Random Gameplay doubts

That's too far in front for a fast paced game.

I cannot help here without a video. It might be your technique, it might be your feet, ... you don't need to generate much power though, the shuttle comes at you fast, so you can start with redirecting it. With some finger power, you can already get a long defense. You just need to generate some power when defending long and high.

 

1. I use 3U head heavy racket for double & im back court player. I love the massive power it give when smashing, its really really powerfull but with a great downside which is its after hitting force are to great for repeat stroke & no matter how good me & my partner, there will always time when im dragged to the front. What i do is to hold my racket closer to the cone as it can nullify abit of the force. So, depend on the situation, i will change my gripping accordingly. If i need power on slow pace i will grip it at the bottom end. If i need manouver/speed i will grip higher & the more speed i need the closer my grip to the cone or my finger will touch the cone itself. The downside if you r not used to it, accuracy is the main issue coz your racket basically getting longer or shorter as you change your gripping. Not sure if its good technique or not as some player told me its bad thing to do. But well its work well for me & thats my secret magic to use 3U head heavy on double. (Sssttt.... Its secret betwen us)

2. I think you could do medium one, not to light but not to heavy. The important thing is you want to stress your muscle abit more & do it in constant improvement, i mean doing it like 1 minute/100x for 2 week or a month till you are used to it, then increase the number little by little. About how many routine training? Well im not an expert for it but usually i do hand/arm training & foot training. 1 day i train my hand. Next day i definitely feel sore on it, so i will rest my hand on the next day & train my foot instead, & so on the next day.

Hope this can help.

 

not 100x per minute. You can choose number of repeatitive or duration of training. Its up to you to choose. Sorry for bad explaination, glad you ask, if not some other might do it wrong & end up injury.

For example, when im just watching TV i just sit while holding racket, rest my hand on my knee & swing my racket left to right with my forearm only.
I do:
1. Hold my racket straight up then swing it to the left & back up.
2. The same starting racket going straight up but swing to the right & back up.
3. This one i do full swing from left to right.
At 1st doing 50x each non stop will sore my arm on next day. After awhile i increase to 75x & after sometimes again i increase it to 100x, & so on. Today 200x non stop didnt show sore on my arm next day. Now im just to lazy & bored to count more than 200, so i stick with the number around 100-200 but increase my swing speed.

 

not sure about feedback, maybe coz its far end of the racket, the vibration already reduced much & you feel very little vibration.
For power probably coz you arent used to it. Gripping at the very end is where all the juicy power coz all the weight are in front of your hand but due to the same characteristic of heavy racket, it become harder to push the head forward which lessen your swing speed to much.
Also i use this kind of method/technique for long time, so now im naturally use it without taking my focus on it. So maybe more time will be helpfull.

 

I guess I'm late but I didn't see this answered yet.

Where you want to hold the racket is partially up to personal preference. However, there are reasons why you'd want to move your grip up or down. Your racket is a lever. If you hold it closer to the shaft, the arm of the lever is smaller. This means it's easier to move your racket around, almost like playing with a lighter or more head light balanced racket. You can imagine this will be helpful when you have to defend, or when you are in fast paced flat exchanges. If you hold the grip closer to the base, the arm of the lever is longer, which means you can transfer more force into the shuttle provided you have the time and the space to hit a full shot. This is useful if you are attacking from the back court.

If you keep a short grip when you have time and space to play full shots (like when you're receiving lifts from the back court), then you are needlessly sacrificing your ability to transfer force into the shuttle. If you keep a long grip when you don't have time to play full shots (like you're in a fast flat exchange), then you are needlessly sacrificing maneuverability.

Of course keeping a longer grip also means you have a longer reach, so singles players will almost always keep a longer grip, even in defense, because they need the optimal reach to cover the court.


Having said all that. Changing grips in the rally, whether it's from forehand to backhand or from short to long, is something that shouldn't require any thought when you are playing, and a fair amount of players will naturally change the length of their grip without ever being taught it simply because they feel it makes their shots work better. I suggest you practice off court, maybe even while watching something on tv. All you have to do is change the grip from short to long and vice versa, or from forehand to backhand and vice versa. Start slow and go faster and faster. Doing that for 10 minutes when you have the time really helps build the muscle memory, so it is easier to implement in the games you play.

