Badminton Tactics
TIP 18.0
When playing doubles, expect to participate in rotation throughout the rally. Avoid playing sides. In any given rally, an athlete may be on a side, at the net, or at the baseline.
TIP 17.0
When your opponent comes in towards the net to return your drop, make sure you are there. Keep your racquet up and make a quick, over-bearing lunge(maybe like a smash attempt) towards the anticipated return direction of the bird(you need to come in anyway in case they may do a drop return). Your opponents' peripheral vision will pick up your aggressive movement, and this could affect the quality of their return as part of their mind is distracted by this looming figure rushing into the net.
TIP 16.0
If you are at the net playing doubles, try to duck low if you want your partner in the back to take an oncoming shot. This also gives greater visibility to your partner when they hit the shuttle.
TIP 15.0
Smashing down the center of the court, or dropping at the "T" is the safest and most effective attack(also can aim for their body). Advantages:keeps your partner at the net in the game, as the returns should come straight up the middleyour partner can cover most of the front court equally and with one stepthe opponents can collide due to both going for the bird, or miss if neither go for itthe bird can never go out wide, only out length waysit is harder for the opponent to do an effective cross court returnin more advance strategies, the attackers can channel attack*
(*Channel Attack: Your partner at the net moves slightly over one side of the court to which the two of you focus your smashing and attacking on one opponent)
TIP 14.0
At your service, consider where your opponent is standing. If they are too close, flick serve. Try to serve to the "T"(at their body) most times; however, if they are close to the "T" serve to the opposite side. Use all four corners of the service box to your advantage, and to keep them off guard.
TIP 13.0
When serving, consider your opponents' physical characteristics. Flick long high serves to much shorter players, as they may be able to punch short serves easier. Taller players can cut off high serves easier and quicker(they have longer legs), and they have more difficulty with tighter short serves(more effort to stay low).
TIP 12.0
Singles is essentially a game of chess. He who lasts longest is the victor.
TIP 11.0
If you notice that your opponent is weakening or missing some shots. Do not give them any extra time to regroup.You can do this by getting to the serve line faster, and pick up the pace of the game. Try not to give them water breaks, or change the bird.
TIP 10.0
Watch your opponent play in matches prior to yours. Look for any advantages.
TIP 9.0
Watch out for south-paws. Sometimes we forget there are left handed players.
TIP 8.0
Always communicate positively with your partner(verbally and via body-language). Think positively within yourself as well. If you or your partner miss, say "Good try", or "It's ok". When you or your partner do well, give praise. Research has given proven links between thinking and doing.
TIP 7.0
Use the 80/20 rule in your badminton play. 80% of the time are staple shots(ie short serve, smashing, pushes, drops, lobs, attacking clears. 20% of the time are flick/long serves, clears, lifts, trick shots, low percentage shots, and all non-attacking shots. Of course, sometimes rules are meant to be broken...improvise.
TIP 6.0
Players must be able to full court clear from any part of the court. The only exception is concerning appropriate developmental expectations at the younger age levels(under age 12).
TIP 5.0
The single most important shot in doubles is the serve. Nail it. The next two most important are the serve-return, and the serve-return-return(first three hits in a rally). All else is secondary...
TIP 4.0
Always remain calm and poised. Your negative behavior can influence your partners' badminton play, and can give fuel to your opponents' confidence.
TIP 3.0
Deliberately serve a bit short to players who love to rush your short serve. They end up having little time to decide if they want to return your serve.
TIP 2.0
Dress according to you game plan. If you want to intimidate your opponents, then wear all the badminton gear (shoes, shorts, shirts, socks, wristband...). If you want your opponents to under-estimate your abilities, then wear whatever.
TIP 1.0
Vary your hold time on your serve. This can confuse your opponent. You have 5 seconds to serve, so use them...
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When playing doubles, expect to participate in rotation throughout the rally. Avoid playing sides. In any given rally, an athlete may be on a side, at the net, or at the baseline.
TIP 17.0
When your opponent comes in towards the net to return your drop, make sure you are there. Keep your racquet up and make a quick, over-bearing lunge(maybe like a smash attempt) towards the anticipated return direction of the bird(you need to come in anyway in case they may do a drop return). Your opponents' peripheral vision will pick up your aggressive movement, and this could affect the quality of their return as part of their mind is distracted by this looming figure rushing into the net.
TIP 16.0
If you are at the net playing doubles, try to duck low if you want your partner in the back to take an oncoming shot. This also gives greater visibility to your partner when they hit the shuttle.
