47 year old trying to improve my game, sp please bear with me 1) I tried hitting a few drives with my partner. First my focus was just on me hitting forehand drives consistently. I realized that after 7 to 8 drives my fingers could not clamp down on the racquet with enough force while hitting the shuttle. Almost like frozen/tired. I make it a point to tighten the grip only at the point of contact and then release it to loose grip as soon as I have completed the drive. 2) may be for the above reason, I am not able to quickly switch between forehand and backhand drive for forehand and backhand drives. I am more worried about 1 as may be 2 is more due to me not practicing enough and just playing games.
What racket do you use? Heavier racket (3U or even U) will be harder to manouver & higher balance point would make it even worst if one not used to it. Even me whos claim used to head heavy 3U racket for double & find not much problem on fast play had to admit that using lighter one is more easy to manuover. It just that its not my preference & liking, so what can i say.
I use a Duora ZStrike, but notice similar issue with Arc Saber ZSlash (one of the lightest racquet). It is like my hands are frozen and dont have the strength to clamp down
Are you utilizing your shoulder,arm,wrist or only fingers and wrists ? What about your finger strength in general, have you tested it (like hanging from a pullup bar). Think about a wave, your racket is in front of you , racket head at shoulder height, ready to receive , you pull your elbow back, then your hand(wrist), then the racket head and after this you push your elbow forward, followed up by your hand(wrist movement) and finally the racket head hitting the shuttle. I think, that most of the power will come from this kinetic chain and the finger will only provide some addtional power.
Thanks. I think I do that or may be I should record myself and see if I am really executing or just conceptually feeling that I do it. I think I have pathetic finger strength. Wont last more than a minute on a pull up bar.
Also, should I consciously try to cock my wrist (angle between back of wrist and forearm as short as possible) when I pronate for either backhand or forehand ? I seem to be not doing it.
The best thing I have done in the past is to record some matches and analyse them. You will be surprised about what you think you are doing and what you are acutally doing. And you will discover a lot of positive things you are totaly unaware of.
Here is a slow motion video of my attempt to simulate returning smashes(my partner (not a badminton player) did the best to throw shuttles at me) Appreciate any improvements that I can make. My wrists really hurt after I tried that 20 to 25 times. Normal ? And then I see this and it feels effortless. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Feed is not the same - your partner is not simulating a smash, they are simulating a drop shot. Stroke result is not the same - you are doing a high lift, and the video you linked shows a flatter lift (you can see the angle it's coming off at). Basically you're comparing non-comparable strokes. You're practising what is actually more like a high lift off a drop shot based on the trajectories of feed/return, just with the feed landing in the midcourt rather than on the service line. In fact, you stand so far back in the court that it's probably about the same in terms of footwork/distance. If you want to practise doubles defence with a hand feed, it needs to be thrown such that it actually lands where a doubles smash would, be thrown such that it travels a bit flatter (either throw faster whilst aiming higher, or thrown from a lower position). Much easier if it's thrown on the same side of the net as the defender, otherwise you need an overhead racquet feed which is a hard technique in itself. Perhaps get a video of you defending a few smashes from a friend during warmup drills?
Got it. I realized the limitation when I posted. Have to get a real sparring partner. Thanks. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I would take a look at your grip. Some observations: 1. You extend your wrist almost all the time: You can see, that your racket face is almsot perpendicular to the floor when you await a shot while you have a backhand grip leading to wrist extension. 2. You swing your racket when awaiting a shot. 3. Hard to see, but your thumb seems to be below your index finger. If this is the case, you dont have a pivot where you could use your finger power, you should put your index finger below the thumb: https://www.badmintonbible.com/shots/grips/basics/backhand In my opinion 1 + 2 could lead to tightening up your muscle/wrist too much.. A more relaxed (neutral) grip between defending shots could help here. 3 could lead to limitating the power generation. Only utilizing your arm alone to generate power could lead to more moementum your wrist need to handle when you move your racket back to a defending position. Try to generate more power with our your fingers(thumb).This might be the reason you need such a large swing compared to player in the second video.
It's also helpful to use a short grip (thumb closer to the cone / shaft area) for doubles defence. Quick racket movements are more useful than big, powerful ones.
I'm no expert, but From the slow motion video it looks like you are waiving your racket all over the place while the shuttle is not in sight... You're also not positioned that well, and your footwork to get to the shuttle is erratic and not the kind of footwork that'd allow you the control to hit the shuttle where you choose to hit it. I suggest going to a group coaching session.. They are cheap and good for the basics and could help you look more like a badminton player.
Thanks for the input. Can you point me a specific time in the video (and I understand there are plenty ) where I am doing it ? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Even within the first 4 seconds you shake your racket at the shuttle twice before even pulling the racket back to hit the shuttle. Like you are playing out the shot you are planning to do or proving to yourself that you are ready. And it may also make you a bit stiff rather than relaxed.. And not really prepared for the controlled movement of the feet that must also take place. Getting the feet right / footwork, is a big multi-year+ project, often considered the hardest thing in badminton. It's really good that you land heel first on your lunge though.
I have noticed that if I stay still and then move, then my reaction time to switch between back hand and forehand is slow, versus having a small shake, especially when it comes to fast smashes. I guess that is not the right thing to do. ..but then I see this https://www.badmintoncentral.com/fo...-of-the-racquet-when-awaiting-the-bird.10811/ "shaking keeps your muscles "warm."" Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
that's interesting, the concept is news to me. I suppose what you don't want is to shake the racket as if to say 'I am ready for a smash' and then they clear it, or you prep your racket action for a smash in one place and they smash to another place. Or you prep for a smash and they drop it in front of you and you are late for it ;-) And those kind of things happen with or without shaking the racket. Somebody might be ready for only one particular shot and another one comes. You probably don't want to be doing things for no reason, but you do seem to have found some reason so that's something. You can test with a friend that is on the same page as you, or a coach, where you do it with that, and without that, and see if there is any difference. But it probably shouldn't be a high priority..= There are significant things going wrong that others have pointed out..(In particular, looking to practise one shot but being fed for another). That's high priority. I was just noting a quirk or what looked like a quirk. But i'm no expert.
