[VIDEO] Singles Progression

[Cheung]

and he has ranked quite highly in England previously for MS/XD

The guy I learnt from was a world top twenty player and had his foundations drilled in China. When I first went to him, I was pretty much like how you play with no clear idea of the court positioning, techniques etc. My backhand probably was slightly better than yours though because of a better grip. I did a lot of practice at home with shadowing, just trying to drill correct foot patterns. In social games, I didn't care about winning the point or match. It was far more important to get the footwork pattern correct and in between points, I would try and shadow the correct footwork again on court. So, I would worry more more whether I could do a flying step. I was a mess for the first three months but I had already accepted this because I told the coach I wanted to have good basics. Six months later my game play was improving loads. 8-9 months later, I was being invited to singles games by other local HK coaches and winning or at least getting to later stages of tournaments.

Your advantage here is your motivation (same as me) and the internet (which I didn't have).

 

[Cheung]

0.58 This is really good. You did a low serve and stood square to the net. Disadvantageous position. The opponent is not going to play a smash nor a dropshot. He is either going to play a net shot or a flick to the back court. There is no way with your body position and square on you are going to make the next shot. I reckon you are almost deathly afraid of playing a short serve in your usual games....

I advise you to watch videos or the singles players after they do low serves and copy the foot position. You might also want to compare Xia Xuanze, Hendrawan, Sun Jun and examine their old videos after they do the low serve. Watch their feet and not the shuttle.

1.08 Here we have an example of you playing a net shot and keeping your feet front back (not square on). Note how comfortable you are and relaxed about playing the lift! (and it was a good lift as well)

 

[DarkHiatus]

The guy I learnt from was a world top twenty player and had his foundations drilled in China. When I first went to him, I was pretty much like how you play with no clear idea of the court positioning, techniques etc. My backhand probably was slightly better than yours though because of a better grip. I did a lot of practice at home with shadowing, just trying to drill correct foot patterns. In social games, I didn't care about winning the point or match. It was far more important to get the footwork pattern correct and in between points, I would try and shadow the correct footwork again on court. So, I would worry more more whether I could do a flying step. I was a mess for the first three months but I had already accepted this because I told the coach I wanted to have good basics. Six months later my game play was improving loads. 8-9 months later, I was being invited to singles games by other local HK coaches and winning or at least getting to later stages of tournaments.

Your advantage here is your motivation (same as me) and the internet (which I didn't have).

Ah, for me it feels like i'd be dreaming to even get through the group stages of the BE Senior Bronzes, even without a seed in the group. I feel like I can't do much about the coach - there are so few alternatives up in Manchester, and it is only through going with a Level 2 coach did I get recommended to my current coach. I can't see me getting a better coach even if i were willing to pay.

0.58 This is really good. You did a low serve and stood square to the net. Disadvantageous position. The opponent is not going to play a smash nor a dropshot. He is either going to play a net shot or a flick to the back court. There is no way with your body position and square on you are going to make the next shot. I reckon you are almost deathly afraid of playing a short serve in your usual games....

I advise you to watch videos or the singles players after they do low serves and copy the foot position. You might also want to compare Xia Xuanze, Hendrawan, Sun Jun and examine their old videos after they do the low serve. Watch their feet and not the shuttle.

1.08 Here we have an example of you playing a net shot and keeping your feet front back (not square on). Note how comfortable you are and relaxed about playing the lift! (and it was a good lift as well)

I actually prefer short serves technique wise - i'm consistent enough that they don't get killed anyway. I simply found that a high serve gives me better results, possibly because my opponents are less familiar with taking high serves. I hadn't actually noticed my forehand short serve footwork and never thought that there's quite a lot of work involved in switching feet around on such a serve. When I play a short backhand serve, my feet stay right foot forward, definitely not square.

You sound very strong on never having feet square after playing a shot to the net. would you say even having left foot forward is better than being square to the net?

 

[Cheung]

When I play a short backhand serve, my feet stay right foot forward, definitely not square.

And probably the replies are easier to handle

You sound very strong on never having feet square after playing a shot to the net. would you say even having left foot forward is better than being square to the net?

If you have played a good short serve where it dips below the level of the net, most top players will not stand square.

