I went to badminton yesterday. There's this guy at my club that I noticed that a few rows of strings on his racquet were a different colour so I asked him why he decided to repair his strings rather than restring the whole racquet. He asked me "why not"? I asked him "wouldn't it make the tension uneven"? He shrugged his shoulders casually and said something like "I don't know, I never think about it". I remember asking him before what tension he used and I think he said he doesn't remember. I was a bit surprised because this guy is ranked in the top 5 in the province and he doesn't seem too concerned about little details that we think about all the time. I then asked him how long he's had his racquet (It's a Carbonex 8000 or 8000 something). He said it's the only racquet he's ever had which is a hand-me-down racquet from his brother (who happens to be my coach). I was shocked! He says that he never thinks about equipment. We talked a bit more about other badminton stuff but the main point was he never thinks about racquets, strings, string tension, "babminton clothes", etc. I don't even recall ever seeing him with a badminton bag. He only focuses on training and rallying around with other kids at our club. I still can't get over the fact that he's top 5 in the province and never thinks about what equipment he uses and me myself is not even close to his level and I think about equipment way too much! Kinda ironic isn't it?
I fast person in slow shoes is still going to run faster than a slow person in fast shoes... Equipment does make a big difference, at least for me anyway. I think the effect of equipment is magnified by your skill. How good my serves were used to depend on which racquet I used, but after I improved my technique, I can get it to skim the line 99% of the time with any racquet. He might have improved his skill to the point that he can compensate regardless of which racquet he uses without much detriment. Another thing is that it doesn't matter how expensive the racquet is as it is how well the racquet fits you. An expensive pair of gloves is going to be uncomfortable if you buy the wrong size after all. It may be that the cab 8000 suits him very well. It's a fairly good racquet afterall. Of all the racquets i've purchased, my favourite is the cheapest one that I bought.
i agree. This topic had been debated many times, whether equipments make any difference My answer have to say... Yes. Yes, in cases where we r comparing a beginner with an 'A' player, any A player can beat any beginners not only with crappy equipments but while doing it with non racket hand, with 5lb sand bag tied to each foot. However, using ptang777 example, this fifth provincial ranked player maybe or could have been ranked higher if he had used better equips against his peers. Dont tell me that all his peers which ranked #1, #2, #3 and #4 and #6 to #10 use cheap rackets with repaired string in tournaments. BTW, why he isnt playing with his peers with comparable skills? Of course he looks amazing when comparing with players several levels lower.
All the other top players play at another club so he doesn't really get a chance to play against them except in tournaments and he's not playing in tournaments anymore because he now coaches at the club. Although, I convinced him to enter the next tournament coming up. He plays with us because we want to play with him and he doesn't mind (he's a really nice guy). He really has no other competition except for his older brother (my coach) who also is very good but not even ranked because he doesn't play in tournaments at all. I guess I always thought that better players are all badminton nuts so I thought they would obviously be into badminton equipment and are better because they work hard to get better to do well in tournaments. But these two brothers obviously just work to get better just for the fun of the game and doesn't seem to care at all about competing and rankings, etc. Heck, he didn't even know he was ranked 5th in the province until I told him. We both had a few chuckles about it.
all the self training in the world will only get u so far, a foot on the door. A truly good player need to do battle in tournaments and lick his wounds to gain experience. There are things that cant be learned from doing self training. Those upsets u see of no namers winning a tournament are either flukes (one time event) or happen in movies. A truly good player must be compared with his/her peers, not with players at lower levels. A lot of very technically skilled player breakdown under pressure. That's how the real world works too. Do let us know how your provincially ranked friend do in the next tournament.
I think it is crucial that one must find a racket which is suitable and being supportive to oneself. The brand name doesn't really matter, and the reason I choose Yonex is just because that they have wider range of racket, and this usually results in higher possibilities that I can find a racket that is suitable for me. Also, Yonex is a company who honors its warranties, and that's all I can say about this topic.
I agree. Whether equipment is a big boost, should be compared with players with similar lvl (best one, urself). With huge gap in skill lvl, the result of "equipment test" is nowhere near to be accurate. We see top elites use the rackets they prefered in matches (not necessary the most expensive, or newest model). Why? Not only because they are sponsed, but also, they need the equipment to give a little bit edge in their lvl. Example, Xia using AT700 in early round, to promote Yonex's latest product. He used his Cab20 in later rounds, as the competition lvl getting higher.
Yeah, I agree with all of you. I too think that the suitable equipment for each player does make a difference. I was only trying to say that this guy never thinks about his equipment. In fact, because he never owned any other racquet, he probably doesn't even know if any other racquet suits him better. I'm just saying he doesn't seem too interested in trying new badminton equipment, etc. I guess that's just the way he is. He never said that equipment doesn't make a difference, it's just that he never thinks about it. I guess I never thought anyone that good would show so less interest in equipment technology, specs, etc.
