I would just like to hilite what alzgodemort vbmenu_register("postmenu_158219", true); said about tall people having a disadvantage defending vs. a body shot - - an excellent technique that works well for me usually also as a sterotype taller players are less agille then shorter players.
Thus this is already a disadvantage, as the shorter person needs to jump to get the same amount of angle as the taller guy. He will have to position, jump, recover, then move. The taller guy need not to jump and can recover almost immediately. Jumping takes energy and when it takes more energy it taxes the body, thus one work twice as hard as the other.
i agree to that, maybe its just that im used to playing basketball where height is an advantage. but, i think prophet is also right about what he said ""For the taller person, body shots are harder to get to. Reaction around the body is more angular and a taller person needs to twist more."" and its a big disadvantage for me and very frustrating. i do rely more on my reach rather than my footwork, maybe my smashes are good enough but reaching for a counter drop shot always gives me a hard time.
Most of the questions like: Is height/racket/tension/grip/socks/grip size/string gauge/fake rakcet/real racket/etc right for me? are really asking if those element will make your game better. So here's the answer. There's no substitute for getting a coach, or doing drills, or practising, or playing more badminton. Set an hour aside and work on aspects of your games you'd like to improve. You can't grow taller, but you can get better at your games more than you imagine. Try it. Hard to counter drop shots? Do 15 min drill on getting drop shots. Then play a game. See the difference. -dave
badminton is a very "fair" game. fair meaning it is not bias toward or against physical character like height, muscles. when all else being equal. we have seen many world champions who are short and tall, skinny and large. unlike other sports like basketball or american football, where someone naturally very tall or big have a definite advantage. badminton is "fair".
I agree with kwun, I'm a 6'1 asian male and i've been playing for a bit over 7 years. Recently i have just discovered a new double partner and it's quite the match up because i'm 6'1 and he's about 5'3. Quite an interesting pair, but when we play doubles i'm usually in the front because i'm more comfortable in the front, but the drawback that i have is that i have to get super low.... i literally have my back bend over almost 90 degrees from my waist. And i really like the front because i surprize and sometimes scare my opponent's because when i am in the front crouched over they alway seem to forget that they have to clear higher over me. As for my partner he's shorter then my by a bit but he is stronger by far and he can run very fast. So what i am getting at is that basically what kwun was saying in that high doesn't really matter in height, just work with what you have. drawbacks are that i am a bit laggy and my reactions are very delayed but that is because i haven't been playing competitively for a while and i'm getting back into it.
agree 125%. badminton is fair in this way too. there is no substitute to training. you wont find any magic bullet that will make you into a good player overnight, you won't be able to buy your way into a good player with a "good" racket. you won't become a good player suddently even if you are able to tweak your gene to make yourself taller. there is only one way to badminton, and that's good techinques from getting taught and then follow up with lots and lots of drills.
Kwun I agree with what you said earlier, that badminton is a fair game. For every player, regardless of how tall or short- you will have strengths and weaknesses. This is also true is other sports- there are always fast small ballers in basketball, just as much as tall, big post players. Height is not the only factor- otherwise Manute Bol should have been a better baller than Michael Jordan! Maybe in a given situation, a tall and short player might be equal in basic shots and footwork. Inherently the taller player might have a reach advantage, but the shorter player might inherently have the advantage with reaction to body shots. The taller player might have longer strides, the shorter player might have faster foot speed. The fun part is finding the weaknesses in your opponent and that is irregardless of height, weight or statue. I've never stepped on the court and judged someone too short or too tall, and hence disadvantaged. Enjoy the game, and keep practicing those shots.
I totally agree... Being tall has advantages (large reach, steep angles, interception) and disadvantages (slower, move more mass to get dropshots near the ground, shots on the body), as we have discussed above. The best proof is that amongst top players, we see both tall and small players. This supports Kwun's remark that badminton is a fair game. Take the finalists from previous olympic final: Gong Zhichao was small and Camilla average, Hendrawan quite small and Xinpeng taller.
hey...im a new member hey... im 5.7 and im okay..i play ok...i havent got much strength...in me.i think being tall is gud ina way and in a certain it aint...when u gotta bend to pick up a smash...if ur tall its more difficulot for u it will take more time...if ur like me or average height...then its easy to pick a smash...in hitting a smash...situation is reversed u know.
Work with what you got... Basically one has to work with what one has. Tall, short, thin or stocky. Whatever. No point wishing to be tall if it's impossible. Simply put, the better player is the one who adapts to his own condition and environment better than his opponents.
W22C, I have to disagree, my theory is, if you suck at defense, get the AT800 Defensive Racquet if you suck at offense, get the AT800 Offensive Racquet I mean there is got to be a reason why Yonex made one racquet into 2 types other than marketing, right? right? RIGHT?
That's correct! Every wanna-be-number-one baddy player should buy the racquet of his/her favorite professional baddy player and should be able to kick-butt (just like the Pros) with racquet-in-hand without ever doing what Wood_22_Chuck has suggested!....Please check your number and re-dial! Cheers!