If the receiver has rushed the serve or the serve is a bad serve, then stand square in a defensive position. But the best is to study lots of videos and not just Lin Dan/Lee Chong Wei.

 

[DarkHiatus]

And probably the replies are easier to handle



If you have played a good short serve where it dips below the level of the net, most top players will not stand square.

If the receiver has rushed the serve or the serve is a bad serve, then stand square in a defensive position. But the best is to study lots of videos and not just Lin Dan/Lee Chong Wei.

Alright, I'll put my split positioning on the top of my list, and maybe I'll also feel less rushed. I was actually thinking defaulting to a square stance would help me feel less rushed as i'd be more ready defensively. I can see why that wasn't such a great idea...

I tend to find I look at LCW/LDs opposition more than LCW/LD themselves now. They make the movements seem so natural that it's difficult to pick out where a conscious decision has been made on positioning. Their opposition tend to shift their positions more obviously, or be caught out in bad positions more often.

 

[Gollum]

I agree with Cheung here: the racket and shoulder should go back early -- typically as soon as you start moving. Early preparation for overheads is a good habit.

However, statements like "your coach is no good" are arrogant and unhelpful. It amazes me how confident people are when criticising others online. We are not in a position to understand the coach's rationale for teaching a more forwards racket prep here. It may be part of a player-specific plan to deal with technique issues, and indeed that's what DarkHiatus has suggested.

I would expect a head coach at a performance centre to be a very good source of advice -- certainly far better advice than you get from random players on a badminton forum (on average).

With that said, it is definitely something you could discuss with your coach. The concern I would raise is this: we know that you are having problems turning your shoulders effectively. This shows in your truncated overhead action. And while it's possible to play clears with a shortened action, it's also desirable to develop the ability to play overheads with a full stroke -- and indeed, this is an important skill that takes a long time to master. What is the plan for addressing this?

 

[Charlie-SWUK]

So lots of points have already been covered, and it's likely all inter-related.

One consistent issue I'm noticing in your game, is that you seem to really struggle to produce power in your shots. I feel like this is why your long serves aren't quite up to the mark, but as others have noted, I'm also seeing you're having issue getting good full court clears.

You're quite quick on your feet and that's doing you some good, but I feel like you're having to use it to compensate for this lack of power; for instance the inability to reliably play a very high, deep clear, means you will always be playing under pressure. You have little option but to go down the line with a clear, and scramble for the reply. Your other options are a smash or drop, but again, any tactically aware opponent is going to make you scramble for their reply.

In the backhand corner, you struggle with the flying step and producing power, and your backhand suffers from the same issue your forehand was in previous videos - not taking the shuttle high enough. I'm noticing you're having to use a lot of recovery steps in that backhand round the head position, is this because you're really throwing your weight into the shot but just not producing the power you'd like?

After watching a bit more where you're lifting and clearing a bit more toward his backhand rearcourt corner; your opponent is actually a bit lazy here. They have a lot of opportunity where your lift would probably only land on the doubles service line, but he insists on playing backhand constantly despite having loads of time to play around the head.

I'm actually quite concerned watching you under so much pressure because your lunges appear to lack control, you go very low and out of balance. I'm concerned you're going to end up injuring yourself if you're not able to start playing to your pace, controlling the rallies a little bit more, and preventing yourself from being under continuous pressure.

I truly believe that it would do you good to spend a lot of time practising clears - full baseline to baseline clears and cross court clears - to get a better understanding of transferring your power into your shots. This can of course be expedited with a coach watching you and working with you. There are some other elements such as footwork pointers to work on, but I think this is the most critical thing to turn your attention to for the time being. I am hopeful that with additional power, you won't need to be under so much pressure, and your footwork will smooth out on its own.

 

[DarkHiatus]

So lots of points have already been covered, and it's likely all inter-related.

One consistent issue I'm noticing in your game, is that you seem to really struggle to produce power in your shots. I feel like this is why your long serves aren't quite up to the mark, but as others have noted, I'm also seeing you're having issue getting good full court clears.

You're quite quick on your feet and that's doing you some good, but I feel like you're having to use it to compensate for this lack of power; for instance the inability to reliably play a very high, deep clear, means you will always be playing under pressure. You have little option but to go down the line with a clear, and scramble for the reply. Your other options are a smash or drop, but again, any tactically aware opponent is going to make you scramble for their reply.

