Written by kwun
Wednesday, 02 March 2005 Badminton is becoming more and more popular, more and more students are taking up badminton as their main sports, more and more adults are also taking up badminton as their recreational activity. As we see more beginners, I hope to point out in this article what aspects of badminton a beginning badminton player should focus on, as well as point out a few common mistakes that beginners tend to make. We hope this will help your journey into this sport that we all love. First, let’s point out the positives, ie. Aspects of badminton that we think will help the up and coming players.   FOCUS ON: Focus on the correct grip   The most fundamental aspect of badminton technique is the grip. The grip is how a badminton holds the badminton racket. A correct grip is a pathway for a badminton player to improve upon their skills. on the contrary, using an incorrect grip is often a brickwall that leads to poor form and poorly executed techniques. It takes much more time to unlearn a bad technique than to learn one. Many of us have experienced it before the painful way.   The proper badminton grips may feel uncomfortable and unnatural in the beginning, but if you are able to get over that fact, later on you will appreciate what you have learned.   There are two basic grips for badminton, the forehand grip and the backhand grip. We won’t go into much more detail here, if you want to know about gripping, please read the grip guide in Badminton Central. The information maybe overwhelming at first, but since this is so fundamental in badminton, it is worth the time to digest it.   Focus on the correct strokes   The worst part of learning something is to have to unlearn it later on. This happens to many recreational badminton players. We hop into the court, invent all these wild shots that seems right then, but later on to find out that they are the wrong way to hit. Then we spend 3 times the time to unlearn them as they have been so ingrained into our muscles. If you want to avoid that happening to you, it is vital to learn the proper way in the beginning.   To do that, you must find a good coach who can direct you. When you choose a coach, make sure he understands and can demonstrate the fundamentals. Your friend who happens to be playing next court to you may not be the best coach you can get. Focus on footwork   We cannot stress the importance of footwork more. Footwork is the skill that allows you to move from point to point in the badminton court. While it sounds like an easy concept, in fact it is one of the most difficult skills in badminton. The reason footwork is so important is very simple: if you cannot get there in time, it is useless to have the best racket skill. The Cororary of that is that, the earlier you can get to the shuttle, the more choices of shots you have and the more you can pressure your opponent.   Lee Jae Bok, an ex-Korean national player, once says: "You hit shuttle with your feet."   Footwork is one of the most difficult aspects of badminton. It takes a lot of time to learn, as well as a lot of time to practice. It is often less practiced because of the lack of venue. It is quite uncommon and anti-social for someone to take up ½ of a badminton court to practice footwork while everybody waits on the sideline. Despite so, it is still very important. A professional player can move around the court very effortlessly solely because they have very good footwork technique, they do make it look very easy but in fact, it takes many years of very hard work to master it. Focus on fitness - jog/swim/bike - or do footwork drills   Fitness is one of the many reason many people take up badminton. Depending on the level of one’s game, badminton can be a very leisure game all the way to a down-right fitness torture. Beginning recreational players will likely be moving relatively less around the court, but as one’s skill improve, you will not only notice that you have to cover more parts of the court, you will also have to cover it in greater speed, which multiplies the fitness level needed by many folds.   In order to catch up with your pending improvements in skill, it is then important for you to increase your fitness level to complement it. There are many ways to improve one’s fitness, one popular way is to skip rope, or jog, swim, bike. Doing footwork drills also a great way to practice footwork and develop one’s fitness at the same time.   Focus on keeping track of your progress   Often when one is having fun, you must try to re-evaluate what you have learned and how you are using it. Most recreational players do not do that but it is helpful in identifying potential weaknesses in your game. DO NOT FOCUS ON: Avoid expensive equipment - you will most likely be wasting money   Badminton is solely a game of skills and mind, and not a game of equipment. 99% of ones game depends on how well one can yield the racket but not depend on the racket itself.   Having said that, equipment is still one essential aspect of badminton, and one do need to get the correct equipment. However, the most important equipment that a beginning badminton can own is not the top of the line racket, but instead a good, fitting pair of badminton shoes. Due to the nature of badminton movement, there is a high risk of injury due to twisting or spraining of various leg joints. A good pair of badminton shoes will ensure that you get a good solid grip of the badminton court and vastly reduces the risk of injury.   