Anyone using this book?

This "book" seems very questionable, for a number of reasons:
  • There is no author listed or even ever mentioned. Most non-scam badminton books are written by sport scientists, coaches or players, none of whom would have a problem with their name being associated with a book they wrote.
    The domain is registered to Reuben Lau, a Canadian web developer with no significant badminton qualifications I could find.
  • The testimonials are likely fake: None of them mention even first names. The style of language is quite similar overall.
  • Smash secrets is something many beginners would look for, when more advanced players understand that badminton is more complex; an important part of a smash is the footwork. Therefore, most legitimate badminton books cover the whole technique.
  • The first chapter seems to focus on rackets. This is a surprising start. Most actual badminton books don't have more than a small discussion about rackets.
  • Chapter 3 covers jump smash - which seems sensible - but also backhand smash. The technique for a backhand smash is totally different than any forehand shot. This grouping seems rather strange. Most actual badminton books have one chapter for overhead forehand shots (clear/smash/drop) and one for overhand backhand shots (drop/clear/smash).
  • It's self-published, which is not that rare but does not bolster legitimacy.
Without having bought the book, these red flags would prevent me from buying it. Instead, better ask a local coach to do a smash-only session for you.
 
phihag said:
This "book" seems very questionable, for a number of reasons:
  • There is no author listed or even ever mentioned. Most non-scam badminton books are written by sport scientists, coaches or players, none of whom would have a problem with their name being associated with a book they wrote.
    The domain is registered to Reuben Lau, a Canadian web developer with no significant badminton qualifications I could find.
  • The testimonials are likely fake: None of them mention even first names. The style of language is quite similar overall.
  • Smash secrets is something many beginners would look for, when more advanced players understand that badminton is more complex; an important part of a smash is the footwork. Therefore, most legitimate badminton books cover the whole technique.
  • The first chapter seems to focus on rackets. This is a surprising start. Most actual badminton books don't have more than a small discussion about rackets.
  • Chapter 3 covers jump smash - which seems sensible - but also backhand smash. The technique for a backhand smash is totally different than any forehand shot. This grouping seems rather strange. Most actual badminton books have one chapter for overhead forehand shots (clear/smash/drop) and one for overhand backhand shots (drop/clear/smash).
  • It's self-published, which is not that rare but does not bolster legitimacy.
Without having bought the book, these red flags would prevent me from buying it. Instead, better ask a local coach to do a smash-only session for you.
Click to expand...
As always, @phihag's answer is so thorough that there is nothing left to add apart from nodding my head. Save that money and better invest it in something else. A technique-related book that starts with a comparison of (outdated) rackets is reason enough to stop taking it seriously. And anyway, learning certain techniques from a book is IMO only possible, if you have a coaching lessons in parallel in which you can try and discuss the things you have read. Simply reading a book and improve your badminton by that is nothing but a nice illusion.

And -*spoiler alert!*- sadly, there are no secrets behind a good smash technique. It all comes down to developing a decent technique, starting from the correct footwork and positioning, to a fluid movement and engangement of the core muscles and ending with a powerful underarm rotation. You will find a lot of good video clips on Youtube that cover the topic. And for starters, if you want to see probably t h e best smash technique in ultra slow motion, just watch this... and watch it again...


If you like to have someone explaining more theoretically the essential steps, I found the clips from this playlist to be interesting and covering the most important points (just noticed that she's also promising to reveal some "secrets"... :confused:):


And here we have another classic clip that covers the most essential things pretty well:


And as said already, there is nothing that can replace some time spent with a coach, best in a one-on-one situation.
 
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