11 Common Badminton Questions – Be a Better Badminton Player

Breathe throughout the rally. Sometimes players don’t realize that they hold their breath too much during an intense rally. (I used to, until my coach pointed it out…I had no idea!)
Keep the bird in play. Don’t go for low percentage kill shots. Be patient and look for the right opportunity.
Cross train to improve the cardio base. If two opponents are equal in skill, then s/he who lasts the longest will win.

To duplicate a tournament type atmosphere:
• Find tough opponents that are better and quicker than you to test your mental toughness, and to help quicken your pace
• Play against others you normally do not get to play
• When playing against club players you normally train with, give them a few points advantage at the start
• Find a another gym to practice or play in to help you adapt to different playing conditions
• cross-train
• video tape yourself and try to figure out where you can improve
• If you know who your opponent is, write down some ideas of how to beat them
• Eat and drink enough good foods before and during the tournament so you have energy, and don’t get dehydrated

Running and swimming are great sports to help maintain a good cardio base. Working out in a gym is great for strength training (consult a professional on a workout regime).

Younger players will have more difficulty clearing full court, but with proper technique they can maximize what they can do for their level of development.

Training does improve a players’ game, but not all results are noticeable immediately. Sometimes the results can take a few months or even much longer. It’s the little things in training that will produce big results later.
Certain skills need a lot of practice, and a while of integration (tries) before it is successfully part of ones’ game (i.e. learning a cross-court drop).
Sports training success is not necessarily always linear (i.e. every day the player gets a bit better). A player can stay at a plateau of no or little improvement, and then suddenly over a short period of time, all the small things get together and a new level of play is achieved.
At different points in time there will be noticeable improvements in certain areas, but not necessarily all areas. Speed will naturally improve later than raw technique. Every player develops in their game differently and should not be compared to other players in every respect.
There is an old saying “Sometimes you have to move 1 step back in order to take 2 steps forward”. Players might have to unlearn bad habits while learning the proper technique. This constant state of unlearning, and learning can cloud ones’ visual assessment of how one is doing. As one skill is mastered, another one is always being taught.

In a smash, it’s possible that the shuttle contact point is too low, or during the smash attempt the body is too far over the shuttle itself.
During the drives, the racket face needs to compensate for the shuttle trajectory at the shuttle contact. The player may need to bend the knees lower and arc the racket face back towards the body to heighten the return trajectory above the net rim. Too much of a racket follow through on the hit could also cause the bird to travel lower (see Drives in Technical Guide).

When analyzing the loss of rally, the player needs to work backwards through the rally. It could be as simple as an unforced error, or the reason could go back 5 hits to the original serve. A sloppy serve could result in the opposition taking the upper hand in an entire rally. Too much lifting during attacking opportunities could also affect positive results.

During preparation for a right-handed player, the body needs to fully rotate to the right back 90 degrees from the ready position (shoulders align lengthways pointing in direction towards intended shuttle hitting direction). The right foot needs to be alignment behind the left foot (not off to the side), as the shoulders align along with the feet.
The second consideration is the follow through wrist snap during shuttle contact. The wrist needs to turn in and twist (see Frames 9-11 in the Clearing Technical Guide). This tactile motion controls the final shuttle direction and is used to help compensate for lack of directional control when the player is quickly moving sideways and hitting on the fly.

Using the incorrect panhandle type grip (U shaped grip) emphasizes the throwing of the shoulder into the shot. This can tear shoulder muscles. The shoulder should be rotating (see technical guide) (as in the front crawl swim) during a hitting motion. Proper preparation during a clear allows the whole body to participate in the shot. This enables the natural progression and transfer of power through the body up through the arm and into the shuttle (use of bigger muscles (shoulders) and joints through to the smaller muscles(fingers)). It is also important to stretch the muscles groups prior to (and after) playing a game or training. Consult this site in conjunction with your badminton coach/pro.

Incorrect technique can isolate the wrong muscle groups during a hitting movement and will put undue stress on the joints. Consult this site in conjunction with your badminton coach/pro.

Read out guide on how to choose a good badminton racket

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