If you are playing at the front, the advantage is that the opponent has a weak long game and can’t hit the shuttle long distances therefore, playing them to the back of the court will make them have to clear as far as possible or play a drop shot. Either way the shuttle won’t go far up the court leaving an open court to play the next shot.
If you are playing court cover, the advantage is that you can put the opponent around the court as you can move easily up and down the court. When playing court cover, you are standing in the middle of the court ready to move any where. This tactic allows you to dominate the rally as you are always in a steps reach of the shuttlecock.
- Back court clear: a long shot that clears the length of the court which give the player time to reset themselves and prepare for the next shot.
- Serve - Start of play where the birdie is struck below the waist, and hit diagonally to the opposite court.
- Backhand - Knuckles facing the birdie when making contact.
- Forehand - Palm facing the birdie when making contact.
It is a "fault":
If a service is not correct.
If the server, in attempting to serve, misses the shuttle.
If after passing over the net on service, the shuttle is caught in or on the net.
If in play, the shuttle:
Lands outside the boundaries of the court,
Passes through or under the net,
Fails to pass the net,
Touches the roof, ceiling, or side walls,
Touches the person or dress of a player,
Touches any other object or person outside the immediate surroundings of the court.
There are very few tactics that you can employ to overcome a stronger player apart from playing as well as is physically possible and to concentrate on doing the simple things and playing your own game. Trying to move the opponent around the court and making it hard for them. There is no benefit in playing flashy shots as the opponent will be able to return them or that you won’t be able to pull them off.
Principles of attack.
Recognising Strengths and Weaknesses
If you were to look at a player at the net, he/she has to have fast reactions and a good control of their racquet strength. They must also have good awareness and be able to predict where the shuttle is going and if they are able to get to it. A good technique is also important.
In badminton, there are three very important things technique, timing and control. You can have power but it is useless without the correct technique. Timing is also important as you can have a good technique but completely miss the shuttlecock. Without control, you will never be able to place the shuttle or have any control over where it goes.
Planning, Practices and Training
A typical training session for badminton would consist of; cardio-vascular and muscular endurance training, agility work and racquet work. Some games can last for a long time so both muscular endurance and cardio-vascular endurance so work on the treadmill and bike for the C.V. and upper body building apparatus. For agility, exercises such as throwing a ball against a wall with alternate hands or responding to the shuttle and catching it as it is fed over the net creates hand-eye co-ordination and improves agility. Racquet work will be where you are being fed a shuttle and repeating a shot to improve it, moving on to a game situation.
Cardio-Vascular endurance, Muscular endurance and Agility are three essential components of fitness in badminton. Agility is very important as you have to be able to move around the court and reach and stretch for shuttles. There can be a lot of movement around the court so cardio-vascular endurance is essential as is muscular endurance. Games can last a long time and be very demanding. If the player wants to be competitive at the end of the game like he/she is at the start of the game he/she must be able to still hit the shuttle.
A drill of just hitting straight overhead clears, one after the other, helped me with my technique and timing. Because I was hitting 30-40 shots per session, I was getting it to a rhythm and after the first 20 I was able to build in smashes and power.
When training, you must build up in stages and not overload yourself with too much in the first week. After two or three weeks increase the intensity and push yourself a little bit more.
The Perfect Model
The perfect model is the ideal execution of the skill in question. It’s the perfect way the skill is carried out which includes the set, the execution and the recovery.
Drop Shot: Slow shot that drops just over the net. It can be played from any where on the court and can be easily disguised.
Disguise shot as an overhead high clear. Putting force into the setup makes the opponent think that you are going to hit a hard shot. Also stay focused on the shuttle and be aware of you position on the court. Use similar arm motions to a smash or overhead clear but use little wrist rotation. Contact shuttle farther ahead of body than you would with a overhead clear. When bringing through the racquet, start with pace but slow just before making contact with the shuttle. When contacting the shuttle slice across it slightly to take some of the pace off it and to make it drop faster (N.B. when doing this a little more pace is needed than a normal drop). The shuttle should land as close to net as possible.
Forehand Overhead Clear
Turn to side so you are parallel with the tram lines with your non-racquet foot facing the net. Begin with your weight on your back foot and shift weight to forward foot on contact with the shuttle. Take the racquet and put it so the head is scratching your back. With your non-racquet arm reach up to the shuttle for guidance. Bring the racquet overhead and contact the shuttle at the highest possible point (N.B. that the racket head is pointing slightly upwards - thus hitting the shuttle high to the rear court) Use your full body to gain maximum power and combine your shot with a strong turn of your hip and wrist action at the very end of the shot. Profit by the basic forearm turn as this will accelerate the shuttle explosively. Follow through and continue action of the wrist and forearm powerfully downward.
