Hi all, obviously i am new here... I have a question regarding grips already: I am a beginning to intermediate player playing on and off over the years but i used to play mainly tennis when i was younger(31 now). So anyway i am getting into Badminton right now and loving it, playing twice a week etc, but the thing is i am having some trouble with my grips! I find that i naturally use the same grip for all shots meaning the standard forehand "V" grip i also use for my backhand and i get by like that... whenever i try to use the suggested backhand grip where you put your thumb on the handle and rotate the racket(the same one i do use for the backhand serve) i am having a lot of trouble even getting the ball back with power and control and sometimes i even outright MISS the shot So my question is, is it viable at all to be playing with forehand grip for my backhand if i feel comfortable that way and can i improve as a player in the future like that? Or should i try and force myself to get used to the "correct" way of hitting backhands in order to become a better player? Pros/Cons? Thanks for any advice guys!
hi there winnie..i don't think a one grip can cover all shots... however, you can see how a grip works on vary situation on this website. http://www.badmintonbible.com/articles/grips-guide/
The short answer is: not if you want to improve. This is an extract from my coaching supplement: 1. There are four grips in badminton: basic, bevel, thumb, panhandle a. Basic: overhead clears/smashes/drops, forehand net play*, smash blocks on forehand and backhand side, forehand smash lift, forehand chest-height drives/pushes away from body, late forehand shots from deep in rear corner, forehand lift b. Bevel: backhand clears/smashes/drops*, backhand net play, forehand net play*, chest-height drives/pushes away from body, backhand lift, backhand cross court smash block/drive, backhand smash lift* c. Thumb: backhand drives/pushes and similar shots in front of body, backhand net kill, backhand smash lift* d. Panhandle: forehand drives/pushes, forehand net kill, late backhand shots from deep in rear corner, backhand clears/smashes/drops* 2. Grip height: high for speed at the net (in doubles play), low for power on overhead shots 3. Grip switching: use fingers to rotate the racket within hand; must be able to switch immediately to basic grip and then to any other grip 4. Finger tightening: begin all strokes with the proper grip, then tighten grip by pushing out with thumb and hooking pinky & ring finger where applicable, in other cases simply tighten grip in entirety 5. There are some instances in which two grips will work well for one shot (*), but with slightly different outcomes. These all involve the bevel grip, which is also called the universal grip due to the ease of switching from it to any other grip. Experimenting and coaching will be required to figure out the circumstances in which one grip is superior to the other. The ability to switch quickly between the two grips relies on using the fingers (particularly the thumb and index finger) to rotate the grip.
I agree with the other posts so far. Can you use the same grip for all shots? Probably. Is it the best way to play badminton? Almost certainly not. There is a reason we have different grips - some shots work better with different grips and some shots would be completely impossible if you only used a forehand grip. Not all shots have one single right grip. You will find that different players will either use a variation on one of the four basic grips. Actually, basic isn't a good word there considering that a lot of people call one grip specifically the basic grip. Hopefully you get the idea though. Some people use entirely different grips to others for some shots. Someone's variation isn't necessarily wrong but using some grips for certain shots is ill-advised simply because they make the mechanics of the shot much more awkward. Changing grips and using new grips will feel odd at first but once you get used to it, you'll realise why certain grips are recommended for certain shots.
. If the same grip can be used for all shots, then we wouldn't need to coin (or to suggest/term) the various different usages of different grips. .
Ok well i checked out that tutorial about grips and it DID say that you SHOULD even use the "basic" grip which is pretty much my regular forehand grip minus the angle(bevel or whatever) for the regular backhand clears as well, so that helps me since otherwise i felt like i was in a "lock" and i couldn't generate power when using the "backhand grip " with the thumb emphasis... i guess i can get used to using that one for serves and backhand dropshots/net kills though...
it works well at first, you'll improve until you get stuck at a certain level due to the limitations of improper technique. If you play to win, learn proper grip. If you play just to rally with little kids, your current form works, lol.
I have been taught by different coaches to use either the bevel grip or the panhandle for backhand clears. Using a basic grip doesn't give you the same degree of supination (you need to contact the shuttle earlier in your stroke to prevent it from going out). If you try this out yourself you'll understand. Regardless, you should NEVER use thumb grip for a backhand clear, because not only do you not get the proper angle, the power generation should come from supination and finger tightening. This is unlike a backhand push where you'll push with your thumb and pull in your other fingers. Since using the appropriate grip is the first step in executing any stroke, you can imagine that using the incorrect grip will lead to improper stroke execution and even injury. It's definitely worth the investment in time to learn the various grips and be comfortable switching between them. Most likely you'll find that your play will go down slightly as you try to adjust and figure things out, but once you grasp the crux of it you'll improve dramatically.
