How to improve your smash !!

There are a number of simple adjustments you can make that will help you increase power and improve your accuracy in the smash, so let’s get started…

Let’s Begin With Your Feet!

Why your feet? Simple. If you haven’t the speed to get behind the shuttle before you hit it, then there is no way you are going to hit a good powerful accurate smash. You need to be behind the shuttle so your bodyweight is ready to move in the direction of your smash. Adding your bodyweight to the smash provides more power.

How far behind the shuttle should you stand? Ideally, you need to be far enough that the shuttle would land slightly ahead of your non racket leg, but in alignment with your racket shoulder.

Exercise 1

You need to test whether you are moving fast enough to get behind the shuttle. Stand on the front service line and ask your feeder to lift the shuttle towards the back line. Now, with your racket in your hand, try to beat the shuttle. But, you mustn’t hit the shuttle! Instead, allow it to hit the floor and note the position it lands in relation to your body.

Where is the shuttle? Is it sufficiently in front of your body that you can hit it down, allowing your bodyweight to move forward? If not, you’ve just discovered one key element you need to improve that will add more power to your smash.

So try again, and this time move faster, going beyond where you would normally stop. Test again. Any better? If so, repeat this exercise until you are comfortable that you’ve got it right.

Finally, test again by moving back and this time hit the shuttle. Work it and it’s likely the first few shots will fall into the net!

Grip

There are so many club and league players I’ve seen that seem to move and hit with excessive tension in their bodies. This tension is caused by pressure getting to the shuttle on time, frustration from wanting to hit the shuttle better or score more points and most likely a host of minor reasons that are causing a major issue.

When the body is tense, it is unable to perform anywhere near its optimum capability. A tense body cannot move as fast, hit as fast or as powerfully as one that is free from tension. Think about it. If you were to go onto court to play against a player you know you can easily beat, why is it your shots are so much better and you appear to move so much faster? Yes, you’re not under pressure and therefore playing with a sense of freedom – freedom from tension.

One of the major adjustments I ask of most players is the way in which they grip their racket. I’m not talking about correct forehand or backhand grips here, although that does feature high on my list.

In this article I’m talking about the strength of your grip. If you grip your racket too tight, then your muscles are constantly under tension. This does not allow them to flow and carry out you instructions to move in a certain way in order to hit the shuttle. They are almost fighting to move in the right sequence.

A tight grip then restricts the amount of power available to these muscles, which only leads to a poor result and disappointment for the player. If you consistently grip the shuttle too tight, then you’re running the risk of injuring your elbow. Tennis or golfers elbow is extremely painful and is frequently caused by your grip being too tight, or your racket grip being too small for the size of your hand.

Exercise 2

Go on court and hit shuttles with a very relaxed grip. Grip the racket firm enough that it won’t slip out of your hand – you don’t want to see the whites of your knuckles or you’re gripping too tight! Play a few overhead shots and the second before your racket connects with the shuttle, squeeze a little tighter.

I expect you’ll find that you’re hitting the shuttle harder as your racket can accelerate quicker towards the shuttle without the tension to apply the brakes.

Your backswing can make all the difference

Looking back over the last 30 years or so, preparation for an overhead shot has changed. This is mainly due to the significant improvements in racket technology. No longer are we playing with steel framed rackets, weighing considerably more than the average 85g in todays rackets. The lightweight, one-piece carbon construction has meant that you can now prepare and hit in a second. There’s no need for a long backswing – an almost tennis-like serve in order to hit an overhead shot in badminton.

What I do see so often is almost a “corkscrew” action whereby the racket is moved with the shoulder turn. So why is this wrong?

Whenever you move a muscle, or series of muscles, they always want to return to a neutral position i.e. go back to where they started from.

A corkscrew action therefore usually creates a reverse action. This means that instead of the racket being thrown in a direct line at the shuttle, it’s almost moving across the path of the shuttle. Catch the shuttle at precisely the right point and you may hit a good smash.

But, this method is extremely unpredictable and inaccurate too.

Exercise 3

Stand in a space with sufficient clearance around you to swing your racket. From a defensive stance, place your non racket hand onto the front of your shoulder to feel the muscles move.

Now, with your non-racket hand still on your shoulder, prepare to hit an overhead and feel which way your arm and shoulder are moving. Got it? Now play the shot and pay attention to the follow through and where your racket finishes.

Do the same exercise again, but this time lift your racket straight over your shoulder as though you are scratching your back. Your elbow should be pointing virtually upright. Can you feel a difference? If you can, that suggests you’re more likely to be using a corkscrew action in your preparation.

If you didn’t feel a difference, turn your shoulders as though you are going to hit the shuttle. Your racket will move to its usual position.

When you throw the racket from here, watch the line of the racket. Is it going out in direct line to where you want to hit the shuttle, or is it falling across your body towards your non-racket leg?

If your racket is going in a straight line then you’ve got great technique and chances are you’re already hitting the shuttle pretty hard. Focus on exercises 1 and 2 to see if you can improve in these areas.

If your racket is somewhere near your non-racket foot, then you may find that you hit stronger and more consistently cross court than you do straight. If you do, then the corkscrew action is a cause. Also, you may find that you pull most of your round-the-head shots out of court.

