Hi Guys, I'm looking for in home/off court ways of practicing backhand shots/technique etc. Does anyone have any exercises that I could use? I'm just sick of getting caught clearing around my head in my backhand side in singles games. I've got a "decent" backhand drop, but if I try to clear it i can only return it to half court and then end up swallowing the shuttle! please help me get these feathers outta my face! rob
you mean just whacking an old shuttle up against a gym wall or something? I also heard that if you try to whip a towel vertically it simulates the motion and whip action needed in a backhand clear?
Well it doesn't have to be a gym wall, any wall should suffice i guess. As for whipping the towel...I guess that works too, I've heard of it but never tried it. If that's the backhand technique you're going for, then go for it.
Although the suggestions already given are good, I just have a question. Why would you rather switch from hitting around the head to a backhand shot. It's like settling for a less effective option. Around-the-head: If you can do it well enough, you can still stabilize your body in awkward shots, many more options on what shot you can perform, and most importantly, you can still see your opponent. Backhand: Less shot options, allows opponent to anticipate a kill shot, awkward to get back into position, if opponent cuts off early you'll be out of position.
Well there are times when you just can't get to the bird in time to use your forehand. But you shouldn't use your backhand if you can easily use your forehand for the shot.
Recently , I ran into a friend of mine who was an ex-national player for indonesia. I asked him about my backhand and told me two of the most important aspects were to make sure you are using a backhand grip (thumb in the back), and when you swing make sure your elbow is at your nose level. Up untill that point my backhand was horrible and i had to rely on my backhand drop. My grip had been fine but i noticed my elbow was always low, so when i was on the court next time I tried it out. Sure enough, I can backhand with ease. As far as I am concerned it is a miracle I know you wanted some exercises for off the court, but I don't know any, so hopefully this will help! Keep that elbow nose level
if ur good with your backhand, its sometimes better to use that intead of around the head. i think for those who can do it easily enough, its actually easier to get back to position, because they dont need to move their whole body over in the first place. if you do around the head most of the time you are going to be off balance longer than if u did a backhand (note: only if you are decent with your back hand)
I'm surprised about the backhand grip. This seems to be the wrong grip, for two reasons: It locks the wrist, so that it can't naturally snap forward. It angles the racket face so that the shot should go out at the side of the court. But I guess he must have good reasons for this strange choice of grip - after all, he was an Indonesian national player!
hmm this is for backhand shots... you are snapping your wrist backward, if anything, so i dont see the problem here
You are thinking of a different wrist motion - wrist extension - which is impossible with a "thumb down the flat" backhand grip. Well, it's only possible if you want to hit the shuttle with the side of the frame
backhand I used to play everything around the head. It is a better shot and does give a lot of options, but is not without its disadvantages. Namely you are off balance and a long way from base. The backhand is more energy efficient (useful for getting through multiple rounds of tournaments) since it's just an arm+wrist shot, the around the head you have to put your whole body into it. I change my grip for the backhand depending how far in front/behind the shuttle is. Orthodox backhand grip for in front, thumb on the narrow side bevel (the flat at 90 degrees to the normal backhand) for playing a backhand taking the shuttle behind me. I then use the bevel in between for shots out to the side. If you use an orthodox grip for all overhead backhands you'll struggle to be able to hit a cross court drop/smash. In games I use a mixture of round the head and the backhand.
Totally Agree This guy's totally right! If you are really good at backhand, you don't need the whole body twisting, so its very easy to get back into positition. I am naturally comfortable playing my backhand shot, so I use that more often than the ariund-the-head. I find the other way very un-reliable, as the shuttle can go in many different directions because you're reaching a big distance away from your regular positition.
i find that for backhand shots, especially clears it is easier for the transition in grip to instead of having the thumb fully flat on the grip just slightly shifting the grip and apply pressure onto the grip with the inner side on my thumb(side closest ur finger!!) and flicking my wrist...also its obvious if u can to get ur right leg around so that u can A.push urself back into position with u right leg(if ur right handed), B.us it is push off and apply more power onto ur shot
i totally agree... after alot of trial and errors, my backhand clear is just as good as my forearm clear... and it is a great help when playing doubles, surprises alot of players when they try and bully my left side. smashes and net shots from the back court with backhand is also improving. however i am wondering alot of players play with thumb fully flat on the grip, i am not fond of that and never do that.. ( i serve underarm).. my drop shots are not that great as well as dummy shot towards the net... is it worth learning this habit????
I think there's two way to do the backhand, even though Gollum would disagree with the latter one. 1. Normal forehand grip, where you supinate your wrist (rotation clockwise of the wrist if you're right handed) 2. Backhand grip (thumb fully flat on the racket face part of the grip), where you adduct (and not extend) the wrist with the help of the thumb to get some extra power (adduction is like the movement of throwing a fishing pole). Someone correct me if I'm wrong though
Damn right I would If you are striking the shuttle in front of you, then this thumb-fully-flat grip works. But if you strike the shuttle to the side or behind you, this grip directs your racket swing out to the side. Moreover, it prevents you from using forearm supination.
Of course, you're not using supination, you're using adduction You're using your thumb to get an extra edge of power. And it works perfectly for backhand side or on top of you. But just so you know, I'm using a forehand grip because I supinate all my backhand shots Here's my Da Vinci drawing on the backhand grip. The thumb is pressing against the grip to get some power.
