Need Help understanding my game and the related racket i'd need.

Discussion in 'Racket Recommendation / Comparison' started by asnsuri, Feb 13, 2020.

  1. asnsuri

    asnsuri New Member

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    Hi.
    I started playing badminton in a club almost two years ago and I've become decent at the sport.
    I started off with a very very light racket called the maxx venus m2 which weighed about 70 grams.
    I am a tall guy, 6 feet three inches so my game developed around my height and the lightness of my racket. I like getting forward very quickly to use my reach to attack shuttles at the net, when it comes to smashes i like to hit sharp downward wrist smashes, placed in front of the opponent's feet. And i enjoy quick defense
    I dont exert much shoulder power in smashes as I have long standing shoulder issues having played tennis.
    I exclusively play doubles now with nylon shuttles but would love to graduate to singles once my power and game improve.
    Post by maxx racket breaking i tried a few head heavy rackets but they were too sluggish in quick movements for my liking. This lead me to believe that only headlight rackets suit my game in its current form. Is my assessment true?
    I now use my friend's nanoray 7, a basic racket, kind of headlight but almost 85 grams. My game feels better now but i still want something 5U for greater speed.
    So in my head, im looking for a 5U headlight racket.
    I just want help understanding if this self assessment is correct and also if you guys have some racket recommendations for me.
    Thanks in advance.
     
  2. jayv1

    jayv1 New Member

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    Hi, not an expert to comment, but imo starting off with a racket that light (or continuing with it in this case) isn't very good for developments in techniques in the longer run. Personally I'd suggest you switch to the standard weight ranges (3U-4U) if possible. Given your height and build you should get used to it very fast, then you'll unlock a much much wider range of rackets you can play with (which is one of the fun parts in racket sports really :D for me at least). No need to go with the head heavy ones you've tried, I'd suggest get a head balanced to understand yourself better. TBH, if i were as tall as you I'd lean towards more of an aggressive game since you'll be able to take advantages from your build. Also I should mention that if you're interested in singles, heavier rackets (3u) are more popular because the importance shifts towards racket stability and overall momentum rather than speed in doubles.

    I have friends who started off playing regularly at the same time, trying out several rackets before committing on one. One of them ended up with an Arcsaber fb, which is like 73 grams i think (F-rated in weight)? One of the lightest racket around by Yonex. He ended up being one of the players who got 'married' to his racket, basically struggling to use other rackets as well. It's true that you can still play well, but by committing on such a non-standard weighted racket upfront turns down a lot of opportunities (and fun) in the game (for me at least).

    But if you find yourself struggling with your injuries, then by all means stick with the lighter ones. Your health and enjoying the game (in your own way) are the most important things here after all. :) Also these are just my personal opinions having played for 7+ years, lmk what you think, will be happy to add some opinions of rackets that might suit your need!
     
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  3. asnsuri

    asnsuri New Member

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    Superbly helpful reply. Thanks a ton.
    So im dedicating 2020 to re-conditioning my body in terms of getting rid of the long standing injuries and being absolutely pain free once more (physio, strength training etc). Post that, when i am completely ready i intend to not only getting a more usual racquet, but also work with a coach to get better.
    This is for the game i play in the interim.
    But you are right in the sense that i dont need to go super light, maybe an 80 odd gram racket, even balanced, so that i can get used to how something other than very light feels.
    Any thoughts of rackets with this spec?
     
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  4. Budi

    Budi Regular Member

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    You might want to try alot of racket before that. You can try to borrow one by one your friend racket to taste it. No one can actually advice you what suit you & what might not suit you. What i feel can be different from what you feel. 3U Head heavy feel light to me as im muscle man, i play basketball & all other sport when i was a kids (add up bruise day by day running around), i start my 1st badminton with old legacy yonex racket that is U racket. So im used to heavy racket & find no problem nor pain from it.

    But 1 thing i want to share. My friend that play with me from start. We are just green & pick a racket that is best for smash (usual mistake for nobs:p. Smash is cool but drop is meh). Well we play with that anyway for quite awhile. As our skill grow & we both found our style, my friend converted to head light/balance racket as he is more of control type. Nowadays as he used to those head light racket, when he try to play aggresive with alot of repeat smash, his arm feel sore. Well his physical body weakened.
    But which of us, me that use battle axe or my friend that use rapier that is better? Cant say it, as i cant become a true Bloody Demon that hammering all my opponent with my devastating aggresive smash without my friend yet he also feel missing when im not there. So i cant argue wether its good or not to use lighter racket.

    So depent on your target. Is it just casual competitive games or tournament that you after. If its just casual games, well you can use anything that you feel like it. But when you aim for tournament, doesnt mean its bad but you might not want to makes your body to lazy for little extra weight. Train with heavier racket but you can go back to you goto on a real match, to when you are growing i bet you might be converted:D
     
  5. seanc6441

    seanc6441 Regular Member

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    How bad is your shoulder issue? Does it prevent you from rotating much of your shoulder at all or is it just explosive shoulder movement that causes problems?

