Footwork speed

Hit with your body moving forward. The momentum will help you to recover back to your base position.

 

I can't say for sure without a video, but from your description it sounds like a stability issue to me. My guess is that your footwork isn't actually too slow, it just takes you too long to start moving. That's why your speed is fine when you know where you have to go (shadow exercises) but you're too slow when you have to make unexpected movements. Look for exercises to improve your core strength and try to do them for like 10 minutes every training session. Also try to keep your upper body upright and stable at all times. You could also do one step exercises: Take a relaxed (but stable!!) neutral position, with your knees slightly bend, and go only one step into the different corner and back to your neutral position with the same movement.
Overall, I believe that the points I just mentioned are the key to good, efficient footwork. It might take some time to see improvements, but it is definitely worth it!

 

That's completely true. Often, I've seen other reasons leading to not hitting with a forward momentum though, so while that's the solution, it can be hard to get there.

It starts with the explosive start to the corner. I'm not using the term split step, but explosive start, because it includes a directional split step and a strong push with a low center of gravity.
Keep the center of gravity low.
This will help you to really get behind the shuttle, which is the premise to hitting with a forward momentum.
Then you can hit with a forward momentum, really throwing your upper body in the stroke (leading with your hip). Don't drop your shoulders though, keep your chest up.

Another factor is balance and stability, that's your legs, your core, your footwork technique, .... and you can train all of that.
Some exercises that everybody can do anywhere (this is the main reason I created the channel)

Another factor is your muscles and you can train those. Maximum strength, strength endurance and explosive strength are all important.

There also is a tactical aspect. You do not always want to hit at the highest point possible in singles, when trying to control the rally, you rely on quick recovery that's easier when hitting the shuttle while landing again (see Momota, for example), and in one of his videos, Tobias Wadenka suggested an exercise that might help you:
Play singles without forecourt (to ensure a higher speed), every time one of you hits the shuttle with both feet off the ground, is an immediate point for the opponent.
Variations might be a 2 vs 1 version, a half court version, the same only in midcourt, ...
Before doing that exercise, I suggest to practice neutral shots with quick recovery. I think Tobias has a video on that on his channel as well, just like good videos for footwork (split step, quick recovery, ...), so I just linked his channel.
For neutralization, it might also be useful to not only use the normal rear court footwork, but also learn other, more stable variations that help with quick recovery. If you're interested, have a look at my channel's midcourt footwork video.

Another point worth mentioning when you're going to the next level, is rhythm. That's not (only) about the number of steps to reach a corner or how you recover, but it's about getting the number of steps and timing right to have the last step towards your base position being the next split step. That's hard to teach and practice through videos/written words, but without real time feedback, but the famous Rasmussen Footwork Drill can help...

 

Try these drills:

Drill 1
A. Stand at the baseline holding a shuttle.
B. Try and throw that shuttle across the net.
With a proper momentum (racket foot moving forward followed by body and arm), the shuttle will cross easily.
C. Once you are able to cross it, try drill number 2.

Drill 2
A. Place a few shuttles at the service line in front.
B. From the baseline, move forward to pick the shuttle, then back to the baseline and throw the shuttle across the net.
C. Immediately go forth and pick the 2nd shuttle and repeat the same.

What I am trying to achieve here is to have the body moving forward momentum which will help you go back to your central position automatically.

 

Also, during your shadow, did you really shadow all the way back to the baseline? Sometimes we do cheat and shadow up to the first base, but during games, the shuttle often clears all the way back to the second base =P

 

This is really basic and obvious advice but If I am remembering right (correct me if i'm wrong), you suggested that you have no problem posting a video of yourself online, you just can't film in your sports hall.. Well then why don't you do it / Why haven't you done it without a shuttle and posted the video?

Also, you are asking about increasing your speed when (and surely this is obvious also to you given, among other things, what you have learnt in some threads recently, and your understanding of the importance of good technique and the consequences of bad technique), maybe your technique is completely wrong. Maybe you are not even landing correctly when doing a scissor kick.

You don't have to be a great athlete to move forward quickly after you hit a shuttle.

 

I'm no expert and this is just an idea, though one i've heard before too, it may be that when people do a china jump they aren't that far back. And if very far back it may be better to do a scissors.

