Wrong grip for 30 years. Too late to re learn?

S

Sams mom

New Member
Hi
Apologies if this is in the wrong area ? I am new to the forum.
Feel like a bit of an idiot posting this question to be honest , as I guess its asking something difficult to answer , ( and embarrassing) .

I have been playing badminton sice the age of 10 ( now 46) , and a lot more for the last year or so , ( 5 nights a week) . I love it !
I am just not seeming to improve much . And the reason being , ( i guess) , is that I have held the racquet incorrectly since the day i started playing :-( . Without realising it of course.

No one ever pointed it out to me that I was holding the raquet wrongly and I have used the pan handled grip from day dot . I have kinda got by with it , but now I am trying to play at a much higher standard, with much better players than me and I have of course stopped improving and become disheartened.

My wrist doesn't form the V where it should , and the group coach calls it a pan handled grip

Everytime i try to change, I just revert back to my incorrect grip. I have even tried glueing lumps on my raquet handle to make me hold it correctly, just to get familiar with the feel of it , but as soon as i lose those bumper grips i have stuck on , to play properly , i revert back to the wrong grip.

Any hope for me ? :-(
 
Yes. But you have to realise some things.

Learning new things need some special techniques when you are older. People can learn musical instruments and languages when older. Sport is no different.

Playing too many games at a higher level is definitely not going to help at this stage. It is a gradual process.

Panhandle is used for quite a lot of shots: forehand netshot pushes, deep backhand overhead, low backhand shots near the net.

You need a coach who is very technically clear and willing to feed hundreds of shuttles (some will talk too much).

Group coaching will get you nowhere.

A one on one coaching session of two to three times a week is necessary to break old habits and retrain muscle memory.

These new movements you also have to practice at home.

You may need to change footwork patterns and work on footwork as the whole thing is connected to your body positioning.

The coach can help you but you must desire to break out of your comfort zone.

Expect your gameplay will go down temporarily during the early retraining phase. This is natural and can be embarassing. Remember you are going for the greater good (raising your potential ceiling level).
 
As Cheung said, but I think it'll take more work and effort than a complete beginner because you'll have bad habits to break.

Depends on your desire and how motivated you are, because you will play worse for many weeks before you will play better. Because pan handling also means you have to also learn pronation.
 
Hi there,

I have some tips and tricks for you. Relearning your grip isn't an easy thing to do, but lucky you'll still have coordination and it'll just be learning the technique involved. Still it'll likely take some time.

What you might want to consider doing is buying yourself a toweling grip. Only apply the toweling grip where your hand should be. Usually this means a small area fully gripped at the bottom of the handle, and a little bit going up towards the cone for your index finger to press against. This is completely tactile feedback. You'll very easily be able to identify just on feeling if you're holding the racket well.

As Cheung and visor have said, to start with it'll be frustrating and you'll be tempted to switch back. This happened to me a lot when I retrained from my right hand to my left hand. You must refrain from doing so unless you do it consciously. I find that sometimes when I was at a loss for how to perform a technique I'd switch back to see how I was doing it before, so I could identify any mistakes (i.e. if your smash isn't going downwards after changing grip you might ask 'how did I do this before?').

If you have a coach available, then you only really need to do one drill to learn to change your grip. 10 solid minutes of clearing end to end each session, do it as a warm up exercise, get your coach to watch you and shout at you if you revert back. Once you have that grip down you'll be able to convert it to smashes and drops with small tweaks that you'll probably understand to a reasonable degree from your previous play anyway (angle, slowing down the wrist movement etc).

I wish you the best of luck!
 
Thank you so , so , so much for your replies and advice . :-)

I really appreciate it.

I will do everything you have suggested.

Thank you for taking the time out of your day and helping me :-)

Bless you :-) x
 
Charlie-SWUK said:
Hi there,

I have some tips and tricks for you. Relearning your grip isn't an easy thing to do, but lucky you'll still have coordination and it'll just be learning the technique involved. Still it'll likely take some time.

What you might want to consider doing is buying yourself a toweling grip. Only apply the toweling grip where your hand should be. Usually this means a small area fully gripped at the bottom of the handle, and a little bit going up towards the cone for your index finger to press against. This is completely tactile feedback. You'll very easily be able to identify just on feeling if you're holding the racket well.

As Cheung and visor have said, to start with it'll be frustrating and you'll be tempted to switch back. This happened to me a lot when I retrained from my right hand to my left hand. You must refrain from doing so unless you do it consciously. I find that sometimes when I was at a loss for how to perform a technique I'd switch back to see how I was doing it before, so I could identify any mistakes (i.e. if your smash isn't going downwards after changing grip you might ask 'how did I do this before?').

If you have a coach available, then you only really need to do one drill to learn to change your grip. 10 solid minutes of clearing end to end each session, do it as a warm up exercise, get your coach to watch you and shout at you if you revert back. Once you have that grip down you'll be able to convert it to smashes and drops with small tweaks that you'll probably understand to a reasonable degree from your previous play anyway (angle, slowing down the wrist movement etc).

I wish you the best of luck!
Click to expand...


You can play with either hands?
 
Hi...
No , not really . I am predominantly right handed. Ironically when i do try to play with my left hand , i do naturally hold the raquet correctly !

How i managed to learn wrongly as a child i dont know . Its annoying !

I have tried to find some one to one coaching . Struggling at the moment , but have sent some messages out in our area to find a coach
 
lurker said:
You can play with either hands?
Click to expand...
Yes, reasonably proficiently. Each hand is stronger at different shots.

My right has a better backhand smash, where my left has a better backhand clear/drop.

My right has a stronger clear, where my left has more accurate drops.

My right has better defence, where my left has more accurate spinning net shots.

@Sams mom
Even if you can't find a coach, try what I said. 10 minutes of forehand clears before your session starts, really focus on the grip and making sure you're hitting well.
 
Charlie-SWUK said:
Yes, reasonably proficiently. Each hand is stronger at different shots.

My right has a better backhand smash, where my left has a better backhand clear/drop.

My right has a stronger clear, where my left has more accurate drops.

My right has better defence, where my left has more accurate spinning net shots.

@Sams mom
Even if you can't find a coach, try what I said. 10 minutes of forehand clears before your session starts, really focus on the grip and making sure you're hitting well.
Click to expand...

sorry for the OT Sams mom

Charlie, will changing your racket arm changes the foot drag as well? Hahaaha!
 
Just some learning principles to bear in mind:

"It is hard to improve if one does not let go of one's pride."

"If you are not willing to accept failure, how can you win?"
 
It'll feel like 4 steps backward, 1 step forward initially, but it will be worth it in the long run. Be persistent.
 
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