In the backhand corner, you struggle with the flying step and producing power, and your backhand suffers from the same issue your forehand was in previous videos - not taking the shuttle high enough. I'm noticing you're having to use a lot of recovery steps in that backhand round the head position, is this because you're really throwing your weight into the shot but just not producing the power you'd like?

After watching a bit more where you're lifting and clearing a bit more toward his backhand rearcourt corner; your opponent is actually a bit lazy here. They have a lot of opportunity where your lift would probably only land on the doubles service line, but he insists on playing backhand constantly despite having loads of time to play around the head.

I'm actually quite concerned watching you under so much pressure because your lunges appear to lack control, you go very low and out of balance. I'm concerned you're going to end up injuring yourself if you're not able to start playing to your pace, controlling the rallies a little bit more, and preventing yourself from being under continuous pressure.

I truly believe that it would do you good to spend a lot of time practising clears - full baseline to baseline clears and cross court clears - to get a better understanding of transferring your power into your shots. This can of course be expedited with a coach watching you and working with you. There are some other elements such as footwork pointers to work on, but I think this is the most critical thing to turn your attention to for the time being. I am hopeful that with additional power, you won't need to be under so much pressure, and your footwork will smooth out on its own.

Fair point. If you were to ask me if I would be comfortable in a flat clear battle, I'd say no. I think I would be okay if all clears were high and deep (I'm okay to do full clears when standing still, or when I have time to get into a strong ready stance) but I find it very difficult to handle repeated attacking clears.

I'll bring it up with my coach, as so far the footwork drills into the back corners involve me playing drops back to the net. I think the intention was that a drop is easier to play and I could concentrate on the footwork.

 

[Charlie-SWUK]

Fair point. If you were to ask me if I would be comfortable in a flat clear battle, I'd say no. I think I would be okay if all clears were high and deep (I'm okay to do full clears when standing still, or when I have time to get into a strong ready stance) but I find it very difficult to handle repeated attacking clears.

I'll bring it up with my coach, as so far the footwork drills into the back corners involve me playing drops back to the net. I think the intention was that a drop is easier to play and I could concentrate on the footwork.

I think so too, when I started playing left handed I much preferred drops to clears because I could play them more often, I was better at them, and the plus side is that they're a fairly low power/energy attacking shot. But yeah you really don't seem comfortable with your clears, and they're absolutely invaluable to biding your time and lowering the pace of a rally. I expect you've seen it in some of the high level games where they just non-stop clear to sort of wait it out and hope their opponent will make an error/be out of position/not ready to retrieve an attacking shot.

By learning how to transfer your power into clears, you will also learn how to transfer more power into your smashes too. This is a great protector against attacking clears, because they're trying to up the pace by playing it, hoping for a weak reply. If you have a fearsome smash, you can quickly push the pace up again and they won't be comfortable to retrieve the smash.

 

[Cheung]

Some further general advice:

- Your overhead stroke has many small things which are inefficient. I get the impression you are not using pronation effectively. As you swing the racquet, the racquet head is face on to the shuttle rather than pronating into the shuttle. I cannot be conpletely sure as the video quality and lighting doesn't allow such detail. Also, I think you do have a grip technique issue here. I agree with Charlie about the clears. You need to be confident about playing half an hour of clears continuously in practice without the shuttle going out. Practice on half court and then full court. Aim for 100 or more shot clear rallies as your target.

- In practice matches, stand two feet further back as your base position after doing a high serve. To get to dropshots, think of this. Split step, left foot and leg step forward (make sure it moves one metre) and then right leg lunge. You want to train your left foot and leg to move forward first. In order to do this, you have to have your centre of gravity more forward than now. Do not create a forward centre of gravity by moving your left leg backwards. At the moment, you try to get every dropshot with one lunge but you are too far away. Here, we are trying to train a two step lunge.

