after recording some club games of myself I've noticed alot of my smashes/overheads end up with my arm in this position at point of contact. I've always felt it was more vertical than this, but I guess not! Am I right to assume this to be completely bad technique and detrimental to my shoulder in the long run? What should I do to correct this already bad habit? Many thanks
Not sure if other people will agree with me, but it looks like your body is not under the shuttle. It looks like you are maybe 5-15cm too far to the left to hit that shuttle as a smash Do your smashes go straight? Or left / right from where you intend to aim at? Would you also mind posting a picture of just your forehand grip? It's a bit blurry. What I mean is just hold the racquet like you would for a drop / clear / smash and show us what it looks like
Hi Dave, Thank you for you input. To answer your questions, yes my smashes do go where I intend them. I do not have access to my racket right now but I can say in confidence that my forehand grip is very much the conventional way many videos and guides suggest (pic attached). here is a short video of an exchange ending in a smash from another angle:
Assuming you are the most right player at the video coz you had same shirt color with the pict on 1st post. You didnt fully utilize full body transfer movement (or what it called... Im completly blank). Your footwork not correct. Your hip didnt follow the movement, so does your shoulder. All power come from your hand to wrist only. For casual play with occasion smashing its fine but fix it would be good to. But serious games with alot of hard smash, it could harm you for sure.
Kinetic chain. -- Badminton insight, tobias wadenka and other channels all have videos on correct smash technique. Start with, the split step (small mini squat) with a stance facing the net, do a few chassé steps in the direction of the shuttle until you get under and a bit behind the shuttle. As you are moving, get the non racquet arm up like you are doing and get the racquet arm ready (elbow to the side, correct grip, somewhere around right angles between elbow joint and also an angle with the wrist and be RELAXED). Plant your non racquet foot in the ground and push with your right hip. At this point, this is where the kinetic chain theory happens. You transfer energy through your feet, lets, "trunk" (torso) and then into your shoulder and wrist in one motion. It's the same motion as throwing a spear or tennis ball. My final tip is to squeeze your thumb and first finger just before you make contact with the shuttle. It gives even more power to the shot. -- From the clip you showed, the shuttle got a decent downwards trajectory and your racquet ended up in the right place, and you used your non racquet arm for balance or pointing at the shuttle well. Try doing what I described in the first part of this message. Exactly as I described. This means you don't want your left foot leaving the ground fully. You're essentially losing loads of power by attempting a jump smash with the worlds tiniest jump. Sorry if I am being harsh, but that it what it looks like. You're losing a lot of power by doing that. Also, you seem to start your swing then move your right leg / hip. That's also a mistake. Give it a try and let us know how it goes. I would be happy to give you face to face advice and practice. I am about 45mins - 1 hr train or drive from London and can PM you specifics if you are interested.
Thank you this is very helpful I'll let you know how I get on. Coming to London won't be necessary thanks for the offer, will maybe need specifics via PM though if I'm struggling, many thanks.
Very clearly lack kinetic chain movement. Get the right hip moving before you start to swing the shuttle
