Is it really a physically demanding racquet? Or is that what people say and then it goes around more and more? Or have people’s expectations of themselves decreased. ‘Physically demanding’ but 15-16 years ago, the world championships were won with 2U racquets. Everyone was using 2U and nobody was saying a racquet was ‘physically demanding’. Extra stiff shaft racquet? My daughter and her friend are using a 4U ZF2, 3U AX88 and clearing full length - they are ten years old. Could they do better with more flexible racquets? Possibly. Could they do better with learning better techniques? Definitely much better. I think changing a racquet is way down on the list of priorities. Changing a racquet might improve one area of a game but other areas might get worse. Acceptable for some people though.
Yes. That is just the different approach we have to problem solving. I would : Look at my starting body position Check my bounce Check my footwork placement Check my footwork timing Check if I am under the shuttle where it would fall around my right shoulder area. Make sure I am not too far to the side or to the middle. When I move to the dropshot, I have to keep low centre of gravity Am I making too big steps making me off balance? Did I raise my racquet early enough? Is my grip correct? Am I going up into the shuttle with my stroke? Is my swing too big? Etc. I agree, changing a racquet would be easier. Different approach.
Pls don't missunderstand me, I'm completely with you. Your approach is the right way to solve the problem and I do not mean, that an other racket should be the solution to technical issues.. I just mean, that an other racket could help me to highlight the problems I have, to identify them. This is not my opinion, this is more a question out of curiosity, if coaches would sugguest this to help a player to see the issues he has. Eg a very flexible racket could disguise the issues I have in my technique when executing a clear. Changing to a more stiff one could highlight these issue, even when I switch back to the more flexible racket later on, so that I'm able to conserve my energy in a 3-set game. But you need to find a way to play a clear with the stiff racket by improving your technique, which helps you with the other racket too.
Let's consider it the other way around: (I stop spamming the thread after that post) say I currently use a 3U medium flex neutral balance racket, should I switch to a rigid racket to learn how to get better technique / maximize the efficiency of my training sessions? (ie in a way the medium flex racket compensate my lack of abilities and technique by somehow making it "easier" to complete the drills successfully)
Major milestone this weekend with a local London tournament win for the MS C category! I've entered this in past years and have made the QFs previously. Standard is probably 0.5-1 level lower than a senior copper (tier 4) BadmintonEngland tournament. A combination of improvement and having a slightly weaker field this year - in previous years, similar standard players (or stronger) would be in group stages, whereas this year they were confined to the QFs and above. Video was taken by tournament organisers so I'll link that over when it is available
Hey man, the progression you have made is so fast. You have such great insight into your own game as well, which I think contributes a lot to your progression. I think I am around the same level as you and I can see from your last video we have the same problem when it comes to moving forward for the drop and you expect a smash. I usually face this problem when I start getting tired and start losing focus. This results in me split stepping too early and too wide because I expect a smash. For whatever reason it is, you are definitely split stepping too early and not staggered enough. Watch yourself in a video player that can step through frame-by-frame. Some drills that help me with this problem is get someone to drive at the net while you play defense and have them randomly throw in a drop. 3 v 1 will help you as well, since you are constantly under pressure from attacks. Another thing I find is that you can improve your strategy by just playing lower and faster clears/lifts. A lot of the time you get there early but play a high lift. My coach tells me to play low and fast to gauge how fast they are at the beginning. Once you figure out how low of a clear they can punish on both sides, you can easily pressure them with just clears and drops. Im gonna be uploading a video soon, hopefully you can watch it and give your feedback as well.
The main way to win points is by attacking, but you don't try to get the attack. You keep lifting and letting the opponent attack. Work on your front court skills more I would say is the biggest issue with your game.
It depends on what you mean by attacking. 1) Attacking is getting a lift and being able to play overhead rearcourt strokes, typically smashing, challenging his reaction time by playing fast/hard strokes. Fully disagree, this is where @Cheung is coming from. 2) Attacking is pressuring your opponent and not giving him enough time, whether that is by attacking clears (flatter game), by challenging his movement (might be high clears/lifts right into the corners), or by smashing/playing fast stroke. This definition I can agree with. Watch my games a couple years ago - I did enough of (1), going so far as to play the RTH crosscourt smash whilst jumping backwards (still do it occasionally, it's a hard habit to break completely). I went through a phase early this year where I then developed a more defensive style. Too defensive in fact - a few comments noted I lift WAY too high, giving my opponent way too much time. No longer was I playing a game, I was subjecting my opponent to a training drill and was relying on them to make completely unforced errors. I'm now in the mindset of trying to find a balance between pressuring my opponent (using all of speed/power/deception) and protecting my half of the court adequately. It also varies on the opponent - some people are more vulnerable to the really flat lifts/punch clears and others are much weaker to higher lifts/standard clears that force them into the rear tramlines before moving forward. These are aspects I'm coming to appreciate. Right now, there are two priorities that could be said to map into your idea of "get the attack". The first is improving my forecourt movement and finger power in order to play flatter lifts/pushes/drives/nets - all completely valid ways to attack your opponent in singles without smashing. Second, to get into a balanced position with a high elbow in the rearcourt, allowing me to smash/stick smash if I want to intercept early, or to play clears/drops under pressure. Right now my lack of finger power forces me to lift higher and also removes my ability to play nets against faster players, because my movement is too long and predictable. My low elbow in the rearcourt is making it hard to play downwards strokes (drops or smashes) with consistency, particularly under pressure and it also seems to be unbalancing me. The worst result is that instead of initiating a stroke my elbow up and swinging through forwards/downwards, I initiate the swing with my elbow low, which necessarily needs to rise to hit the shuttle at a high contact point, leading to strokes going (very) high - smashes go flat, clears go high, drops float over. It seems to have the hallmarks of a low contact point, but I've videoed my arm in slo-mo and it is quite straight on contact - same effect, different cause. To be in a strong position to be able to smash, but not necessarily smashing is the dream
That's a good idea for the defensive drill. I do it with my training partner playing drives (as I defend to the sidelines), but I never considered getting them to purposely throw in a drop shot! The anticipation/early split step is a really difficult problem. I'm working with my coach to find ways of fixing this - my coach always tells me I have the foot speed, so I just need to wait for the shuttle. He has been doing some drills recently where he plays overhead feeds with a mix of sliced drops, slow drops, and smashes, and he has me really focus on the shuttlecock, rather than his racquet. It takes some serious concentration to ignore his body/racquet movement and even with the coaching cue, I am still being deceived 70-80% by his reverse slices etc. in a training scenario. However, the 20-30% really does show me how much faster I can retrieve by waiting and watching...generally the difference is playing a stroke just above net height, and playing one 20cm from the floor. Same base position, same feed, completely different outcome. Quite remarkable.
