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Continuous
updates. Please
be patient ya... (note that this site was born before facebook) So, are you
ready to be the contender? Do read the notes below regularly and I am sure you will
improve your game. This is one of the MOST comprehensive site with good
free
tips. It's a badminton HOLY BOOK. No matter what level you are in, some
of the points are relevant or important for you to know and remember it
well. You can't find it anywhere else. Let your great adventure in your
badminton life starts here. You can also contact me directly. It may be
long, but it gets juicier as you read more. There's a lot for you to
learn. Even for world class players. For professional players, I got
tips below on how to beat the Olympic Champion Viktor, Vitidsarn, Loh Kean Yew, Antonsen, Lee Zii Jia the
2020 All England Champion and World
Champion Momota. Someone also ask me about Lakshya as well. Go get it.
Badminton Tips (Note: Every
coach have their own
way of coaching. A coach can do only 80%, the rest of the 20% is up to the player's form and creativity on the day itself.)
If you need some special badminton items which you cant find and need
help, let me know the model, I'll find it for you. I can send to all
over the world! The Racquet, grips, shuttles and covers is in high
demand. Do let your friend know if they want to order it. Good price
always. Further below is a list of all the free software for you to
learn. If you are generous, you can donate using paynow in Singapore +65-98736396
This tips will be added according to questions asked. I will guarantee
that those questions email sent to me will be posted on this site
below. Remote coaching here. badminton
coaching
Extreme Power is THE ONE for you! A MUST HAVE FOR
ALL PLAYERS.
JUST TRY IT! If you already have it, do try out
the other
models as well. I will give you discounts.
Starter Tips: Build up your wrist power by using
a
roller (cut a broom stick into 1 feet length) and a string with a brick
at the end of the string (cheapest way). Once you do this regularly,
the racket weight will feel like a feather. To win a game, do plan
ahead before or starting a game. Look for your opponents weak
point and capitalize on it. My youtube videos are here. You can see
that most of the students are improving well with confidence and
enjoying the game very much. Click
here To see my Youtubes (Reduce volume a bit).
Q. How do you beat a more than 6 feet tall players
like Viktor Axelsen, Antonsen or Lee Zii Jia?
A. This tip was published just before the WC 2021. Just to let you know the time line as it happens. I know that some of the players fans may not like these tips below, Its a free world to publish anything and it is important for a player to keep up with the pace and be in tip top condition. As a fan, we want to see the best performance from all players. Smart ones will not tire themselves with too many tournaments. 2 tournaments in a row at most provided they are in quarter finals; else they shd be fit enough to continue. Imagine if I published earlier during Lin Dan days. Lee Chong Wei will be thanking me and he could have won a MAJOR. Btw, if you disagree with my strategy, you should share yours and let others read it so that we can compare notes. See which one is more accurate. No one is perfect. Again the aim is to make these top players aware of their strength and weaknesses. We want to see the best plays. Condemning is not going to help anyone. You cannot condemn if you are not even a competitive player who won tournaments. It's a different level of thinking. Only a champion understands. Show me your medals and I will show you mine.
At the highest level, you need to be fit. You should be familiar
with speed and endurance training. So, Your speed needs to be able to
move faster than them. just like Loh Kean Yew. Else, it is going to be difficult. You
are shorter, so, there is no excuse for you not to move faster as
a professional player. Shorter players have better speed. And during WC, I believe LKY must have read this or someone passed to him this valuable information. Loh Kean Yew managed to upset and beat Viktor in the 1st round (up till now at 2023, I think Victor gave the game away. They were training together at that time. Buddy thingy giving chance). You notice many smashes goes directly to his body from LKY.
I have beaten a NSW state player 6.2ft twice. Need speed and keep
shuttles low playing more nets and driving shots.
Smash to his body majority of the time to keep him at bay. Tall players
got good reach at the side. No point smashing to the side too much. However,
variation of smashes is still very important. Just make sure that when
you smash, you are ready for front shot returns. Do not smash when you
are not in good balance, else you will be caught. Just clear the shot
super high up to the baseline and reset again. Stamina wise, both party
should be similar. Unless the aga gap is huge. Tall players also doesn't
have good stamina as they have to carry their own weights during the match.
They are heavier. So, if you can rally them, it will be good as it will tire them.
With any professional player, you cannot afford to lift half court. Else you will be smacked.
You need a calm and collected mind to grind your opponent. If it is not your day, then too bad.
Get your footwork fixed quickly for the next tournament. It is the most common problem.
They will intercept straight or cross lob shots if it is too low or too
short or
half court. Very common mistakes.
Expect yourself to do quick nets and push to the back. When
you lift, it must be super high to
keep him standing at base line. Observe where he stands; at
least
you know if it's a full court shot or lift.
Legs must be stable, agile and strong to get all shots back to him to
grind him. He is also a human and he gets tired. You see him tiring
playing LZJ in AE
final 2021 or even with players like momota.
Just get the shots in and aim 1 feet inside the line to avoid mistakes.
Protection against margin of error. If you smash a little off wide, at
least its still in. Grip firm always unless you are resting.
Be alert all the time to counter attack. Focus. Strategy and execution
or the form of the day is also important. If you are not
100%, it
is tough to beat such a player. You can only hope that he got a bad day.
You can see the error made by Lee ZJ in Denmark open qtr final 2021.
Hardly any smashes to the body of Viktor. Lee Chong Wei did smash to
his body many
times to keep him glued at the middle and then smash to the side.
Viktor strength is interception of weak shots.
Same as LZJ. Viktor Loves to smash straight down the line most of the
time. As for LZJ is more on cross smash. Tall players also loves to do
backhand smash on low dangling shots. Anticipation is key. Leg
stable.
LZJ is vulnerable in smashes. If you can punch him
to the back and make him arc his body to smash, he will suffer back
pain. In 2021, Loh Kean Yew did well to beat him with speed. He is also
more hungry to win. Hunger is also very important in a match.
Tournament shuttles are slow (Victor shuttles seems faster than Yonex). No need to rush. Quality and accuracy is
important. You notice this quality in champions,
they just have that extra 1% mental power on the day.
Q. How do I beat Kento Momota?
A. It is now easier to beat him since his unfortunate accident in
Malaysia. He is history. I don't think will qualify for olympic 2024. It affected him a
lot. And also the virus infection and the pandemic. His fitness doesn't
seems to be like his pre 2019 days. Age also catching up. All you need is to drag him. Make
sure he doesn't win the 1st game. He is a slow starter. He hardly smash
much now days. His weakness is backhand defence. Strength is his
forehand nets. In 2023 Korean Masters, Momota won the tournament beating compatriout Koki. He also beat LKY and Gemke in Japan Masters the week after and will be meeting SYQ in qtr final 2023. Resurgence? Not easy playing so many matches non stop.
Since he is a leftie, he got the advantage of 3
points
ahead. Majority players are right handed. So, you will need to grind
him by placing or smashing shots to his backhand. Do change to forehand
occasionally to catch him. He doesn't seems to look tired, but he actually does if you read his body language.
It can be seen in 2021 lost to Viktor, SYQ, Tsuneyama and LKY. Now at 2023, the top left handed player is Weng Hong Yang from China aka WHY.
Q. How do I beat Ginting or WC2021 Loh Kean Yew?
A. This note was written not long after WC2021 wins. Lakshya Sen managed to beat LKY for the India Open 2022 after it was published. Again, someone or Lakshya Sen himself must have read this valuable tips before his 1st big India Open win. Now 2023, Lakshya did not win any tournament. The mens singles department is wide open now days.
If you analyze his previous games, you can see their strengths. Being shorter than the europeans, they have the explosive speed and power. Most top players got about 350-400kmh smashing speed on average. Low center of gravity. For Loh Kean Yew, he is a beast as of his wins in wc2021, he plays at a super speed mode which I already mentioned earlier above about the importance SPEED. Speed is number one. He got a blistering speed. You notice he will quickly smash any half court or 3/4 high shots. And he will move forward to pounce on it. Opponent are always caught trying to match his speed. This is a big mistake and a big no no. (Stupidity).
