hi all, i am really annoyed by how some people look down on badminton and think that it is only a simple/easy sport. i live in perth, western australia. and people here look down on badminton (they think australian rules football is the best). the australian anglo-saxons (caucasians) think that is a simple sport that Asians play. they generalize badminton as an Asian sport. yes there is nothing wrong with badminton being an Asian sport but what annoys me is that they think it is easy and thats why asians play it (well, come to think of it, they also look down on asians as a race, they think they themselves are the superior race on earth) i don't suppose they understand the intensity and fitness needed to play badminton on a high level. once a guy said to me "badminton?! all you have to do is stand on one spot and hit the birdie across the net, why do you have to be fit for badminton?" what do you guys think? and don't you just hate people who look down on badminton ?! -luke
Ask them to come with you for some leisure playing I think we all face similar situations. I play roughly each day for he week (not on wednesday, sometimes not of sat/sun-day. everytime people ask me "what are you doing today/this weekend" it's "sports" (dodging the name) "what sport?" "badminton" then they just stare, thinking what to say (mostly negative...) which is generally like "how lame, you spend 20hours a week in a gym for badminton?" I usually just ignore the people...if you can't respect other peoples choices, or think outside your own little box, then you don't deserve my reply...
We get the same sort of thing here. Rugby is the "real sport" here in NZ. I think they're stupid . They judge a sport they have never actually seen played at a professional level (or even club level for that matter!). The way I see it is they can think what they like. It's not my fault they're missing out on such a brilliant sport. Some of the guys I know have actually changed their mind about Badminton though (after seeing me and my doubles partner play). So just show them what it's really about! Challenge them to a game and see how long they last! To be honest before I started playing (I started at about 11), I thought Badminton simply consisted of lobbing the shuttle into the air until someone made a mistake . When I went to my first tournament and saw my first DOWNWARD angled smash , I realised there was a lot more to the sport than I'd thought and soon after I gave up Tennis to start playing Badminton.
I'm wishing I'd saved an article I saw a few years ago on an American woman badminton player. She described paying her way through college by betting big, tough football players that she could beat them in badminton. That sounds like a way to kill two birds with one stone. Silence the snickers and bring home some bacon in one go.
I have similar experience. Most of my freiends also have the experience.It is simply because those who think badminton is a simple game hve not seen professional or even good club level matches.Further,when badminton matches are telecasted a good share of its beauty goes with the wind.What we can do is to change their attitude towards badminton is to invite them for good tournments as viewers.
no offence to the caucasians. i'm not criticizing all "whites", just those who can't appreciate the sport of badminton. its really annoying how they think its really easy to play badminton (like "oh ya, badminton, i can beat you in that" when they don't even play it at all). i suppose its like that in western countries (im not sure about england though, it might be different there, and denmark as well) EDITED: p.s. they also think that its an 'asian' sport and i really feel the racism when they say things like that.
This happened to me and I fell for it. I moved away from Indonesia when I was 11 to Chicago. Back home I was training and playing competitively even at a young age, and gave it all up because I couldn't find a place to play badminton in the States. I remember in gym class the girls would have a month period to play badminton while the guys did basketball. It was seen as a feminine sport by the school I guess, which angered me a lot. Fast forward 7 years I'm in Guelph, Canada right now and I'm picking up my badminton playing again. And damn, it feels good.
Hi, i am from Brisbane, QLD well all i can say is, SXXT happens the only way is, challenge them "Badminton? Yeah, I can do that" "Okay, Beat me then" ends up 21-1 "Now, just who think its easy now" Most of the time, it works like magic
Alot of people in my school think Badminton is just an easier version of Tennis no matter how much I explain it to them. Though a lot of our school population is asian, most of the school think its an easy sport, people even say "How hard is it to hit it when it takes like 10 seconds to get to you." and it annoys me because they don't know the real badminton.
I get that alot too. When my friend and I were talking about badminton, this guy pops up and says "Badminton? Its so easy, its like tennis in slow motion". So I asked him if he saw my jump smash before. Then my friend said that he probably couldn't see it. During class presentations, some people say they like to play badminton because "its easy", and "it doesn't wear me out that much", so I give them this big speech about how some singles players run up to 6k a game.
Most of my friends, when I take them to see a provincial level tourney for the first time, their jaws hit the floor. What I do, though, is if they are making fun of or just generally ambivalent about badminton I will show them the following link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtXjS_MA_Nw&eurl= or http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lT_ficY8ed4 After that they usually don't say anything, and some even want to come out adn see tournaments!
OMG that's just so typical... and pathetic. Speaking of school though, the year 13 P.E. (physical education, not sure what other countries call it) class at my old school spends a quarter of the year on badminton. Apparently the point of it is to teach the students not to judge a sport until they have tried it. By the end of the assessment they are expected to be able to perform a semi-decent clear, drop, smash, serve (or something like that). I think that is really good for badminton here and I'm very glad it's being done (as where I live there are now very few junior players coming through). And it has such an obvious effect on how the students see the sport. I've even had some of them ask me if they could come to my club (and a couple of them still do - the others I think were scared off when they realised how difficult it was ). I know what you mean, I'm white myself . It's certainly no excuse for their arrogance but like I said, they really do have no idea what badminton is about. The decent ones you will find, will actually admit their mistake. They shouldn't judge the sport anyway I know, but just see how some of these people react when they actually do see the real sport. I can't remember a single person at my school that laughed at me for playing it after they'd seen it themselves .
Some ppl willing to accept the new ideas, for such, some explaination will do the wonder. Some other simply refuse to listen, therefore, they will just talk big and ignore whatever you say. Then, no need to get frustrated, and let them stay in their own "wonder land".
that's why I say american football is a sissy's game...big brute man in PADDING having a go at each other. rugby and aussie rules is still respectable
People have perceptions based on their personal life experiences. We should not blame or swear at people who think that badminton is a "sissy" sport, because they are simply and honestly expressing their perceptions. Everyone is a product of their environment. It will be better not to take offence because they have done nothing wrong. It is then up to us to change their perceptions, by words and deeds. To get angry and curse them and do nothing is not going to correct such wrong perceptions.
I know what you mean, I live in Alberta, Canada, where hockey is king, and lacrosse, golf, and curling are seen as being more "real" sports than badminton I've heard everything, from the person who's never picked up a racquet in their life saying "give me 15 minutes to practice, and I can beat this kid who's played/trained for 2 years, because badminton's just an easy sport" to the girl at the suit store asking me why my legs are so big around (my waist is 32", while each leg is 24") when I tell her it's from playing badminton, the reaction is laughter and "really? you don't need muscles to play badminton!!" I think the best thing is to just laugh it off, we all know what a great and challenging a sport it is, or ask them to watch a higher level game and see what they think. Other than that there's really no point in getting angry about it
I am a big burly bloke so when I say badminton people don't laugh much Actually here I get a lot of interest. The club I run is pretty much full to easily over filled during the dry season. 'Tis good, but a lot of people do denigrate the sport.
yes all those sound familiar, badminton is easy the birdie takes so long to get to you, how is that hard? its slow motion tennis or just for example "what sport do you play?" "badminton." "BADMINTON?!" as if it was against the law of life to play badminton. from now on, when someone puts down badminton, i will just tell them "come to the training tonight and play me, lets see how you go" p.s. badminton is not a sissy sport.
