the shuttle was extremely tight to the net.

The fact that you can take your time is actually a good thing when first learning the brush skill. As you get the hang of it, you start increasing your speed to get to the shuttle to knock it off the net. When I do it now I approach the net with a very explosive lunge to hit the shuttle -- this actually works extremely well.

When I do this exercise I stick 5 or 6 feather shuttles (inverted) on the net spaced a foot (30+ cm) or so apart. The added challenge here is to knock each shuttle off the net without disturbing the others. I do this for a while on the right side of the net b4 switching over to the left so that I can practice both BH & FH brush kills.

 

Yes, its funny how often students will simply stand right in the path of the shuttle when doing this drill. It's one of those little things that coaches have to point out - stand off the court with the arm extended into the court to throw the shuttle.

As for that drill, I don't doubt that it can have a beneficial effect on your brushes. One important aspect of being competent at brushes is being confident swinging your racquet very close to the net - this drill deals with that just fine. The thing is, when dealing the explosive movement aspect of the shot, you can try as much as you want to do the drill as explosively as you can, but it will still remain a secondary objective. The extra speed doesn't affect the probably of success of the stroke, while in a game it is a critical factor.