Hey there, So I don't know if this is representative of every smash you do, but there are a few things you can do better: 1. Bring your racket back "ready to hit" as SOON as you move - you are currently moving with the racket by your feet, before you bring it up. bring it up as part of the movement instead. 2. Biomechanics - your current motion is robbing you of power because the sequence of movements isn't quite right. If you watch your own smash in slow motion, you should notice, when the time nears for you to hit the shuttle, that your hand basically goes vertically upwards, and then you swing your racket backwards and forwards. This is the source of your lack of power (other things can be better too, but this is a big one for the moment). What you want to achieve, is something much closer to... instead of raising the hand vertically (and hence ending up with a straight arm prior to swinging the racket), you want to raise your elbow vertically upwards, leaving the arm fully bent (which means the hand and racket remain closer to the body). You should THEN start to swing the racket forwards (no backwards swing necessary, as its already done as part of raising your elbow). Fixing this sequence to avoid the straight arm prior to swinging backwards and forwards will fix a lot of things. The next thing you can do is make your squeezing of the racket more pronounced - you currently have a long follow through as part of the stroke. You really want to try and get to the stage where you have a shorter and sharper "tapping" of the shuttle, followed by a relaxing of the arm and then the relaxed follow through - we need to see that moment of strength applied to the shuttle where you squeeze your racket hard (note: this isn't always necessary, but it REALLY helps when you're learning to focus your power) I actually think everything else looks ok - footwork is ok, left arm ok, body rotation fine, contact point not bad (could be a tiny bit further in front, but is not the main issue). Good Luck! p.s. its difficult for me to determine what grip you are using because your technique is currently very floppy and uses the wrist a lot. I assume you have a slight panhandle bias from the shape of your body and the racket movement, but for now I will focus on the other issues - i've seen a lot worse than that!
First of all, thank you so much for taking your time to give such a precise analyze. I had no idea about most of the facts you pointed out and what I was doing wrong. I’m actually glad there are so many points to work on therefore more room to improve my smashes. Yes it was pretty representative of my smashes. I can perform some slightly better (and some worse) when I don’t let my racket hang so low. Point 1 is definitely something I’m aware of but don’t manage to apply constantly yet. Point 2: I totally understand what you mean by raising the elbow upward and not do the backward swing prior to hit the shuttle and I think I can correct than in a few sessions. As for the sharper tapping of the racket I need to try different things on court because as much as I completely picture what you mean and what I’m doing wrong I’m not sure how to apply it and have the feel of it but... I do feel my follow through being way too long and powerless. I can try to bring more explosiveness and aim to stop my effort at the contact point of the shuttle and let my racket follow through naturally without effort after shuttle contact if I understood correctly. I remember seeing a specific video of Zhao Jianhua (posted below for whoever is interested) where he explains just what you told me and I picture what I need to do. Now to apply it is another story but I will focus on that too on the next sessions. My grip is panhandle yes. Should I change it? I’ll post another short video whenever there is an improvement on the two main issues you raised. Again many thanks.
If you mastered what is in the Zhao video, you would be world class. Its an excellent video, perhaps not completely in line with modern teaching in every demonstration, but excellent technique regardless. He excellently describes and demonstrates a "stick" smash (I think its translated as "point" smash, but its a stick smash to most), and yes this is what I am suggesting you need to practice. I suspected there may be some panhandling, but its difficult to tell how bad it is. I would strongly advise you use a "basic" grip, or if thats not good for you then a "forehand" grip. Making sure the racket doesn't twist too much towards panhandle is essential - its the worst possible thing for you at this stage trying to learn this shot. So use a basic or a forehand grip, and practice the tapping motion from Zhaos video. Good luck!
Many thanks again! I actually did spend an hour on today’s session trying to correct my smash. Keeping the racket higher when moving backward and ready to swing without swinging it backward before hitting the shuttle is making my smashes better. But I had a very hard time trying to “stick” smash the shuttle. Missed a lot of shuttles in the air at first before eventually having a slight feel of it when I stopped trying to hit the shuttle with force. Difficult to grasp on this totally new technique. It will requires a lot of sessions I believe before I just understand the technique behind it and before being able to use it correctly. I’m going to work a little harder on this tapping motion at every sessions and hopefully post a video of some progress soon. I will also change my grip for what you suggested and try with a basic grip. Hope it will helps because I hard a hard time trying to feel the “stick” smash moment today. Thanks for all those tips.
