I notice how I open my mouth as I'm going to hit. Might this help me somehow, or is it something I should try to eliminate?
The only issue i can imagine are when a flies want to join the games. You hit & the flies doing an emergency landing to your mouth...... The rest i think it would be fine. I see some people rising his no racket arm with his finger pointing the shuttle when he is about to stroke. Some other use full 5 finger or some others use peace sign 2 finger open up. Just dont smirk with your face when you are about to hit the shuttle. Makes me want to slap your face with my shoes
Just do what's natural to you. If you watch slow motion or close up replays of professionals, they do it too. If your mouth is open it means you can breath and that's good. I'd argue that you should not hold your breath during a stroke and rather try to exhale while hitting the shuttle. I don't know what coaches teach about breathing but I'm under the impression that it's often overlooked (maybe because most people do it right by instinct).
