All About Badminton Training Drills

Self check on 3 point drills

2009-07-29T18:42:00.000-07:00

After 2 months of the 3 point drills the following performance must be evaluate. They are footwork, consistency in deliveries. body posture on approach to strike zones and aerobics or physical competency.

If there are setbacks in any of the performance stated, the individual topic should be address.

Example : body posture on approach to strike zone

In this case you must condition your core stability. This will be done in the gym with resistance training.

As for your poor performance in footwork due to weak legs, conditioning on the lower body is necessary. Example of exercise are squats with resistance, lunges with resistance, working on the re bouncer etc....

If consistency in deliveries is the problem you may have to look back on your techniques and focusing.

Until then hope all of you will have a good time on the correctional approach to bring yourselves to the next platform.

Preparation for competitive rallies

2009-05-03T20:25:00.000-07:00

After you have completed the basic technical skills required (back court deliveries/front court deliveries, etc...), we are now able to start the competitive drills.

There is no training secrets as claimed by different training centres around us. The only training secret is to trained diligently and follow the process till you are very satisfied with yourself. Put it to use in every game and see is there any areas of improvement after every victory or defeat.

From here we will start the rear court coverage. We will apply a 3 point method in every application of the drills.

Coverage of the back court drill begins with a minimum of 3 players. 1 player (The Trainee) will by herself covers both left and right of the back court and also the back hand of the front court. Leaving the forehand front court not covered.

The other 2 players (The Trainer) will be on the opposite of the court. 1 covers the complete front court while the other covers the complete back court.

Rallies begin with the trainer delivering into the 3 points of the trainee's court at random. While the trainee will try to return every shuttle diagonally opposite from the point of the delivery.

This training will be carried out in every training days till the athlete is able to send the shuttles with longer rally time. After which the drill will omit the front backhand and proceed with coverage on the front forehand.

When the whole back court training is completed, the same 3 point method will be applied on the front court coverage.

Hope all of you here will benefit from this 3 point method.

Getting the right footwork without the injuries

2008-07-19T07:14:00.000-07:00

Footwork is one thing most players does not enjoy doing it. Here we do not encourage training footwork by following drills that most training programs offer.
We will actually show athletes how to maximise the REACH to the target zone by using the least steps possible (1 or 1.5 or 2) steps.

Conditioning the legs and the core strength is crucial to achieved this objective. After which we introduce lunges. We will show using ordinary steps to the strike zone and at the same time using lunges towards the strike zone. When athletes sees the difference between this 2 movements they will understand what footwork in court is all about. To enhance further we can show them how to move quicker to the strike zone by adding plyometrics into the lunges.

All footwork application must work with shuttles, and natural deliveries must be done. Feeding of shuttles is not advisable.

When athletes have reach to the intermediate level of strength conditioning on their legs and core stability, we can then introduce the jump smash.

As I have always stress that footwork is not about running, hopping or galloping to the strike zone.

Always remember that training of this kind must be progressive, anything other than that will render the athlete to injuries. This is not acceptable if the athlete is under the supervision of a coach.

Lower box drill

2008-07-12T04:04:00.000-07:00

The lower box drill is also known as the defense drill. Striking from the lower box is necessary only when we do not have ample training or strong emphasis on mid box drill.

The strike zones between the bottom part of the mid box and the upper part of the lower box crosses path.

If we are able to read the shuttle direction and speed faster from our mid court position, than the extreme lower box drill may not be applied.

Upper box drill

2008-07-07T00:25:00.000-07:00

Upper box drill

After completing your wrist action in your first drill, you will find this upper box drill easier to manage.

The upper box drill is also known as offensive drill. There are 4 types of upper box drills :

1) Clearing lob :

Strike zone : Best shuttle position is in line with your dominant shoulder, directly above your head or slightly behind you.

In this position your racket face is striking below the shuttle thus sending the shuttle to the ultimate height towards the opponent's court.

Delivery height : As high as possible, so that it will give you enough time to set up your defense.

Target zone : Opponent's back court

Usuage : Select this technical skill only when you are out of position or moving opponent to the back court.

2) Attacking lob :

Strike zone : Best shuttle position is in line with your dominant shoulder, shuttle slightly in front of you before reaching your forehead.

Delivery height : Slightly just beyond opponent's reach even though he jump for it.

Target zone : Opponent's back court

Usuage : Pin opponent to back court offensively so to allow you to attack the front court

3) Dropshot :

Strike zone : Best shuttle position is in line with your dominant shoulder, shuttle slightly in front of you before reaching your forehead

Delivery height : From your impact height declining to the front net height, just clearing it.

Target zone : opponent's front court

Usuage : Moving opponent to the front court so as to allow you to attack the back court.

