Apparently Ong has a new eBook online for sale. I'm wondering if anyone here has a chance to check it out, and would care to have a review on it. Here's the website: http://www.howtoplaybadminton.net/ They're charging like ~$50 USB for it (along with 8 "gifts").
I can't help wondering whether the book is actually as long as the advertisement. This sort of hard sell really worries me. "Healthy Smoothies for Rapid Weight Loss" as a bonus???
$50 for an e-book, with no samples? That's asking too much, even for me. You have to ask why he feels the need for such a heavy-handed sales page. If he's so confident in the quality of his product, why not put up a free sample of some kind? Ong Ewe Hock: if you're reading this, feel free to send me a copy. If the book is as good as your sales page makes out, I'll write a glowing review for BadmintonCentral.
I'm not sure if they (Ong included) read this forum. But presumably we can reach them. I found on the website I included earlier the following contact information: http://www.howtoplaybadminton.net/Contact_Us.html Also, there's an interview with Ong posted on Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MF_2s2ezbx4 Interviewer is likely connected with the eBook, and at least be able to contact Ong. Youtube would notify video poster of any responses posted for the video. So here we go, we've 2 ways to get Ong's attention. The "Secrets" book only has 120 pages. Still, I agree that putting up 1-2 pages, allowing readers to sample them to judge the value could be very effective. Maybe Gollum can represent us to initiate a contact with them, and perhaps ask for one copy so he can publish a review of the book here? It should also be interesting to see how they'd respond to a request like this also.
For learning an ART: We need to feel, smell, taste, listen and see . IMHO, it's not easy to teach an art (like playing Badminton, playing a musical instrument, doing cooking, etc......) via books/articles. Yes, it is still better than nothing. Demonstration can be shown on videos/Youtube. However, we still need to feel, smell and taste, not just to listen and see. This is just my opinion. .
I'll take any form available, as long as it's not regurgitation of commonly existing information. A lot of good written materials are already out there - Badminton Bible, BadmintonForum, Jake Downey's Singles and Doubles manuals, they're all written, learning materials. Obviously, some details are better shown in videos.
Yes, it's not easy. Books can't give you all the details, and can't give personalised feedback. But they can motivate and inspire. I can certainly think of books on piano playing that made me want to practice more and made me want to go out and find a good teacher. Reading the right books at the right time made a big difference. (Any pianists reading this: look for "The Art of Piano Playing" by Heinrich Neuhaus, and "The Literature of the Piano" by Ernest Hutcheson.) It would be great to see similar things for badminton.
I found the webpage was too repetitive and too "eager" to sell the product. Some sample paragraphs and illustrations would have been more helpful.
Maybe there's no need to buy it... I found a copy here: http://www.scribd.com/doc/20765711/New-Badminton-Secrets#fullscreen:on Probably the same book, though I can't be completely sure. At the back of this eBook, there seems to be a biography written by Ong, describing himself.
Oh great, so it turns out this e-book is nothing but a shameless rip-off of my Badminton Bible. About 80% of this book's content has been lifted straight from my articles. The writing is quite badly mangled in places, but it's obvious where it came from. The remaining content also feels familiar -- I think there's some stuff by Jake Downey in there. I suppose I should feel flattered that the great Ong Ewe Hock chooses to steal (and mangle) my coaching advice, instead of using his own expertise. But as you can imagine, I don't feel like buying or reviewing his damn book, given that I wrote most of it myself. More realistically, I suppose Ong Ewe Hock had no involvement with the book, which was "written" (plagiarised) by a ghost-writer (er...ghost-plagiariser). Just to document this, here are a few examples. These are just samples of his plagiarising; I was spoilt for choice selecting them: The thumb grip, from my grips guide A correct thumb grip causes you to use the wrist in a distinctive way: you should feel that you are pushing the badminton racket from behind, using your thumb. Ong Ewe Hock: Thumb grip, performed correctly, causes the wrist to be used in a distinctive way - a player feels that he is pushing the badminton racket from behind, using his thumb. Changing grips, from my grips guide: When you change from the basic grip to the panhandle or thumb grips, you have a choice of which direction to turn the badminton racket. Normally, you should turn it anticlockwise for panhandle and clockwise for the thumb grip (clock directions as seen looking from the racket butt towards the head), because these directions are more coordinated with your wrist movement, and they also help you to use in between badminton grips (such as a partial panhandle). Ong Ewe Hock: Changing from the forehand to thumb or a panhandle grip determines the direction to which the racket should be turned. Generally, it should be turned counter-clockwise for the panhandle grip and clockwise when using the thumb grip, because those grips are more coordinated with the movement of your wrist and can also be helpful while using in-between grips, like partial panhandle. My serving guide: The badminton serve is not a devastating weapon; the serving side and the receiving side have roughly equal chances to win the rally. You are unlikely to score many aces in badminton, except against weak opponents. Because of this, you might think that the serve is unimportant. That would be a terrible mistake, especially in doubles. Ong Ewe Hock: Badminton serve doesn’t have a devastating effect like in