Hello all, I have been practicing my backhand clear for quite a while and still can't quite hit baseline to baseline. One thing I am struggling with is that when I put my thumb on the bevel, it does not feel stable. This feels about the same when relaxed and with a tight grip (I believe I have quite average hands/fingers, maybe on the large side). For drive and drop, the grip feels quite nice and the shot quality is decent in my opinion. For cross drop, I move my grip one more bevel which also feels quite good and stable. I have on occasion hit really nice "whiplash" backhand clears, but most of the time the racquet will slip to either side of the thumb and I believe I can feel much of the power of the stroke get lost at contact with the shuttle. I saw a video from "Coach Lee" on Youtube that seems legitimate (?). He says that only the base of the thumb should contact the racquet grip, and the actual thumb should be free. Have not tried it so far... (It would make some sense to me since most people have curved thumbs which would mean that you would create a space between the racquet and the thumb, which would almost act like a cushion against the racquet grip, meaning less power to be transferred. Also, my hypothesis is that the base of the thumb can "overlap" the bevel rather than go "on" the bevel, making it more resistant to any force twisting the racquet to either side.) 1. Do you guys ever have the same problem where the backhand clear grip feels unstable on contact? 2. Do you only use the base of the thumb, the tip, or any other configuration for backhand clears? 3. (Semi-related) How far up on the grip do you hold for backhand clears? I usually stay about halfway/middle of the grip, but occasionally move it up slightly, which feels like it makes the movement slightly faster/more smooth? Thanks!
Backhand clears do not use the thumb grip. It's actually only a slight variation from the forehand grip, almost a little panhandle. Instead of using thumb power, you need this grip so that your forearm rotation can create the power.
I think you misunderstood me. I don't use the "Thumb grip" for backhand clear, but a "Bevel grip" with my thumb as the main support for the backhand clear. That is what I have been taught by most people, is that wrong?
OK, but do you have any comments on the grip? I am looking for different preferences/opinions. I already know that the backhand takes time to refine
Likely the wrong grip or emphasis on the wrong part of the grip if you're feeling it's not 'stable' whilst relaxed or tightened. I know it isn't a backhand, but the same concepts apply - notice when the demonstration of a relaxed stroke is, that it is led with the pinky finger, with only the tightening at the end i.e. you shouldn't really be controlling much of the stroke through your thumb at all during the stroke, and certainly not whilst 'relaxed'. Make sure you are pulling the racquet with your arm/forearm movements and only tightening for the final snap at the end. You should not feel like you are 'pushing' the racquet with your thumb at any point - it really is a whole grip tightening.
i'm also terrible at backhand.. always resulting weak shots or net drop where the opponent just need to come forward and give me a good smack. a senior guru taught me yesterday that thumb grip is for backhand drop while no thumb, is for backhand clear, where both arms cross to say a big "NO'
I find the bevel grip awkward when trying to backhand clear to.. i think im my case im still trying to use my thumb to generate power like you would for say a backhand net kill but, while having the correct bevel grip.. i think i really need to to loosen my grip and concentrate on trying not to use my thumb for anything other than to support the racket when hitting the clear stroke!
Thanks for the detailed answer! However, I think many posters seem to say that I should not use my thumb for the backhand clear. This is not really what I was asking. I understand that the thumb is not supposed to create power. However, since the thumb will be supporting the handle and (IMO take most of the impact), while the index finger--->pinky pulls the racquet forward, the thumb must need to be solid against the handle (?). I guess you could say the racquet would pivot on the thumb/base of the thumb, otherwise it would absorb the energy that you want to transfer to the shuttle, on impact. If it is not "solid", the racquet would simply slip backwards out of your hand, due to the impact/resistance? I also find it very confusing that there seems to be different schools on the bevel grip. "Coach Lee" states that you must put the base of your thumb against the handle and keep the thumb upright - away from the grip, while another resource (Badmintonbible.com) says: "Now place the pad of the thumb onto the diagonal bevel. Make sure the thumb is not placed tight and flat against the handle; there should be a gap between the handle and the lower part of the thumb." This is the grip style that I have tried for backhand clear and be told to use by other players. It feels really unstable to me. I will try the base of thumb style from now on and see if it helps. It seems to me like it's not only a difficult technique mechanically, but also there are many different ideas on how to achieve it.
You're thinking about this as 'what grip for the shot', instead of 'what grip depending on where the shuttle is'. The further past your body the shuttle is, the more you'll have to rotate your grip away from a thumb grip. If you can take the backhand early, you can absolutely use a thumb grip to play a backhand clear. This is my recommendation for building up backhand shots: https://www.badmintoncentral.com/forums/index.php?threads/how-to-build-your-backhand.177025/ Eventually, you'll come to a point where you have to experiment and find your preference.
Although you do start the stroke with a bevel grip, but by the end of the stroke after grip tightening and strike, the thumb does eventually end up on the wide part of the grip. Sent from my SM-G965W using Tapatalk
Well, although everyone plays the backhand clear slightly differently with their own style, the basic technique and principles are generally consistent. The two quotes you have pasted above seem to be consistent with each other too, it just depends on where you define the "lower part of the thumb". As some have already stated, most of the power comes from the rest of the action with the thumb and fingers being the last part which is used just before impact. It's difficult to say without seeing you play the BH clear but you do seem to have the right grip, it doesn't seem like that is the problem for me. The racquet shouldn't slip out of you hand in playing the shot, if it is, it could be the handle size is not right for you, grip needs replacing or possibly you're relying too much on the wrist movement. Note that power does also come from your timing and positioning as well, if you're hitting the shuttle late you will find it more difficult to generate the power. So make sure you are hitting high and be behind the shuttle. Another reason for it feeling unstable could be that you're not hitting the sweetspot perhaps? Post a video of you playing the BH clear, it will make it a lot easier to see what the problem is.
Thanks, I have checked that post a few times already, nice information. But I couldn't really find my individual problem in there. I'm talking specifically about the backhand clear with bevel grip in front/side of body only. I mentioned in the post that my straight drive, drop and cross drop feels alright. Hitting behind the body feels like asking for trouble if I already struggle with the "easier" backhand clear. As that post said: "learn how to walk before you try to run".
I'm a bit late on this, but as that's my website... I just took another look at the video, and I'm not sure I got the emphasis quite right. The intention is to make sure players don't have a tense grip early in the stroke, which is a common problem. But I may have overdone it. As sometimes happens with coaching, this sort of thing can easily become "do as I say, not as I do". Now that I think of it, I'm not even sure I maintain that gap! So I would say go ahead and let the base of your thumb touch the racket handle. Just make sure the grip remains relaxed in the early part of the stroke, so that you can use your forearm effectively during the hit. Just to complicate things even further, I actually prefer a "forehand bevel grip" for the most part. This is not something I'd teach at an early stage though, as it's more appropriate when your backhands are hit under more pressure (i.e. slightly behind the body, rather than level with you).