I’d like to mention one more thing on badminton equipment, often top of the line badminton rackets are not designed for beginners. While they are cool looking and expensive, their characteristics are more suited for advance players with more power. Beginners are best suited to lower end rackets. Your money is best suited to pay for some decent coaching instead. Avoid trick shots - stop learning those strange shots.   Too many a time I have stepped into a badminton court against some beginning players who can do all these fancy trick shots but at the same time, unable to do a proper baseline to baseline clear. Badminton is a very fundamental game where one really need to learn all the basics in order to survive in a match. Trick shots may work once or twice but soon your opponent will learn how to read them and then you are back to square one.   There is definite a place for trick shots in badminton, but that’s only after one has learned to execute all the fundamentals shots first. Avoid fancy style - i have so many times seen beginners with really fancy looking hitting style but then they miss the shuttle completely. keep it simple.   Badminton is a very efficient game. The standard, non-fancy, way of playing badminton is the most efficient way for one to hit a shot, there is simply too little time in badminton for one to do all these fancy style. Avoid strength training - leave this after you have learned your basic strokes   Every now and then, someone will come to badmintoncentral and they want to know how to train their muscles to hit the strongest smash. Which is ok except we later on find out that such person cannot even hit a baseline to baseline clear properly. There is no point trying to hit hard when one cannot hit properly. An example of a proper technique is when I see 12 yrs old girls at 5 feet tall who can hit baseline to baseline clear with ease. Imagine what she can do when she grows a few inches taller?   To close, I’d like to point out that badminton is a very complex game, even advance players learn new aspects of badminton everyday. Make sure you keep an open mind when you approach badminton, only then will you be able to appreciate the greatness of this sports.

The Offense in Doubles

Written by Eugene Kumekawa (Badminton Central)
Source: WSBA Newsletter Summer 1998 The offense in doubles is more than smashing and dropping your way to victory. There are things the attacking team can do to minimize their vulnerability to counter-attack and induce the defense to hit a weak return. Gaining the offense while shots in the rally are still low and flat is also an important part of playing attacking doubles. This article will focus on tactics in doubles offense rather than on how to develop rally-winning shots. Gaining the Offense The first team that controls the net has the best chance of seizing the offense. The attack-minded team controls the net by hitting a shot that the opposing team cannot smash, then following the shuttle to the net. Claiming the net on an unsmashable shot forces the other team to clear. The unsmashable shot can be any shuttle that is too low, such as a net shot or a half court, or is lifted or driven behind an opponent or to his backhand. One can anticipate a net shot also by hitting a quick drive to the eyes, so that the opponent doesn't have time to hit it back hard. The player who claims the net should be ready for half-court shots and both cross-court and straight drops. Shot Location Once a team is on the offense, the shot of choice is the smash. Once the smash is established, other off-speed shots become more effective. Even if the defense is impermeable and counters the smash with outright winners, the smasher has options that should be tried before dropping or clearing. Since about 90 percent of the smashes are directed at the defender directly in front of him, the first thing the smasher should do is to study how the opponent defends. If he is a backhand defender, the smasher should aim anywhere on the defender's forehand side from knee to shoulder. If the defender waits on his forehand, the smasher should hit to the defender's body or backhand. Frequently too a forehand defender backs up against a sideline (or the center line) so that a wide smash out of reach is also effective. There is no sense smashing to a defender's strength. In general, the smasher should try to cramp the defender by hitting close to or at his body. Hitting away from the body allows the defender to take a fuller swing; it is then easier for him to drive the smash cross court. Flat or high smashes are also easier to drive-return for the same reason. The effective smash is one that results in a return that is weak enough for the partner at net to smash. These are induced by overpowering velocity or by cramping the swing of the defender by smashing at his forehand hip. It is usually a bad idea to smash cross-court, even if the smash is directed at the defender's weaknesses or at a weak defender. The cross-court smash is not as effective since it travels farther, and it gives the defense a wider angle to attack. The cross-court smash and the down-the-line return would travel faster than the smasher can run. Since a cross-court smash