BMS, that is only half correct, to be completely good, you must also owned your favorite countries team jeresy and also carry your favorite player's picture with his signature on it as a good luck charm. If you wants to want major tournaments such as AE or World Championship, they must also have their favorite player's phone number, and address handly.
just outta curiosity...who are the shortest female + male badminton players?(by that i mean international players who've acheive titles?) i think mia audina is probably one of them...
Im 155 Hey....Im Only 155cm tall but im quite good. Since all my other friends are beginners....i tend to thrash them in a game.Since ur nickname is IamAbeginner.....practice is good.
You're only as good as how hard your opponents test you. If you're finding it too easy to trash others, it's time to move on to greener pasture and seek greater challenges. Nothing teach success like failure.
one or two ppl mentioned earlier that being tall can be a disadvantage for the reasons that one is slower and not given as many opportunities to jump smash if they are tall. I don't understand why. Here's the way i see it... Note: for the duration of this post, using the term, "taller" will mean proportionally taller (ie. If the 5'10 subject has a shoulder width of 20 inches, the 6'0 subject will have a shoulder width of about 20.56 inches, because a 2 inch increase in height is about a 2.8% differance in height. Also consider the subjects' weight to increase proportionally with height.) and to be in comparision to shorter person. Differential is in your discretion. Correct me if im wrong, but isn't the point of jumpsmashing to gain the opportunity to hit a steeper angle, not to produce power? If one doesn't have to jump to produce the same angle as a short person, then: 1) If one does get a chance to jump they can produce superior angles (a proportionally taller person will also have a proportionally larger vertical leap) and 2) If they dont jump for a particular smash they still have the opportunity to hit with a decent angle. Also, supposing a taller person doesn't have as many opportunities to jump, they will be able to return to their base more quickly with no sacrifice in comparison to a much shorter person who needed to jump to produce the same angle as the taller person. Why would being tall make one slow? For example, someone who is 1ft tall will not be able to move around the court effectively no matter how incredibly fit they are. Supposed this ultra fit person is suddenly 6'2 with the same proportions, they will now be incredibly fast at spanning the court. The same concept is true on a smaller scale when comparing someone who is 5'10 to being 6'. If the 6' person is a carbon copy of the 5'10 person except that the 6' person is proportionally taller, then the 6' person will have the advantage in both speed and power and will undoubtedly be the superior player of the two. "But if you're taller, you have to hit the bird sooner of lifts/clears". How so? Consider this: For a short person, the angle of the lift/clear does not need to be as great to exceed the reach of their racket. Performing the kind of low clear that might put a lot of pressure on a shorter person would be suicide against a much taller person because it would be cut off early, defeating the purpose of the shot. The higher angle clear means the shuttle spends more time in the air; so although the tall person strikes the bird at a higher point, they generally have the same amount of time to get to the back. Now taking the example of the 5'10 and the 6' person again, someone might say, "The taller person, although they have more muscle mass will not be able to hit the bird harder or clear more easily. That is almost solely dependant on technique.". While technique is the key, the 6' person posessing quality of technique equal to that of the 5'10 person will be able to apply more speed to the shuttle because the mass of the birdie and and the racket will be proportionally smaller to them. Therefore, the impulse required to produce the maximum shuttle speed the 5'10 person could muster will take less "effort" (in terms of what percent of the 6' tall person's capability they feel they are applying.). At maximum effort, the 6' person will be able to produce higher shuttle speed than the 5'10 person. One more advantage, because the reach of a taller person is greater, they can receive shots to their sides more easily (granted they are not very low, discussed later on). The disadvantages i see in being a proportionally taller person are: 1) Greater chance of being hit in the back of the head by your doubles partner. 2) Receiving body shots requires more awkward and therefore more time costly motions because the raquet face covers a proportionally smaller percentage of your body. 4) Striking the bird requires more coordination (the racket and shuttle are proportionally smaller to the taller person). I'm not sure about this last one: 3) Receiving shots close to the ground is more difficult Note: If you disagree with me on one or more of the preceeding points you won't hurt my feelings just give a good explaination why It seems like having the advantage in height, principally speaking, is to have the advantage in badminton. "If so, then why aren't the best badminton players all very tall?" Your answer is as good as mine on that one.
paul, great points. let me try to contribute more to the discussion. but before i do that, let me point out that this is not a clearcut better or worse situation with height, there are trade-offs at either end. another point is that while a taller person will definitely be more advantageous for longer distance runs. however, we need to keep in mind that badminton is mostly just short dashes within the boundary of the badminton court. the reason why a proportionally taller person *may* be slower is that a taller person have a higher center of gravity. with the fact that badminton is just quick start and stop, it is harder to start and stop a taller body than a shorter one. true that one started, the taller person with the longer stride is more advantageous. but as mentioned, this is a tradeoff situation, one gains some, one loses some.