Quick Summary

OK, we’ve covered some basic ground here, but from what I continue to see in clubs, a huge percentage of players can improve the power of their badminton smashes by improving in one, two or all three of these key areas.

Have some fun testing these exercises out, and hopefully you’ll find the one area where you quickly find a little more focus makes a huge difference in the result of your smash.

For further help watch -

Badminton footwork

Many people neglect badminton footwork because it might not seem important at all.

You might hear some people say “why care about footwork when I can do a 300km/h smash”. Are you thinking that way too?

However I would say that the footwork is THE most important skill you should master. It’s even more important than smashing!

This is because an effective and organised footwork provides superb speed and agility which enables the player to move around the badminton court swiftly and return every shuttlecock. So what if you can do a 300km/h smash when you cannot even reach the shuttlecock in time?

Playing badminton is all about speed. The shuttlecock can move extremely fast and you must move faster than the shuttlecock to be able to hit it.

Effective Movement On the Court

Always remember your base (starting point) will be at the red dot in the middle. The arrows indicates the possible movements around the court.

Every time you move away from your base to hit the shuttle, you MUST QUICKLY return to your base to prepare yourself for your opponent’s shot

For instance, you move to point A to take a shuttle and then stay there. Your opponent then returns the shuttle back to you at point B. You are less likely able to get to point B in time from point A.

Conversely, if you quickly return to your base after hitting the shuttle at point A, you will definitely be able to return the shuttle at point B.

Tips on How to Move Effectively

There are many ways of moving out there but does this mean you have to know and follow all? No, just be comfortable with your own style of moving around the court.

However, there are a few tips that I would like to share on your badminton footwork

• Take ONLY 2-3 steps when moving to the back of the court.
• Stretch ONLY 1 step towards thesides of the court.
• Take ONLY 2-3 steps to the front of the court.
• Are you a beginner? Does it seem difficult to take so few steps? No worries, the key is to stretch your legs as wide as possible while maintaining a good balance. If you are a beginner, take more steps. Then slowly reduce the amount of steps you take as you move faster while maintaining good balance.
• Maintain your balance: While one of your hands will be holding the racquet, keep the other hand wide open. Not because it looks cool, it is because it helps in balancing. This enables you to return to your base quickly.

• Good stance:. When you’re in a ready position (before your opponent serves), make sure one leg is in front and one leg behind, opened slightly wide (refer to the picture above).
• If the shuttle is served to the front, use your toes of your back leg to push your bodyweight to the front.
• If the shuttle is served to the back, use your front leg toes to push your bodyweight to the back. This enables you to move fast once the shuttle is served.

Important Advice

The idea is to quickly move to take the shuttle and then quickly return to your base.

Agility is important, but body balance isequally important. If you do not have good body balance, you’ll lose time trying to stabilise yourself — in turn this gives you less time to return to your base.

All the above is merely a guide. There are no BEST ways for badminton footwork, you should move in a way you are comfortable with and keep practicing.

You can also learn the footwork from this video!! 

Badminton shots and how to use them!

Defensive badminton shots

The Clear Shot

In this stroke, contact the shuttlecock around the middle of your racket head. The aim of the clear is to cause the shuttle to go up high in the air and land at your opponent's back court.

This is used when you need to buy more time for yourself to return to base before the next return. It is also strategic to use when your opponent is near to the fore-court, forcing him to retract to the back to retrieve the shuttle.

The Drive Shot

The drive shot is a basic flat shot, directly hit over the net. It is a powerful, quick counter-attacking shot that is easy to execute. Your racket should be held with the head facing straight ahead.

It can sometimes be strategic to aim the shot at your opponent who will be unable to react or shift his body in time as their natural reaction will be to duck the shot.

Offensive badminton shots

The Drop Shot

The drop shot is best used when the shuttle is heading towards you in the first half of your court. To perform this stroke, the player must hit the shuttle cock downwards towards the opponent's fore-court, aiming for it to go just over the net.

You want to make it look like a drive, but instead you only use a little force to push the shuttle over the net. This shot is strategic to use when the opponent is near to the back court, anticipating your stroke to be a clear or drive.

For more advanced play, if you are in the mid-court you can try slicing the shuttlecock so it will bounce nicely over the net. If the opponent is in the back court, this shot will make the opponent dash forward.

The closer the shuttle drops to the net, the harder it is to return. However, it also becomes riskier for you as it may not cross the net and cost you the rally.

The Smash Shot

The badminton smash is considered the most powerful shot in badminton and you can think of it like a drive that is angled downwards. It is best used when the shuttle when its high in the air, so it can be angled downwards.

When the shuttle comes in from a high angle, it will allow you enough time to arch and get in position to strike. At the highest point of contact, with a flick of the wrist aim the shuttle downwards in a steep gradient.

You ideally want to aim for spots furthest from your opponent, but another tactic is to aim it towards his upper torso, making it hard for him to defend.

There are other types of shots in badminton like the more advanced spinning shots, lifts and net kills. But the shots mentioned above are the core shots you should first learn to master.