So, playing with this type of players, you will need to have a lot of patience again. You need to be able to bore him down and out. You need to slow down the pace as much as possible. I think you may be too young to watch the match between Prakash Padukone and Han Jian. Prakash grinds Han Jian down till he begs for mercy. Han Jian is known for his explosive speed, power and stamina. 15-0 is one of the game scoreline. This is not something which everyone can do. So, it will take months to train up for it. You will need to lift the shuttle very high up to slow down his pace and spoils his rythm. There is just no other way. Worry about stamina, it should not matter much at the highest level because you are also moving him around. Even Viktor, Antonsen, LZJ or SYQ gets tired when playing rubber games. At a professional level, it is a basic requirement that you can do what is required of you. Else pack up and don't be a professional badminton player.
His defence is awesome due to his speed, he can easily cross net the shuttle when you smash him. You can't penetrate his defence much. An alternative is you must not use brute force to smash. You can only use 80% of your full smashing power to go for accuracy to stretch him to the side to unbalance him and the rally with him again by not allowing him to smash. They counter attack very fast and you will need to lift the shuttle super high up to keep them at bay and slows them down. In Kitambi WC final match, he did just too many mistakes hitting the shuttle outside with brute force wasting his energy. Worst still he had 3 games in semis. Stupid of him and Lens to kill each other. lol
Loh Kean Yew's netting is near perfection, and also it tumbles making it difficult to hit. He can also read when you are about to net the shot and then pounce on you quickly. So you can't play netting with him, unless you know that he is far away from the net. Or the alternative is to play the so called the placing of shuttles about 2 feet away from the net so that he can't do a net spin. The shuttles still need time to travel giving you the chance as the opponent to push him to the back. Or another way is to be deceptive, you need to trick him with double motions shots. Pretend as if you are netting and the push it to the back or cross court net.
So, if you don't train up your skills and patience, you got zero chance of beating him, you can just hope that he had a bad day or not interested in the tournament and lets you win it. Let me know your thoughts or share your technical know how. I will update them accordingly. I should have wrote an analysis earlier in 2008 or 2012 on the GOAT Lindan. Then Lee Chong Wei would have won a major at least if he read my tips. Wakaka. Do share it. Good discussion points. If you are a coach and you are benefiting from these writeups, you can talk to youra ssociations to hire me or donate to me for giving you such an important tips to prepare your players to win big money. Viktor would be keen to read now. And Loh Kean Yew will also read this to try change his strategy. Hopefully he got plan B. I don't think he knows what plan B is. Wakaka. Up until 2024, LKY have yet to win any World Tour tournament s750 or s1000. Latest win is Spain masters which is only a S300 beating loly Popov Junior. This is a shame. Even the Malaysia mens doubles, Aaron Chia and Soh WY have won it now. Denmark Open 2023. They were lucky that the Top Indian, Taiwan and Japan pair did not play. However, a win is a win. Credit to them for breaking the jinx. Now they gained back some credibility.lol
Q. How do you beat Lakshya Sen.
A. Lakshya has not won any other major since his Indian Open victory. Am talking about either S750, 1000 or WC or OG. Maybe he will someday if he works hard enough am sure.
So, in order to beat Lakshya, you need to see the video which Viktor beat him in the AE 2022 final. Firstly, Sen is a defensive and stroke player. He hardly have any strong smashes. He is good in his drives, so avoid playing drive or parallel shots with him or giving him dangling shots to kill you. Most short players are good at this. His reflex is good meaning you cannot try to push fast shots to him, he is ready for you, due to the fact that he is defensive. He is good in netting also, you need to push him to the back. Be patient. Not sure if he can recover after his operations.
He is fit. So, for all players who wants to beat him, you just need to grind him out to play simple shots to the 4 corners. You cannot afford to smash or drive him blindly. You will kill yourself making mistakes and giving him free points. Just do the normal strokes and kill when opportunity comes. Do not rush or slack playing him. This means you need to have a game or point plans to know when you are about to kill and ready for his returns immediately. You notice a lot of players lost to him because they rushed and this causes them to make unnecessary mistakes. If you are below 30 years old, you should be able to match his fitness to play safe shots. Don't get sucked in and over do the killing to tire yourself or make a fool of your self just like LKY (India open 2022), Antonsen and LZJ in AE2022. I am sure they learnt from this lost since they got stung before. Be a smart player. Viktor learnt it quickly after loosing to him in German Open. Or perhaps Viktor already knows how to handle him and not keen in small money German Open; thats why Viktor purposely lose to him to boost his confidence. Remember that Vitid beaten him in German Open final in 2022.
Do let me know if you want me to analyze other
players. Remember to donate to me ya. If you are generous, you can donate using paynow in Singapore +65-98736396
Q. What are the key take away in badminton?
A. The 3 S are very important. Speed, Strategy and Stamina. The most
important is speed assuming that both players are at the same level.
The one who is faster on the day will have a huge advantage to win the
game. You are one step ahead already. The second is strategy; even if
you don't have stamina and if you play with the right plan, you will be
able to move your opponent more thus making them more tired that you.
As for stamina, nothing to worry about. All players have similar
stamina given the fact that they are playing at the same level or
standard. So plan early and get ready to move faster than your opponent.
Coaching is available for all. Be it you are a
student,
beginners advanced both young, old, male or female. Nothing to be shy
about. Once you get the fundamental skills, you'll be on your way to
enjoy
the game better; your understanding of the game will be better
than the
rest. A few sessions of this
training will set you up for good. You don't need to struggle on how to
play badminton for life (ie not sure if you are executing a correct
shot).
I will teach you the necessary strategy to be the
best in your
school or group. Even though you may already have a coach, there's no
harm getting another perspective to see your weakness. I believe you
must have someone in mind whom you want to beat really bad correct? (It
can be a cocky/snobby player in the group or another school player).
Just ask me to guide you. Your money will be well spent.
Being
incompetent in badminton could probably cost you more in the long run.
Effort will be easier and you don't have to go through the "School of
Hard Knock!". Use whatever resources available to be competitive and
win the game. No point keep on loosing all the time and be miserable.
It can be depressing and frustrating.
Customized
rackets
also available for schools, clubs, colleges and Universities. Any
model. It is only a mold friend. Just like a handphone.
How to start for beginners.
Please make sure you are reasonably fit enough to start hitting some
shuttles. Easiest way to start is to get a racket and a shuttle, drag
someone to join you and just have some fun hit without any badminton
net. Relax and Enjoy every hit of it and keep trying with strength and
accuracy for about 30 minutes. Play regularly (about at least 2 times a
week for a month) until you feel that you are good enough to start
playing with other.
Now, get some friends and talk about badminton
and
start a small club or ask if there is a club to join in. Begin to build
on the basics of the games. Library will have some free books. Watch
some tournaments in youtube.
When you reach at the highest level of play, it is 90 percent a mind
game and 10 percent physical game. If you are a beginner, then it could
be the other way round.
So, the focus shift as you improve your game. At
high
level of play, No matter how good physically or racket you have, it
doesn't matter. You can ask some champions to see if it is
true.
Basic
foot work, experience, strategy & exposure are very important.
Do a
lot of shadow run. Tango method or crab method. Train yourself for at
least an hour.
Recommended tension is 20-23lbs for beginners. Some extreme
cases went to 28 and above; its like hitting a plank. The higher the
tension, the easier it is for the string to snap especially
when you hit the wrong spot. However, the feeling is good when you
reach at high tension level.
Netting very much depending on your wrist
work and your arm positioning. Has to be near straight and use your
wrist to
spin the shuttle a little.
Beef up your
wrist power and hold firm at 80% level while smashing (for accuracy).
Just
practice it. It will save you lots of smashing energy. Also gives you
the power to do backhand smash like a professional. Work your wrist
till you can't hold the racket.
Get someone to tap you while you
defense. This will help your wrist power, reflexes and defending. It'll
make you solid like a wall.
