So I've been having a go at improving my overhead action, putting in proper pronation, reaching out etc. I have now got in a strange position where i am slicing everything...with a reverse slice? I first noticed it when playing reverse sliced drops, both crosscourt and straight, and found these to be surprisingly easy. Even the forehand crosscourt reverse slice was possible...which is a very weird shot, that i swear was not possible until recently (apart from that experimenting, i still play a normal sliced forehand crosscourt drop). Unfortunately, i then noticed the sound in my clears and smashes were all feeling a bit slicey, and when i concentrated on what i was doing, i seem to be over-pronating or perhaps pronating too early into the shot. I thought it could be that i wasn't supinating enough before leading to over pronation, but even when cocking my wrist fully in a supinated position before pronating, I'm pronating through the shuttle in a slicing manner. Another side effect is that it's gotten very hard to play cross court shots from my forehand side - i even had a test to try and smash them out the sides with the full stroke movement and they land roughly in the middle of the halfcourt on the other side. With a stick smash or tap, I'm able to play it to the tramlines, and also if i do a normal sliced crosscourt drop (or "smash"), but i cant seem to get clean contact on a forehand crosscourt shot. A quick check of my grip shows that much of the time i have a late forehand grip - the V of my hand is positioned on the edge of the wide bevel and diagonal bevel, but when turning the racquet intentionally forward, it doesn't seem to solve the problem. Any ideas? P.S. These sliced drops are really quite nice though, it'd be great if i can keep these and get my old clear/smash back!
A matter of practice. And don't get back your old clear and smash. They have been sacrificed for the greater good which are better clears and better smashes.
@DarkHiatus What are your straight smashes down the line like now from the forehand side? And what sort of footwork are you using for it?
If taken outside of my racquet shoulder, they can be reasonably steep and reasonably powerful - these ones are normally lower in the air when I hit them, so a chasse + jump out is normally my footwork as a scissor/ crossover step would take too much time. When i have time to cross step + scissor (or even crossover + jump + smash), and i receive the shuttle more overhead, the slice presents itself again. I don't know whether i should be trying to limit my pronation, or to time it differently, or how to play a crosscourt shot with clean contact now though. I can't actually go back to my old method now, so im stuck with what i have really.
OK. Just concentrate on the straight smash first with this footwork pattern. I suspect you haven't done enough practice to gain the right timing of pronation (assuming your body rotation is correct) . Once you have the straight smash, the cross court will be easy to sort out. If you haven't got the straight smash with crossover step sorted, then you almost definitely won't be able to do cross court court. A video clip from directly behind you shadowing your stroke and hitting a straight smash will clear things up (not in a game situation).
I'll try for one this weekend. It's a strange feeling when it feels like I'm hitting "around" the left of the shuttle (rather than through the centre), even on a smash. I'll be keen to see what I'm doing too.
Yeah, do the shadows, and then do a few with shuttles. Get somebody to serve five or six shuttles in a row and just smash off those.
Reading your post, it pains me that you are actually thinking about pronation or supination. These are things that happen as a result of swinging the racket, not things you think about. But I understand your predicament, so you are forgiven. Reverse slice is, by definition, pronating early. To prevent the reverse slice, strike the shuttle without thinking about pronation (leading with the racket edge, and letting it naturally twist to a clean hit at contact). Do not add supination of other such efforts - just hit the shuttle. In order to play cross court shots with the forehand, you just lead the swing towards the shuttle with the edge of the racket, and don't let the strings fully straighten at contact. p.s. I like the sound of the grip you are using - I prefer that grip to the "forehand" grip that is twisted more towards a panhandle grip with the V of the hand on the narrow side bevel. V of the hand on the diagonal bevel is what I go for!
There is definitely a good dose of overthinking in here! But when things go wrong, you dig deeper, and eventually lose sight of the wood for the trees. It's frustrating because footwork wise and racquet wise, i feel like the movements look/feel more like they should, and there is a looseness/racquet head control feeling i didn't have before. Yet the results are a different story. I'll get that video and perhaps it'll reveal a bit more.
So I've finally got around to "solving" this problem. I've asked a couple of coaches to review this technique and it appears to be two fold. 1) when presented with a standard clear, on a chasse + jump out, I tend to throw my shoulder into the crosscourt smash, which has the effect of pulling my shoulder under the shuttle which effectively gives me a "late" contact. This results in a flatter smash, with my racquet head unable to come through the shuttle leading to slice. The telltale is that I do a "scissor" (right foot lands in front of left) during a backwards jump out into the forehand corner. This is especially bad as the recovery to base is hindered. On keeping the right foot/shoulder back, I lose power, but gain the angle both in terms of steepness and crosscourt angle. 2) when presented with a defensive clear/lift/high serve and executing a crossover + scissor footwork for a crosscourt smash, I line my body up for the straight smash, and also throw my shoulder in that direction, leaving my racquet to do the "turning" for the crosscourt angle. My coaches tell me I need to prepare to throw my upper body in the crosscourt direction, and allow my racquet to move in a straight line for the crosscourt smash, and to have the same rotation, but pronate further for a straight smash - basically how I would prepare for a clear to my backhand corner. My take away is that I need think about how hard I can smash a lift based on its position - is it really worth a full power smash if it goes down the middle, flat? I also need to prepare to hit the left tramline on all shots to allow me options to play both crosscourt and straight strokes. This also applies to clears and drops! I always wondered why my crosscourt drops from forehand corner were particularly effective/deceptive, and my coach explained that it's because my whole body shows I'm going to play a straight shot, to he point that a crosscourt shot he would expect to be weak (my crosscourt drop is indeed a slower shot as I tend to take them low, due to the cramped stroke from my fully preparing for a straight stroke).
