This is embarrassing, but it seems that I need help with that technique: http://www.badmintoncentral.com/for...the-outside-of-the-frame.176618/#post-2641711
My coach likes to tell me my "racket cries" when I scoop up shuttles due to my inelegant technique. So nowadays I try to think of it as a gentle kiss on a sleeping babies forehead and it's improved a little. I've never broken strings on the outside of my racket, but I do have all sorts of breaks in the shellac of my racket at the exact point where I pick up birdies. My newer rackets don't have that, so I think my mental trick is working.
Really just a matter of “practicing” it. Took me a few months before I actually do it... : ) It will come.
These are pictures of the first racket (nano ray 10) and the new astrox 77 that I mentioned in the other post: https://ibb.co/nQVZo8 https://ibb.co/by0Zo8 You can see what I mean (in the other post) by hole pattern that causes the string to protrude, overlap, and be exposed. The 77 is a new racket that I got last week. The photo is not sharp enough to show the frayed string, but you can probably see the chips. Half of them were made two days ago, after I was already aware of the problem and tried to be careful and gentle. Yesterday, I asked around what people do, and I watched how people pick the shuttle. Most were less gentle than me, no one ever broke the string on the outside, or had such bad chips. I think this is simply low quality paint in the 77. But I care more about the string, which is costly to replace. I think it also depends on the floor type. There's a difference between a polished parquet and a sand-paper-like coating. I'll try to improve my technique even more (the video above makes it look misleadingly easy) or simply pick the shuttle by hand.
You need to pay attention to what kind of scraping people do. Alot of people with poor technique scrape the bottom side of the racquet frame as they're trying to literally push the racquet under the shuttle. In this case they would only scrape the paint but not damage the strings. On the other hand, if you have the frame perpendicular to the floor so that the protruded string area is touching the floor and you scrape in a rough manner to scoop then you would fray the strings and probably break it at some point. This is a bit of an odd case because most people I've seen that do it in a rough way they are trying to push the racquet under the shuttle and this won't damage the strings, and if someone puts their frame perpendicular to the floor next to the shuttle they already know how to "lift" the shuttle off the ground without scraping. You're probably in between
I usually line up the racket and birdie(feather/skirt face away from me) before doing the scooping action, since there is more contact area, chance of success is higher instead scooping from any other orientation. Other than that, practice make perfect.
Damn, broke the string as expected, and this was after I was trying to be careful. It broke on the outside of the frame during a smash. What was it less than two weeks? Such a bad design Brittle string? yonex bg66 ultimax (gauge 0.65mm) tension 20lbs. At least now I know what causes the weakness and to be extra careful. I got two more tips: 1. Hold the racket with two fingers as not to apply to much force. 2. Try to come at an angle, racket facing up (supination as said already, but I didn't get it the first time), and slow down after the scooping so it won't fly away. By the way, did you notice in the tutorial video in the second post how badly her racket is chipped in the place where she scoops the shuttle (near the middle side)?
You may be joking, but that's one of the tips that I got: Don't pick the shuttle too often with the racket. And I'm like, what's not too often, twice a week, every other shot, 10 times a game? I prefer to learn the technique. But maybe it's more than that; what if I'm not picking the shuttle, but throw it instead to the opponent or my partner? Then, it's a different pick up technique altogether. Sometimes I'm even using backhand to push the shuttle.
There's no difference to picking up the shuttle vs throwing it to someone, neither is there a difference with using backhand to flick it off the floor. All types involve moving the shuttle off the ground with your racquet. Tbh, I don't agree that the racquet head should be facing up. If you have it sideways so that its perpendicular to the floor, with the strings facing the side of the shuttle, then you can actually scoop it without scraping along the floor. Having your racquet facing up means you have to push the racquet underneath the shuttle, which of course will scrape the frame. You should not be breaking 66um at 20lbs from scooping.. do you have lots of scratches on the frame where you scoop? That would be a clear indication of scooping incorrectly.
Yes, I mentioned and showed photos of scratches, chips, and frayed string on a less than two weeks old racket.
Oh right.. I forgot about that. Well the point about the technique is the main thing I was trying to explain.
I think I got it. It's the same technique that I always used, only that I shouldn't do a one sweep motion, but be more careful, placing the racket near the shuttle and not scraping the floor. Moreover, supination ensures that the string isn't harmed.
