Hey folks, I just wanted to debate why a person should start to play badminton. I know you all would recommend it - but why? Reasons FOR: - improvement is visible very quickly after begin - compared to other hobbies - cheap - many places where you can play AGAINST: - needs a lot of time - necessitates patience to manage sth Do you know any more arguments and proves for my reasons?
As for the cheap point, it may be cheap to get in to but for most people on BCF, I don't think it's cheap now. You'll need to put a lot of time in but the rewards you will get out of it are, in my opinion at least, worth every second you put in.
Badminton is not cheap if you are comparing it to other sports like basketball, tennis that you can literally play for free. Though it is not as expensive as paintball or golf, birdie and gym cost sure add up. I just recently plop almost a grand for gym membership (me + my partner). My main reason for playing is to keep in good shape. Time fly by quickly when you are having fun playing. I can play for three hours straight but I can't stand 30mins on the treadmill.
Why -> easy to start playing to stop and start again a few years later, fitness - lose some weight [fat or thin, mostly any age], smashing the bird [vent the aggression], socialising -friendship, playing people of every age of every background, improving your own ability, meet other badminton players online and in the real world, badmintoncentral fantastic resource - from novice to professional. Why Not -> expensive sports hall, crowded courts, overly competative players, lack of players in your area, long term injuries - bad knees-elbows, inconvenient booking times, unfriendly league clubs wanting skilled players only to join their ranks, expensive ill-suited racquets, singles can be too cagey and too energetic, doubles needs 4 players - reliant on others - can't play by yourself! Burnout, stagnant improvement. Thats some that applies to me
I started playing because I kept getting rolled over by big white guys playing soccer as a wee little asian 14 year old. I've continued to play simply because I love the sport. It's a money sink, but compared to other money sinks, I'd much prefer badminton hard to say why to recommend it. I think everything is explained when you strike the shuttle
good family sport.... elders that keep their game up can still make a challenge for younger players even with talent of their own. like all extra curriculars the more time and seriousness you put into it... the more money. It's a great sport because there's always room for improvement ... or it just takes a very gradual pace to improve your game... experienced players can be spotted out just like beginners and intermediates very easily. Great game to make progress over time... i'd like to think it would take a longer time to learn and improve in badminton than it would to learn and improve at the shooting range or even fly fishing.
Sports maybe, but compared to other hobbies (the specific word ballaballa used) I'd say it's relatively cheap. I used to regularly play Magic the gathering (card game), drafting 1-3 times a week. At $15-45 a week not including money spent for decks outside of that It was coming close to $2-3k a year. The sad thing is that's prolly a pretty low budget compared to other people at the shop I played at. @ballaballa: Not sure I agree about the patience/ time factor as a con. I personally need a game that I can sink hours into on and off the court. Don't think it'd be very fun if it were easy to pick up >.>