While I agree with not anticipating too much it is funny because my coach actually made me do the exact opposite exercise. He was standing on a chair feeding various shuttles and told me to watch the hand/body/racket instead of the shuttle. It was still very hard to predict anything but anyway just wanted to share that while it is important to not anticipate too much looking at the body movement of the opponent feels like a good thing
2 (movement pressure) is a way to get the chance to smash or attack, but it's not a way to actually win points. Anyways, you both are misconstruing what I said. I didn't say you need to work on your rear court, at least not right now. I said you need to work on your setup which is mainly the front court skills.
I did pick up your point - I deliberately expanded for the benefit of others who may not have picked up the difference in 'attack': What would you recommend for training in the short term to be stronger in the forecourt besides improving finger power to improve touch/deception around the net, and what @Poochy suggested on anti-deception for forecourt retrieval? Or would you say my issue is more tactical and I need to position my base closer to the front, and really fight for the net?
No, I think if you position yourself closer to the net it will be worse for you because the people your playing against don't have good net skills, so they tend to push everything instead. I suggest that you work on your technique and touch at the net. For example, when you return a drop, your net is very high and loose (not necessarily bad, but in your case it is). You also don't know how to spin the shuttle, or you know how but never do it. And your lifts/pushes don't pressure the opponent and put you in a bad position. I don't know what your current training is like, but I think if you took 30 minutes out of each session to practice at the net, you will see big improvement. The split step problems people pointed out do exist, but I think that is more a consequence of not pressuring your opponent, and letting them easily attack you. Once you don't let them attack so easily, then that issue will resolve somewhat. You will still need to improve your physical ability and rhythm, but you will have a much easier time defending once you improve at the net.
I believe @asadafgs has a point for sure. Your net game could use improvement, especially when it comes to holds. The thing is when it comes to good net play in singles, it is all about how quick you are to the bird and how high you can play it. You definitely could be lunging more and committing more to the net play. Sometimes it just looks like you're taking a big step instead of lunging. It does, I think, stem from your very square split step. If you look at Momota, when he expects a smash and his opponent drops, he makes an adjustment step usually where he aligns his feet in the direction he's going to move and then either lunges or shuffle then lunge so he can still produce a good shot. Except when it is super tight then you have to commit to running as fast as you can and lift it up. You can watch your game and look at how you are bending your back to get a lot of nets when you should be reaching with your legs and have an upright and balanced torso. When it comes to the racket technique, just taking it higher and let your wrist stay higher or even with your racket.
Did some more work on split step/anti-deception training today. First was the classic watch the shuttle and move to retrieve a thrown net shot. Next one was to play a clear, then do the same thing. I could just about keep up with the first drill, but the second showed the massive problem with my early split step. It seems my rhythm on split step is tied to my recovery, and I don't have the ability to lengthen it - it seems my brain feels the loss of 'momentum' and tells me I MUST move, so I grab onto any information (body/racquet movement) leading to me being deceived when the shuttle eventually moves the opposite way. My coach has referred to me having the speed, but lacking the explosiveness, even though he believes I am capable. He says I need to deliberately slow down my split step and as a result, the multishuttle feeds have actually slowed down - he expects me to execute a drilled movement at full speed (explosively), but he will only feed the next shuttle after I have recovered into a split step, rather than timing it with my split step to purposely force me to wait. The difference is noticeable on forecourt retrieval when done right - better balance, and ability to play a greater range of net shots, including cross nets taken early. The high elbow is causing me some real timing issues and I'm really struggling to get the feel of my racquet head and the shuttle. Lots of outright mishits, shots going straight into the floor, shots going into the net, and lots of slicing. I'll persist with it - coach seems positive and based on the my posture, he believes I should have access to a greater range of strokes once I get the feel back and can use my fingers/wrist...for now I need to get rid of the bad habit as my elbow drops particularly far when forced to the rear tramline and/or with a higher feed.
I used to be much more confident at the net, and it used to be a strength relative to the rest of my game. However, my rearcourt play was worse before, so I almost depended on the net play. I have probably gone too far the other way and don't try hard enough at the net, even when an opportunity presents itself. Certainly my net shots are much looser than they used to be. Regarding tumbling nets - it's a strange one, I practise them and train them including smash + net combos etc., but I never seem to be in a position that feels right to play a tumble during a game. Or there is another shot that I'd prefer to use another shot much more than a tumble. Can you point at a few spots in my recent games where you think I could have, or even better - should have, played a tumbling net? I'm not sure if you'll find any places where I am in the right position but choose not to, but it would be helpful even if you can identify places where my footwork should have been different to allow me a tumbling net option.