induces the net man to stay wide and even vacate the net to cover a deep down-the-line return, the defense can safely hit any cross court return which often surprises the offense anxious to cover the vulnerable down-the-line court. Cross-court shots that expose one's own backhand are particularly ill-advised. The wider the smash is, the riskier it is. The safest cross-court smashes are those from the smasher's backhand court (assuming everyone is right-handed) to the body of the cross-court defender. They must be steeply angled so that the shuttle has to be lifted higher, giving either the net man or the smasher time to cover the forehand court. Smashing down the middle between the two defenders is best when they stand far apart or when the shuttle can be smashed from the center of the court (so the smash does not have to travel cross-court much to split the defense). Each defender may depend on the other to return the smash, afraid of clashing racquets. Placing the smash in the middle, across the net in front of the net man, also reduces the angle the net man has to cover, thereby increasing his chances of cutting off the smash return. Shot Selection The offense is not all smashing, although smashes "set up" other shots. Drop shots and half smashes are effective against quick defenders or those who play deep. Drop shots are most effective to the middle: the defense has more time to be confused, and the offense has to cover less angle on the return. Cut smashes throw off the timing of the defender so that the return is frequently wide. Quick attacking clears may also be effective, especially against players who defend closer to the net, crouching and waiting with the racquet head up. The net man The partner at net is crucial to the offense. He protects the smasher, wins the rallies, and forces the defense to continue lifting. To accomplish this, the net man must do more than stand in one place at net with the racquet up, bent over from fear of getting hit in the back of the head. The net man's position in front is fluid, depending on where the smasher is and what type of shot the defense favors. In general, if the defense returns smashes with drives, the net man should play deeper, almost as if he is playing singles. Conversely, if the defense is softer, the net man can play closer to the net but still a couple feet behind the short service line. He should still be able to get to net returns of smash before the defense gets to the net, so that he has the advantage in a rally at net. The deeper the shuttle is lifted to the back, the deeper the net man moves away from the net, though still staying in the front half of the court. The net man also stays on the same side of the court as the shuttle is on. He is anticipating the smash straight ahead to the forehand hip and so stands in a position that reduces the angle of the likely return. If the smasher drops, the net man moves forward to cover a possible net return, intimidating the defense into lifting the shuttle. When the shuttle is lifted, the net man moves back again��could be tiring for the net man to play with a person who continuously drops. If the lift is weak, only to mid court, rather than play in front of the smasher, the net man should move out of the way to the vacant side of the court. The smasher can cover the net for weak returns, while the net man covers the empty court. When the net man does get a shuttle to hit, he should try to maintain the quick attack by driving the shuttle to the body or face of the closest defender. The net man is much closer to the defenders than the smasher, and so does not have to hit hard or take a big swing to make the defense hit a weak return. Merely blocking the shot to the net may be effective against deep defenders, but usually it gives the defense another chance to clear deep. Many players at net move to the back if the smash or smash return is hit cross-court. This is fine if the net man is a stronger back court player, or if the smasher is tired, or if the net man can get to the shuttle in a better position to smash than the erstwhile smasher. This type of rotation underscores the importance of proper positioning of the net man (i.e., not too close to the net) and a steep downward angle of the smash. The ideal offense The smasher should be behind the bird, properly balanced so that his mass should be going forward when he strikes the shuttle. Against a good defense, velocity is not as important as angle, both in terms of the steepness of the smash's angle, and the lateral angle of possible returns available to the defense. Some smashes are safer than others and some smashes are harder to return than others just from the location alone. The offense does not have to hit smashes until arms start falling off, but usually they win the rally faster. If the smasher is in trouble, or off balance, the shot to try is a drop or a half-smash to gain time and to set up the next smash. The net man should be aware of what the smasher is doing, whether he is out of position or out of balance. Being aware of the smasher helps the net man to anticipate return shots and cut off potential winners. The net man is not passive, just looking for the weak return he could put away; he is constantly moving and thinking. He should stand tall, taking up space, scaring the defense to clear the shuttle away from him.