    Because the power in badminton mostly comes from your forearm and fingers. The shoulder movement supplies the stability and smoothness of your racket action and if you learn correct technique rather than only use wristy shots you'll actually be helping prevent injuries in the long run and won;t be straining your shoulder at all with good technique. You'll simply at most have some tired forearm muscles because that;'s the muscle in your arm that should be getting the most of a workout during badminton.

    I suggest you don't go below 4u. You'll only be limiting your power output if you go lighter. I'd personally suggest you learn to use 4u or 3u even balance if you ever wanna play singles and doubles with good technique. Anything too headlight will just promote the use of poor technique because it will be easy to swing incorrectly but ultimately you will probably be causing more injury or you will have to stick with 5u rackets forever which is not ideal for singles or even double back court play.

    Instead I suggest you find an even balance medium flex racket and then get a coach for awhile work on your technique to prevent more injury. Explain to the coach your situation and he will help you develop a technique to help prevent injury!
     
    #5 seanc6441, Feb 14, 2020
    Last edited: Feb 14, 2020
  6. seanc6441

    seanc6441 Regular Member

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    also feather shuttles are much easier on your arms than plastics/nylons. Ideally you should switch to feather shuttles if possible like Yonex as20/30 or alternatives.
     
  7. BalajiSethuraman

    BalajiSethuraman Regular Member

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    Badminton and injuries are twin brothers.. u need to have better understanding of your body and health if you wanna continue the relationship with badminton. As people rightly pointed power comes from forearm and fingers. Have a right technique and cure ur shoulder injuries first.

    One of my friends have a rotorcuff injury and he still plays badminton pretty all day. Gives great smashes at times, thus proves it’s not all related to shoulder!!!

    My suggestion is to take rest while u cure your shoulder and start doing your footwork training parallel. Slowly start giving better exercise for your shoulder like rehab and start to play mostly with forearm and finger.. I am sure u will excel!!!

    To me it dosent matter which racket u hold!! Light rackets will produce more issues to shoulder as u have to swing hard which puts more pressure in ur shoulder. As long as u use forearm and finger power for badminton until ur shoulder cures, ur fine..


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     
  8. asnsuri

    asnsuri New Member

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    Makes sense. I have been in the past too married to my rackets because of their uniqueness, i want to break that. Thanks
     
  9. asnsuri

    asnsuri New Member

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    I more or less keep my shoulder pain free, but in a few matches i go beyond the limit fore more power to win.
    When doing this with a headlight racket, My shoulder becomes quite sore then. Maybe an even balanced helps compromise on both things i want.
     
  10. asnsuri

    asnsuri New Member

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    Yes, this i've read.
    Ill try do the same
     
  11. asnsuri

    asnsuri New Member

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    My shoulder problems comes from the decade of tennis and in badminton 90 percent i keep it pain free using only the wrist to place accurate smashes, im not one for overwhelmingly powerful shots. But sometimes i go beyond and use my shoulder and that causes soreness.
    I constantly am working to strengthen relevant muscles. Will use a heavier racket and better technique thanks
     
  12. jayv1

    jayv1 New Member

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    Also one thing you haven't mentioned is your shaft flex preference. How much flex do you prefer? Also how much are you looking to spend on this? As @seanc6441 mentioned, getting a medium flex is generally less taxing on your body (but i think it mostly save your wrist) and as others have mentioned, power is not really generated from shoulders in badminton.

    That said, I think you originally came here to get some racket recommendations but haven't had much so far :D but all the above suggestions should be very helpful to you in terms of the assessment. For the rackets, in my experience Li-ning makes impressive medium flex rackets, depending on your budget. You might wanna look at the aeronaut series (mostly medium flex, head balance, slightly towards heavy in some variations, also has an interesting feel to it due to the unique air channel design) and the new tectonic 7 which only came out last month, not much reviews around yet but my local shops seem to be selling them out well (compared to the 7D) - medium flex, head balance also.
     
  13. Sainttoo

    Sainttoo Regular Member

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    I used to have some shoulder issues as well. Using little head heavy, even balanced or little head light is better for me than using too light or too heavy rackets. So, in terms of rackets, maybe 4u even balanced ish racket may work nicely such as victor auraspeed 80x, 90s or yonex nf 800 or li ning tectonic 7 etc...
    Also, I mainly manage my pains by doing yoga. I quit badminton bec of pains caused by scoliosis, did yoga, then I started again after two years. Also, had some rotator cuff issues, but it is mainly caused by too head heavy rackets. If you are too stiff, not doing stretching enough before and after, can cause those shoulder problems. Yoga would help to increase mobility of your shoulder, so it may help with your pain. I would recommend Iyengar yoga, but most of them would work as long as you do properly.
    Another thing that helped me a little is, turning my body little extra while smashing. Since we are not professionals, sometimes we tend to smash "lazily" aka not turn our body sideways completely. So, you may want to turn little extra for your overhead shots. (I hope I managed to explain my thoughts in this paragraph :D )

    Good luck
     

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