I've heard a lot about wall practice but never seen how it's done. Could anyone please give more details about these drills, e.g., distance from the wall, stance, grip, type of stroke, number of repetitions, etc. Thanks very much!
i dont like it you can only really do clears .. and you have to drill the shuttle really heard to get it to bounce off enough for a second ..and continuous hitting might be good for power i suppose and wrist strength. unlike in tennis where u can seriously work your groundstrokes effectively against a wall.. i dont think it applies as well to badminton.
To me, it is good for speed and reaction. I stand about 3 feets from the wall and hit the shuttle with backhand and forehand, hit it at different height and different strength. Not sure about the others, but this is the method I use to practice my reaction.
It has to be done correctly. It will train wrist and forearm strength. You can do overhead clears and also drives. Drives you can use it to train how to switch backhand/forehand grip quickly and racket skill. Clears will train your wrist and forearm for strong punch clears and smashes. If your neck feels sore before your forearm and wrist then you know that you are strong. Takes a while to get the hang of, is boring, but will improve your game if done correctly.
PPl really do this? i thought i was an badminton freak when i was doing this in my backyard againsts the wall. The only thing is brick causes the crap to go all over the place so its definitely good for practising reflexes. However this is good for indoor places like gyms where teh walls are flat and are usually painted with a very smooth coating so it bounces RIGHT off!
I learned this when I first started playing and I still use it regularly. It's possibly the best way to develop reactions, wrist strength, and upper body stamina, and you can do it alone. You don't even need to be indoors if weather is not a problem. First of all, you should have a smooth-surface wall (not brick or block) with nothing hanging on it or protruding from it (sometimes gym walls have plaques or flags), and the harder the better (concrete is the best--I often use a racketball wall). Second, the wall should be at least 12 feet high and 8 feet wide so you are not so confined and can work on different shots. I use a nylon shuttle because of it's durability and it's bounce. I stand about 8 feet from the wall. (For certain drills, you can stand closer.) Some of the things I do: 1. Underhand forehands--hit drives and clears using only wrist action. The drives would simulate a driving smash return to the forehand. If you hit drives, the shuttle will come back fast. When you learn to control it, the shuttle will rebound in rapid sucession; keep it going until you miss. If you're not used to it, you'll feel the tightness in your forearm soon. 2. Underhand backhand--same as #1, using the backhand. 3. Clears, forehand and backhand. 4. Smashes, forehand, backhand, round-the-head--set up the smash with a clear, underhand or overhead. Don't smash at much of a downward angle. If it helps, you can mark a line on the wall for the net tape. Once you get control and stamina, you can create a rally: 1. Drives--switch back and forth from forehand to backhand. 2. Multiple smashes--set up for the smash, smash, smash the rebound, smash again if you can, and so on. This will train you to make quick wrist smashes and recover immediately, as you might need to in doubles. 3. My personal favorite: set up the smash with an underhand clear, smash, block the rebound, underhand clear the return, smash, and so on--clear, smash, block, clear, smash, block...Remember, although the legs do most of the work on the court, the upper body needs endurance training too. The rapid succession of shots here will work that. When you get to about 20 cycles without missing, you're doing good. Extend the length of your workout gradually. Eventually, a good wall workout should last at least 30 minutes, even an hour. Keep going. When the shuttle hits the floor, scoop it up and keep going. You have no opponent to watch, so this will help you focus on the shuttle. Keep your feet moving all the time, and practice your steps, weight shifting, and preparation prior to the hit. You need to practice proper technique because this will develop habits you will automatically use in a game under pressure.
Well.. Maybe you don't like it, Wedg, but read Jonas Rasmussen's reply in the thread about a typical training session.. He highly recommends playing against the wall.. and if it is good enough for the pro's.......
Hey yea I used to do that... But I think my neighbours think I'm crazy... Like I smack the bird at the wall and then a car passes by... I don't even have to look at the car to know that everyone is staring at me... Makes me kinda uncomfortable... haha do you guys experience this?