 

It's great to have a solid defense and that you can lift it back to the opponent when they smash at you. However, this is generally the last thing you want to do. The only reason to lift back at him is if you have no other choice. It's like saying: "well, I was able to defend your last smash, it's only fair I let you have another go at it". To get the attack, you generally need the opponent to lift. The best way to do that is to make them hit the shuttle below the net. To do that you need to play shots that go down instead of up. So if they smash at you and you have the ability to block it to the net without getting punished, then that's almost always the best possible shot you can play, because it neutralizes their attack.

Singles and Doubles are different games. Doubles requires more fast paced racket maneuverability, and generating shot pressure (forcing bad replies from your opponent by pressuring their ability to react and produce a shot. Singles requires more efficient movement and shot quality and consistency.

Generally, players that are able to play fast shots under pressure tend to be good doubles players. Generally, players that are able to cover the court better and commit less unforced errors tend to be better singles players.

If you want to get better at singles, improve your footwork. Unless you play at a high level, improving footwork is BY FAR the best way to make a tremendous difference in the quality of your singles play.

 

It could be a timing issue and should go away when you practice it more and get used to it. If you play a full smash; shoulder rotation and everything, then you should be able to play a solid smash with any racket while holding it near the base. If you have time to play a smash like that (usually only if they lift high and you can get under the shuttle) and you find you're still having trouble, it's probably worth it to have a coach take a look at your overhead hitting technique.

I could be wrong, but it sounds like you have a short hitting technique that relies heavily on the forearm (wrist), but doesn't involve the shoulder and body rotation as much. To make use of the long lever, you will need the full motion.

Strengthening your forearm never hurts, but it's probably not the limiting factor in this case, especially if you don't have trouble generating power with a short grip.

Yes.

But I understand if that is difficult. When you see the professionals keep lifting, it's usually because they have no other choice. And if the defenders end up scoring the point in the end, it's because they somehow got the attack. Either they played a good block to the net and forced their opponent to lift, or they played a drive defense and the rally turned into flat exchanges which they either won, or forced a lift with a block to the net and started attacking. Or, they moved the attacking player around in the back court, by playing lifts away from the smasher, inducing fatigue and impatience in the smasher, who either had to give away the attack or made an error. (when you watch professional games, it is very instructive to look at how the defenders gain the attack)

So, if you can play the block to the net without the front player killing it, that's probably the best shot you can play. If you can't do that(either because the smash is too good or the front player is too close and too good at the net), then pushing passed the front player can be an option. The idea is that you hit a shot that goes too fast for the front player to get, but goes down before it gets to the back player, which means he can't play an attacking shot. If even that is too difficult (again if the smash is very good), then a drive return is another risky option. A drive return is when you hit it flat and hard. This puts pressure on the opponent, because the shot is faster then a lift, so if you catch them off guard, they might be forced to give up the attack. However, if the drive is bad, or they see it coming, then they can intercept and then you're in trouble.

If all of these ways of neutralizing the opponents attack are unavailable to you, then you will need to play a lift. However, You can lift straight or cross. In general, you will want to play away from the attacker, make him move from one back corner to the other, but if your partner's defense is worse then yours, then it can be good idea to lift straight, to keep the smashes coming your way.

So, ideally, you will want to neutralize your opponents attack as soon as possible. Playing a bunch of lifts in a row is sometimes necessary, but it shouldn't be played if you have other options. (unless your opponent doesn't have a good smash, in which case forget everything I just said)

 

Are you saying the whole tournament will be played with feathers?

Hide your weaknesses as best as you can from your opponents

Make sure your footwork and reactions are solid. This is especially important in singles

There's no rule saying you have to do the same service every time. You can do some backhand serves, some flick serves, some deep forehand serves. Changing your servings during a game can sometimes help mind games vs the opponent. Just remember if you do end up doing backhand serves, don't stand directly on the T in singles. Stand maybe 1 step back from it like you would if you were serving in a traditional mixed doubles game.

This I don't accept. If you have a friend to feed you, have them feed an hour of shots to your backhand side. Practice the footwork, preparation and hitting the shot. I use a Nanoflare 800 racquet (4ug5) and I can get it a good distance. Yes it's a bit easier with something like an astrox100zz, but it is certainly do-able. If you can make a "swoosh" sound with your backhand racquet (pretend to hit a shuttle), then you are more than capable of hitting a decent backhand clear.