The fundamentals part I

Badminton Shots. I would like to highlight four "fundamentals" in badminton which I think are very important, especially for young players. A good understanding of these fundamentals and performing them correctly will go a long way to achieving maximum capabilities.

These four very important fundamentals are the grip, footwork, stamina and the service.

I would not go into their technical details which one could get from most books on badminton. However, I would emphasize on the importance of their application and what to watch for when you practice these four fundamentals.

Today, I will touch on the first two "the grip and footwork", and the next two "stamina and service" in the following article.

1 The grip. If you grip the racket incorrectly, your progress will be greatly affected. Just a simple thing like gripping the handle of a badminton racket can almost determine the future success rate of your badminton 'career'. An incorrect grip will limit your stroke production capabilities, and there would be a loss of power in your shots.

To test whether the grip is correct or not, do a forehand and a backhand flick as if you are retrieving a smash to your forehand and backhand. If you feel that your forehand and backhand flicks are approximately equal in power and quickness, then the grip is most probably correct.

The whole idea of a good grip is that it must not lock your wrist when you hit a backhand or forehand shot. The wrist's fast cocking and uncocking greatly provides the acceleration of the badminton frame, imparting the power to the shuttlecock. You cannot play effective badminton without a good grip. So, young players, make sure that you have a good grip, otherwise you develop strokes which are awkward, with no power and deception.

And you probably would have no future in the game.

2 Footwork. Almost as important as the grip is footwork. To keep it very simple and not to confuse, I would like you to think of good footwork as consisting of two essential elements 'springs' in your legs (a fast starting position) and balance, during and immediately after you hit a shot, whether it is a smash, a lob or retrieving a drop shot or a smash from your opponent. These are the two important things you need to be aware of in footwork.

Some coaches and books will go into a lot of detail on weight on the right foot, weight on the left foot, body positioning, number of steps forward and backward and sideways, in playing the various types of strokes.

This can be confusing and most of the time in badminton, it would be too fast for you to react as you think of what your footwork should be. So, my recommendation is that you keep in your mind only these two things about footwork a fast/active starting position and balance.

What is an active starting position? It means putting your weight more on the balls of your feet, with an easy bouncing action in the knees, preparing your body to move in any direction very quickly and steadily wherever you are on the court and after executing a shot. It is akin to a tiger getting ready to pounce on its prey.

Balance is having a momentary steady/firm position whenever you execute any shots, be it a smash or a lob or retrieving a drop shot or a smash, or making a net shot, etc., etc., in a rally. It is less important to determine how many steps you take to go to the back of the court to execute a smash or how many steps to the front to retrieve the drop shots.

I also do not think that it is important to determine whether it is the left leg or the right leg that you use as the foreward leg when you retrieve the drop shots. Champions display a range of variation in footwork. Some champions appear not to have footwork at all. Some run in small steps, others appear to have smooth gliding big steps and they are a pleasure to watch. Whether it is small quick steps or big gliding steps, there must be two important elements present in good footwork, which all champions have. They are an active starting position, with springiness in the movement of their legs and balance when executing their shots.

These are two of the four fundamentals in badminton every player should know if they want to play to their maximum capabilities.

Written by Tan Aik Huang

Choosing a Badminton Racket

Badminton Racket. Choosing the correct badminton racket can be a crucial decision, whatever level you are at. With a multitude of rackets available these days,it can seem a little daunting to know which racket is best for you. Hopefully, with a little help, i can help you find just the right badminton racket that suits your style of play.

As you search to find the perfect badminton racket you will soon get to know the more established racket companies such as Yonex, Carlton, Wilson, Head, Prince and numerous other brands, who all want you to part with your cash and select their badminton rackets. Yonex are the most successful and prominant badminton brand, but which manufacturer you choose is entirely down to you.This is where the fun begins. But with the right guidance and information you will be able to make an informed decision, so that you find the best racket for you, and only you.

All badminton players are different, with their own strengths and weaknesses. The trick is to find the right badminton racket which compliments your style of play. You can spend a lot of money on your weapon of choice, or, like most of us, you will no doubt have a limit on what you want to spend on a badminton racket. Remember, you are investing in your game, to improve your standard, so you need to choose wisely.

It can be a real pain when you have spent a whole load of your hard earned cash on the latest "must have" badminton racket, only to find it doesn't quite live up to your expectations, and you can't understand why you aren't playing like the glossy adverts say you should be. Guess what? you have just fallen for the marketing hype, a subtle, sneaky little trick that we experience every day of our lives. However, if you follow my advice i can guide you in the right direction, so you can make the best decision.

Think of your badminton racket as the cherry on top of the badminton cake. Without the base and the ingredients your little cherry isn't going to taste so sweet. In case your wondering what i'm talking about, the base and ingredients are your game, your footwork, technique, grip, fitness and tactical ability. Without these, your new racket is much less effective, and the shuttle will not go where you want it to. In my opinion, a badminton racket you buy will give you, at most, an extra 5% to your game. The actual racket strings are probably more important than the racket itself. The other 95% is all down to you. But don't worry about that, i can help you get the best out of yourself, so you can get the most out of your badminton racket.

I have played with lot's of different rackets over the years, from many different manufacturers, and most of them offer something a bit different, sometimes good, sometimes not so good, but it's all part of the experience of finding that one badminton racket that suits you down to the ground. It's a great feeling when this occurs, but first you need to learn about yourself, your own game, then you can fit the right racket to your game, not the other way round.

What kind of player are you? Perhaps your a power player who smashes the shuttle hard? Or maybe your a touch player who enjoys moving the shuttle around the court with angled shots and deception. Once you know what kind of game you play, you can then find out which badminton racket will bring out the best in your shots, and thus improve your badminton.

If you have just started playing, the chances are that you will not know what type of player you are yet. It's all part of learning the game. There is no point buying the most expensive badminton racket at this stage, you will probably not notice much difference in your play, trust me. However, as your skill level improves you will then start to know more about yourself and this is when you start to look for a specific racket. The more you improve, the more you will understand the basics of badminton, and you will be looking for that tiny advantage to beat your competitors, this is where your badminton racket comes in, but it will only give you a slight advantage, period.

In upcoming posts i will guide you through the badminton racket basics, what to look for, what to avoid, how much to spend, and where to buy.