Please help me improve my techniques & double games

Two biggest comments from me:

Low racquet preparation when in midcourt and rearcourt. You're much better when your partner is at the back and you are the front player in attacking position, but you can also have this posture as the rear player, especially when your partner is serving. Right now, your racquet is so low that when your opponent plays a push/drive to midcourt, you are often forced to play a block to the net, rather than being able to counter-drive. This might work now, but against stronger opponents, they will claim the net then kill the shuttle on the next stroke, and it makes you very easy to read because you have no power if someone drives it at you after serve.

Brings me to point 2: your swing is very arm-based and has very little finger/wrist power. This means your front and midcourt play is easier to read and it means you have less time to play a shot. If you are able to improve your finger power, you'll have a lot more options in the front, midcourt, and in defence. It's particularly important on return of serve as being able to have a small movement allows you take very tight serves and still have plenty of options to play a net/push/drive/flick/lift to the left/centre/right. With an arm-based movement, you'll find it much harder to play anything back towards the server's side without making it really obvious (or slow).

Otherwise, your footwork is quite good, with good split step, timing, and retrieval (your swing is probably the limiting factor in not being able to jump smash, as having an arm based swing can really off-balance you).

 

First of all, I found several areas where you can improve, but I only watched the first set. I don't wanna name any small thing, yet. But 3 tactical things got me some attention.

1. Serve

IMO you both (you and your partner) could improve in this area. Your serve is often quite high and you stand very close to the midcourt instead of toeing the doubles service line. Gives you opponent more time to react, which means they can attack the serve more easy. I also have seen less variance in ther serves. You serve quite often low to fixed spot, which is also often the forehand by the opponent and the area, where a rushing with panhandle, can bring your opponents in a good position.

I recommend:

Stand closer to the doubles service line, will mean, you need to put energy in your serve and can gain more precision, while you reduce the time and options of your oppenents a bit.


2. Return of serve and play

I discovered that you both don't use the net much to gain an advantage. You often lift even middle or towards the middle of the rear court as a return of serve or push it past the serve into the midcourt at very low pace and quite high.
The push can be optimized by a quicker start and taking the shuttle higher. You often take it lower than necessary when you return the serve and this lead to less control, pace and options.

I recommend:

To take the shuttle earlier at the net also return it short to the net. If you are confident to the middle of the net, which will cut any dangerous angles by your opponents down, but here I also refer to point 3, which is depended to point 2.


3. Positioning

You and your partner don't move complement. I mean following. You both stand two often side by side, which is a result of your more defensive game, but you both don't adjust in the side by side position which shuttle has the shortest and longest time to travel. Means following, you lift to the right, but you both stand mid in your court. Also on the return of serve, when you push, you don't complement by the idea which option, can your opponent play, which is the shortest distance, what the longest of the shuttle to travel and position based on this. This result that you stand less in attacking formation due taking it low, low pace and not complement moving.

Also when you attack you both bring not the frontcourt player in the game well. Your partner prefer to smash straight from the deeper corner, you also played some drops to the side, while you and your partner stand center of the front court. The frountcourt player tell where the attack should be placed, to cut out more common replies of the opponents out. You should attack more through the middle. You should also move and make one step when your partner move. It sometimes look like, that you both stand at a fixed point while your partner, change the coverage of the court. This means that your area change at the moment as well, so you have to move complement.

Also when you return the serve, you don't move into attack. E.g. 11:04, you move foward and push it to the side. Which areas are here dangerous? You partner stand in his side. Luckily it went out, but if not better opponent will punch it above you to the deep backhand side. Idea: you partner stand for a slow cross drop and a cross clear ready. Longest distance, plenty of time for him to react. You stand at the frontcourt and needs to cover a punch above you as well. You need to cover regardless what you opponent plays the quickest shots, regardless if played to the net or punched to rear in a more committed to the front court position. Your partner can nearly chill, while you need to take any potential stress out of it from a non-neutral position.

I think the game was quite even out. But against slightly stronger opponents, you will notice that you opponents will score most of the points based on this 3 tactical issues.

 

to 1) The third shot is often played by the partner (standing in midcourt) instead of the server. You can also adjust your serve to cut down areas for the push. From the video it looks like that the receiver don't toe service line. I think the culprit is the execution of the serve. Means serve is too high/you allow the serve to attack it better. Your partner stands maybe too far behind you. In the service situation you cover just the net replies as the server. Any push should be covered by your partner. He has a better view and can take any shot infront of him. Very often it happens in the frontcourt that the server wanna take to much, but is not in the position to cover and play with advantage. Stand closer to the net, but leave the pushs to your partner.

To 2) you mean your serve? Adjust your serving technique. Don't use too much wrist, just extend your racket arm. Also adjust to hit more on top of the racket instead of sweet spot. This will increase accuracy while putting enough energy into the shuttle to go in.

