Fighting spirit is good. That's why I preserve the energy to come back strong the next point. Also missing work because of a badminton injury sucks. I rather play more and stay healthy. I've had a severe ankle injury before and it was no fun doing the rehabilitation and being inactive for also a year...
Generally speaking a dive makes you stick your racquet out as far infront of you to intercept the shuttle as early as possible, so in some cases can even be a better shot if you don't actually need to. I think I would classify my dives as useful but generally when i've made a mistake and you don't want to give up the rally, should be used as a last resort. When you make a judgement error and you can't get to a shuttle quick enough. If anyone wants ideas for training to become used to diving, you need to actually train to get up again after thedive, because a dive 99% of the time does not produce winners and is likely to simply continue the rally and prevent a winning shot from being made by your opponent. I'd suggest some plyometric leap frog push ups ( you can do over cones if you don't want to do it with a partner). It's applicable in the sense that if you dive, you may have the opportunity to hit a smash on the next shot by recovering quickly. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vplirmu5Z0Q
I have done a few dives during regular play but I try not to because it gives me an advantage to my opponent. One time I dive at the net in doubles and just about got it over the net and continued play. Generally I dive mostly in Singles
Wooden floors are not very nice to you when you dive on them I generally avoid it because... well it's only a point and it's not worth my risk to injury. I'm not exactly getting paid to win.
so how do you exactly land when you dive? can you slide on wood? no right...? i feel like if i dive on a wood floor, im not gonna slide and land all on my wrist which might incur in an injury
Don't dive on the green mats. They burn far worse than hard wood. If it's recreational play, don't risk it. Competitions on a big point, maybe. Sometimes you just have to weigh the benefits of making your opponent hit an extra shot to the potential physical injuries you could sustain. Unless you're a pro and have developed the dive technique without getting hurt.
diving is pretty fun, just make sure you're balanced. when ever i need to dive, its not too far from me so i can reach out and still have control. the wonders of being 17
try a few on a grass lawn. have someone feed you the shuttle and you are not supposed step out of your small circle but can dive out to hit the shuttle. let us know how you do after....
watch jung jae sung or lee chong wei just be careful to do it only on smooth matted floor with good cushioning underlay concrete and wood is too hard, and some of those green mat floors are quite rough leading to severe abrasions on the arms and elbows... not worth it for a measly point
From doing it in training and playing against friends.... Only dive when you are out of position, When are you placing the shuttle the best places is near the net because your opponent will still be around the back court recovering from their smash. For advice.... I thinking you should have your arm extended and lean towards the shuttle, I tend to "dive" after this, but make sure you can get back up quickly! have your non-racket arm ready to push you off the ground