 

[DarkHiatus]

Some further general advice:

- Your overhead stroke has many small things which are inefficient. I get the impression you are not using pronation effectively. As you swing the racquet, the racquet head is face on to the shuttle rather than pronating into the shuttle. I cannot be conpletely sure as the video quality and lighting doesn't allow such detail. Also, I think you do have a grip technique issue here. I agree with Charlie about the clears. You need to be confident about playing half an hour of clears continuously in practice without the shuttle going out. Practice on half court and then full court. Aim for 100 or more shot clear rallies as your target.

- In practice matches, stand two feet further back as your base position after doing a high serve. To get to dropshots, think of this. Split step, left foot and leg step forward (make sure it moves one metre) and then right leg lunge. You want to train your left foot and leg to move forward first. In order to do this, you have to have your centre of gravity more forward than now. Do not create a forward centre of gravity by moving your left leg backwards. At the moment, you try to get every dropshot with one lunge but you are too far away. Here, we are trying to train a two step lunge.

Spot on with the overhead technique. It's something my coach has noted too. Would you say my ready position for clears on all footwork should have my racquet behind my head as in the forehand rearcourt you mentioned before?

I'll try and drill in a left foot forward first step movement, but I'm not so sure about the forward centre of gravity - does this not make me quite susceptible to having the same problem moving backwards with a square stance? i.e. backhand rearcourt RTH footwork would be more difficult coming from a square split with my weight forward. Or would you favour a right foot forward stance here with weight forward? I'm imagining my opponent playing off a high serve, and would normally stand square for the return.

 

[Cheung]

Would you say my ready position for clears on all footwork should have my racquet behind my head as in the forehand rearcourt you mentioned before?

Yes. Please also check your throwing action. You are tending to push the shuttle.
After you hit the overhead shuttle, your elbow tends to stay high in the air like a scarecrow. You are allowed to relax it and let it fall naturally down

Or would you favour a right foot forward stance here with weight forward?

Move your base backwards two-three feet. This will make you less susceptible to attacking clears.
Right foot slightly forward with square on.
Centre of balance more forward.
Two steps to reach dropshots near the service line.

If you stand further back, the opponent is less likely to play a clear. If he plays a clear, it would need to be a higher clear and that gives you more time. Standing closer to the front like you do now means you will be killed by attack clears...I mean severely disadvantaged by attack clears!

 

[Gollum]

Would you say my ready position for clears on all footwork should have my racquet behind my head as in the forehand rearcourt you mentioned before?

Forehand prep is somewhat down to personal style. I actually think your prep is okay -- at least, much of the time. The main thing is that the elbow comes back and the shoulders turn.

For me, the issue with your overheads is more on the hitting action and follow through. I don't think you have developed a confident throwing action yet. The hit is shortened and there is limited arm rotation. It looks like you are being very "careful" with your hitting action in order to hit without errors. I have a suspicion that you have learned "what you are supposed to do" and are at the stage where you try to copy it -- hence the slightly robotic-looking style. It doesn't quite flow yet.

I know it's "basic", but I would work on your throwing action. You can work in two main ways: the overall throw, and breaking it down.

Working on the overall throw is about doing the whole movement. Focus on a high contact point and hitting through the shuttle, not jabbing at it. Also try practising actual overhead throws with a soft ball.

Breaking it down is about looking at points in the throw: prep, middle, hit, follow through. In particular, the "middle" position before the hit should have the elbow somewhat high and forwards, with the racket head dropping behind your neck / shoulder. At this stage, the racket is side-on like a "karate chop" (leading with the little finger).

 

[DarkHiatus]

[GALLERY=media, 393]Bases by DarkHiatus posted Feb 16, 2017 at 9:29 AM[/GALLERY]

Forehand prep is somewhat down to personal style. I actually think your prep is okay -- at least, much of the time. The main thing is that the elbow comes back and the shoulders turn.

For me, the issue with your overheads is more on the hitting action and follow through. I don't think you have developed a confident throwing action yet. The hit is shortened and there is limited arm rotation. It looks like you are being very "careful" with your hitting action in order to hit without errors. I have a suspicion that you have learned "what you are supposed to do" and are at the stage where you try to copy it -- hence the slightly robotic-looking style. It doesn't quite flow yet.

I know it's "basic", but I would work on your throwing action. You can work in two main ways: the overall throw, and breaking it down.

