My Shots are so Weak...

Z

zizichan

New Member
Hi. I am a high school student, and I started to play badminton last year in the spring. I guess you could consider me as a beginner.
The season is coming up soon, and I have realized that I am not improving. I go to bintang (badminton gym near my house) at least once a week, and I play "singles" with my friend (even though I'm not looking into playing in that category.
For the entire duration of my season last year, I played only mix doubles and girls doubles. Mix doubles is different in my high school-- for it's not like actual doubles at all. Instead, the girls stay in the front the whole time and the guys stay in the back. And so, I feel as if I am really weak. I cannot clear very far (a few steps from the line you serve on), my lifts have the same problem, and I am unable to kill/smash.
I believe that the problem is my wrist strength (my coach has told me that my form is fine), but could there be any other factors? I've been trying to hit up to the ceiling (people have said it helps with building wrist strength) and just rotating it.
Please help me!
 
Once you get that. Then whipping action and grip tightening will add even more power.

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zizichan said:
Hi. I am a high school student, and I started to play badminton last year in the spring. I guess you could consider me as a beginner.
The season is coming up soon, and I have realized that I am not improving. I go to bintang (badminton gym near my house) at least once a week, and I play "singles" with my friend (even though I'm not looking into playing in that category.
For the entire duration of my season last year, I played only mix doubles and girls doubles. Mix doubles is different in my high school-- for it's not like actual doubles at all. Instead, the girls stay in the front the whole time and the guys stay in the back. And so, I feel as if I am really weak. I cannot clear very far (a few steps from the line you serve on), my lifts have the same problem, and I am unable to kill/smash.
I believe that the problem is my wrist strength (my coach has told me that my form is fine), but could there be any other factors? I've been trying to hit up to the ceiling (people have said it helps with building wrist strength) and just rotating it.
Please help me!
Click to expand...

I find it hard to believe that your form is "fine" if you are hitting the shuttle from the back to just past the service line on the other side (less than 3/4 court).

Your coach may be saying this because s/he would prefer that you stay in the front as you're stronger there for the level you play at, and the team would struggle if you tried to play more at the back. After all, people tend to gravitate to what they're good at.

Wrist strength alone will not be the problem. There are 8 year old girls I see training who are able to hit it full court. They're tiny but have some really great technique.

Without seeing you hit the shuttle, it will be impossible to tell you how to improve your form, other than to tell you to go watch pros in slow motion and try to copy them. We can tell you about pronation, but perhaps you already do it, and it's another problem entirely e.g. terrible timing, grip, slicing, diffused power, footwork.

Mind you, if you are younger, check with your parents about posting videos, and consider blurring out your face with some simple video editing software (or simply shoot video from behind only).
 
DarkHiatus said:
I find it hard to believe that your form is "fine" if you are hitting the shuttle from the back to just past the service line on the other side (less than 3/4 court).

Your coach may be saying this because s/he would prefer that you stay in the front as you're stronger there for the level you play at, and the team would struggle if you tried to play more at the back. After all, people tend to gravitate to what they're good at.

Wrist strength alone will not be the problem. There are 8 year old girls I see training who are able to hit it full court. They're tiny but have some really great technique.

Without seeing you hit the shuttle, it will be impossible to tell you how to improve your form, other than to tell you to go watch pros in slow motion and try to copy them. We can tell you about pronation, but perhaps you already do it, and it's another problem entirely e.g. terrible timing, grip, slicing, diffused power, footwork.

Mind you, if you are younger, check with your parents about posting videos, and consider blurring out your face with some simple video editing software (or simply shoot video from behind only).
Click to expand...

Thank you & the other people who have commented on this post to offer advice. I think I'll try to fix my form when I hit. I agree that my coach probably wants to keep me in the front, but I've been trying to play in the back recently because I want to play girl's doubles instead of mix.
I feel really bad when I see 8 year olds play and thought my wrist was just really weak (lol), because the captains always say that my hits are too weak and "it's all in the wrist"-- hence why I thought it was all strength.
I'll see if I can get to posting a video sometime this week and hope that it'll help other people see my mistake clearly. :)
 
zizichan said:
Thank you & the other people who have commented on this post to offer advice. I think I'll try to fix my form when I hit. I agree that my coach probably wants to keep me in the front, but I've been trying to play in the back recently because I want to play girl's doubles instead of mix.
I feel really bad when I see 8 year olds play and thought my wrist was just really weak (lol), because the captains always say that my hits are too weak and "it's all in the wrist"-- hence why I thought it was all strength.
I'll see if I can get to posting a video sometime this week and hope that it'll help other people see my mistake clearly. :)
Click to expand...

Here is a famous coach explaining what, "it's all in the wrist" is supposed to mean. If your captains are saying this too and have watched you play, then it implies your power is diffused and your form can improve.

Note that although the video is about smashing, clearing is fundamentally the same, and the subject of the video is really, "how do I get more power?"



Please do research the pronation method in badminton too if you haven't already, because putting power through the wrist using the wrong technique can lead to injury. Your wrist/fingers are used to focus and direct power efficiently, but if you focus it badly, you can end up straining your wrist instead.

Just to reiterate, your use of wrist may be perfectly fine, but we obviously cannot tell without seeing it, so take this whole post as general tips only!
 
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DarkHiatus said:
Please do research the pronation method in badminton too if you haven't already, because putting power through the wrist using the wrong technique can lead to injury. Your wrist/fingers are used to focus and direct power efficiently, but if you focus it badly, you can end up straining your wrist instead.

Just to reiterate, your use of wrist may be perfectly fine, but we obviously cannot tell without seeing it, so take this whole post as general tips only!
Click to expand...

This, so much this. Technique is 80% of getting the shuttle far, please don't use power to force it, you will injure yourself. The time I spend on teaching my new players in my coaching group this is just too much, haha. Be patient, it will come.
Power is only used for that last little bit, too much power will only hurt you and will give the shuttle an uncontrolled path.

Also: best tips come from video or, you know, your coach.
Good luck!
 
As a girl, It is a lot harder to clear from back to back. You will need a good technique. A guy could clear from back to back by using arm or pronation alone, but for a girl you will need a good use of kinetic chain.
 
Im not a coach nor an expert player, but i got some little experience.
In the court where i play with my friend, there is a class for serious training with a coach training kids from 6 to 18 year old.
On some free time we also play with the coach to, but sometimes we got ask to do some sparing with his student (double mostly) & after the match or sometimes in the mid of the match he will call his student & give some advice.

1 time i meet this new little girl (maybe around 8 year). We got play just for little fun & she partner with the coach. I didnt play agresive as my normal habit. I play control only (what can be proud off when im able to break a little girl defense & its not fun to bully a little girl). I can say she lack on power department, but seriously her control for dropping the bird is somewhat amazing. Really close to the net with good accuracy.

Then again, my group that i play with is not all men. There is few lady in my group. Yes their smash is not the best in my group (tho not the worst), but their defense or accuracy to put the bird in the very corner of the field which really exhaust us.

With that i can say that power is not everything, there is accuracy, reflex, defense, speed, etc.

So, yes being able to clear hit back to back is must for all player, but dont compare it with an adult with a well build muscle. Keep training & eventually u will build some muscle for it.
 
1) Check your technique is correct (forearm rotation called pronation rather than bending your wrist)
2) Check basics, such as body movement, foot movement, and racket height
3) Once you start to develop a solid idea of how a clear should feel, integrate it into your warmup routine. Do a few minutes of just clears before playing. This will solidify your understanding of the technique.
 
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