I just found out recently that everytime I start practicing on a wall, I play REALLY bad afterwards on a real court. For the past 2 months, I have been practicing with friends, and I have found I have made a big improvement. I haven't lost a game yet against the people I play with. For the past 2 months, I have not played with the wall at all, because my arm and wrists would get tired from the training I get from the courts. But then, just last week, I started playing against the wall again, because I got bored. When I went back to the courts to play this week (On Monday and Friday), I have lost alot of my games (10 losses, 2 win), EVEN against players who I find that are really easy to beat. I think what happen was that when I played against the wall again, I started going back to my old ways and using my old grip and old swings. I lost the 2 months of training I got just by playing against the wall. Before I started playing against the wall, I could clear with EASE. Now, after playing against the wall, I cannot clear at all almost. omg, I need to train the next week hopefully to get whatever I had back.
Hi tonten, As I wrote earlier, it’s important to pay attention to technique during wall practice. The constant and rapid repetition of strokes will build in habits and automatic responses—good or bad. One problem that can develop is that if you hit with too much downward angle, you will hit into the net on the court. Another element is the fact that when you hit against the wall, the shot bounces back, but you have no indication of where it would have projected onto the court, that is, you have no feedback from the result. The stroke and contact may feel good, but where would the shuttle go? If you’re only a few feet from the wall, you won’t notice being off a tiny bit on the angle of trajectory, but on a court, where the shuttle may have to travel 30-40 feet, that tiny angle can result in a placement being quite a bit off. If you hit hard against the wall with too much angle, the rebound will be so far from you that you won’t get to it, and that’s not really what you want, so your hits will be pretty much straight ahead. This means that you will not get practice on cross-courts, and it also means you won’t have the movement you would in a game. In wall practice, you want the shuttle to come back close enough so you can get to it and keep the rally going, but in a game, most of the time you have to move around the full court. This may affect your anticipation or preparation—knowing that the shuttle will come back close to you instead of being ready to move. The best you can do is to stay on the balls of your feet and keep them moving. As for the clears, just being able to hit hard against a wall doesn’t necessarily translate into good clears. The contact point, angle of the racket face, position of the body relative to the shuttle at contact, and wrist speed all contribute to the depth of the clear. In baseball, pitchers who can throw hard for the 60.5 feet to home plate can still have trouble throwing in from the outfield (maybe 200 feet) because of a difference in technique and release point. All this being said, I still believe wall practice is great training, but it can’t train you for everything—it has its limitations like any other drill. Ideally, it should be incorporated into a complete program that includes on-court play. My advice is not to give up. As you become more experienced with it, I think you’ll be able to integrate it into your training for the best results.
Californian, thanks for the advice I think my my reflexes are fine. I can keep a long rally going against the wall for about a minute, before I screwed up. (Note, it is a really small wall. I can only do underhand shots, can't do any overhead shots). What happened to me was that over the last 2 months, I have finally learned how to use my "wrist" and grip to play badminton, instead of all arm. I could clear perfectly, I could actually aim, and the speed of my smashes doubled and the angles were sharper. When I started playing against the wall though, I lost what I learned (due to the fact that I haven't played against the wall for such a long time [I used to play against the wall alot], I went back to my old habits by playing against it) so now, I forgot how to swing the racket with my wrist again (Also the grip and angles), or unless I have just been having a bad week. I couldn't clear at all last week. Maybe it was just my concentration then. Been worrying about so much that has happened or coming up: School, Work, My Career, Organizing my school's badminton team, Bills, Loads of friend's Birthday Parties, Lack of Sleep, Aching Muscles Well, I'm taking a break from badminton this week. All the gyms around the city are either being fixed for the fall or closed because the summer is over. I'll see how I do next week.
Hi, I do this alot, i usualy do it against the house wall. I continuously drive the shuttle, and when i do practise against the wall, i tend to play when there is a breeze about. Why? This is because you can get sudden gusts which takes the shuttle, and therefore you have to react quickly, therefore building your reactions up. It's not a stupid idea, it's something to do and it does help, by back hand drives are getting alot better and more powerful, so are my reflexes and reactions getting alot quicker. I would reccommend it. Matt
It ain't stupid. Coaches recommend it! Well JR does it too.... As everyone has mentioned, it helps improve reflexes and reaction time. And as Californian mentioned, you must pay attention to technique or you might develop bad habits.
Yes, I do it (or jump rope) while I'm waiting for a game, not because I'm bored, but because I want to make good use of the waiting time. Some players are good enough that they don't need to bother with these training routines. Not me.