Written by Eugene Kumekawa (Badminton Central)
Source: WSBA Newsletter Winter 1998 Few things in badminton is as impressive as the sight of a doubles team thwarting a leaping, yelling smasher by calmly returning the hardest smashes high in the air, daring the smasher to hit through them. However good this looks, the defenders are at the mercy of the smasher. Since hitting downwards is the most likely way of winning the rally, doubles players should avoid using great defenders as role models and instead play doubles aggressively. The first aim of the doubles rally is to force the opponents to lift the shuttle up in the air, even when you have to hit upwards yourself to get the shuttle over the net. Once the shuttle is lifted to your side, your aim is to maintain the attack until the rally is over. Every now and then, however, your side may be forced to lift the shuttle: you are now on the defense, and now your goal is to regain the attack. The successful defense is one that meets and reverses the opponents' attack in one shot. Physical skills and quickness are necessary but not sufficient components to a great defense. The most important factor is the ability to recognize the weaknesses in the offense and adapt the defense to maximize the chances of regaining the attack. The point of defense is not really to develop a "brick wall," although this may demoralize or tire the opponent, but to regain the offense. Playing against an unidimensional defense�� that strives only for consistent deep clears to the back, for example��easier to attack because there is no threat; attacking shots only have to be varied and do not have to be well-executed to maintain the offense. Instead, you should incorporate a variety of shots in your defense and use them depending on the position of the offense. In order to make effective shots, however, there are a few fundamentals regarding positioning and stance that need discussion. Position Once you lift the shuttle into the opponents' court high enough for one of them to smash, you and your partner must wait side-by-side and square to the direction the shuttle is coming from. Being square means that the cross-court defender is slightly closer to the net than the down-the-line defender, because the shuttle has to travel farther going cross-court. Moving From an Up-and-Back Position to Side-by-Side Move straight back if you lift from the net, no matter where you hit the shuttle to Your partner can see you choose the side, and since your partner is already deep, he or she is less vulnerable and so can take the time to move cross-court to defend. Move back so that you will be cross-court from the shuttle if your partner clears from the back This is safest. Moving back from the net into the teeth of a down-the-line smash is suicide. If you are in the habit of clearing from the back while your partner is at net, you are not considerate of your partner's health and safety. Clearing cross-court from the back is even worse, because your partner's first reaction is to move back cross-court away from you (and be highly vulnerable to a face-high down-the-line smash). Taking Court Position The most important factor of defense positioning is that it is fluid - the defense moves around in the court depending on where the shuttle is on the other side of the net. Stay close together, and protect the alley Suppose the opponents are about to smash the shuttle from one of their corners. The down-the-line defender moves over toward the sideline, using it as part of the defense, and stands almost straight in front of the smasher. The cross-court defender should sidle over too, to right around the center line, so that the two defenders can graze each other's rackets when they take a normal smash return stroke. Suppose the smash return is directed cross-court to the attacker's opposite corner. Now the two defenders shuffle towards the other sideline as a unit, much like a zone defense does in basketball, maintaining their tight spacing. Move forward and backwards together as well, depending on how deep or shallow the lift is If the lift is right to the back line, the defenders could move to half way up the court, as close as possible to the net and still return the smash. This allows them to meet the smash as high as possible so that they don't have to lift the shuttle as much, and also allows them to return the smash as quickly as possible to give the opponents less time to recover. If the lift is mid-court, the defenders should move back, almost to the doubles long service line. Defend deeper (from the back third of the court) too if the opponents have an above-average smash. Defending deep is less preferable because it is harder to regain the attack. The defenders have to hit the shuttle farther, the net man has better chances of cutting the smash return off, and the defenders are more vulnerable to a varied attack where the offense mixes in drops and half-smashes. Defending closer together seems to invite the smasher to hit wide cross-court, since it looks to be undefended (the "wide" means that the shuttle goes wide to the outside of the cross-court defender, away from the body). As the defender, you are hoping for the wide cross-court since it gives an opportunity for an outright winner. The shot has to travel farther, it takes the smasher's partner out of the rally, and exposes the smasher's down-the-line court. The only advantage such a shot has is that it is unexpected; the cross-court defender therefore has to "look for" the shot. Against a properly positioned defense, the attacker really has a limited range of where to hit the shuttle: from the outside shoulder of one defender to the outside shoulder of the other defender. Any other spot is risky for the smasher (attacking in doubles will be the subject of a future "Play Better Badminton" article). Stance Once the defenders are in the correct side-by-side position, both have to get ready for the smash by getting the racket out in front of the body and moving your hips back out of the