Hi BCers, I would like to raise a question on balancing. Perhaps, most of us know that to move around the seamlessly, we are trained to keep the feet aligned/squared with the dominant leg slightly forward. However, on occasions I do observe professional players having their body slant with the dominant leg far forward anticipating a net kill; with the same stance when the opponent lifted, they were still able to pounce the shuttle from the back. And here's an example of LCW's footwork in which his dominant leg was far forward but yet he was still able to retrieve the shots behind: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJsCqYYXtMQ I tried doing the same thing but I felt that I cant move as fast as I did by having my feet squared. The same thing was mentioned in Peter Ramussen's footwork drill video, to keep the balance with our legs aligned but later he was mentioning something about leg shifting but he did not explain explicitly why so. Here's the video I am referring to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=up5M-mirAcI
It certainly take a -lot- of practice... and leg strength (or even whole body strength). From the video i observed that LCW first lunges towards the net, hence leg forward and foot pointing in the direction of his movement. He then, relying on his immensely trained physique, uses the enertia from the forward lunge to spring himself backwards as if he was tied to the back of the court by a bungee cord. The enertia bit is often the key to being able to change swiftly and smoothly the direction in which you are moving. It also requires a heck of a lot of training to build up and equally as much effort to maintain.
@Shuttlingus "inertia". Also he's not really lunging forward. He is making sure that his front leg is loaded before his rear in the split step though. The important aspect here is muscle loading, and not at all inertia. Inertia only serves to hinder changes in direction by definition! @captivated What is your question? It is most easy to move in the direction that the imaginary line connecting your feet points. With LCW's posture in that clip it is easiest to move front/back, although going for round the head does need you to rotate around.
Perhaps to turn the body to move backwards in a swift motion .. LCW made it so simple but i struggle to have a fluid movement like he did.. So i was wondering whether to keep a squared feet or a feet position like LCW ..
[MENTION=31680]amleto[/MENTION] - oops. Inertia indeed. [MENTION=121795]captivated[/MENTION] - do as the master!
It's very context sensitive. If you played a *good* net shot then you would be more aggressive like lcw. If not so good, then you might (nearly) completely reverse the feet so that you are fastest going straight back and don't need to rotate. I'm sure I have seen JOJ play a net short, do the split with left foot leading, then have to rotate forward again because the opponent played another net. You can see here at 15:15 that JOJ puts his feet the other way around. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLerTXg1jXI But then look at 17:40 and he's got his racket foot forward. It's not just one way that is used. As I say, it depends on how well positioned you are versus the shots available to your opponent. You definitely should be able to do the motion that LCW does - it's fundamental in being able to cover your deep backhand corner. You can do some practice in warm up or even at home. Points to concentrate on are split step and explosive first movement. I guess core strength will help with the rotation aspect of this movement!
What you have observed is very common in players of all levels. The key thing is what amleto pointed out - you move fastest in relation to how your feet are lined up. If you stand facing the net with no foot in front, you are quickest side to side. If you have one foot a long way in front e.g. LCW or JOJ, then you are ready to move forwards and backwards - note whether you stand right foot forwards or left foot forwards doesn't make a difference - you will still be quickest moving forwards and backwards. The stance you describe with one foot slightly in front is the perfect compromise - mainly side to side but with a little bit of help pushing forwards and backwards. The stance you choose is determined by the situation. If you are in a very aggressive situation, such that the opponent probably has to lift the shuttle or play to the net, then you can have one foot very far forwards because you know you need to move forwards or backwards quickly (not side to side). If you are more defensive and may have to defend a smash at the sides, then you want your feet more side by side. LCW is doing an aggressive drill, hence he keeps the right foot forwards. When he defends he has his feet more side by side (which you can see in other videos). How to do the movement? You just need to practice. It sounds as if you haven't yet done 100s of hours of practice. Until you practice lots, you can't really ever do anything. Just practice, and you will get it. Note: just trying to do it in games is not good enough - you need to get used to the motion first before you can use it in games! Try shadowing instead. Some tips for feeling more balanced: Get the feet further apart, and try to be lower. Keep your weight directly in between your two feet - it should feel like you are "sitting" in the middle. When you turn, push hard with the leg thats in front (right leg). Notice during the movement that the back leg (left leg) slides along the floor. This helps you maintain balance as you try to move back quickly, and helps you cover more ground. If you struggle to turn quickly, try to turn the upper body quickly - the legs will follow. If you need to make it easier to begin with, try turning really quickly on the spot, before then adding the backwards movement to it. Finally remember that you are never going to get behind the shuttle - you have to be able to take it as LCW does "round the head" and quite low - the shuttle will be moving far too fast and far too low to properly get behind it. But that doesn't mean you can't take it EARLY! Good luck.
thanks for the feedbacks .. i just found out why was it hard for me to turn .. i had my racket too high .. around the chest area .. making my turning slower but now i tried having my racket lower things turn out to be smoother ..
I'm a bit suspicious of what you've said - 9 times out of 10 people hold their racket too low, and the 10th has been very well drilled & coached and is 'text-book'. Holding the racket 'properly' when preparing a shot or moving, ie racket face about shoulder - head high is not going to make your turn too slow.
i am not sure how to phrase it .. previously, after every shot i made ill bring my racket up directly to the chest level .. perhaps that may have caused my body to tense up but for now i will just naturally keep my racket low rather than bring it up all the time
Well, keeping your racket low (knees or under, generally) is definitely wrong so... general idea: http://www.how-to-play-badminton.com/badminton-stance.html
I agree with amleto, it is not because you hold the racquet high. I suspect your shoulder and torso position has changed when you lowered the racquet. Keep that shoulder and torso change together with carrying the racquet high.
Thanks .. mayb when preparation to hit the shuttle at the backcourt either clear, smash or drop, i will have my hands up .. but during the ready/neutral stance ill have my hands down just like the given link around the waist area .. perhaps thats what i am refrrring to ..
Would you mind clarifying further i would be pleased to know ... but like what i explained to amleto ill keep my hands up during strike preparation but when i m waiting for my opponent's strike ill keep the racket low ... rather than having it high most of the time .. somehow it facilitates my turning/rotation
