Top 10 Badminton Tips For Beginners

Are you a beginner badminton player? Here are the best ten badminton tips to help you be better at this great sport.

1. Don’t grip the racket too tightly

Many people seem to think that racket = weapon and clench it for all it’s worth. Good technique demands that the grip be held loosely and not doing so can lead too injuries of the arm.

2. Grip the racket properly

Don’t build the grip of your racket up until it looks like a baseball bat.This will probably lead to elbow pain in the long term. Instead, try too hold the racket in your fingers rather than your hand. The grip size then becomes less relevant and your shot control should improve.

3. Keep your eye on the shuttle

Sounds obvious but is surprisingly common. A good focus practice is to draw simple shapes on the base of the shuttlecock. Get your partner to hit the shuttles at random to you and try to identify the shape before you have to play your return stroke.

4. Select the right racket for you

Don’t be drawn into buying the cheapest or the most expensive or the one the current world champion plays with. Talk to a coach or a racket sports specialist about suitability then spend what it takes to get the correct one, if it’s £19.99 congratulations, if it’s £119.99 hard luck, but it’ll be better for your game.

5. Don’t play in running shoes

This again comes down to selecting the right tool for the job. Running shoes are made for runners. Badminton shoes are designed to withstand the abuse that the playing the game demands and are built around providing the best in support and maneuverability rather than repetitive shock absorption.

6. Warm up properly

I know I sound like your grandmother now but badminton can be very physically demanding and places considerable stress on the body. Look around at all the forty-something players wearing supports on knees, ankles, elbows, backs you name it. Now think whether you’d rather stick out a bit as the only one warning up or become “neoprene-man” a few years down the line.

7. By all means seek advice but be selective

Don’t seek a dozen opinions in a short space of time as this will probably make your game worse. If you go to a coach be aware that your playing standard may actually drop initially as you start to get to grips with new ideas or techniques. If it’s not helping in a couple of months then try another coach but don’t give up too hastily, these things take time.

8. Join a club

Experience of different playing styles can be valuable. Playing games is good but practice away from the competitive arena will pay dividends when back in a match. Be clear what it is you are practicing and make sure that you focus on that as otherwise the practice loses its value. Practice only makes perfect that which you are practicing so make it relevant.

9. Improve your fitness

Whatever your current standard of play or whatever you aspire to, improving your fitness will improve your game. A well conditioned body will also be more resistant to injury.

10. Enjoy!

Set your self realistic goals and try to make playing and training enjoyable. This ensures it will be something you’ll keep doing and hopefully, the better you get the more you’ll enjoy it whilst the more you enjoy it the better you’ll get.