Help with Stroke Please!!

The only problem is that this bad habit of yours is compensated by the fact that you're quite muscular that you can force your power with physicality. If you're truly ardent in breaking this muscle memory to go to the next level, you're going to have be 110% committed to it and accept that you'll be going 2 steps back before taking 1 step forward past this plateau. That also means no games until you get this right, unfortunately...

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I would advise to keep it on your racket until you always hit it with the right grip. It's far too easy to slide back, sometimes without even noticing. Until the bad habit is completely dead, anytime you slide back it cancels all the progress. You need to get to a point where the right grip feels like it's the default, like it's the most natural feeling in the world, and hitting with the wrong grip feels off, like you're straining to hit it that way. Like @visor said, this takes full commitment. And it also takes priority over other improvements.

 

Unfortunately if you're dead serious about breaking this improper habit, you'll need to do drills only for some sessions until it becomes the new normal for you.

Or if you can't, then when you play games you'll have to accept some lost points as your main goal during the games is to be constantly mindful of your grip and correct your stroke.

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It's a bit of a tragedy of badminton that innocent experimentation of beginners is detrimental to their eventual development should they choose to pursue it. Most people are unlikely to knock on the door of some big club with the interest of learning to play badminton. More likely, they wish to first find out for themselves if they even like it, or they want to have at least a little experience before joining a 'proper' club. So they'll get a court somewhere with a friend and start playing. Or they join a local group that doesn't always have a good coach. When they finally want to improve more and start to look around for coaching or a more established club, the damage is already done.

That's also why it's so easy to tell apart players who learned to play in their youth vs players who learned as adults. Regardless of the level of the player, the swing of players that learned as children will look far more natural. Partly because kids are more likely to be taught by coaches from the start, and partly I think because kids cannot compensate for suboptimal technique with muscle power. My dad learned badminton at 20, and while an effective player in his time, his overhead swing is rough. In hindsight that could also be part of the reason why the power in his shots decreased dramatically a few years ago, because it was always more from strength than technique.

 

Don't despair. It is possible. But it requires a commitment few people can muster. That's why we're so insistent about prioritising it and doing everything you can. The past few pages could seem like we're bullying you about doing it properly, but really, I think we are so insistent, because it really does take everything.

This isn't something to try out during a warmup, or do it one session, and then having a session off, and then focus on it again. It needs to be your sole focus.

The forum undoubtedly has helped you with your game, but it might be time to get a coach and instruct him that your only priority is fixing your grip. You need to have an extended period of time with continuous instant feedback i.e. someone tells you exactly when your grip is wrong immediately when you hit one wrong shot. Even if it means skipping clubnights. It is better to not play, than it is to play in a situation where your grip is allowed to go unsupervised. Without these extreme measures, it is too easy to slip back without even realising. And unfortunately, the forum can't provide this. When you go a session where the coach is not correcting you, you know your grip is fixed. And once that happens, it will probably be correct forever after. It might take a few sessions. It might take weeks. Less time between coaching sessions is better, but it could get expensive.

Now it is completely acceptable to be happy where you are and decide that the needed commitment and effort, for an uncertain result, is not worth it, but naturally we want to try and help you improve.