A month and several sessions later, I feel that my smashes have improved. I tried to work in the direction MSeeley pointed out. I was smashing harder at the beginning of the session and those smashes from the short video below are more about applying the proper technique but yes... those were pretty weak but I feel like the technique has improved a bit and that’s what I’m after at this stage of my progression. I still need to work more on this “stick smash” feel that I now understand at least. Done it a few times, heard that sweet sound when hitting the shuttle and felt more power coming wih less effort but it’s not controlled for now and I didn’t really do any properly on the video below. Besides this progress, I can now do some small “china jump” and started to jump smash. It’s a bit weak of a jump smash but those are my very first. In France the badminton season is ending at the end of June. Meaning no more courts from clubs are available until September. I plan to work on my fitness level and footwork as I’ll install a net in the garden. We’ll try to practice 3 times a week, even if it has to be outdoor. I’ll register in a second club next September so I can have 3 sessions per week instead of 2 and I’ll start doing some competition for fun as soon as September. Few smashes from last night drills:
I have no comment on your smash because I'm no smash expert, but holy moley, your court is insane! How do all those lines not distract you?! I could barely find the badminton lines between all those other lines running and criss-crossing the floor. It must lead to some poor class sometimes right? Like, you think it;s out but actually it's in or vice-versa.
Ha yes it’s a bit messy on the floor regarding the lines right... Gymnasiums are mostly public in France and therefore welcome all sports. Voleyball, futsal, badminton, handball and god knows what else but yes, for a small town we have an amazing gymnasium so we’re not too bothered by the lines : ) but yes, reading your blog regularly and your courts looks amazing!
Biggest comment I have is that you're taking the shuttle late, because you are holding your stroke too long. Don't aim to hold your stroke at all - the moment is continuous from your split step to your contact. When you video it after, you'll notice a "hold" like the pros, even though you were trying to make a stroke continuous - this is just because the movement starts from your core and is relatively small so it looks like a pro is holding their shot, when in fact they're actually already beginning the hitting movement. Although the movement you want is compact, that doesn't mean you should wait till the last moment to start your stroke. Many of your feeds are low, so you don't really have time to hold your shot that long, especially for a jump out! General shapes look good though, so this is purely timing which will improve angle, accuracy, and power.
I was getting better at catching the shuttle higher but since I try to “stick smash” instead of doing a continous stroke I kinda lost the timing yes. I’m aware of it but I didn’t think it was because I was holding my stroke and I will try what you suggested thank you. This “catching the shuttle higher” is my worst nightmare since I started badminton : )
@LenaicM To me when you do the stick smash, you look like you tap the shuttle using a relatively large forearm movement and not much use of fingers. Try to make the tap using mainly the fingers, some wrist and small forearm movement.
A stick smash is used when there is a lack of time to play a full stroke. I described it as a full stroke, not a continuous stroke because both the full overhead movement and the stick smash are continuous movements! The stick smash is a shorter movement from beginning to end, but it is continuous from the jump/scissor to the shuttle contact. If you get into a position where you have time to wait for the shuttle, then you used suboptimal footwork and could've got in a better position. Example: if you jump out backwards and have to wait for the shuttle to play a stick smash, then either you could have jumped higher or perhaps you could have moved fully behind the shuttle, then jump smashed the shuttle with forward momentum. Yeah have to be careful when practising stick smashing as it can allow you to hit shuttles late/lazily and get them over the net, when a better player would make the effort to contact the shuttle earlier to not only get it over the net but apply pressure to their opponent. It's another shot to add to your arsenal, but be aware of how learning something new can disrupt other aspects of your game.
I concur! A stick smash should still be a powerful stroke and that will not be achieved using mainly fingers and wrist. It is a smash that's executed quickly and thus doesn't use all parts of the kinetic chain, but mainly pronation. Closing your forehand grip (i.e. closing gap between your middle finger and index finger) will let the racket rebound and you'll be ready for the next stroke when you land. A stick smash is an offensive stroke, so you should only play it when you are in an advantageous position, so there should be enough time for the forearm pronation (which still is a quick movement), so there is no need for an even quicker movement, especially since you'll land with your racket up and ready anyway. This video also shows the rebound of the racket and that is a passive movement. All you need to do is to hit with strong pronation and relax afterwards. This sounds easier than it is, but I hope you get the point. The player in the video grips the racket almost at the buttcap, but it might be easier to grip of shorter (further up) and I think that would be closer to a situation in a match when you get the chance to play a stick smash anyway.
