Why is that I am talking about badminton of course... I've been watching so many videos of top female badminton players and... no jumping at all And I am sure they can...
Well, Donna Kellog does not perform the type of jump that he is talking about. If you are talking about the «typical» jump smash that we see in Men's singles and Men's doubles, the only female that I have seen doing this was Yip Pui Yin in the all England's WS quarter finals against Tine Rasmussen. She jumps alot and «folds» her legs like men do when they perform a typical jump smash. I think most women do not jump because of the way they are built. Phisiologically, they are different from men which makes it harder for them to get as much height on their jumps as men do, which makes the jump smashes less efficient. Women are not as «explosive» as men in their movement, but this is because they are built in a different way. Of course, I'm comparing top female players to top male players here... I know that those women are all way more athletic than most men who post here , but if we compare them to top male players, we can see a big difference in explosivity. I think that jumping costs more energy for females because of the way their weight is distributed in their body, and because they naturally have more fat then men (another physiological difference). So in conclusion, I don't think that it's because they literally can't, I think its because its just not worth it for them. Edit: also, if you watch top males/females when they hit without jumping, you'll notice that they do not use exactly the same technique to transfer their weight when smashing or clearing. Of course, the technique is very similar, but slightly different. I guess this is also why using the jump to transfer power is not as efficient for females compared to males.
Your thread title is a bit abrasive, "Why don't women jump smash?" would be more in line with what you're asking. From what I remember watching, jump smash is quite common in WD matches and much less common in WS matches. The reasoning has to do with the physical differences between men and women. First though, lets consider the shuttle for a variety of shots. For clears, net shots, and drops, the shuttle speed and trajectory relies on technique, not strength. But for the smash, muscles plays a larger role in the speed, and jumping will make for a steeper trajectory. Physically, women are on average slightly weaker, slightly slower, and possess slightly lower stamina. Women are on equal footing in reaction time and technique. Lets put those together and see what the jump smash get a women player, a steeper shot trajectory but a longer recovery time from jump. Since her smash is still not as fast as a man's, her opponent will be able to react and block back a short shot. Then she will need to accelerate quickly to the front of the court but will be delayed by the time used in recovering from the jump. Her opponent's block will be no slower than if a man blocked it, but she will not be able to accelerate as fast as a man. So she will either not get there on time or use up her stamina much more quickly. This is not much of a factor in WD, so they do use jump smash often. Since her partner will be able to cover for any short shots, and she will still be able to jump smash any clears since clears take up much more time. That's all really my analysis, I'd also like to hear other people's ideas.
It's true they don't really do it, but then again they don't really have to. If both players don't know how to jump smash, or rather-- don't jump smash, then it's a fair match. And plus, jump smashing has it's side effects too including easy fatigue, sore leg muscles and easy leg cramps.
different muscle structure and strengths make it much easier and more effective for men to smash. I know a few girls who can perform the perfect jump smash like a guy...but honestly they are fairly tomboy like. (which means they arent girly girls more into guys things and are structured a bit more manly)
How do you know? (he's not specific) She jumps when she smashes. If a specific answer is required then a specific question should be asked
This has been discussed before, e.g. http://www.badmintoncentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=42550 How about this?
Well... we already know that its normal for people's feet to leave the ground when they smash but should we call this a jump smash? If the thread starter said that women don't jump and that he watched alot of videos, then it's obvious that the jump he's looking for is the typical jump smash used by men, right? (because I don't think you could watch a video of women playing without ever seeing their feet go off the ground...). So, according to what you are saying about the specificity of the question, I could ask any of my female friends to jump and perform a badminton stroke and it would prove that women can jump? As for the other thread you mentionned, its about WHO can smash, not why they smash that way. And lastly, the picture showed above is a good example of a jump smash performed by Donna Kelogg, although you will probably agree that she rarely uses those (I have quite a few videos of her and I have never seen her perform such a jump).
The OP states that he's watched a lot of videos of ladies playing and none of them jump therefore he's proposing the generalisation ladies don't jump. Although it's less common for ladies to jump than men it's not true to assert that none of them hit 'conventional' jump smashes, hence why I posted a link to the other thread which is a discussion about ladies who jump smash - I thought it'd be a useful reference...guess not! Kellogg does jump a lot when smashing but only goes for the 'big one' (legs tucked up etc.) when she's got a bit more time (e.g. to get fully behind the shuttle) more often seen when she's playing level doubles rather than mixed for obvious reasons. Perhaps a better question is:- "Why is it rare to find ladies who hit a conventional jump smash?" Perhaps more videos need to be found/watched
I agree that the jump smash looses all of its purpose for the women when it comes to mixed doubles. Does Kellog still play WD anymore? (Since Emms retired?) Also, in her last matches I saw that she was wearing ankle protection so maybe that's why she does not jump as much as she used to... I still think that there are only a few women who go for the typical jump smashes (the ones mentionned in this thread and in the other thread posted), a good proportion of women just go for the standard, ground smash even when they have time. It might also be because WS and WD tend to last VERY long, especially in WD where the rallies just never end!
I know women CAN jump... But when you are as tall as XXF for example, you just dont bother to do that, because you don't need to... See the following video at 3:46: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFk9fgKmLvU&feature=related
Why jump? If you can win the game w/out. Jumping don't guarantee a stronger smash, and risk for injury.......!!!!m
it takes a lot of energy and skills to jump. So is due to ego. Ladies are more conservative i guess and for some other reasons.
In my opinion, you don't see women take jump smash opportunities often because, very simply, they aren't trained to do so. Why that is is something for coaching developers to consider. Potential injury is not adequate reason because all players take the same risk when they perform the same shot. I don't believe physiology is an issue because there are male players of varying bodytypes too. Has one considered why there are specialised male and female team coaches?
Actually I had XXF in mind -- no jumping, just like sliding her feet on the court... But she is really tall -- may be she doesnt need to jump
i think that females players can jump.is just that maybe in the early times professional female players did not jump so it has be come sort of stereotyped.THE FEMALE PLAYERS MUST BREAK THE TREND!!!