 

Is the distance between your legs large enough? Do you land with your racket leg far enough out? Do you keep the distance between your legs while doing the China Jump? Also, there's different ways of recovery footwork. A chasse step right after landing feels fast, but I like to teach to push out your non racket foot first while focusing on keeping the center of gravity low. It's not slower (my experience), it's easier to stay low, thus the next step is faster. Also remember when you hit while landing, it's easier to recover in time. And it's not necessarily true that a stroke with a China Jump doesn't use your hip. It kinda depends on the definition, but everything between a rotating jump (jump smash) and a China Jump exists, Nozomi Okuhara being an example with a lot of rotation. When you have the time, a scissor jump can be done on your forehead side as well.

In my experience, a scissor jump takes more time, but it does have some advantages, so I do suggest to learn to do it on the forehand side as well. I'll just go back to Nozomi Okuhara as an example, because her forehand footwork would allow for a very effective scissor jump, because her chest is turned completely outwards before hitting. I start with this example, because it shows that you can also use that footwork without a scissor jump. I explain it in this video (starting at 2:08 if the timecode link doesn't work):

 

I'll be honest - I wondered this for a long time. Analysed it to the nth degree.

The outcome? Just like the newbie advice everyone tells you - get behind the shuttlecock properly.

You might think 'I must be behind the shuttle, otherwise I wouldn't be able to hit it down', but you almost certainly are not far enough behind the shuttle if you are struggling to recover forward. I came up with all sorts of excuses about why my momentum was wrong and 'my hips this' and 'kinetic chain that', but ultimately, I just wasn't far enough behind the shuttle.

When are are far enough behind the shuttle when you contact the shuttle, it is truly effortless to recover back to the centre. Don't worry about falling forward and having your opponent hit it back over your head, because it's easy enough to just split step and move backwards again. Much faster than being rooted to the spot.

The worst habit that I still have is having all the time in the world, moving explosively to a corner, but not far enough - think of even the singles serve. It's far enough to play a great shot with lots of power, angle, and accuracy, but it is not far enough to get a good recovery back to the centre.

 

When you say the scissor jump takes more time, do you mean getting to the shuttle? or do you mean coming forward after hitting the shuttle?

When you land from a scissor jump you can come forward quickly, if you land (what I understand to be correctly) - back foot then front foot.

Is your view that you consider doing scissor jump or china jump as a choice based on personal preference, rather than certain ones being better for certain scenarios?

Looking at the scissor jump you do in your video wouldn't it be better if you landed back foot then front foot so you can come forward quickly.

From what I understand, a china jump may well be quicker to get to the shuttle and hit it, the idea is you cut it out. You jump you get to the shuttle early.. It's a quick movement. But if you are back in the court, then while a scissor kick won't let you(or might not let you), take the shuttle early, it will let you recover forward quicker because you land back foot then front foot.

If you do the scissor kick landing both feet simultaneously you are planting yourself on the ground somewhat.(as a china jump does), , compared to back foot then front foot.

 

You have to know what is going on in your head. Can you not figure it out by intelligent pondering?

It's your head.

Maybe rather than shadowing you need somebody feeding you the shuttle that you are getting in the game.

 

True, but wrong chain of argumentation. Leaning with your body into the stroke will lead to landing with the back foot first.

It's a video on footwork pattern, not scissor jump technique. I did all of that at a very slow pace, your focus should be on the back foot stepping forward first, not on the landing. From doing what I show in the video, it's easy to get to the next step by involving the upper body actively in the stroke.
It also is more efficient when your legs are relaxed. Telling people to land with the back foot first is not wrong, but can lead to other flaws, because people tend to pull up the front leg to get there. That introduces an upward momentum, leading to slower recovery with less stability. Then some people tell them to push with the back leg, which can lead to a kicking motion with the back leg, again leading to slower recovery.
I'm not completely happy with the video, but it is a video trying to keep it simple enough for people to not focus on what it's not about. It's not about the technique of a scissor jump. I'm thinking about making a video suggesting exercises to build a scissor jump, I'm just not sure if I want to get in that technique thing that much.
I did think about doing all the movements in real speed, I decided against it to not take the focus away from the pattern. Making that video again, I do not know if a I'd change that. If somebody does the footwork that way, it's just one hint away from landing with the back foot first while keeping the legs relaxed while jumping and that's where you want to get for efficient and quick recovery.

It's a video for people who already know the scissor jump, china jump, lunge,.... techniques. It's a video on footwork pattern. That's what I took into account making it.