The size of grips can be adjusted
accordingly. If you want it small, pull firmer while putting on the
grip (it will be thinner). If you want fatter grip, just put it on at
normal strength.
Stringing at a higher tension will give you more
control over the
direction the shuttle takes off your stringbed, but at the expense of
increased power. Conversely, a looser strung racquet will give greater
power, hence the explosion of the shuttle off the strings, but with
less control. The reason for this is best described by the "trampoline
effect." If you jump on a solid floor, you will not get much bounce,
because the hard surface absorbs your energy. But, try jumping on a
trampoline and up you go, benefiting from the return of energy that
occurs when the trampoline strings stretch with your impact, and then
rebound back.
Basics of badminton.
In badminton or any other sports, more
offense
(70%) compared to defense will win you the game. Assuming that you are
playing at the same level. Some defensive players
are very good in counter attacks. So, don't be misled by them. Some say
a good offence is a solid defense. They will pounce on you.
At any
level, if you want to be a better player or keep your consistency, you
will need to give your extreme best. Do a small wager to keep the
intensity
up (loser do pumping or buy a can of drink).
Generally, points are lost
because of mistakes. Which could be due to tiredness or carelessness.
Also good to count them. There is a law of averages.
Do ask those experience players. You'll need to read the tips again and
again to get it right. Get me to coach you lor... aiyah...
Offensive Strategy (Or tips)
For singles, Aim for all the four corners, keep hitting to the front
(drop) and back (punch is better) to make your opponent tired
(move them diagonally). Do occasional slicing or chopping. Smash to the
sideline (Aim
1 feet inside the line to be safe). Do flat baseline punching
to
keep your opponent off balance. Smash to the body at times to confuse
them. Oh make sure you can handle all the shots if your opponents do
the same back to you (haha).
Phsycological points are 18, 19, and deuce
situation.
Finish it off whenever possible. Always take a short break and many
deep breaths. You are not considered a complete player if you have NOT
lost a game to another player while leading at these points. Have to
learn through hard knock sometimes. Ask Lin Dan, Lee Chong Wei, Misbun
against Liem Swee King.
For doubles, Practice smashing to the middle to confuse both players.
KEEP on doing this till you are good at it. Keep practicing on your
smashes to maintain that extreme power (Thats the
reason why I
call it extreme power; makes sense?). Even when you
are playing
for fun, keep the power and drive back with flat returns (counter
attack). You will get some respect when you do that and mentally, you
are one step ahead when you show your Extreme Power.
Always tap at their service. Racket MUST be at your head level all the
time, ready to
pounce and keep the pressure on your opponents. If you continuously
play
with dedication and discipline, you'll be ahead of the rest quickly and
when it comes to tournament days, you will adapt faster and easier. So,
no
lazying around or look for short cuts.
For doubles front partner, stay on the T joint
area to
anticipate weak shots. If you are fast, you may stay slightly
behind. Some international players if you observe closely may... just
stay right in front of the partner doing the smashing. The expectation
is most shots will come back straight... when your partner smash
straight. It is not easy for opponents to defence and place the shuttle
cross court. Again, assuming as same level. The speed is just too fast.
Defensive Strategy
Singles, be patience, just return the shuttle; place the
shuttle
front and back. You opponent will feel hopeless when you can return all
the shots. Make sure you beef up your stamina. Do occasional cross
courts when handling smashes. Vary them with high clear, net and
driving or counter attack. Please practice with your friends first. Do
it regularly and you'll be the king. When your opponent ask for a
time-out, then you know, your job is done. Just like Prakash Padukone
against Han Jian or LCW against Simon Santoso in SO2008 finals..
Handling front shots. Stay a little to the front
half of
the court. You should have time to recover it, lean your body to the
front a little, get the legs to be ready. Solid footwork matters. If
the shuttle goes to the back, it is a little slower, you should have
time to go to the back. Again, solid footwork in fundamental. Do shadow
run always.
Doubles, Always cross the shuttles when someone smashes you. The idea
is to keep your opponents moving. Hit the shuttle to the weaker
partner. Focus on the weaker partner to get them frustrated.
Occasionally, hit to the better player to keep him out of balance or
keep him in his place (ie. Not allowing him to cover the weaker
player). Be prepared for counter attack. Get your feet position and
wrist ready to flick cross court. To know when you have achieve
defensive perfection is when your opponent says you are like a wall.
(Be proud and congratulations).
For standing position, you'll need to gauge your
opponents offence traits, if they hit the shots sharp down, then it's
better to stay in the middle, if their shot are flat to the back, you
may stand to the back a bit, but again, be careful, you may not have
time to reach the front, in case they do a trick shot on you.
Doing regular 10 minutes drills net-tap and return drive will make you
a wall for your opponents to remember. Do it till your hands and wrist
are numbed. Try it. It'll make you feel good.
Other Notes.
Even with improvements in string technology,
breakage is
as common as ever, due to the increasing popularity of thinner strings
and HIGH stringing tensions. In order to reduce breakage, it is
important to understand that it has several different causes. Each may
be addressed through a different approach. The first and most common
cause of breakage is stretching the string beyond its elastic
limits-similar to pulling a rubber band until it snaps. This usually
occurs on one of the central four main strings, within an inch or two
of the racket’s head. The sweet spot is the most
resilient-and
hence most powerful-area on the racquet.
No matter how clever racquet designers may be, they’ll never
be
able to make the sweet spot extend right to the edge of the racket
head. Every time you miss-hit outside the sweet spot, you’re
stressing a relatively un-resilient section of the string.
There’s simply not much string to stretch between the
shuttlecock
and the edge of the racket, and if the forces are too great, it snaps.
Stringing at lower tension will reduce the incidence of this problem,
as will the use of a thicker string. But don’t change both at
once.
Approach the problem systematically, change one or the other, and play
on the new setup for a few weeks before deciding what your next move
should be. Other relatively common causes of breakage are
string-to-string abrasion and cutting. Every time you hit the
shuttlecock, the cross strings pound against the main strings. In time,
they can cut through the outer jacket and into the core. Likewise,
“cutting” and spin shots cause the strings to
“saw” back and forth against each other, with much
the same
effect. Again, thick string withstands this longer than thin string,
but there are better ways to resist abrasion and cutting.
Some strings have two jackets or wear layers instead of the more common
single wear layer. Naturally, two jackets will resist abrasion longer.
Jackets may also be either twisted or braided over the core. Braiding
is the more durable approach because the over-under-over design locks
all the fibers in place. Even after a few jacket fibers have worn
through, the jacket as a whole remains intact. In contrast, a twisted
jacket may start to unwind as soon as the first fiber is breached.
Over-stressing, and string-against-string forces are inherent in the
game. They’re not entirely avoidable, but you can take steps
to
reduce their effects. Other types of breaks are due to racket defects
or carelessness, and can be completely eliminated with proper
attention. A broken, split grommet may present a sharp edge that can
cut into the string. If the grommet is missing, the frame itself may
cut the string.
Next time the strings are out of your racket, feel the edges of the
holes that are drilled into the frame: they may be quite sharp. The
simple solution is to make sure the grommets are sound. A new grommet
strip may cost $5 or $6: well worthwhile if it saves you a $20
stringing job. If the proper grommet strip is unavailable, your
stringer may be able to install a piece of plastic tubing as a
temporary repair. Temperature-related breakage is common in cold
climates in the U.S. and Europe. Cold causes the string to contract,
significantly increasing its tension. Furthermore, nylon, which is
normally a very resilient material, becomes brittle when it’s
cold. For both of these reasons, if a racket is taken directly from a
cold car trunk and immediately put into hard use, the string can
shatter.
The solution to this problem is simple. You can protect the racket from
the cold by transporting it in the heated cab of the car, and/or by
carrying it in an insulated racket bag. If the racket does get cold,
give it several minutes to warm up before putting it into play. Even
with proper care, some string breakage is inevitable. As a string ages,
it gradually becomes abraded and loses resiliency. Your best bet is to
restring before such degradation occurs: newer strings perform better,
and you’ll be surprised less often in the middle of a match.