tennis. Both serving and the receiving side here have equal chances to win the rally. In Badminton, unless you play against a really weak opponent, you are not likely to score many aces. This may lead you to think that a serve is not really important, which would be a big mistake from your part, in doubles especially. My footwork guide: At the front of the court, taking the shuttlecock early has an especially dramatic effect. If you reach it early, you can often play a net kill and end the rally at once; but if you delay even a second, then you will lose the option to play a net kill, as the shuttlecock drops below net height. You can still play a net shot, but that’s not as good as a kill. Ong Ewe Hock: If you succeed to intercept the shuttlecock early at the front of the court, it brings additional drama, as you will then be able to play both the rally and the net kill. If there is a slightest delay, the shuttlecock will drop below the net height and you will no longer be able to perform the net kill. You will still be able to perform a net shot, but it is not as effective as a net kill. Drive drop shots, from my singles tactics article It’s about damage limitation: you cannot entirely neutralise your opponent’s advantage in one shot, but you can prevent him from playing his deadliest shot (a spinning net shot). If you can stay alive for one more shot, you have a good chance to neutralise his advantage on the next shot, by playing a clear (or lift). Ong Ewe Hock: While you won’t be able to neutralize your opponent’s advantage entirely, you will be able to prevent him to perform his most dangerous shot at the net. If you manage to stay in game for one more return, there is a good chance of neutralizing his advantage with your next clear shot or with a lift. From my doubles tactics article: If you’ve never played against a strong attacking pair, it’s hard to appreciate just how difficult it can be to escape the attack. Once they started smashing, you can easily find yourself trapped: your defence crumbles a little each shot; the smasher is a little nearer each time; and the front player cuts out all your attempts at counter-attack. Ong Ewe Hock: Until you have competed against a good doubles attacking team, you won’t be able to exactly grasp how difficult it may be to avoid their attack. When they start a smashing sequence, you will most likely find yourself in a trap, as they get nearer with each performed smash and the front player intercepting every attempt of a counter-attack that you try.
On closer inspection, it's probably more like 60--70% plagiarised from me. But that's the best 60--70%.
Oh, so the advertisement really does contain more original content than the product itself! And I was worried about being too cynical... They do appear to have an office and telephone number in Yorkshire. Worth your giving them a call? Also a page with some other products advertised in similar style.
Atleast everyone here will now know its Gollums stuff so they wont bother payin and also the link above works so we can get it for free anyway so screw the company who made the book for they are just thieves!
Thanks for your help. I did find that contact page, and I am pursuing the issue. For the moment, I'll keep the details of my investigation private. Depending on what happens, however, I may ask BC members for assistance (for example, they may be able to help me prove dates of publication). I note that this e-book is advertised on badminton-information.com. My current suppositions are as follows: The e-book was "written" by Chau Yap of badminton-information.com howtoplaybadminton.net is an affiliate and distributor of the e-book Ong Ewe Hock has had little involvement in the e-book other than endorsing it Please note that these are suppositions based on the current information available to me. I do not assert them as facts.
I think you can be pretty confident that link will break in the not-too-distant future. I have previous experience of my work being ripped off on Scribd. The Scribd team respond extremely well to notices of copyright infringement. Of course, the original (and better-written) material will always be available, for free.
No wonder the material sounds so familiar to me. I felt like I know most of the stuff. Gollum, you're probably right, that Ong didn't write this himself. I'm still curious if this "New Badminton Secrets" is the same as the "Badminton Secrets" that we originally talked about. So, it might still be a good idea if someone here can get one copy of the "original" that they're charging for $50 USD, and review/compare that one with the free version (at least sample the structure). Once again, Gollum, with your website, you might actually have the creditability to convince the publisher that you're an authentic reviewer that would do them good rather than rip them off. If there is truely high quality, original material in the document that can't be find anywhere, maybe people here (like myself) would still buy a copy.
Wow! No wonder the material in that link sounds so familiar! If he is a member of BC, he should be banned for life. About the only thing original is his promo page...
That won't be necessary. I've spoken to the distributor and established -- to my satisfaction at least, and apparently to his -- that the $50 e-book has the same text as the unauthorised reproduction on Scribd. I can't confirm whether the full text matches exactly with the unauthorised reproduction. So far, it seems to match. In any case, I urge people to boycott this e-book, for obvious reasons. I've worked incredibly hard on The Badminton Bible, and continue to do so (even if it's not currently obvious -- there's quite a lot going on behind the scenes). I would ask you not to support publishers who rip off my work. Frankly, I've found the whole thing quite upsetting. This has not been a good day for me. I'm getting used to the low-level content theft, but I never dreamed it would go this far. I suppose it's a vicious kind of compliment.