4) Smash :

Strike zone : Best shuttle position is in line with your dominant shoulder, shuttle slightly in front of you before reaching your forehead

Delivery height : From your impact height declining to the front net height, just clearing it.

Target zone : Opponent's mid front or mid court

Usuage : Offensive

Self check 1

2008-07-05T06:52:00.000-07:00

Improvements checks

1) Every time when I hit the shuttle, it went up much more higher to the upper box (opponent's strike zone) rather than to the mid box. Reason as follows :

a) Your upper arm may be below shoulder height, thus causing you to lift the shuttle rather that to press the shuttle towards the opponent's court.

b) You did not strike the shuttle before it dip below the white tape of the net. Racket face below white tape.

c) Your racket face is facing upwards rather than almost parallel to the net when you strike it.

2) Shuttle goes to the ground or into the net when I strike it.

a) Shuttle short fall. Strike zone could hardly reach. You did not move towards the shuttle to strike it.

b) Wrist action speed not enough, impact on shuttle not enough to compensate for the specific gravity of the shuttle.

c) Emphasis on forward force to enough, try focus on opponent's court and strike to deliver shuttle into the court. Striking towards and striking downwards are two different kind of sensation. Apply mindfulness to feel wrist movement.

3) Not able to see or react to shuttle coming towards you.

a) Lost focusing, eye did not follow shuttle flight to and fro

b) Standing flat footed in the court. Should stand on the ball of the feet with knee slightly bend. This will put body in a slightly unstable position so as to react faster to the shuttle.

c) Wrist not recoil for next shot thus reacting slow in the strike.

d) Racket position not in neutral position (in front of you)

Note : focusing and feeling the total body movement is very crucial to sports training. Spend considerable time to train this drill and do not do others, focusing in training objectives.

Trained to Train

Visitor comment if you have question.

2008-07-04T11:44:00.000-07:00

Hi visitor,

if you have any comment please voice out, we are here to learn together.

My first training with the shuttle

2008-07-01T17:48:00.000-07:00

First contact with the shuttle :

1) Hold the shuttle by the tip of the feather.
2) Place your racket behind the shuttle (waist, racket, shuttle view from your eyes)
3) Ensure feeding hand is almost fully extended (allows for racket movement between the body and shuttle)
4) Using thumb grip ensure racket face is facing opponent's court (tilting the racket face controls the height of the shuttle served)
5) Use elbow extension to push the shuttle for low serves, whereas using elbow extension and swift wrist action allows you to flick the shuttle to the back court)

Always practice with underarm serve, as all top players no longer use forehand palm grip serve.

After the serve, retract your racket and prepare for the return.

Strike the return shuttle using only wrist action, this allows you to train and understand the correct way to strike the shuttle.

Shuttles may come from different directions :

Use palm grip or thumb grip to strike shuttles at or before net height in front of you. This can be at your right or left sides.

Also try to bend your waist to reach for your side shots if necessary. Increase your stability while doing this by widen your legs more than your waist width.

If shots is coming from your left and passing you, do not panic, rotate your waist fast to left and strike it using your side grip.

All striking wrist action must be enforce and be felt every time so that your brain is absorbing it till it becomes your character. All body movement must also be felt during the training. This is called Mindfulness and vast improvement can be reach in the shortest training time.

Repeat this training till you are more relax and taking it easy. Your eyes must follow every movement of the shuttle, this is called focusing.

Practice this focusing diligently as this will have a strong impact during any competition.

This training drill is mid court to mid court.

Objectives of the training :
1) Apply the smooth changing of the racket grip practice earlier on without shuttles
2) Feeling the adaptation of the body posture explained earlier
3) Understanding and creating a good habit of the wrist action
4) Minimum force have to be produce as the training is mid court to mid court
5) This will cultivate striking zone objectives
6) Taking shuttles at or before net height, as it will promote fast reaction and build a strong offensive in delivery at all times

Enjoy your training, please ensure Mindfulness and Focusing is always present at all times of the drill.

Trained to Train

Basic principles for players

2008-07-01T00:10:00.000-07:00

Basic principles before you start to hit the shuttle :

Body Posture
1) Always ensure your chest is almost parallel to the net.
2) Legs slightly wider than your waist to allow some stability
3) Your upper arm holding the racket is almost close to shoulder height
4) Racket face is almost or close to facing the opponent's court
5) Racket face is within your sight align with your opponents court

Engagement
1) Ensure wrist is slightly flex backwards upon approach to strike the shuttle
2) Dominant leg move together with dominant hand upon engagement towards shuttle
3) Try your best to strike the shuttle before it dips below the white tape of the net
4) 99 percent wrist work to strike the shuttle
5) Ensure at all times that your dominant hand is never full extend to strike the shuttle.
6) Maintain minimum angle between wrist and lower arm, between lower arm and upper arm and between upper arm and body.
7) Upon contact, ensure wrist action is towards opponent's court and application on force is to it's maximum.