Tournament is more demanding than practice or recreational play. It's
also tougher on your equipment. Here's how to ensure that your gear is
up to the challenge. Good preparation is essential. Before any
tournament, you should have resolved, at least temporarily, any
questions about your equipment. Serious competition is no time to
experiment with different racquets, string, shoes, or anything else.
After the tournament, you will analyze every decision and every move
you made, and that might involve re-evaluating equipment choices. But
going in, you must have confidence in your equipment, so that you can
devote full attention to your play. Supply yourself with numerous
racquets, and take the time to become familiar with all of them. When
you break a string in the middle of a match, or when the string begins
to lose its tension, you want to be able to switch to another racquet
and continue playing as if nothing had happened.
This is no time to get the feel for a new setup. I'd recommend a
minimum of THREE racquets, although five or six is not unreasonable.
Ideally, the racquets should be identical. In practice, few can afford
to replace all their racquets simultaneously, so most players have a
collection consisting of their newest, favorite racquet, followed by
the second-newest, second-favorite, etc. This makes it essential that
you settle on your favorite stringing setup for each racquet before the
tournament.
The racquets should be strung to your specifications by your favorite
stringer (ie. me yours truly), on his usual machine. Well, I do string
for ex-national players as well. For at least four good reasons, you
should use the tournament's on-site stringers only when necessary.
First, they don't know you or your preferences. Second, even
professional stringers use different techniques and may get different
results. This extreme power guy strings beautifully. Try it.
Third, tournament stringers work under incredible time pressure. And
fourth, stringing machines differ in quality, condition, and design,
and generate results that can vary by several pounds. (Electronic,
constant-pull machines consistently produce tighter string jobs than
mechanical, fixed-tension machines at the same tension settings.) You
can eliminate these variables by arriving with your racquets
pre-strung. But what if you must restring during a tournament? Again,
preparation is key.
Pack several sets of your favorite string in your gear bag. Know what
tension you prefer in each racquet. Ask your regular stringer about any
unusual stringing techniques he uses, and find out if he uses a
constant-pull or fixed-tension machine. Explain your preferences to the
tournament stringer, and ask him to duplicate your usual setup, using
your string. Tournament matches take longer, on average, than
recreational matches, because players and teams tend to be more evenly
matched, and because every point is taken seriously. Racquet string
therefore takes more of a beating, and may lose tension during a single
match.
Certainly, string breakage is more common in tournaments. Make sure
you're ready for these mishaps by having extra racquets ready, and by
being prepared to have your racquets restrung according to your needs
and preferences. As a tournament player, you must cope with much that
is unfamiliar. You're often playing unknown opponents in unfamiliar
surroundings, sleeping in a strange bed, and maybe even trying to
adjust to a different time zone. Do yourself a favor and make sure that
your equipment, at least, stays the same.
Tips to keep your racket in good
condition (applies
to all brands).
String will normally run out of
tension over a 3
months period. So, change it if you want a good feel while playing.
Change your grip whenever you feel that you don't grip well. I have
good grips for you if you want it.
Also, your stringer might recommend replacing the grommet strip and
bumper-guard to keep your frame in good repair and your strings intact.
He can show you the worn grommets and the chipped or worn bumper-guard.
Don't resist this replacement. It's a normal part of servicing your
racquet (like replacing the tires on your car) and it'll add years to
the frame's longevity and maximize the longevity of your strings. Due
to grommets weakness, it'll also causes the frame to sag in. It's time
for new rackets after 1 year old due to more inferior materials used
during manufacturing and also short of carbon supplies around the
world. All rackets have similar lifespan. Avoid exposing your racket in
hot sun, water or in the car. Heat and also water can degrade the
quality of your rackets. Don't place heavy objects on the racket.
Have a good cover to protect our racket. Again, get it from me if you
want it.
If you can keep your racket in good condition, there's no point buying
expensive or so called branded racket. They are all very similar and
breaks regularly, which could be due to stringing problem or clashes.
Extreme Power badminton racket is the best for you!
You can get
a few pieces of it with the same cost compared to the more expensive
ones.
It's time to change your racquet, if it is more than 2 years old. On
average a player will break about 5-10 racquets. Some even break 5
pieces in one year alone, the culprit is the high tension used. Just
like the professionals, they will break their rackets within a month of
usage and since it's sponsored, they couldn't care about breakages.
Well, if you can afford it, go ahead and have high tensions. At most
24lbs for normal advanced players will do.
Courtesy of a good friend.
Singles Strategy.
1. very important to have a quick eye.
focus on
the bird as it leaves your opponents racket
then workout the direction u have to move. Some listen to the impact of
the racket to know if it is a hard shot.
2. always be in a ready position with your knees bend and on the toe.
push against the floor to propel in any direction. Pace a little.
3. exploit the four corners of the court. especially one deep shot into
the forehand
followed by one into the deep backhand. u are bound to get the weak
return.
4. return to "head office" after every shot (center)
5. avoid silly errors, fancy strokes, and all the gorengs here and
there. (Once a while is ok for fun).
6. be patient in rallies. keep throwing back everything to the
opponent. Stay like a wall.
7. know your opponents favorite shot and move in early to surprise him.
Counter attack.
8. serve high and deep to push opponent far (for pro serve low la)
9. use your wrist strength to drive, push, tap front shots
10. when under pressure hit very high to buy recovery time or cross
court drop
11. never change a winning strategy but quickly change a losing strategy
12. appear confident, be confident......tell yourself, if you feel
tired, your opponent is more tired that you. This is mental power.
For doubles
strategy.
You need to keep the shuttle low and dominate the net area. If not, you
will have a lot of trouble when you lift too much. Again, assuming
playing at the same level. The one with more offence tends to win the
game. You need to attach at a higher percentage like 60% level all the
time to win it.
You need to be creative to create chances for your partner to smash.
Always get ready and be alert because the pace of doubles is faster
than singles. Counter attacks and cross defence or netting is
important. Practice low service always. This is a killer to many
players. Learn side stepping or apply a few trick shots.
Persistence in smashing is important and always get ready to
pounce on loose shots.
Basic rule of thumb.
1) Grip firmly (use my grip, Thick, long lasting and non-slip). Press
it down while smashing.
2) Good footwork. Reach there first and be stable before hitting the
shuttle.
3) Make your opponents move all the time to tire them. (Mental). This
is the strategy. Patience.
4) Aim for the corners. Be save to aim 1 feet inside the line (less
mistakes). Smash if it's half-court.
5) Note: When you are tired, your opponent will also be more
tired than you.
Encourage (talk to) yourself. Shout if you have to. Like McEnroe. lol.
Say, You can't be serious. Again, Its all about
less mistakes.
True? Did you count your mistakes when you loose?
It
helps in reminding you. I do it as well.
6) Back to (1) again.
Tine Baun 2010 qtrfinal win: Asked
how she had managed to save them, she said: "I just let go. I was
thinking to make her win her own point, and if I lost I would still not
be angry because I did just the best I could do."
Good Questions and Answers.
Q. How do you prepare mentally?
A. Have you seen the contender boxing show or Rocky? If you can have a
heart like those guys, then you ARE a CHAMPION! Work hard and smart all
the time. Show some emotion!
Q. Whats the fastest way to learn badminton or be better?
A. No short cut man. Get a coach. I can help you on 1-to-1 training.
Hopefully you can join the national team after 2 years. Discipline and
lots of sacrifice to reach the level. You need to expose yourself
against many players.
Q. My knees hurts after lots of jump smash and returning drop shots?
A. Drink kangen enagic water to remove the acid crystals in your knees.
Let me know if you want it. It works for me. Have a proper knee
support. Do the right footwork. There
are proper techniques.
Q. Where can I play in Singapore?
You can join Chong
Pang CC, Tuesday 7.30pm. 3 courts. Ask for Eng Keat.
Alternatively, you can use facebook to search for badminton singapore group to join badminton groups being advertised there. Or goto badmintoncentral.com to find organisers in Singapore.