Not sure where you're going with this Cooler. Are you questioning whether he's a truly good player or are you just making general statements of who can be truly considered a good player? He is ranked 5th so obviously he has played in a lot of tournaments. He hasn't played in any tournaments this year because he decided to give it up because he is too busy with coaching. His ranking is the comparison to his peers. I guess compared to players at a lower level (almost everyone else in the province) he is a great player. Compared to players his level, he's an OK player. Compared to players above his level, I guess he's mediocre. Comparisons just depends on who you're comparing to, doesn't mean you can't be compared to players at lower levels. I do agree with you Cooler that you need to do battle in tournaments to gain experience. Last year was my first year playing tournaments and I did my fair share of losing and have learned alot from the loses. As a result, I am seeing major improvements in my own game. Only problem now is I'm getting old! (I'm 28)
there are plenty of players who will play with what they have even though they could play better (whether they are aware of it or not) with new or improved equipment. if one is at ease or in total balance with their sport, what they use or what they have becomes insignifcant to the sport itself. your friend has found a certain inner peace, many of us hope to acheive. the funny thing about all this - it's often the people who are at peace that makes the rest of us try to figure out what's wrong with them, or second guess them. we should just let it be.
Hopefully some day some one will reach the level - "I don't need to have a racquet, it's in my heart!".
don't get me wrong, i also appreciate players who are happy where they are and what they use. I only dwell on this subject to illustrate cases where equipments do count. Remember that there were lots of posts (not this thread) about equipments don't matter at all.
well, the bottomline is, you have to have a racket, which has minimal damage, and a set of badminton string on it (That's what I think for people don't care about the equipment) For people care about the equipments......and we all know what that is like .....
ptang777, I'm sure that your friend will be able to play even better with a better racquet once he gets used to it. Force him to try one for one night, then see if he can go back to his Cab 8000 , kinda evil though, like drug pushing or something.
Depends on which equipment. With a racquet that suits my strength and style, I tend to do better than a racquet that I don't feel very comfortable with. With the current Yonex shoes compared to other sport shoes, I don't feel any different (except heavier in the pocket as this pair was bought cheap at RM 50.00) With one grip, I will only feel slight difference in terms of control and feedback from the racquet, thus I am quite adaptable in this one. Stringwise, I am quite adaptable as well although I prefer BG85's balance of power and control, perhaps because I'm used to it. Does equipment matter? Yes, to a certain extend but it don't win you matches.
The equipment does effect but only shown up when you compete with players close to your level. I started my badminton with a 2nd hand aluminum racket. After years, I advanced my skill a lot and could play single with my friends who taught me badminton in the first place. I got so close to one of them and I only lost him between 1 to 3 points. One day, I used my girl friend’s racket (I bought for her to let her play with me), a 2 piece Yonex racket with pre-stringed in factory (i.e US$25 racket). Suddenly I could beat that guy by 1 to 3 points. And he was surprised. I was happy to use my girl friend’s racket occasionally. Then she became my wife and I used her racket all the time until 2 years ago. Again, I played one of my friends here and kept losing to him 1-3 points. One day I broke the string first time in my life (you can guess how loose the string in the first place). I borrowed another friend’s one piece racket (did not know the brand) to keep playing. Suddenly, I could beat that person by 1-3 points. At that time I realized I needed to upgrade my racket. I had no clues of any rackets that time. Then I came across with BC/BF during the search. You know after that, I became so equipment aware. I started with Yonex ISO 750 long head heavy. I got so family with it and it was broken during crash. Then TiSP SX and now AT700 (since Yonex does not make ISO750 anymore), I never felt my skill improving much compare with ISO 750. And worse, I put only 21-22 pound on my string and I broke it every 3-6 month. Now, I promise myself I would not going to buy any more new rackets until my skill improved further.
Sorry to be off topic, but just can't resist... This might be a hint to be added into "Badrad's Relationship 101" course... Isn't the relationship is an "upgrade" as well? Btw, what racket she used during ur "discovery" period, and what she's using now? It's not my business, but just wondering.
Just off the topic a bit to fulfill the LazyBuddy’s wondering-- I guess so. I wished I bought a better racket for her in the first place, so a better “upgrade”. But at that time I did not know anything about rackets. It was the only racket available in general sports shop in New Zealand. (Internet was only for computer geek at that time, definitely no on line shopping yet.) She did not have a racket before we met (that was why I bought one for her). And she stays with the same racket. I pulled out my $5 aluminum racket when I played with her before all my upgrades. Now I am thinking to buy a lighter one for her, maybe MP88 4U (I hope Yonex has a standard length 4U racket). It might be my next “upgrade”, hehe! But, she knew the trick now. She told me she was happy with the old one and no new racket needed. I guess you only can play the same trick once.
Thnx for spending ur valueable time on me. So, u want to try MP88. However, according to ur "history", seems u r more into headheavy racket. I don't think MP88 belongs to this category... Any reason? Also, with more brands/models available locally and online, maybe u can test ur luck in some ones other than Yonex.
