post #103 talks about stopping the racket really fast... For the contact point: Well in game the contact point will rarely ever be right above your head if you are playing a good player and you will be force to do a clear to your left or right very often.... I guess I just got used to it? Anyways I will try all your tips next time I'm on the court For the arm movement: I used to do the whole throwing thing and was instructed by my coach not to do it because it makes your racket swing even bigger and useless... the only thing he told me to keep from throwing action is that my elbow should reach forward first and then elbows extension and then forearm pronation. He actually showed me that you barely need a swing, he help his racket already in back of him and simply slowly extended his elbow and did a quick turn of his forearm (pronation! ) and his clear was from baseline to baseline....which showed me that the whole swing I used to do was simply useless and I could get my speed faster... I guess my technique is still not fast enough? Yes but I have to jump to get body rotation, I cant just take a step because my left leg has to rotate while keeping my foot on the floor. Since im heavy and my shoes grip, my knee hurts alot when I do this a few times. I wouldnt jump if it wouldnt be necessary lol it would be a waste of energy
To be more precise, the contact point isn't "just above" (as in directly) your head. Rather, it's above your shoulder or a little bit more in front.
Hmm... it's rather easy to rotate while still keeping your foot on the floor. Since you're right-handed, just step-forward with your right foot from a side-on position and your body will naturally rotate. For more information, check this article on badminton bible, especially the part with the step-through explanation: http://www.badmintonbible.com/articles/forehand-power/lessons/body-rotation.php
Ok, now for the "stopping the racket explanation". That is something you usually exclusively during practice or training. Stopping the racket helps put more emphasis on the wrist by removing the follow-through. The downside to a follow-through is that, while doing it, players have the tendency to do too much of a throwing-action, resulting in a big swing. Also, it's easier to forget good sequential joint action when doing a throwing action: the shoulder muscles and joint are almost used exclusively. So, by stopping your racket, you don't do any throwing action, and you make sure the final joint is well used (the wrist). Zhao Jianhua demonstrates this in his coaching videos on the smash technique. Check it out.
That's true, but in this case it looks more like an error in your technique. It appears that you are actively leaning to your left to ensure that the contact point is out to the side. This strongly suggests a problem in your hitting technique. Watch your slow-motion replay carefully. As you prepare for the shot, you change your grip in the direction of panhandle (see 0:49). My guess is that you're doing this automatically and unconsciously, as a way of compensating for other errors in your technique. This kind of unconscious adaptation is very common. For a normal forehand clear, you need to be using a basic grip. Any change towards panhandle here is a bad habit that will subtly limit the quality of your shots. The throwing action should be relatively compact. If anything, I would suggest making your action shorter than it currently is. Be careful about jumping to conclusions from an impressive demonstration. Playing a forehand clear does not require much power, especially if you keep it fairly flat and straight (not cross-court). Your coach has plenty of power to spare, so he can do this. Playing a smash is different: you can always use more power. If you use an exaggeratedly shortened swing, then your smash power will be limited. Your coach's demonstration shows how you can use good technique to generate power from a surprisingly short swing. It does not follow, however, that you should always keep your swing that short. There's nothing wrong with jumping. If you can swap your feet around effectively, that's great. I would say your jumps are a bit of a hindrance here, however, because you have too narrow a base (your feet are too close together).
I'm not a professional so don't take my advice too hard, you may be doing the "right technique"; however, the form is not quite there. It looks like you are trying way too hard to pronate when actually you should pronate naturally.
Ah! I think you mean to tell him to pronate in a more relax manner, since pronation doesn't quite come naturally when hitting (except if you've had years of pratice).
Yes, maybe try hitting it slower rather than swinging too fast. The way your swinging is very common to people starting to pronate for the first time, it looks like you are telling yourself everytime you swing to end up on the right, like you are in the video after you finished your swing. The way you use your shoulder in the swing is also very awkward, though I do not know what advice to give you to improve that besides the fact that you should just relax. Ultimately it just looks like your not comfortable with pronating, rather your forcing it. Also your shot is really far to the side, try hitting it higher and above your head.
Next time I'm on the court: Will try hitting above my right shoulder Will try making the throw action even smaller/shorter Will try to relax my muscles more before impact The grip however is correct I can assure you, I just tend to re-grip my racket often because holding my racket in basic grip is uncomfortable when I am not hitting. Before an exchange begins I keep the racket turned about 1/6 of a turn clockwise (where the end/tip part of my index finger is on the back side of the racket.) I'll actually take pics of the grips I use just to make sure however....coming in a few minutes on next post. Another thing I noticed is that because of my bulkyness I am not able to raise my right arm straight up, it hurts my shoulder/back a lot. I have to lean to the left to get my arm point up... maybe thats what keeps pushing me to lean to the left?
Pics are rly not turning out well lol I cant show racket head and grip at the same time so you guys know which side is which.... Anyways basically I hit with basic grip and just turn it 1/8th of a turn clockwise. I switch to basic grip when the play begins. I make sure several times during the match that I keep the middle of my index finger on the "back" (bigger flat side) of the racket handle.
There is nothing wrong with swinging too fast. What's important though is accelerating at the right moment and synchronizing your arm movement (there are other factors too, but I will stick with saying just this).
This will sound stupid but I cant stand having my racket on an odd angle.... It has to be either perfectly vertical/horizontal or 45 degrees.... or else I feel as if it is unbalanced. However when I am in play, (IE right after the server serves) I switch to basic grip and it doesn't bother me since I am moving. Whenever I am not in play, I will hold it on what I call an "exaggerated" basic grip. I've tried hitting with this grip and it is very hard to get a good precise shot, so I just deal with switching back and forth at the beginning and end of each rally. To make it short: why I turn it 1/8 of a turn? It's a bad habit.
The basic grip is the main grip you should have when in ready position . No matter how comfortable or uncomfortable you are, you should always hold it the correct way . It is really troublesome to hold it in whatever way you called it, then switching to the basic grip when you want to hit the birdie . Why not have the basic grip and not having to change it when you are hitting forehand shots ? You should correct this bad habit .
I think the response of people here trying to help you out is astounding You should consider yourself extremely lucky! Thankyou for saying you appreciated the advice from various people earlier, that was very kind I would like to add a few comments of my own. I don't know if you always (even when you jump) end up leaning to the left, but this is a big problem in my opinion, as this is one of the key causes of being off balance and unable to learn proper recovery footwork, and diffusing your strength to a certain extent (body weight going to the left, not into the shuttle). It is important to try and maintain a posture such that you are leaning towards where you need to move (i.e. you base, probably near the centre of the court) afterwards. Controlling the movement of your head, so that it looks at the point of contact during and slightly after the hit, may help you maintain your balance. The head is heavier than your other limbs, and is hence key for maintaining your balance. The key area I feel you are lacking in, is the whole "reaching up" for the shuttle thing, which others have pointed out. Reaching up with your elbow like you said you struggled with is nothing to do with your weight in my opinion, but a lack of flexibility in your shoulder. Peter Rasmussen (1997 world champion) started his career unable to reach his elbow above his shoulder. Shoulder flexibility work (stretches) should sort you out in no time After all that is said, your new pronation technique looks like you are headed in the correct direction for an excellent technique. Keep up the good work I hope some of that helps. Matt