Can give you free coaching, better tips and show you the correct way to
play. Advance players always welcome. I'll guarantee you have a good
sweat. Or join my team is you are a good player. Also, due to pandemic
or for any other reasons, things change. Do contact me for new places
or day to play.
Q. How do I form a group by myself near my area of stay?
A. You can try to fix up a court near to you. Then go to some badminton
forums (or facebook badminton singapore group) and invite people. Start with a single court and grow
accordingly. Some people even make money out of organising it. Let me
know if you need me to invite players for you. I'll be glad to help.
Q. Well, what if I am an advance player? Where
can I
play?
A. You can come to Yishun Town Sec School 10am Sunday. Only advance
players allowed. $8 per session. Sembawang cc wed 7pm. Wah
lotsa advance kakis for you to sweat out. Shiok ah....
Q. Where can I play in East and Central area?
A. You can call SIA sport club. Strictly intermediate or
above
only. The manager say so lor...
Or I can bring you there if you are shy. Just go and take a look to see
if your standard can match them. If yes, then you ask permission to
join in. They are all nice people.
Q. Do you sponsor players?
A. Yes, I'll sponsor racquets. However, you need to help to promote the
racquets to your friends. win win.
Q. What will you do when your opponent serve a very high ball into your
court when playing doubles? The serve is just within the service back
line. How should you prepare your self when the shuttle drops?
A. When your opponent serves high, Just move to the back and smash it.
Make sure that you are positioned correctly, ie in front of the
shuttle. Practice jump smash. This will give you extra sharpness.
Continue to build up your smashing power. As long as you are below 35
yrs old, should not be a problem. Find the weaker player or whip to the
middle.
Q. What's so special about your racquets?
A. It is durable, sexy design, feels good, quality, affordable,
reliable and strong. Recommended by good and advance players. I did try
clashing with other brands or so called popular racquets, and theirs
broke first. So, you can really keep it for quite a long time. Hope
this convinces you. The mold is recommended by advance players. So, the
quality and consistency is there. If there is a manufacturing defects
or cracks upon purchasing, I'll replace the racket. These are classics
& I don't come out with too many models just to confuse people
which other brands are trying to do. They crack pretty fast under high
tension.
Q. I really don't know when the best time to make contact with the
shuttlecock, how my arm should be positioned and at what angle, and how
exactly to follow through?
A. Need
a coach?
Just
make sure that you are in front of the shuttle
and your elbow is close to straight when hitting the shuttle (hit at
the highest point), you'll need to move your shoulder and legs as you
hit; also use your wrist to flick the shuttle to add pace. Just take a
look at some of the advance players and it should be able to help. Just
focus on it.
Q. I tend to have this doubt when playing. Cause when he serve high and
far you have time to move back but when the shuttle is dropping i would
be thinking to return high to the corner to get back to my position or
to just hit it down the line?
A. Build up your speed and leg work. You have 4 corners to hit, just
choose his weakness and make sure that you comeback to the middle and
anticipate the next shot. You can also jump smash. 2 more places to
kill; ie left or right.
Q. My shoulder hurts, how do I handle this?
A. You can try using more wrist work to smash it down instead of using
your shoulder. You may aggravate it. Just
improve your wrist power and it should be fine. Note that if you have
great power, it'll definitely help in offence, however the trick is
control and positioning your smash to the weaker player, to both sides
or
to the body. You'll need to analyze your opponent as you go along. Slam
to the middle if both are equally strong.
I do face problem with shoulders and I switch to more wrist power and
heavier rackets helps in terms of keeping the power. Am also not sure
if its a blood circulation issue. I just bought those little magnetic
stuff where I put it on my feet (helps circulation) and the pain is no
longer there. Takes time though. Good luck!
Q. How do you train your wrist power? And when
smashing,
is it the wrist power or the arm? As i am not very tall (standing at
1.63m) i usually don't smash but this is the best way to kill off a
point.
A. Smashing takes a combination of wrist, arm, shoulder, body, hips and
proper foot work. Do look at how the pros do it in tournaments. Just
follow one player who suits your style. Use a round wood, tie it to a
string with a rock or weight at the bottom. Then just put your arms
straight and roll it up using your wrist. Do it regularly and you will
become the king of smashing and power defending. Again, keep on
smashing to train and build up your power (its ok to loose as long as
you focus on what you want to improve on). Since you are just beginning
to become a better player, just build your overall muscle and fitness.
Use the gym if you can afford it. Or swim to build your overall
shoulder power. Do some butterfly strokes. (Can or not? hehe). You can
buy the equipment from me. $30.
Q. How do I control the flight of the shuttle?
A. One trick is to snap evenly the 4 or the 16 feathers, if it is too
fast. Don't cut it, just bend it a bit like David Beckham. If it is
slow, wet it a little. It'll affect your string lifespan though.
Q. How do I improve my foot work or running?
A. Just do a lot of skipping. Half an hour session. Play more singles
and shadow run about 10 minutes. Have QUALITY
practice
to make it better. Once you've done this continuously for 3 months, you
should be good. Sexy too. Looks effortless.
Q. How do I improve my reflexes or defence?
A. Take a shuttle an hit against the wall continuously for 50 times
without dropping the shuttle. Do it continuously till your wrist gives
up. No pain no gain in this. Or Roll the brick.
See my youtube videos.
Q. How do I improve my back hand?
A. Make sure that the contact with the shuttle is at the highest point
while hitting from backhand. Just use your wrist to flick it to the
back. Improve your wrist power. I am sure you will be able to do
backhand smash like I do (Ahem2...). Practice for about 2 minutes each
time. Good luck! Some of the answers sounds easy and a little braggy at
times, I'm just trying to put some humor into it and hope that you read
this with a "pinch of salt"; above all, you must enjoy the game.
Q. Can you give me some tips on how to increase my smashing power?
A. The cheapest way of gaining strength is to use a broom stick, cut it
into 1 feet, then nail a strong durable string on it and then tie a
brick stone or weight at the other end of the string. Keep it about 3
feet long. Use both hand to hold the stick and grind it using your
wrist. Hands must be straight. Your smashing will 100% improve once
you've done it regularly. Defense is a breeze. Especially, just before
your game. This is how the good old free way of gaining powerful
smashes. Note that nothing comes easy. You'll need to work on it almost
everyday in order to get the power. "With great
power, comes
great responsibility". hmmm sounds familiar rite? See
my Youtube.
Q. How do I handle injuries?
A. Just see a physio or a doctor, rest, swim and use more on wrist to
just enjoy it. Make sure you warm up and down properly next time. Rest
la... For some older folks, do go easy. Life is short. Never too old to
get coaching hor... Also watch your back. Do not simply jump. I got a
friend who injured his back bone. Slip disc.
Q. How do I beat a better player?
A. You need to analyze their game and weaknesses. Ask others about
their weaknesses too. Am sure you can beat them. Practice on it. Get me
to coach you lor.. Sure can one... cannot also
can... hehe..
Q. My punching/lob goes out and my smashes goes
into the
net. What do I do?
A. One way to reduce the shuttle going out is to slice it. It'll reduce
the impact. But you'll need to aim it slightly higher while punch/slice
it. For smashing, you can always do a first half-smash, then slowly aim
better with more power. The idea is to get the shuttle low and get back
into position for the next one.
Q. Yonex, Lining and others have so many different
series. What
are their differences? I always thought the most important specs of a
racquet is Strength, Weight and Rigidity. Some models from different
series seem to have similar specs.
A. Many are similar actually, its just the mold, shape and colour that
makes it look different and confusing for buyers. Most come from same
manufacturer (OEM) but with different brand names. Of course you'll
never know which is the manufacturer. 90% of the world rackets are from
China. Some says "China is God". lol...
Q. Some racquets are rated flexible while others stiff. What is the
pros, cons and purpose?
A. Stiffness does not vary too much. Too stiff will be like an iron,
too flexible will give problem in timing and accuracy. Stiff is mainly
for power players who needs accuracy, flex is more for beginners to
help them to swing the shuttle further.
