Hey, I've been trying to get rid of my bad habits of using too much wrist flexion and panhandle and instead learning proper technique. I've been familiar with the concept of pronation for 2,5 years now but something is still off which makes me instinctively fall back on my wrist and pan-handling habits. Now before I get to the actual problem points/question I want to define what I mean by certain terms Elbow extension/flexion: https://www.dh.aist.go.jp/database/properties/joint/Def-Xu-98-1.jpg Upper arm rotation: https://www.badmintonbible.com/articles/forehand-power/lessons/arm-rotation-1 http://i.imgur.com/VIlG0Qr.jpg Now the actual problem. Watching a professional hit a smash the follow through ends up like this with the racket pointing straight down strings to side: http://i.imgur.com/119DBIR.jpg (video source: ) However with just pronation it is impossible to get the racket turned so far without doing anything else (I think?). I had a coach tell me to focus only on pronation when doing the forward swing which is why im confused. I realised that im missing the upper arm rotation but adding this brings forth new problems and the actual questions: 1. When I add upperarm rotation to my pronation action my elbow gets pushed backwards. However in the video (source of the photo of lindan) his elbow remains almost in the same location from the start of the forwards swing to follow through. Is this a big error in my technique or does it matter if my elbow gets pushed back because of upperarm rotation from the initial position where I started the forwards swing? It feels weird to bring my elbow that far forward just to have it pushed back. Should I stop my elbow so that it is parallel to my body before I start the swing or take it as much forward as I can? 2. Should I start the forward swing with elbow extension followed by upperarm rotation and pronation or just focus on upperarm rotation + pronation? 3. Is Elbow extension also important for power or just used to adjust the height of the contact point? Can someone explain how does having a straight arm vs a bent arm affect the actions/kinematics of the pronating phase or does it even matter? I realise the higher you can hit the better but does a straight arm bring an actual advantage into pronation and rotation as well? Sorry about the long post. I hope I got my message across and thanks for taking the time to read. Also thanks in advance for any advice/facts about technique.
Yes, you do need elbow extension a bit first (about 2/3 rds) and then pronation starts to take over. Think of it as flicking water off your thumb. Start the arm action with elbow up fully flexed/coiled, with racket edge approaching the shuttle. This will ensure proper pronation. About the racket facing outwards at the follow through, don't worry about it... definitely don't force it. It'll occur naturally when the racket head weight pulls your arm through.
I've recently revisited this simply because doing the wrong movement in the deep forehand corner limits your power hugely (you can only use your elbow/wrist in the deep forehand corner, so technique is king). There are three movements you've identified: the rotation of your wrist (pronation), the rotation of your elbow, and the extension of your forearm. The answer to your question that all three actions add to power, and also that if done correctly, they can magnify each others' effects. 1. You lead with your elbow and let your wrist/hand/racquet follow by 'pulling' them behind. If you use a pushing action, your elbow will be pushed behind. Try to imagine a smooth acceleration of your racquet, with the final finger tightening just adding a tiny 'oomph' to the shot, not to try and 'bounce, the racquet off of the shuttle! 2. Start with extension, and when your arm is almost straight (your racquet strings should be pointing to the non-racquet arm side), then do the wrist pronation and elbow rotation at the same time. Then you should end up with the racquet strings facing outwards. 3. Elbow extension is important for added power and angle, but should not really affect pronation/elbow rotation. The power and angle should be obvious - a longer arm means a higher contact point and a longer lever. Wrist pronation and elbow rotation would follow the extension. Thats my take on it, and hope it makes sense for you. If you want more feedback, post a quick video of your swing! It's a lot easier to give advice on seeing what exactly you are doing.
Makes perfect sense. I think you're right on the money about me using too much of a pushing action i.e. not leading properly with the elbow. Confirmed most what I thought to be true and clarified some unclear parts, thanks. Now all that's left is to actually do this which is easier said than done Just gonna have to accept I won't be winning any matches / hitting good shots for some time while my body adapts to the changes in timing and such.
Pronation of the arm should also have some contribution from the shoulder joint (well for me it does ). BTW, good point about the error with the pushing action.
As long as you imagine your arm as a whip and remember to use a proper whipping action, with efficient proximal to distal kinetic transfer, then you won't be pushing.
Agree that that's right to prevent the pushing feel, but I'd point out that it's still very possible to imagine your arm as a whip and get a whipping action, with panhandle grip and flexion of the wrist rather than pronation/rotation of the wrist/arm.
Yep, that's why I like to imagine the stroke as approaching the shuttle first with the edge of the racket or hand. That initiates supination on wind-up and forces pronation into the shuttle on the way in. Re pushing, thinking about it some more, leading with the elbow and having the feeling of pulling the racket head is important, but by adding a bit a pushing during elbow extension (before pronation) really helps to accelerate the head forward.
Definitely agree, especially with the edge of the racquet. My coach likes to think of it as always keeping the crosscourt shot in mind before all else, which might be useful for others. By crosscourt, it's meant to mean a crosscourt shot from the forehand side, or a crosscourt shot from a backhand shot on the backhand side. When it's a straight forehand shot played from the backhand side it's not a crosscourt shot of course!
Im quite surprised how far I got with these changes in just 2 days of playing (and shadowing the stroke @ home ). Really focused on leading with the elbow and adding upper arm rotation to my pronation and boy did clears feel effortless once I started getting the timing right. Even without any body rotation I was able to clear baseline to baseline while maintaining a very relaxed feel. I actually started feeling so comfortable that my mind started to drift and I just played on autopilot feets gliding lol. Also got an immeadiate boost in the speed/power of my stick smashes. Other parts of the stroke also started to fall into place automatically. People have always commented on me holding the racket too tight which I believe was a result of missing important parts of the technique in the first place. Of course my hand would tighten up when trying to hit the shuttle straight on with pronation alone. For me it seems the tightness was caused by incorrect technique, not the other way around which many have lead me to believe. Now Im just hoping this wasn't just a case of having an unnormally good day but in fact results caused by the changes in my stroke. If this keeps up we might get a decent player out of me yet!
OMGGG I LOVE YOU OP. I was on my way to play badminton on Saturday and I saw a notification on my Taptalk app about this thread. I opened the links and read the articles and my games were on POINT I tell ya, ON POINT. I've been obsessed with body mechanics ever since I started martial arts 2 years ago, and I've made it my quest to get all the nitty gritty details down for badminton. Sometimes I experiment and apply martial arts mechanics into badminton, and vice versa. And I feel like this one of the big things that I've been missing with my technique. Everything just came together naturally on Saturday and I was really comfortable on the court.!
Yo martial arts is really flexible You can adapt to any sports I feel you bro AND YES were both in to body mechanics!!
Generally, in any sports you can absorb what is useful, reject what is useless, and add what is specifically your own. You inspire me when you talk about your experiment Keeo looking fo what works for you bro
Wait till you add grip tightening, that will open up another dimension of power... Sent from my SM-G965W using Tapatalk