Working on the overall throw is about doing the whole movement. Focus on a high contact point and hitting through the shuttle, not jabbing at it. Also try practising actual overhead throws with a soft ball.

Breaking it down is about looking at points in the throw: prep, middle, hit, follow through. In particular, the "middle" position before the hit should have the elbow somewhat high and forwards, with the racket head dropping behind your neck / shoulder. At this stage, the racket is side-on like a "karate chop" (leading with the little finger).

*Head in hands*

I was trying to move away from a lengthened stroke because I felt the need to develop a '"compact" swing. Looks like I lost a lot of feel on the way

Yes. Please also check your throwing action. You are tending to push the shuttle.
After you hit the overhead shuttle, your elbow tends to stay high in the air like a scarecrow. You are allowed to relax it and let it fall naturally down


Move your base backwards two-three feet. This will make you less susceptible to attacking clears.
Right foot slightly forward with square on.
Centre of balance more forward.
Two steps to reach dropshots near the service line.

If you stand further back, the opponent is less likely to play a clear. If he plays a clear, it would need to be a higher clear and that gives you more time. Standing closer to the front like you do now means you will be killed by attack clears...I mean severely disadvantaged by attack clears!

I feel like my default base (after I play a lift or a clear) is currently in position 1 on the diagram (halfway between short and doubles service lines). 2 is supposed to be 2/3rds of the distance from short/doubles service, and 3 is 3/4. Would you say my judgement is correct, and where would you say I should move my base?

Having mathed it out a bit, my position (1) would assume that the closest shuttle playable in a game lands 0.5m from the net. I've heard from others that you should assume a drop is around the service line (1m from the net, which would be position 3). Is this correct, and what would the footwork be to reach a tight drop shot, when your footwork generally assumes drops will travel to the service line?

[GALLERY=media, 393]Bases by DarkHiatus posted Feb 16, 2017 at 9:29 AM[/GALLERY]

 

[Cheung]

currently in position 1 on the diagram (halfway between short and doubles service lines).

No way. You are closer to the net than 1

 

[Charlie-SWUK]

*Head in hands*

I was trying to move away from a lengthened stroke because I felt the need to develop a '"compact" swing. Looks like I lost a lot of feel on the way

Compact isn't a necessity, as long as you can disguise your shots and keep them guessing if it's a clear or drop, maybe smash if your disguise is excellent, then you can still use your shots deceptively. Compact swings are only good for making sure you hit the shuttle quickly, and may be more useful in doubles for stick smashes and such. However, hitting the shuttle quickly but relatively improperly, well you see why it becomes a moot point.

Start looking at making your swing more compact when you're very confident with your shots.

 

[DarkHiatus]

No way. You are closer to the net than 1

Even after a lift/clear? I feel that i'm certainly not closer than (1) after a clear from the back, but I could well be closer than (1) after a lift from the front. In either case, should I be aiming to be around (1) then? Perhaps I should aim to be at 2/3 and my base will move to (1)

 

[Cheung]

Aim for position 2.

Regarding the forehand prep, my rationale is to train you into a good habit first.

 

[DarkHiatus]

Aim for position 2.

Regarding the forehand prep, my rationale is to train you into a good habit first.

Last question or I'm going to become overwhelmed by things to work on next session

Regarding forehand racquet position, you say racquet head above and behind head. I'm also assuming that shoulders and racquet elbow should also be in a straight line in the same plane as the racquet head, and my head?

 

[Cheung]

Regarding forehand racquet position, you say racquet head above and behind head. I'm also assuming that shoulders and racquet elbow should also be in a straight line in the same plane as the racquet head, and my head?

Have the racquet pointing up to the ceiling. The forearm, wrist and shoulder in same plane as your head. Let's say if somebody was looking at you from the other end of the court, they would hardly be able to see your hand. (this aids deception on the overhead stroke). Elbow held just below level of shoulder, elbow joint slight flexion.

Pointing up is not necessarily what you will see for all players but at first it trains good position. From this position, you can train clears, smashes and drops from the same starting point.

For this overhead stroke, when you shadow the stroke, reach up to the shuttle on tiptoe as well. In your games, you tend to let the shuttle fall down too far. So here, you want to start training the body to the feeling of action to a different hitting point.