Q. What are the
characteristics of a racquet
gives you power and control?
A. Basically, the trick is the racket which gives you the best feel
when you play with it. Also it depends on if you are a defensive
(nano-matrix or Z9000) or attacking player. Defensive needs lighter
rackets. Offensive needs balance or heavier frame (Zforce). Combo
player needs EP18
or EP18L
Q. How do you defend a body shot?
A. Hold the racket high up near to the cone, with you thumb ready to
push the shuttle. Put your hand to the front of your body with elbow
slightly bent. Put some space between the racket and your body. Flick
the shuttle back to the opponent when it is near. Move your body and
legs to have a good feel. (Just like dancing). Anticipate it and keep
on practicing. Do this regularly and your defence mechanism will be
solid like a rock. You opponent will knee down in front of you and beg
for mercy.. hehe.
Q. What do I need to do if I want to buy your racquets?
A. Just email me and leave me your hp number. You can either collect it
yourself or I can post it to you which I normally do for my customers
overseas.
Q. Why is it that some people will say bad thing about someone else be
it in a game, rackets or outside of the game? How do you handle bad
comments from people?
A. Its normal. Some of the reason is due to that fact that they are
competitors (I do get it regularly). They have another agenda in mind
by selling other brands. Very unscrupulous and unethical correct? Some
are lunatics. Jealousy. Some are crazy beyond repaired. Some just
trying to blow off steam because of competency issue. Some just want to
get attention. Some think they are better or knows more than some
(where else they are only a small inexperienced fly). Some thinks they
can play better than others and yet they don't even know how to hold a
racket or knows the basics about badminton or rackets. So, its very
difficult to judge people. Some had a bad game and want to rant and
blame on others. Some blame on the equipments and courts or umpire,
when they loose a game. Let them say whatever they want, Some call it
politics; you just enjoy the game and ignore these hapless pathetic
people. See the rackets below for some cracked ones. Is it worth the
price to pay for the branding? I don't think so and I am sure you will
agree with it.
Q. As a female player, how do I play mix to contribute best?
A. Just keep the shot low near the net area. Brave to pounce or push
the shot or just block it (again, keep it low). Do not lift the shuttle
at ANYTIME if possible. Serve low shot and have confidence in your
partner to take all the shots behind you. Keep your shots simple (High
Percentage game). Don't have to put the shots too hard or too close to
the net. Its just too risky. Just take care of everything that is
in-front of you and keep it low. Speed up your game and keep the
intensity going. Flirt with the male opponent if you have to. The idea
is to distract him. (lol). Once you are confident in netting. Try to
spin the shuttle a bit to make it difficult for your oppontnet to
return.
Q. What's the critical skill for ladies?
A. Its more on the speed, you need to move faster than your opponents
as well as being able to return good shots. Composure is important.
Think about how to move faster and anticipate shots. Practice netting
regularly. Cross courts if possible. My
female students here.
Q. Why is it that partners always argue? How to resolve it?
A. Its normal due to pressure or a person character. Just get an
intermediate coach or buddy to see who is weaker to correct the
mistakes on both side. You can also count to see who makes more
mistakes or see who's weakness is more obvious if you want to go to the
extreme level. It happens to international players as well. Do you know
who? guess and let me know.
Q. Is it true that the better singles player will
be a
better doubles player?
A. Difficult to say, but to a certain extend its true (higher
percentage). Reason being that as a singles player, they cover the
court a lot and they tend to be more agile due to the excessive effort
they have to put into singles. When it comes to doubles, the effort is
less. Of course the game is faster in doubles and if the singles player
is not good in speed, then it doesn't really make him a better player.
Again its the style and the mistakes that counts. Have a proper doubles
strategy and less mistakes. Singles players then to leave the racket
below their shoulder (lazy); as for doubles game, its important to keep
the racket above shoulder level to anticipate.
Q. Why is it that my rackets are out of shape
after
re-stringing?
A. The reason is its being strung by non-professionals. Sometimes you
will see its crooked and rounded when strung by some old aunties or
uncles. They are not badminton players and the couldn't care more about
your racket. They just want to make more money. I will analyze your
racket and string it nicely with good tension for you. I've been
stringing
for more than 30 years. Click here. Let your friends know.
Also cheaper than
market price. Bulk string orders welcome.
Q. Who should take the middle shots in doubles?
A. The one with forehand stroke. If one is a left and one is a right
handed, then the stronger attacking person should take it. Be it front
or back. Again, you need to plan and communicate with each other. This
is my favorite spot and hated by most defenders.
Q. I always have a fear that people will tap me
when I
serve low, what do I do?
A. Take your time to serve. Tell yourself to relax. Also get someone to
simulate the rush; you just practice the serve. This will help you to
get rid of the nervousness as well as helping you to get the optimal
strength for serving. Always target the T-joint area. Practice is the
keyword. Even the pros gets nervous. It is a life cycle that every
badminton player have to go through. Once you get the technique
correct, no one can bully you; its a breeze. You need to practice your
serves as much as you practice for other strokes. No short cuts. Draw a
line on the wall with a 6 inches gap. Practice to nail to the middle.
This is another way to learn alone.
Q. How do I smash and how to jump smash?
A. To work on smashing. The stroke is very similar to lobbing with
the exception that you use your wrist to press the shuttle down lower
and
your body need to bend down to the front (as if you
are
starting to sprint). Your racket will need to follow through right to
the back and make sure that your body is forward moving to move back to
the centre position. Do see how the experts smash especially during the
contact. There's lot of wrist work in it which you normally can't see.
Use it. See the coach jump smash video.
As for
jump smash,
you will need to do regular jumps with both feet
and
knees up. Try star jump to make your thighs stronger. Need to practice
the bounce at the ankle and knee level. Practice hang time like what
the basketballers do. Then
practice with a normal smash (as above) when you jump. Practice with
the shuttles slowly and get the timing right. eg jump when the shuttle
about to tilt downwards. Once you do jump smash
regularly, you'll
get respect from your opponents. Just keep on jumping whenever
you
get the opportunity to smash. Its just for
practice purpose, not much about winning. Once you've perfected it,
then it will become natural and easy. Hope this helps.
Q. How do I practice hang time?
A. Do lots of double skipping using jump rope. Practice skipping for 30
minutes non stop. You'll be a much better player. Do double skip jump
and bend you knees. Jump to the ceiling and try to touch it as long as
you can. (Make sure the fan is not spinning ok? hehe. I do sell quality
skipping rope. Let me know if you want it. Helps you grow taller
quickly as well. Especially for kids.
Q. Which area or spot do you recommend me to smash?
A. If you can determine your opponents weakness, then there's the
place. Normal safe side will be straight down on your side single-line
of the court or the body (Get your partner ready to pounce on weak
returns). Do not cross court UNLESS you are very sure. Its vulnerable
to counter attack by your opponent. If you don't believe it, try lah...
I kena already. Ego is not going to help. You'll know what I mean when
you get blasted (being crossed court) by good players. If you insist,
better make sure you can cover the other side.
Q. I have certain weakness in my game. What do I
do?
A. Just practice on it. Ask your coach (me) or friends on how correct
it. You must practice the drilling till you feel numb on your wrist,
hand or thigh muscle. Know your limits and don't get injured. Some say
no pain, no gain. You've watch Rocky? Follow la... Just enjoy it!
Again, if you need a coach, just contact me.
Q. Why is it that coaching is important and what's
special about you?
A. Well, coaching is one of the fastest way for you to learn and
improve your game faster. Especially 1 to 1. The reason why most people
use my service is because I can tailor the drills to their level of
intensity. Its focus and effective. Furthermore, I am
a
degree holder and I can
motivate, communicate with students more effectively.
I played many intensed
competitive tournaments and winning them. I know what is the
right and wrong techniques of students. I
can give you quality and secret drills, reason being that not many
coaches have been to the highest competitive leveland
knowing HOW to execute them
properly.