@Cheung @DarkHiatus @speCulatius Ok it seems I misunderstood stick smash and “normal” smash... Just stumbled on this thread where a fellow player is discussing about both techniques. http://www.badmintoncentral.com/forums/index.php?threads/stick-smash-vs-full-smash.173596/ I thought based on the video I posted of me smashing and looking to generate more power (message #20 at the bottom of the first page of this thread) i had to do few adjustements including the ones @MSeeley pointed out. On my last video of this thread (message #26) I was not trying to do a stick smash then (pardon me for my vocabulary) but more of what MSeelyey pointed out which is cutting off on this long follow through movement from the video posted on my message #20 and instead do more of a tapping technique followed by a relaxed arm after the impact on the shuttle. PS: great video to understand the stick smash movement! Very clear after watching from this angle.
Sorry, I didn't watch your video yet, so my post really was only a reply to "stick smash" and Cheung's post. What you and MSeeley describe is what I described as the rebound part of the stick smash, I guess. For this to work, making Thinking about it again, he is right saying that a basic grip would be better for that motion than a forehand grip. Actually, I did picture a basic grip when writing it, but I don't like the word basic to be in it. Also, for most people a forehand grip will be better for full smashes. I've said it somewhere else before: Don't worry about the grip too much (as long as it's not panhandle for a stroke based on pronation), also don't worry about closing the grip (gap between fingers), that will probably happen once you try to hit hard, anyway. I hope to remember to watch your video when I'm home tonight.
Thanks for taking the time to give some solid advices. I will definitely try those and why not start working on stick smashes on tonight’s session. It might also help me improve my regular smashes and undertsand better the rebound part of it.
First of all, when you do a scissor jump, you land with both feet facing to the front (like running) and while you can achieve a very good push off to get back to the center, you also put a huge force on your archilles and if you are not trained like a pro (and even they only do it when it's really needed to get back quicker than normal), I'd strongly suggest to change that to have your rear foot facing outward/backwards. The speed you'll lose changing that can be more than compensated by improving your footwork, but that's not our focus now. So, I had a look at the videos and I just hope that I can express my thoughts clearly enough (English is not my native language), starting here: Why do you think this is? Have you looked at the video yourself? Your body is very relaxed, so you cannot transfer any energy from your body to the stroke. Also, you are jumping backwards sometimes, that doesn't help when focussing on power either. When focusing on a more compact motion and shorter, relaxed follow through, I'd suggest to start with the stick smash and focussing on your grip and this contradicts what MSeeley said. I see reason's for his opinion as well, but this is where I would start to get the pronation right and. You have some basics, but you need to improve a lot of different things, so the most important part is probably to start somewhere. I'll get back to this later. That part did get a lot better! (Hey, I said something positive, I sometimes forget to do that!) Just get your racket hand to where you want to hit before your body gets there. This will turn your body in a good angle already. I understood this to be his main focus, but I don't really see any improvement on that part (and thats one of the reasons why I would focus on the stick smash for now, more coming later). This might sound harsh (It's not meant that way, just trying to paint a picture here), but if you were dutch, I'd say you're trying to imitate a windmill. Keep your elbow bent when raising it! This means, raise your upper arm, while the forearm is still pointing downwards. You'll have to start the movement earlier and adjust the timing though! With seperating the pronation from the rest and focussing on it for now, I'd hope to achieve that you'll develop a better feeling for the pronation and the timing needed (it's a rotational movement, that's always tricky), so you can focus on this (keeping elbow bent) as the second step when already feeling quite good about the pronation. I think these are two seperate aspects and I don't think both of them should be your focus for now, although, when starting with the stick smash, a short follow though will be part of it anyway. I think this even got worse in your second video. You are doing this a lot and unless you are the Queen, that's not yielding power. That's another reason for me to focus on the pronation, then introducing the stick smash and getting more power from there using the entire kinetic chain and longer movements. You cannot execute a full (jump) smash with a china (or chasse) jump. You need the hip and body rotation to get enough power for a smash. Doing a china jump, you can do a stick smash, but thats it. The confusion might come from the jump used for a jump smash. It's neither a china/chasse, nor a scissor jump. You jump with both feet (like china/chasse jump, but closer together), being behind the shuttle, when jumping you'll turn your hip, creating diagonal tension in your