Backhand clear:birdy at high altitude at far corner of court & you are not there yet

Discussion in 'Techniques / Training' started by ggagnon, Sep 30, 2006.

  1. ggagnon

    ggagnon Regular Member

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    How do you do a good backhand shot when the shuttlecock is at high altitude in the corner of your court. It is one situation when you are already at the back of the court awaiting to hit that shuttlecock (and i already have the proper technique to handle that situation) . But what happens, if are almost in the middle of the court when the shuttlecock is at high altitude at the far corner of the court? Lets suppose that you would have time (and want) to do an upward swing rather than downward swing. With my current techniques i can send the shuttlecock to the other court but it is weak and sometimes i cannot clear it all the way to the back. Sometimes it only goes half-court and then the opponent can smash easily.
    Ok it is possible to do a backhand drop shot to the net but most opponents knows that a shot will be returned in the front of the court and can easily counter it.

    It would be wonderful if this shot could be cleared at the far back of the opponents court especially cross-court (this is probably the most difficult shot ever to execute).

    So please enlighten me... my game is pretty good all round except for this particular shot... so i'm very eager to figure this out... it has been years that i've wondered about this shot so i want to figure it out once and for all.... i've tried a couple of things in the past but nothing really worked great.

    So if you can help, a description would be great but pictures would also add on to this discussion very well.
     
  2. ggagnon

    ggagnon Regular Member

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  3. Gollum

    Gollum Regular Member

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    One thing that players forget is that a good backhand cannot get you out of an impossible situation. If the shuttle has travelled behind you and is dropping low, then it will be extremely difficult to play a good stroke, especially on the backhand side.

    You should never be "waiting" for a backhand overhead. If you are waiting for it, then you should be moving instead and playing a round-the-head forehand.

    When playing a difficult backhand clear, there's no reason to make it harder and play crosscourt. In an easier situation, you might try the crosscourt backhand if you can do it.

    When the shuttle is behind you on the backhand side, you will need to move your grip farther towards panhandle. You will not be able to use as strong an arm swing, so the power from the fingers is even more crucial.

    By all means practise this stroke, but bear in mind there are limits to what you can expect. Eventually, the shuttle is just too low and too far behind to play a clear, and you will be lucky even to play a good drop.

    In this case, you should not be thinking "Damn, I wish I had a better backhand"; you should be thinking instead, "I need to prevent my opponent from forcing me into that situation". To do this, work on your movement skills. Also, think about what you did just before the failed backhand that may have placed you in that situation.
     
    #3 Gollum, Sep 30, 2006
    Last edited: Sep 30, 2006
  4. ggagnon

    ggagnon Regular Member

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    Well you definitely have good points Gollum. In the situation that i am waiting for the shuttle cock, i prefer to use my backhand as it is just as effective as my forehand (but this is not for everyone). I just hate to think that my game has a weakness. My footwork is not so bad but i still need some improvement. To try to play the game to prevent your opponent to do a shot that puts you in that situation is admitting weakness and i hate that, but i guess there might be no other choice if the biomechanics doesn't support a powerful backhand clear in that situation.

    In the meantime, if anyone in the world might have an insight or learned a new technicque that is not well known how to do such a shot... please share... even a partial technique combined with another technique is welcome... i'm desperate to learn if such a technique remotely exists.... if not if will have to learn to play to prevent my opponent to play the shuttlecock in such a postion as a last resort.
     
  5. Crazypeetee246

    Crazypeetee246 Regular Member

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    well the top player at my school positions his arm in a way like as if hes choking an imaginary person...if that made sense??basically the racquet is like 3 or 4 inches away from his chest. We are all high school students so we may not be as developed muscle wise and skill wise. However, back to the subject. He then decreases the angle at the elbow and uses his whole arm almost like as if hes backhand slapping someone as hard as he can. Furthermore, he stands in a way where he can use his whole body in the action. This allows him to clear backhand anywhere he wants. However, on the down side the stance that he uses is very vulnerable. His forehand side because extremely vulnerable because he would have to pivot his right foot almost 180 degrees back to the ready stance.

    I'm no expert but thats my insight :cool:
     
  6. Gollum

    Gollum Regular Member

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    You're absolutely right that this is a weakness that should be worked on. It can definitely be improved. I don't mean to discourage you from working on your weakness -- I just mean to point out that there is a limit.

    Top players can hit a good backhand clear when the shuttle is behind them, but even top players have limits. No-one in the world can hit a backhand clear reaching backwards at full stetch with the shuttle below his shoulder ;)

    Every top player is weaker on backhand clears and smashes than forehand clears and smashes. It will always be a weakness -- you can minimise the weakness but you can never entirely eradicate it.
     
  7. ggagnon

    ggagnon Regular Member

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    So let say that you don't need to reach backward at full stretch. Let say you have to reach backward by one feet.

     
  8. Gollum

    Gollum Regular Member

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    Still tough!

    The grip will be almost panhandle (the thumb has moved from the diagonal bevel to the side bevel, and may even tend towards the other diagonal bevel). You'll need perfect timing, a very fast supinating action, and maximum use of the fingers.

    It's hard to extract sufficient power from this awkward swing; the pros can do it, but I can't even come close :(
     
  9. stumblingfeet

    stumblingfeet Regular Member

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    Check out "The Masked Trickster, Part 2." In that video the guy combines an overhead backhand swing with a underhand forehand shot into one sick move. Perhaps that's the killer solution you're looking for?
     
  10. ggagnon

    ggagnon Regular Member

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    Crazypeetee246 vbmenu_register("postmenu_444323", true); technique works but not as well when the shuttlecock is further back... and this is the situation i'm refering to. I think Gollum's suggestion has the same problem. Both would work but i am not confident it would clear the court on the other side.