The feeling the
experience is VERY different. You will also be able to gain the
insights of how to mentally prepare for a game to beat your opponents
through proven techniques. With this, you are assured that you can
improve faster and better than anyone else.
You can
beat the hell out of your enemies easily.
I also conduct high
performance training for competitive players. So, email me now.
Children, Adults, men or women are all welcome. No one is too young or
too old to learn something new. I don't discriminate. $50 an hour
session; and a little sense of humour, professionalism and
enjoyment.
This is the quickest and sure-fire way of being a
better player than
others. You can even get rackets, stringing and grips at special
prices. I'll train you until you beat me. Where to find fren? Agree? My
student also purchase and drinks kangen water. Makes you strong and
healthy. It
is Anti-cancer!
Q. How can I have a piece of you or beat you?
A. Come and join me lor... I'll let you beat me up. Then you treat me
makan (it means food, in case some of you are a little challenged in
the area of language. hehe) ok?
Q. Why do I feel as if I am not improving?
A. If you train regularly and play regularly (at least twice a week),
you should improve. It is important to play with many different players
to get the exposure. It is normal for you to feel incomplete. Just be
patience and you will be there. Identify your weaknesses and get it
fixed. There are times where your hitting techniques or strategy
are not correct. Ask your coach.
Q. Why do I have to train hard?
A. Reason being that in order for you to improve to be a better player,
you must push yourself to the limit in terms of strength, stamina and
power. This gives you an edge over other players. The more you train
and the more you play, you will definitely be ahead of the rest. Both
Quality and Quantity is important. If you aspire to be a national
player, you will need to work a lot more harder. Good things doesn't
come easy. If you aspire to be a national player, you'll need to be in
top 3 of your age group. Else, better go and focus on your studies; get
a good job and just enjoy badminton as a leisure game.
Q. What do you mean by quality training?
A. Quality training means, you have to practice all the drills properly
in terms of executing your shots and footwork. For example, if you are
smashing, use full power; when you are stretching your legs, do it the
correct way. Position your hands accurately. Proper movement and
strategy have to be there; infact, it should be harder than during
tournament play so that you are always ready for real competition play.
Even though some of the shots are routine, just do it in proper and
diligently. The old saying "practice makes perfect". You will only
improve when you know that you have stretched to the limit. eg. hands
and legs felt numb. It doesn't matter if your colleagues know your
style, there are lots of differences between real tournament play and
training. You just need to condition it as if its real. This is what
champions do and I can see one in you since you've read a lot and
reaching here all the way. Crazy ah you? I salute you! It shows You
have good stamina on badminton. I also distribute videos to my
students. It gives them competitive edge. Are you ready to be my
student?
Q. I have laid off badminton a while now and how
do I
make a comeback?
A. Welcome back. Just do some light drills and some simple games at
first, you'll definitely feel the muscle strain in the beginning, beef
up your stamina slowly by jogging and play regular intermediate
badminton. You old charm will come back in no time. Just do the dance.
Q. Is jump smash important? How do I improve on it?
A. Yes it is. If you are young and below 35, you should do about at
least 50% using jump smash. Reason is because when you jump, your
opponent will be more afraid and your smashes will be sharper. It also
shows that you are a more agile player. You can even do slicing drops
or punch to catch your opponent off-guard. It helps to varies your
pace. Just see how the international players do it. Do DOUBLE skipping
regularly for about 10 minutes consecutively. Then practice on the
court. Beef up your thigh muscle. 1 minute frog jump helps.
Q. Should I go to the gym regularly?
A. If you can afford it, then I would say yes. Proper repetition is
better than excessive weights. If you CAN'T afford it, you can be
creative by working on your muscles with some of the equipments. Do it
in moderation; don't use overweight items. Know your limit so that you
DON'T injured yourself. Many people seems to have lots of injuries. It
shows that there is a lack of discipline to take care of their body or
knowing the limit.
Q. Should I do trick shots?
A. Well YES if you want to embarrass yourself, but only
a few
times and never all the time. You'll need to be
careful as you
might get hooked to it, which is not a good sign. Your credibility as a
badminton player will be lost. Your girlfriend will run away from you.
haha..
Your opponent may also act stupid and get you to do it regularly; hence
they will capitalize on it to kill your shots. Even for advance
players,
they will only do it a couple of times. The focus is on making them
move
around the court and killing your opponents in the most precision way.
You have to be ruthless. Its an edge in psychology. Need me
to
train you trick shot? I have lots of them. Come. :)
Q. How can you tell if I have a
good coach?
A. A general quality of a good coach
is being able
to communicate effectively, professionally and competently with a
player, able to coach at the level of the player in terms of feeding
the drills, applying good strategy and showing how to execute a shot,
motivating players, able to push the player to the next level and it
will certainly help if the coach is also a competitive player who WON
some tournaments as well as able to spar with the player. (Many coaches
are lazy in sparring or shy of loosing out to students). It also gives
credibility. I also provide videos for extra edge. A good coach also
takes videos; allows
you to improve faster.
Q. How do I anticipate shots coming back to me?
A. You'll need to practice on how to read the body movement of your
opponents. Also take a look at how your opponent hit the shuttle to
anticipate them. If you observe long enough, you should be able to
proactively react to the shot once the shuttle leaves the racket within
1 feet from the frame. Some uses their ears to determine if the
opponent is going to hit a hard shot or a soft drop shot. Stay on your
toes all the time to quickly retrieve the shot. Use 'go' word to move
yourself once your opponent hit the shuttle. To increase your reflexes,
hit the shuttle against the wall till your wrist get numbed.
Q. I have a hard time doing clear back hands and
moving
to the front?
A. Well, its easy to handle this. Basically, when a shot comes backhand
and if you are comfortable with clearing to the back, then do it. If
you are not, then better to aim for the drop shot be it straight or
cross court. Just come back and recover in the
middle and get
ready for the next rally. Even for professionals
and if they
have a tough back hand coming up, they will do the drop shots and come
back to the middle for the next shot. So, there's no one player in the
world where they can just clear back hand as of when they like. Use a
little of intelligence when dealing this this situation.
Its more of a preparation for you to move to the middle after your shot
and get ready instead of you lundging straight to the net from the
baseline. Your aim is to move back to the middle after a shot and get
ready for the next one. Not just standing there and run coast to coast.
Be compose after a tough shot by going back to the middle and smack
them. Hope this propels you to the number one spot.
Q. I find it difficult to move front and back to
retrieve shot?
A. Always focus on the shuttle and do shadow runs to the front and
back. The the technique correct. I'll normally train my students by
feeding them front and back. It gives confidence and make it natural.
Q) Still very bad with my movement from front,
back and
front, especially for singles, i'm not moving fast enough or not
reading my opponents move fast enough?
A. This is normal for beginner to get used to it. For pros, they do it
regularly half an hour before start training by doing shadow run. So,
need to diligently do it regularly and find time to do it.
Q) I need to hit higher too i think, and i keep
hitting
the cock out lately, very annoying. I try to compensate by hitting
softer, but that makes the cock slower. HELP!
A. Use more wrist instead of shoulder or elbow power. This shd help in
controlling your strength. Do punch using wrist regularly. Wrist is the
most important hidden component.
Q. I appreciate your tips which you have published
here.
How did you get the stamina to do it?
A. Well Thank you. Basically it is the passion
which I
have towards badminton. I've been playing this game many2 years and
also at competitive levels. My aim is to share all these questions with
all the supporters and visitors to extreme power website. Do pass it to
your friends. Hope they can also support Extreme Power Badminton.
Q) Work with the net area.
A. For netting, always focus on the tape net. Don't get distracted.
Once you net, get ready to kill when your opponent lift the shuttle. If
they net, just calmly push diagonal. They will be in trouble and ready
to pounce again.
Q) I feel so frustrated sometimes I felt like
quitting.
Do you face this?
A. Yes, It is normal. All great players do face this sometimes. This is
because nothing works when you play. Lets face it, there are bad days.
It will take a little while to settle in. Great players do great
comeback. Just take a small break, relax and come back to enjoy the
game. Life is short, play hard.