core, releasing this tension when hitting (turning your shoulders), landing with your racket foot in front (like a scissor jump, but closer). So you could say it's a hyprid of a china and a scissor jump and you can only do it when you have a lot of time. Maybe have another look at the video I posted. While you don't need to copy that for a full smash, it might help you to understand the stick smash and a little better, because many points MSeeley said can be seen there. The player has his racket up and behind him when starting to move (hand/racket will get there first!) It's a stick smash with a quicker movement, not focussing on power, but on angle, so it's not as extreme, but still, his elbow is still bent when reaching up with the upper arm; this would be more extreme for a full smash (with more time) The follow through ends when his arm is around shoulder height, the forearm relaxes and the racket comes up again all by itself (I referred to it as a rebound); this also means he does not fully relaxes his arm; for a full smash, there will be more follow through since more power is introduced I hope I didn't forget anything and I hope I was not too negative. Keep it up! If you want anyone to be sure about your grip, take videos from different angles and (if possible) of better quality, lighting and with a higher framerate. I know very well that this is too much to ask, but hey, we always want to improve things.
That is a lot of information to process! You don’t sound harsh or negative. Actually I wouldn’t be too happy if after doing those smashes you were telling me it was perfect because the more things to work on meaning the more room for improvements and I would really like to improve because I’m not too happy with my current level. Thank you so much for such a detailed review. I have already read it several times but I feel like I need to process all of those information one by one on the court. I’m aware I still didn't apply all the advices from MSeeley yet (still working on it) and I see from your post there is even more things to do to improve. Some that complement other advices, some that somehow contradict it. Again I’ll have to process all of that one by one. Hopefully the next video I’ll post will show some progress : ) I also value everyone else reviews since the first post. In fact I read this thread from the beginning pretty often to really aquire all those different information coming from all of you. Thanks guys!
This is very important. It's way too much to work on at the same time. Please ask questions when you see contradictions! While there can be different opinions, I cannot think of anything he said that I disagree with. I said I'd start at a different point and maybe my priorities would be different, but please ask. Maybe other people use this thread as well and if there's some confusion, we should talk about it. Maybe I missed something, maybe it's just a misunderstanding, maybe it's terminology that I didn't use correctly... And there's always a lot to improve. If you ever start to coach yourself, you'll see that you'll always be looking for mistakes. When something is good (enough), it's just not worth mentioning. That's why I have to remind myself to sometimes give positive feedback.
In my opinion, whether a player is attacking or defending is flexible. As you mentioned 'I have tendency to loose to them whenever I try to play a little bit agressively with more attacks and intensity in my game by ending up making mistakes'. It is a very typical way of losing as you have not controlled the match. In this situation, your attack is a kind of trail. So sometimes you lose because of the mistake made by you. A player who wants to win more matches must be flexible. When you are facing an attacking opponent, you will be forced to be defensive as no one can smash back a smash. Also, if you are dealing with a weaker opponent in match, you will find quite a lot of chances to give a smash and end the game, at this time you are a attacking player. Take myself as example, I specially purchased a 5U racket only for performing defense. Normally I do not use it, it is only for winning the difficult match I want to win, it's a tricky method to win the match I should not win. It is not recommend but it is a good example for dealing with a attacking player: when facing a attack, the only thing to do is performing a quality defense, then, find a chance to attack if you want or just wait your opponent to make mistake. Actually the chance for attack back is majorly created by you, not your opponent, that's why a quality defense is very important. Defense must be specially cared and trained even you want to be a attacking player. Normally players who find attacking is not useful to you, they will also reduce attacking motion because the jumps and large motion brought by attack will reduce the stability of performance. In addition, I watched your smash video, in my opinion, the largest problem is not hitting the shutter too late. The problem is your motion is too large so your power is not efficiently transferred onto the shutter, and your attack will not be aggressive. You should burst out your power in a very short time, just like whipping a long rope. If you handled this skill, you can move and change your hitting point according to the situation, so the late hitting point problem will be solved naturally. You can discover your own problem in match, it is a good sign for you to be a good player!