TIP 15.0
Smashing down the center of the court, or dropping at the "T" is the safest and most effective attack(also can aim for their body). Advantages:keeps your partner at the net in the game, as the returns should come straight up the middleyour partner can cover most of the front court equally and with one stepthe opponents can collide due to both going for the bird, or miss if neither go for itthe bird can never go out wide, only out length waysit is harder for the opponent to do an effective cross court returnin more advance strategies, the attackers can channel attack*
(*Channel Attack: Your partner at the net moves slightly over one side of the court to which the two of you focus your smashing and attacking on one opponent)
TIP 14.0
At your service, consider where your opponent is standing. If they are too close, flick serve. Try to serve to the "T"(at their body) most times; however, if they are close to the "T" serve to the opposite side. Use all four corners of the service box to your advantage, and to keep them off guard.
TIP 13.0
When serving, consider your opponents' physical characteristics. Flick long high serves to much shorter players, as they may be able to punch short serves easier. Taller players can cut off high serves easier and quicker(they have longer legs), and they have more difficulty with tighter short serves(more effort to stay low).
TIP 12.0
Singles is essentially a game of chess. He who lasts longest is the victor.
TIP 11.0
If you notice that your opponent is weakening or missing some shots. Do not give them any extra time to regroup.You can do this by getting to the serve line faster, and pick up the pace of the game. Try not to give them water breaks, or change the bird.
TIP 10.0
Watch your opponent play in matches prior to yours. Look for any advantages.
TIP 9.0
Watch out for south-paws. Sometimes we forget there are left handed players.
TIP 8.0
Always communicate positively with your partner(verbally and via body-language). Think positively within yourself as well. If you or your partner miss, say "Good try", or "It's ok". When you or your partner do well, give praise. Research has given proven links between thinking and doing.
TIP 7.0
Use the 80/20 rule in your badminton play. 80% of the time are staple shots(ie short serve, smashing, pushes, drops, lobs, attacking clears. 20% of the time are flick/long serves, clears, lifts, trick shots, low percentage shots, and all non-attacking shots. Of course, sometimes rules are meant to be broken...improvise.
TIP 6.0
Players must be able to full court clear from any part of the court. The only exception is concerning appropriate developmental expectations at the younger age levels(under age 12).
TIP 5.0
The single most important shot in doubles is the serve. Nail it. The next two most important are the serve-return, and the serve-return-return(first three hits in a rally). All else is secondary...
TIP 4.0
Always remain calm and poised. Your negative behavior can influence your partners' badminton play, and can give fuel to your opponents' confidence.
TIP 3.0
Deliberately serve a bit short to players who love to rush your short serve. They end up having little time to decide if they want to return your serve.
TIP 2.0
Dress according to you game plan. If you want to intimidate your opponents, then wear all the badminton gear (shoes, shorts, shirts, socks, wristband...). If you want your opponents to under-estimate your abilities, then wear whatever.
TIP 1.0
Vary your hold time on your serve. This can confuse your opponent. You have 5 seconds to serve, so use them...
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Q & A
- 13. Any tips for weight or strength training?
- 12. How do you steam the feather birds?
- 11. What do you know about strings (why they break etc)?
- 10. What kind of racquet should I buy (weight etc)?
- 9b. Why does my arm hurt when I play?
- 9a. Why does my shoulder hurt when I play?
- 8. Why do my clears go off to the left sometimes?
- 7. Why did I loose the rally?
- 6. How do I avoid hitting into the net?
- 5. How do I measure success when I am in training?
- 4. How do I clear full court?
- 3. What can I do to cross-train?
- 2. What is the best way to prepare for a tournament?
- 1. How do I last longer in a game?
12. How do you steam the feather birds?Methods of Steaming
11. What do you know about strings (why they break etc)?I don't know much on this one so click here!
10. What kind of racquet should I buy (weight etc)?Answer here
9b. Why does my arm hurt when I play? 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.
9a. Why does my shoulder hurt when I play?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.
8. Why do my clears go off to the left sometimes? 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.
7. Why did I loose the rally?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.
6. How do I avoid hitting into the net?In a smash, its 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 racquet face needs to compensate for the shuttle trajectory at the shuttle contact. The player may need to bend the knees lower and arc the racquet face back towards the body to heighten the return trajectory above the net rim. Too much of a racquet follow through on the hit could also cause the bird to travel lower (see Drives in Technical Guide).
5. How do I measure success when I am in training?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. Its the little things in training that will produce big results later. Certain skills need alot of practice, and a while of integration (tries) before it is successfully part of ones' game (ie learning a cross-court drop).
Sports training success is not necessarily always linear (ie every day the player gets abit 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 gel 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 at a later time 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 un-learn bad habits while learning the proper technique. This constant state of un-learning, and learning can cloud ones' visual assessment of how one is doing. As one skill is mastered, another one is always being taught.
4. How do I clear full court?Younger players will have more difficulty clearing full court, but with proper technique they can maximize what they are capable of doing for their level of development.
Also refer to the Technical Guide on Clearing.
3. What can I do to cross-train?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).
2. What is the best way to prepare for a tournament? 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 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
1. How do I last longer in a game?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.