Read this book in order to control yourself during competive situations. The Inner Game of Tennis by W.Timothy Gallwey Found: http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos...4458/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_26_1/026-8067666-1655606
my weakness As age grows, Stamina is a problem. have to huff and puff to grab oxygen. Finding excuses to take a break and slow a game. Beginning to play like running on the moon. (Slow motion)....
1. Backhand clears. My backhand clear is more or less non-existant at the momment. Usually I try and make up for it by getting to the backhand corner faster and hitting it forehand or around the head, but I still want a good backhand clear to deal with situations. 2. Around the head clears/smashes. Theyre.... shall we say... passable. They're relatively okay, but they tend to angle into drives. 3. Mental toughness vs. superior opponents who i've previously seen play or have played. It's not that i'm conciously intimdated-- in fact, I feel no different from playing total strangers. But I've noticed that I just make more errors against players that I KNOW are a lot better than me (from having previously played them or watched them.) And by errors, I mean missing easy shots and such. (the situations i'm talking about have nothing to do with pure offensive power on their part.) For some reason, I do relatively better against total strangers, than I do against people who I already 'know''. When I play against pros that i know, I hold the racket more tensely, move more tensely, etc... and I don't stop doing that until i notice and conciously tell myself to relax. I tend to miss opportunities to capitalize on their errors, that in a normal situation, i wouldn't.
Hehe, i'm not familiar with some of you folks in here, but looks like a lot of the regulars who contribute a lot in this forum or "advanced players"(ie. Kwun, Winex West Can, Cheung to name a few) didn't post in here yet. Am i reading there aren't weaknesses with you guys folks??hehe...(j/k)..
ohho! being fat isn't a weakness . it's the inability to control the incessant urge of stuffing oneself with food . i suffer that weakness as well. the key word, is to RESIST, RESIST, RESIST. nowadays all i have to do is imagine myself the size of a sumo w. to stop myself from overeating.
Either they're totally invincible or have too much weaknesses to list. It's like telling a beautiful woman that she's beautiful and yet she still ask you whether she's fat or not.
My Weaknesses 1.Not moving around the court 2.Short arm 3.Didn't do a full swing 4.Eyes not on the shuttlecock 5.Poor shots
very poor netplay shuttle always too high, not much power for clears and smash, more work on technique and footwork, no backhand.......it goes on...:crying:
Here's one specific weakness of mine; one of many! I have become accustomed to hitting the shuttle above my head (shoulder), rather than out in front of me, for overhead shots. For clears and drops, this is quite pronounced - often I actually hit the shuttle when it's already behind me! For smashes I am a little better, but I still don't move far enough behind the shuttle. The reason for this is lazy footwork, and a misguided belief that drops and clears are better hit directly above the head (shoulder), rather than in front. Last Saturday I went to a coaching session with Lee Jae Bok. He emphasised the importance of hitting ALL shots in front of your body, whether high or low. Hitting level with or behind the body is a desperation shot; if you can possibly hit the shuttle in front, then do. Lee demonstrated that, contrary to what people like me have been taught, you can hit clears from in front of your body. He demonstrated an astonishing three-shot deception: first wind up for a big smash, then slow down as if for a drop, then finally flick the forearm for an attacking clear. Of course, it's very difficult - perhaps impossible - to hit a high defensive clear from out in front of you. But then, if you do have the time to get behind the shuttle, why would you want to hit a defensive clear? You should exploit your good position to hit a more aggressive shot, rather than a neutral one.
thanks Gollum for the tip,I think it is true that if u were to play a shot from behind your body, the return will not be as powerful, By the way just out of curiosty,does your back ache after a hard game? Mine does especially if i do a lot of jump smashes,anyway i am 44, i guess age is catching up with me.I have been playing for the past 20 years.recently i slow down on the smashing part unless i am absoluely sure that i can make a kill,need to use trickery, like deceptive drop shots or moving my opponent around the court. I have tried playing single with a 26 year school champion,if i smash and my opponent can make a good drop shot,i can come to the front to cover but before i can return the shuttle,the shuttle would have touched the floor of the court,that'e the reason i can only play doubles,i do hope that my partner can cover the front for me. :crying:
Here's a few other things that Lee demonstrated/explained: Grips: Lee's forehand grip for overheads is different to mine. He has a slight rotation towards panhandle (only slight). My forehand grip is close to what Lee calls a neutral grip. Lee uses 3 different forehand and 3 different backhand grips, depending on whether the shuttle is in front, level, or behind the body. I will update my grip guide (on this site) when I have a better understanding. Bounce start (split drop): you must wait until after your opponent hits the shuttle. Almost everyone in the group (me included) does the bounce too early. We are too eager; you have to see the direction of the shuttle first, or the bounce start is useless. Smash return posture: low, racket out straight in front of your body with a neutral grip. Don't commit to either forehand or backhand; that is gambling. Grip when smashing: do you loosen the grip, letting the racket head lean back, before tightening it to snap the head forward? This is what I do. Lee says that this reduces power; the smash grip should be tight. Similarly, don't let the racket lean back softly in the fingers for a net kill: the grip should be quite tight. Cross-court net shots: Lee demonstrated a three-part deception, where you reach out as if to do a tight netshot, then lower the racket as if for a lift, and finally hit a cross-court netshot. I wasn't so impressed with this one, since it involves hitting the shuttle from further below the net. I prefer the technique demonstrated by Peter Gade on his website (though Gade's method only works for forehands). The most important thing I learned was the different throwing action for forehand overheads. Here are a few points to describe it; there are three stages: Stage 1 Draw back your elbow. Make sure your racket face is pointing forwards. Practise without a racket: pretend your palm is your racket face. It should point directly forwards, not turned out to the side. You should be looking forwards; you should not turn your shoulders too much, or you will look out to the side. Make sure your non-racket arm does not interrupt your view of the court. Stage 2 Bring your elbow forwards by rotating your shoulders. Do not uncoil your arm! The elbow remains bent throughout this movement. It should go from pointing backwards and slightly down, to forwards and slightly up. The racket is now trailing behind your back, with the head pointing downwards. This should happen naturally if your elbow is pointing forwards and up. This stage is the one that everybody forgets. People (like me) typically pass from stage 1 directly to stage 3. Stage 2 is crucial! Stage 3 Uncoil your arm from the elbow. You should find that pronation is more natural from this position. You are hitting the shuttle overhead, but also in front of the body.
Everyone I have come across that has coaching and has done a LJB course says the same thing about the split and jump motion, he does his totaly differently to what is normally coached practice in the UK.
