We currently have an asignement on badminton, and we were wondering if you could give us some information on what actions involve fitness factors, and which parts of the body are used in that particular action. If you could help us today, it would be muchly appreciated.
Not true! it is a very common misconception that badminton is a wristy sport. altho' the wrist is cocked for most strokes in badm, wrist flexion play a very minor role in the execution of most strokes. high speed studies indicate that forearm rotation is much more important than wrist flexion. despite what biomechanic experts tells from these studies, coaches continue to stress the overblown importance of the wrist.
clarification please what exactly do you mean by fitness factors or components? leg muscles are very important for lunging, jumping, turning the hips (& body), and other footwork movement. these muscles include the quadriceps & other thigh muscles as well as the calf (& other lower leg) muscles. as i mentioned in my other reply the forearm muscles are very importamt to all strokes in badminton. they control the tendons to the wrist & fingers and are responsible for forearm rotation (pronation & supination). the tricep muscles are used extensively in most backhands and all overhead strokes. the biceps play only a very minor in executing shots in badm. (i'll relay more info in my next post. be sure to answer my question above).
Re: Not true! hi gregr, before the smash technique discussion we have in this forum, i smash with a whip motion follow by a wrist snap. this technique provide decent power for the energy i put in but it doesn't have the explosive power. in a good day i may get couple of explosive power smash but overall is weak. after the discussion we have on smash technique, i change my smash technique, no more snap of the wrist, just forearm rotation, rotating my wrist out like cheung discribed. now i do get more explosive power and my opponent are unable to control my smash like before. so what is my problem? now i'm sleeping with shoulder/rotation cup pain in the middle of the night. i know this technique is new to me and i yet to perfect it. my question is, do you or cheung encounter shoulder pain when you first use this technique to smash? will it goes away as technique gets better? thanks.
shoulder pain I believe that you are referring to the rotator CUFF ('cup' is a common error). This refers to damage to tendons in the deltoid (shoulder) region from overuse or improper technique. I developed this problem from volleyball (not badminton) cuz i was spiking over my head rather than in front of me. Perhaps you are trying to hit too many badminton smashes in a similar manner. Make an effort to hit all or most smashes a bit more in front of you. Another possible cause could be a lack of trunk (upper body) rotation. If you stop this rotation completely or too soon during your smash than you may be forcing your deltoids to take on too much of the job. Try going for close to 180 degrees of trunk rotation and see if this helps. Above keep the arm and shoulder VERY relaxed when smashing or executing other (overhead) shots. Have you tried an anti-inflammatory (such as ibuprofen)? Icing your shoulder after badminton may be a good idea.
r u still there? lisa- since i've not seen a response from you i assume that you are no longer interested in more info.
how far in front? yes, your suggestion make perfect sense, gregr. thanks i know i need to improve many area to perfect my jumpsmash but for now i will focus on hitting the shuttle in front of me but how far should the shuttle be. if we use the neck as references, ideally how far should the shuttle be in front of me (12" ?) on contact?
about this much... it is somewhat dependent on the situation. i assume that 12" refer to a measurement in 'inches'. while 12" (30 cm) or more may be required for volleyball, less than half of that should suffice for most badminton smashes... just as long as you are not hitting a high % of your smashes directly above your head.