Lastly, its always important to disguise your shots so will not become easy to predict. For example, your offensive shots should look like either a drive or a drop shot until the very last second. This will make it hard for your opponent to react.

Introduction to badminton!!

Badminton is a racquet sport played usingracquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per side) and "doubles" (with two players per side). Badminton is often played as a casual outdoor activity in a yard or on a beach; formal games are played on a rectangular indoor court. Points are scored by striking the shuttlecock with the racquet and landing it within the opposing side's half of the courEach side may only strike the shuttlecock once before it passes over the net. Play ends once the shuttlecock has struck the floor or if a fault has been called by the umpire, service judge, or (in their absence) the opposing side.^[1]

The shuttlecock is a feathered or (in informal matches) plastic projectile which flies differently from the balls used in many other sports. In particular, the feathers create much higher drag, causing the shuttlecock to decelerate more rapidly. Shuttlecocks also have a high top speed compared to the balls in other racquet sports. The flight of the shuttlecock gives the sport its distinctive nature.

The game developed in British India from the earlier game of battledore and shuttlecock. European play came to be dominated byDenmark but the game has become very popular in Asia, with recent competitions dominated by China. Since 1992, badminton has been a Summer Olympic sport with four events: men's singles, women's singles, men's doubles, and women's doubles,^[2] with mixed doubles added four years later. At high levels of play, the sport demands excellent fitness: players require aerobic stamina, agility, strength, speed, and precision. It is also a technical sport, requiring good motor coordination and the development of sophisticated racquet movements.^[3]

Rules:-

The following information is a simplified summary of badminton rules based on the BWF Statutes publication, Laws of Badminton.^[13]

Court

Badminton court, isometricview

The full width of the court is 6.1 metres (20 ft), and in singles this width is reduced to 5.18 metres (17 ft). The full length of the court is 13.4 metres (44 ft). The service courts are marked by a centre line dividing the width of the court, by a short service line at a distance of 1.98 metres (6 ft 6 inch) from the net, and by the outer side and back boundaries. In doubles, the service court is also marked by a long service line, which is 0.76 metres (2 ft 6 inch) from the back boundary.

The net is 1.55 metres (5 ft 1 inch) high at the edges and 1.524 metres (5 ft) high in the centre. The net posts are placed over the doubles sidelines, even when singles is played.

The minimum height for the ceiling above the court is not mentioned in the Laws of Badminton. Nonetheless, a badminton court will not be suitable if the ceiling is likely to be hit on a high serve.

Serving:-

When the serving side loses a rally, the server immediately passes to their opponent(s) (this differs from the old system where sometimes the serve passes to the doubles partner for what is known as a "second serve").At the start of the rally, the server and receiver stand in diagonally opposite service courts(see court dimensions). The server hits the shuttlecock so that it would land in the receiver's service court. This is similar totennis, except that a badminton serve must be hit below waist height and with the racquet shaft pointing downwards, the shuttlecock is not allowed to bounce and in badminton, the players stand inside their service courts, unlike tennis.

In singles, the server stands in their right service court when their score is even, and in her/his left service court when her/his score is odd.

In doubles, if the serving side wins a rally, the same player continues to serve, but he/she changes service courts so that she/he serves to a different opponent each time. If the opponents win the rally and their new score is even, the player in the right service court serves; if odd, the player in the left service court serves. The players' service courts are determined by their positions at the start of the previous rally, not by where they were standing at the end of the rally. A consequence of this system is that each time a side regains the service, the server will be the player who did not serve last time.

Scoring :-

Each game is played to 21 points, with players scoring a point whenever they win a rally regardless of whether they served^[13] (this differs from the old system where players could only win a point on their serve and each game was played to 15 points). A match is the best of three games.

If the score reaches 20-all, then the game continues until one side gains a two-point lead (such as 24–22), except when there is a tie at 29-all, in which the game goes to a golden point. Whoever scores this point will win.

At the start of a match, the shuttlecock is cast and the side towards which the shuttlecock is pointing serves first. Alternatively, a coin may be tossed, with the winners choosing whether to serve or receive first, or choosing which end of the court to occupy first, and their opponents making the leftover the remaining choice.

In subsequent games, the winners of the previous game serve first. Matches are best out of three: a player or pair must win two games (of 21 points each) to win the match. For the first rally of any doubles game, the serving pair may decide who serves and the receiving pair may decide who receives. The players change ends at the start of the second game; if the match reaches a third game, they change ends both at the start of the game and when the leading player's or pair's score reaches 11 points.

The server and receiver must remain within their service courts, without touching the boundary lines, until the server strikes the shuttlecock. The other two players may stand wherever they wish, so long as they do not block the vision of the server or receiver.

Lets:-

If a let is called, the rally is stopped and replayed with no change to the score. Lets may occur because of some unexpected disturbance such as a shuttlecock landing on a court (having been hit there by players playing in adjacent court) or in small halls the shuttle may touch an overhead rail which can be classed as a let.

If the receiver is not ready when the service is delivered, a let shall be called; yet, if the receiver attempts to return the shuttlecock, the receiver shall be judged to have been ready.