The basic smash defense

Discussion in 'Techniques / Training' started by Monster, Apr 2, 2010.

  1. Monster

    Monster Regular Member

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    I spoke to a player who trains in the national team recently. He said that when you receive a smash and attempts to defend it by clearing / lifting all the way to the smasher's baseline from where you are standing, say, at your mid court, you would defend / return the smash with only your wrist flick. No arm movement involved. So, if it's a backhand defense, the power comes from the wrist and the thumb becomes the pusher. When it's a forehand defense, the power still comes from only the wrist and the index finger now becomes the pusher.

    I tend to use my wrist + arm. I am now wondering if I am not doing it right.

    What are your thoughts?
     
  2. Badmintan

    Badmintan Regular Member

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    Yes I notice only wrist is involved. For backhand defense, I think the wrist has to pronate and quickly supinate like around 180 degrees. It's like one looping motion.

    Check out the pros.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yy3GinmAgVM&feature=related

    just my observation
     
    #2 Badmintan, Apr 2, 2010
    Last edited: Apr 2, 2010
  3. Gollum

    Gollum Regular Member

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    Pronation and supination are movements of the forearm, not the wrist. This is where most of the power comes from. You also have some wrist movement and a sharp tightening of the grip.

    On defence, it's good to keep the arm swing short; you don't have time for a big wind-up. However, I would not recommend attempting to use only the wrist.
     
    #3 Gollum, Apr 2, 2010
    Last edited: Apr 2, 2010
  4. Jing09

    Jing09 Regular Member

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    I think you still have to use the arm in order to push the bird outward.

    If you only use the wrist, the bird will go straight up to the cieling :p
     
  5. stumblingfeet

    stumblingfeet Regular Member

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    I think that when people say that a shot is "all wrist," they're drawing attention to the difference between a short swing where most of the observed motion occurs in the lower arm (forearm rotation, wrist, fingers) versus a full arm swing where the body and shoulder go through a significant range of motion.

    However, a good short stroke still draws power from the body and shoulder - the difference is that with only a limited amount of time, you're only sending a quick burst of energy down to the arm rather than a full swing. So, it is still important to understand good body and arm position/movement for defense.
     
  6. Monster

    Monster Regular Member

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    Thanks, I feel comfortable now with my wrist + arm defense.
     

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