Q) Backhand still need major work.
A. For backhand to be save, just clear it or drop it and prepare for
recovery. The idea is still to attack 70% of the time. You can also
attack back to your opponent backhand regularly.
Q. How do I hit the shuttle accurately to the
place I
want?
A. Always remember to hold the racket a little firmer and not too
tight. Have the racket face where you want to hit it. Practice them.
Q. How do I prepare to defence a smash from my
opponent?
A. Make sure you come back to the centre (base). Bend your knees a
little and place your racket frame pointing to your opponent. You can
anticipate the smash either on the left or right. Make a one step move
towards the shuttle. Use your wrist to return the shot. Some does
diving. Do lah if you see some ladies there, you'll impress them ;) But
don't kid yourself ok. Do it with style. :)
Q. During a game, I seems to attack more but I am
just
not able to beat my competitor. Why?
A. Well, there are a few reasons to this. First, when you attack, you
need to make sure that it is effective. Don't just smash for the sake
of attacking/offence. You need to be patience, create chances/space
before you attack. You need to be patience, the more you attack, the
more mistakes you will commit. So use strategy to play and find your
opponents weaknesses. Make sure that your defence is strong (footwork
and diagonal placing is critical), For the first 10 points, just be
patience and return all the shots. Once he/she gets tired, then you do
your attacking. Again, count your mistakes. Reduce it as much as
possible. This is where you kill yourself. Applies to all players.
Q) I seem to have mental block playing certain
players.
I just can't beat them. How do I get over this?
A. Some of your thinking, techniques or strategy is wrong. Analyse
their weakness. You have to be persistent to improve yourself. Return
all the shots and be confident. Use imagery and encourage yourself. Get
me to coach you. Faster. Shoot videos.
Q. How do I anticipate opponents shots coming back
(which direction front or back)?
A. Focus on the shuttle leaving your opponents frame. HEAR the sound
and SEE there it heads. Move to the front or back depending on the
sound and speed. Move left or right depending on where the trajectory
is. Speed is utmost important to anticipate a shot. You need to move
fast and wait for the bird and pounce.
Q) I know some people doesn't have basics and it
is
frustrating for me to partner them. They are so weak. What shd I do?
A. Ask them to get coaching from me then. Tell them that little
investment in time and money will go a long way.
Q) What is badminton tap?
A. It is a small wrist action to hit the shuttle downwards near the
tape of the net. Just like tapping on someone head or a pad at the
back.
Q. What if people are jealous of you?
A. I'll ignore them. Pathetic people got nothing to do. Some are master
politician. If they stab you once, you stab them FIRST and add 10
stabs. Don't let them get away with it. Jealousy sucks and kills
innovation.
Q. What are the some self training I can work on
when I
am free?
A. Try to do shadow run 2 step front, 3 step back regularly. Strengthen
your wrist work. Use 2 rackets to swing till your wrist and arm becomes
numb. Swing for 1-2 minutes. repeat 5 times.
Try jumping as high as you can using both feet up. Work on stamina. If
possible wake up 6am (also 5pm) and go jogging and physicals
like
pumping 10 times, sit up 20 times, chin up 10 times and practice jump
smash (3 jumps on each side) shadow 1 minute cycle for 5
times.
Simulate the smashing action.
Below are the other
off court training
advice.
1) do a combo of
running and skipping
(both legs up like boxers) for 20-30 minutes non stop. Slow and fast
pace combination for stamina.
2) Rest, then do
double skipping (2
swing for 1 jump) for hang time. 10-20 times.
3) Do shadow run to
the 4 corners
(with hands simulating a punch or smash shot) with speed coming back to
the middle (base). Do this for 10 minutes with rest in between.
4) Do
psychology/imagery (dreaming)
simulation on strokes.
eg.
a) smashing
to the sideline
(inside 1 feet to go give a little margin of error. Aiming on the line
is too risky).
b) punching
the shuttle straight
to the back (not cross court). Forcing opponent to use backhand or a
weak forehand.
c) simple
net and drive back to
counter attack or to position yourself in attacking position.
d) remind
yourself to reduce the
number of mistakes (this is the biggest killer for any player).
e) remind
yourself that if you
are tired, your opponent is 'more' tired since you have also moved him
around. Happens after 11 points onwards.
f) simulate
on moving the
opponent diagonally front and back. (this is the longest distance in a
court).
5) for wrist power
and reflexes, bring
a racket and shuttle to hit against the wall. If not, just bring the
'hand gripper' to strengthen his grips (a firm grip must be applied
during the game; not excessive or too loose). Use a brick grinder. Ask
me if you are not sure.
Drink lots or bottled
water...
Some good notes from friends.
Think strategy : oh yes this is a must. a good
player
must have a game plan in the court how to skin the opponent.
international players even rehearse what they are going to do on court
even the night before the tournament. they analyse the opponents weak
and strong points and counter it accordingly. badminton is very much
like chess; you have to plan several steps ahead and even change plans
if you keep losing points. like eddy choong once (former greats) said
the game of badminton is alive. nobody can help u with your next stroke
to play except yourself. always have a strategy !
Smashing only with 3/4 force: ar huh; this is
correct.
in other words you compromise power for accuracy. what good is a bloody
loud hard smash that draws the attention of the spectators only to find
the bird flies wayward outside the court or into the fishing net. So
smash a little bit softer and focus on the placing. And if you are in
advance go for steep descend of bird using your wrist ! You
can
use brute force only when you are confident and has practice a lot like
professionals. Temptation is always there to use brute force. I call it
Extreme Power.
Try jump punch or slice then pounce: absolutely
correct
especially if bird is at 3/4 court distance and opponent is just
reeling away from the previous return. the punch shot also called a
shooting lob is hit with force causing the bird flying parallel to the
ground at about 12 to 13 ft height. now, the bird has to have speed and
height to avoid interception. properly executed you can be sure the
return will be weak. the slice is a more complicated shot because u
have to cut the shuttle; the racket face at an angle to the shuttle
finessing the bird to a quick landing. Pounce means rush towards the
bird with your racket up. Throw the racket head backwards for
sufficient backswing and hit thru the bird.
70 pct offensive: oh yes yes ; I have not known a
sport
that can be won by being defensive. well anyway badminton favours an
offensive player. one of the best things to do is to continuously hit
down (hit down means attack; even a drop shot is an attacking shot).
when you hit down, your opponent can only hit UP and hit UP cannot win
points at all unless u cant reach the bird in time.
Of course your opponent having got the tip from his coach will attack u
right from the start. In other words he will try to do to you what u
try to do to him. However u must devise ways to make the attack in your
favour and the ways will be a topic of another day. That's why
badminton is such a beautiful game and i love it most. Strategy is key.
Do you know what are the strategies? Get me to coach you then.
Count your mistakes: Yes how true. Can you imagine
what
would happen if u dont count and check on ur expenses? Bankrupt la.
Same as in badminton. minimise unforced errors and in the 21 points
system every mistake is a point. dont let ur money leak away. dont lose
ur game on account of your errors.
I have contributed so much to you with some
cool sites below. I don't mean to be arrogant, the aim is to tick
people a little to make them improve on their game; of course the
ultimate is to have fun; life is short, enjoy it. Some will like it and
some don't. It's not a perfect world. Correct? Do remember to
contribute yourself to me by purchasing some rackets or grips as well
as recommending your friends ok. Thanks for coming. Hope you enjoyed
it.
Q. Should I use expensive rackets?
A. You don't have to. Just buy a reasonable good racket from me is
enough. Don't have to waste money just because of a brand name.
If you have questions or need help. Email me
xtremexn@gmail.com. I'll be
glad to help. Thanks. Note that this website existed even before Iphone
was created. lol. If you are generous, you can donate using paynow in Singapore +65-98736396
Remote complete badminton learning here badminton
coaching. Share it.
If
you appreciate the tips above, donate a little. Treat it as a tiny
appreciation.
A small contribution will go a long way. Thanks.
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