    Here is an idea that i came upon: Position yourself and your racquet as if you are ready to receive a serve except that the height of your racquet is higher than usual with your upper arm elevated. Your racquet should be higher than your head by almost a feet. Now position your body so that your back faces the net. If you are right-handed, your racquet should be to the left side of your right arm (the arm holding the racquet). Now rotate your forearm clockwise by about 200 degrees (supination or pronation?). Your racquet is now to the right side of your right arm. Now to swing and hit a shuttlecock, rotate your forearm (supination or pronation?) counterclockwise back to its original position very quickly. If you do this correctly, you should realize that there is somewhat of a problem... your head is somewhat in the way and are almost hitting it. So to circumvent this problem, slightly tilt your head to the right and swing over your head. This technique SEEMS to be promising because it SEEMS to provide further reach backward without losing so much power or range of motion... although i didn't try it in the gym yet... I will let you guys know about my findings.
     
  11. ggagnon

    ggagnon Regular Member

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    Looks like we posted the same technique almost at the same time. I think what you are describing is what i tried to describe although i haven't seen the video yet. I'm still downloading.

     
  12. ggagnon

    ggagnon Regular Member

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    I saw the video although it is a really cool trick... it is not what i'm looking for... i'm actually looking for the backhand shot and not a tricked forhand shot. Thanks though!! i'll definitely include that trickshot into my own tricks

     
  13. huynd

    huynd Regular Member

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    You can look for the match between Taufik and Chen Hong in Wc2006. There're couple of times when Taufik had to play desperate backhand shot. The shuttle is way behind him and low, but he managed to hit it back to the rear court.

    Here is my analysis of the technique: The grip is definitely pand handle, because i've seen many of taufik's backhand video. Prior to the swing, he step with his right foot to the rear court (which means to the shuttle). A step may not be an exact description in desperate situations. In fact it could be described as a lunge (what you do to reach the net). The swing comes right after the lunge (not until he reaches the ground with his right foot, it would be too late). I think this step or lunge backward has some similar effect as a weight shift in forehand shots, except that the timing is very neat.

    When i try to replicate this technique, one thing i found is that: If i try to swing with all my arm, i'll lose the power. Infact, my backhand is much more powerful if i just stretch out my arm straight and keep it parallel to the direction of my body movement (the lunge). At the very last moment, i just supinate and tighten the grip. Actually I can hit this desperate backhand upto 4/5 court length.

    In short, here are some of my tips for this technique:
    - Keep racket arm really relaxed.
    - Pandhandle grip. Thumb is placed on bevel or the narrow side of the grip
    - DEFINITELY NO big swing. The first arm movement is like you're about to hit someone with the elbow
    - It's best when you can fully stretch your body and arm. If the shuttle is close so that you cannot stretch fully, then and overhead forehand is better.
     
  14. martin8768

    martin8768 New Member

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  15. taneepak

    taneepak Regular Member

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    Some reasons for lack-of-power overhead backhand clear are :
    1. Back (not merely shoulder) not turned to net.
    2. Arm not brushing right ear and not straight at impact (for right-handers).
    3. Weak wrist
    4. Wrist flick not perfectly timed.
    As a matter of fact you don't need a lot of power to do a backhand clear to the back-timing is very important.

    Backhand drives that lack power are due to other reasons :
    1. Right foot not far enough across to shuttle.
    2. Backswing not taking racquet well back over left shoulder (for right-handers)
    3. Racquet head pushed, not flung, so arm not straight at impact.
    4. As 3 and 4 on overhaed backhand clear above.
     
  16. ggagnon

    ggagnon Regular Member

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    Thanks hyund for your helpful comments. I will look at Taufik's videos and keep in mind Gollum's and Crazypeetee246 suggestions as they are the best techniques that i heard yet. I tried the technique the i had suggested in my earlier posting but it DOESN'T look promising... i will still practice a bit before giving up this technique in case it would make a difference. Up until now I managed to hit my head a few times pretty darn hard instead of hitting the shuttlecock :D.

     
  17. jerby

    jerby Regular Member

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    just to check if I understand teh situation:
    the shuttle is lifted/cleared high and you have all the time in the world, and you want to hit your backhand harder?

    my take on this: hit it around the head...if you ahve that much time you can practically walk around it and hit it like a regular forehand...(maybe with a cute scissor's jump;))
    footwork is the answer!
     
  18. ggagnon

    ggagnon Regular Member

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    desperate shot

    The situation that i described is one where you cannot do a forehand around the head and you wouldn't have enough time to place yourself completely at the back of the court... i assume that you have a short amount of time to move on the court and that at best the shuttlecock would still be one or two feet behind you (further to the net that you are).

     
  19. ggagnon

    ggagnon Regular Member

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    i watched the video between Taufik and Chen WC 2006 that huynd suggested. I saw some nice desperate backhand shot but unfortunately the camera angle, video frame rate, and camera zoom is not good enough to see Taufik's exact hand grip to exectute these great shots and the exact motion that he executes. Anybody has an insight on his motion and handgrip to execute these desperate shots... and that great backhand smash... i cannot do such a smash when my back is completely facing the net however i can accomplish a good smash with my body on its side.
     
  20. jerby

    jerby Regular Member

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    oh wait, now I know what you mean...when I get cought like that the birdy isn't at high altitude..my bad..
    ever tried a backhand-intercept? it helps me a few times...

    but generally, the trick is not to get in such a situation...(didn't gollum say that already?)

    EDIT: yes...he did...sorry
     

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