To 3) You mean the swip? A good swip must be surprising. This means it must be deceptive. Also a serving technique. Also you must think about the fact:

a) Is my opponent surprised, don' get behind the shuttle and take it low, so you can be more towards the net

or

b) Is my opponent not surprise by my swip and can read something and can take it better

A good swip is fast and flat. Not high and slow. This will give your opponent too much time to react and equals to no surprise.

I got told that my swip in the past could be read in my face and slightly bigger arm movement. I really worked on that to have a deceptive serve and that means pratice your serving technique and serve. Also possible to do at home.

 

swip?!
do you mean flick serve?

do you think that's the case even when they are standing quite far back when returning serve? When they are standing quite far back then either way they have time to react. And if it is flatter they don't have to move back much.

 

Well people usually don't tend to do flick serves that often, are they are usually high risk.. as you've seen

and if you get hit in the face maybe you should be moving back after you flick serve.. just like the general rule of going sides after a lift.

or if staying at front, and realising you are about to get smashed at and shouldn't be there, then maybe duck? or have racket up in front of your face and crouch ready!!

(that is another example of where you are dropping your racket when you shouldn't.. and you getting smashed in the face is one of the best examples, so long as you didn't lose an eye in the process).. it's good to wear eye protectors.. Considering how many people have been smashed in the face, it's russian roulette not to IMO.

don't stand there with no plan like you are watching the sunrise, or like you just posted a parcel off and are just tracking it.. admiring your shot or observing your opponent's shot like a mere spectator. You have to be ready for it to come back - because it might!!

 

Sorry but I can't see the video. It says it's unavailable

Sent from my Redmi Note 7 using Tapatalk

 

A so called swip serve is here something which some would call a drive serve.

QUOTE="ralphz, post: 2765046, member: 128397"]
do you think that's the case even when they are standing quite far back when returning serve? When they are standing quite far back then either way they have time to react. And if it is flatter they don't have to move back much.[/QUOTE]
The flight curve determines how much time the returner has. Not his positioning. His Position determines the distance he need to move to the shuttle. People who stand far back on return of serve tell tell me that they fear a swip and are on the slower side. A fast and intermediate player would never give away the chance to attack a decent short serve and would also confident with a flick, so try a drive through a difficult position. The unusual angle and high together with short time to react wouldn't result in a smash too the face.

 

You make the same big error as in the first video. (not surprising 'cos errors don't often get fixed so quickly).

Your racket is hanging as low as anything, after every shot you play and when you are not playing a shot.

you need to be aware of this, can you see it?

One tip I have heard is that even when off court, if you are holding your racket make sure your racket is up. Chest height is good, and it's not too high because you are meant to bend your knees. probably more than you are. You will see all players your level, doing that dropping their racket. It's a habit everybody does that needs to be corrected. Contrast with intermediate players(that aren't lazy and aren't doing it as a deception trick to look not ready), and you'll see they don't make that mistake as much. Some call it part of 'looking like a badminton player'.. there's getting to that level!

I could point out timeframes but it's so obvious after every shot you play.. and between shots.. Have a look in the video you'll see it all the time other than when you hit it!

It makes you less ready for the next shot.. makes you less ready for shots that are higher and flat, makes you take the shuttle later rather than earlier when the shuttle is higher(hasn't dropped so much), so it makes you lift more - as the shuttle needs to go up to get over the net, and one tends to have less good options / things are harder, when taking the shuttle later. And shots aren't as good when rushed due to poor racket preparation.. and the opponent has less time if you take it earlier which you would if your racket was better prepared.

 

so try the direct youtube link by clicking the video title, {change (slash) to a /}

https://www.youtube.com(slash)watch?v=ekH9EkRysFI

 

well if you served it far left, or far right, then they can hit it straight and you cut yourself out of the game for that next shot.

but if you served it more towards centre, then they don't have much time to get it as the shuttle goes a shorter distance, and if they hit it wide, then they have to do it at an angle and you can intercept it.

if you can intercept a shot then do it, otherwise it is your partners.

Obviously you won't intercept much if your racket is so low (and it's unintentional!).

I have once heard of some pros having racket low intentionally, I heard one suggestion that it may be to goad an opponent into doing a net shot and they kill it, and I have seen a guy that was very good , have his racket low, and they hit it at him thinking he can't possibly get his racket up and stop it, and he still intercepts it! But they that do that are doing it intentionally and probably would've started off with racket up. And they probably shouldn't do that too much anyway otherwise they'd lose the deception. It's an art and there are exceptions. but racket up is going to help you intercept and be more prepared and hit flat or high ones better. And unless they are smashing it, there should be enough time to lower your racket if you need to, which is when you are hitting it late in its flight.

You should serve it so that on the way from your racket to over the net, it goes in a straight line. Not parallel with the floor. But at an angle. The line on which the shuttle travels should be at a gradient to go over the net.. And then it won't be so short. You could try opening your racket face a bit and pushing it forward and the shuttle should rise in a straight line and then drop gradually after passing the net.

But if you hit it the shuttle such that it travels a path that is an upside down U, so it loops over, then yeah what you describe happening, would happen. It'd tend to either drop short(what you describe), or go too high. Neither of which are what you'd want.