Hi all, while smashing I noticed that my index finger in my forehand v-grip starts above my thumb before contact and ends up at the same level or below my thumb after I contact the bird (see photos below). I've been trying to improve my smash for a while and wonder if this is something that might be wrong with my technique. I do try to keep in mind to have a loose grip before point of contact, but wonder if the grip change may be causing slicing and a generally weaker smash. Unfortunately I don't have a video of me smashing right now, though it may be hard to record the grip change anyway. Any insights would be awesome! See photos in this reddit post (not by me, but same idea) for an example of what I mean: https://www.reddit.com/r/badminton/...on_about_smash_grip_before_and_after_contact/. The post was inconclusive.
It's quite natural for the grip to become a little more compact i.e. your index closes distance with your middle finger (although the example in the photos is quite extreme) when you tighten your grip for a smash. That in itself shouldn't be a problem. But if you are unintentionally slicing, that is definitely a problem with your racket angle, which could among other reasons be because of your grip, just not the specific nuance you describe, but with the rotation of your racket in your hand. It could also have to do with any other part of the swinging technique, but it's impossible for any of us to tell without seeing it.
Add three pictures to this thread. You holding the racquet taken from above Your grip pre-squeeze Your grip at the end of the shot. You don't even need a court to practice this on, just have room to swing the racquet and use other hand to take a picture with a mobile phone etc.
Thanks for your responses @Cheung @SnowWhite @BadmintonDave , apologies for really delayed response. Here are some videos as requested: Grip pre-squeeze Video of squeezing Grip post-squeeze I recently made a post requesting feedback on my smash form where you can see my entire swing (from afar) here.