way. Jut your shoulder forward, get the elbow in front of you, and cock your wrist. The point here is to give the racket head room to swing so that you can meet the shuttle in front of you. The impact is both a snap or a flick at the shuttle with your wrist, as well as a push outward with your whole arm. Some people turn the racket head over (pronating or supinating the forearm) at impact; others use their thumb and fingers, snapping them against the grip to move the racket head. Many players choose either a backhand or forehand stance when they wait for the smash. If you do choose a side, the backhand defense is much stronger than the forehand, which is like an open stance of a baseball hitter. If the pitch is thrown at the batter, or slightly behind him, there is nothing much the batter can do except try to get out of the way. So it is with badminton player smashing at a defender waiting on his forehand. The attacker can smash from the defender's outstretched elbow to anywhere on his body to anywhere near the backhand. At least with the backhand defense, the defender can protect his body. A doubles team can play a strong defense if both coordinate their waiting stance and assign responsibilities. The aim is to both protect the body and the middle of the court, leaving the wide cross-court smash relatively undefended. The following set of diagrams assume both defenders are right-handed. Double backhand defense stance The down-the-line defender doesn't bother with smashes to his forehand, his partner will get them. Cross-court defender uses forehand defense stance The two rackets should barely meet each other. In this scenario the cross-court defender is reasonably anticipating that the smash will not go too wide cross-court, and wishes to defend the more vulnerable middle. Waiting for the smash on a specific side, however, exposes your weaknesses to the attacker. You are inviting the smasher to hit at your strength, like the batter who anticipates the ball going somewhere near the plate. You may wait in a neutral stance, like a tennis player receiving serve, and change your grip as you start your stroke, but getting the racket on the smash takes longer. Against a hard smasher you may be forced to wait on your backhand as well as stand deeper in the court. Grip For the smash return, I believe the grip is a matter of preference. I like to hold the racket loosely. Many players choke up on the handle, which increases maneuverability and racket head quickness. The return of smash is mostly done with the fingers and wrist. For the backhand, I like to snap my thumb against the back bevel. For the forehand, I hold the racket using a flatter grip, and snap the wrist while quickly squeezing the grip with my fingers. Shots The purpose of the smash return is to return the shuttle is such a way so that the offense cannot smash effectively a second time. There are several shots the defense can do: straight or cross-court block - Useful if the smasher's partner stands back from the net. If this shot is effective, the defender who executed it follows the shuttle to the net, trying to force the net man to not play the net and lift. straight half court - The shuttle should travel behind the net man, but land in front of the smasher. Again, if this shot is successful, the defender who hit the shuttle follows it to the net, forcing the other side to lift. straight drive - The aim here is to flatten the smash out, and to attack the smasher before he recovers from his smash. It is risky going cross-court because the shot has to pass through the net man. cross-court lift over the net man's head - Sometimes this shot is effective when the smasher is near a sideline or is off-balance. Also, if the smasher does reach it, the shuttle may be too low to smash. Which shot you do depends a lot on the positioning of the smasher's partner. Traditionally, the net man puts away weak returns of the smash and protects the smasher against net returns, so he stands near the short service line. Against this type of partner any half court or shot to the back court is effective. Other partners, usually the singles players, the tall ones, or the better smashers, play several feet behind the short service line, hoping to protect the smasher by cutting off drives and cross-court lifts. Against this type of team the drop block is effective. Cross-court returns are fine only when the net man shows signs of anticipating the straight return. In general, players should establish their down-the-line shots first, and use the cross-court shot as a surprise. The cross-court is not ideal since it surprises and puts pressure on your partner, as well as leaving your side open to a wider angle of attack. There is no point in abandoning an effective down-the-line shot while it is still effective. If you are winning rallies returning the smash half court by the net man, eventually, the net man will adjust and back away from the net and anticipate the return. The next time, block the smash short and cross-court. The Ideal Defense If your side has lifted, take the next shot seriously and be prepared for anything��lear, a flat smash at your face, a slow drop, the shuttle ticking the net. Get to your court position as quickly as you can, staying close to and moving with your partner to eliminate gaps and force the smasher to hit where you are strongest. Stand still when the opponent is about to hit, squatting slightly with your hips back and your racket in front of you away from your body. If the opponent has met the shuttle late and can only hit a drive, get your racket head up. If you prefer a particular defensive stance, don't commit early since sometimes smashers take a quick peek at the defense before hitting their next shot. Be prepared to move��ward, backward, or to the side to get your body out of the way Study the net partner and take advantage of his positioning to return the smash so that the opponents do not have a second chance at smashing. You want to reverse the attack. Remember, if you lift, you lose.