Serves
1) Always serve shuttle using thumb grip, (underarm serve)
2) Serve close to the opponent's T junction (after the front service line
3) Use elbow extension for low serve
4) Use elbow extension movement together with wrist action to flick shuttle to back court (not advisable as you are opening to an attack)

The Court
1) There are basically two service lines. The front service line is to ensure all shuttle serves regardless of singles or doubles have to get pass this line. Whereas the rear service line before the outer line is meant for doubles serves. This is to ensure any flick shots during serve cannot get pass this line.
2) There are two side lines.

The inner side lines is for singles game, whereas the outer side lines is for the doubles game.

Types of grips

2008-06-28T01:49:00.000-07:00

There are a few types of grips :

1) Palm grip : (a) earlier we have taught you to grip your racket using the handshake method.

(b) Bring your upper arm up and rotate the palm till it face the net, while the back of your palm is facing your back court.

This grip is for the use of upper box forehand backcourt drills, smashes, mid box forehand drives and upper box overhead drills.

2) Thumb grip : (a) Holding your palm grip, point your racket tip towards the net.

(b) Bring your right hand to the left side, while doing so slide your thumb to the largest surface of the racket handle.

(c) At the sametime bring your index finger to align with the 3 fingers.

(d) It will be like thumbs up effect.

This grip is for the use of under arm serve, front backhand pushes, lower box clearing, stabs and knocks. Also able to cover forehand mid box delivery.

3) Side grip : (a) from thumb grip, bring your elbow to shoulder level, together shifting your thumb to the side of the racket, rotate your trunk to the left with your right leg crossing your left.

(b)At this position your racket face is pointing to the floor, your chest is facing the corner of the left back court. That is your back is facing the net.

This grip is for backhand backcourt drills only. That is shuttles have already past your position.
Part of your racket handle should be expose to allow the handle to tilt.
This will allow for more velocity upon engaging the target.

4) Open palm grip : (a) Holding your palm grip, point your racket tip towards the net.

(b) Extend your elbow and rotate your wrist till your palm is facing the ceiling.

(c) Allow the racket to tilt up and down by using your index finger to do the job.

This grip is for net stab using elbow extention or net deliveries using wrist action with a little help from the index finger.

You can start to learn all this grips by changing thru sliding effect. Practice out of court.

Get use to the change till it is smooth.

Until now, have a good weekend

Trainedtotrain

Just starting to play ?

2008-06-27T05:50:00.000-07:00

Hi athletes,

If you are starting to learn how to play badminton, this is the right track for you. You must be very lucky to stumble onto this site.

It is so because :

1) You don't need to pay for a coach

2) You start on the clean right track without any marketing involve

3) You will have all the knowledge you can have to become a promising athlete

4) You will not be expose to quackie coaches which can lead you to frustrations and nowhere

5) You don't need to buy any e book from the net

6) You don't have to pay for the questions you ask, cos if you do then when the paying stops the answers will also.

All you need to do is to be patience, read, absorb and understand it. After which put to practice and feedback to me on how you perform, feel, understand and ask what ever you encounter doing the practices and drills in this site.

Let's get down to business :

Question is shall we start to learn the footwork first, racket grip or striking technique ?

As a trainer I will tell you this, the racket grip is the first thing to learn. Y ?

People want to learn badminton because they LIKE to strike the bird with the racket. That's simple and logical you see. So to do that, first you must know how to grip the racket to produce power, accuracy, multiple angles of deliveries and different angles of engagments..

Basic principles to remember:

1) Your grip must not be too hard as it will kill the power delivered.

2) Your grip must not be too hard also cos you will not be able to change your next selected grip smoothly.

Different types of grips :

If coaches tells you that you are not ready to learn all the different types of grips in the first encounter in this sports, this is BULLSHIT. Y ?

You see as for a beginner, it is good to learn all of it the first time as it is inter-related to each other. Without learning all at 1 go you will be lost during the engagements and you WILL COMPROMISE to engage it in another way.

This is serious because you have just pick up a new BAD movement pattern.

The grip :

1) Getting into the hand shake, put the racket handle with the racket face parallel to your palm.

2) Ensure that most of your palm area surface is getting the contact of the handle. (max. feeling and control)

3) Gently wrap your last 3 fingers onto the handle.

4) Slide your index finger round the upper handle

5) Put your thumb close to your middle finger so that there is no opening for the racket to fall out during the delivery.

6) Move/flex your wrist foreward and backward, ensure that the angle of movement is to it's maximum. By doing this you will not be able to apply heavy gripping onto the handle.

Self check :

1) Hold your racket with the face upwards, maintain your current grip applied.

2) Use the other hand to pull your racket up, away from your current grip without loosening your current grip.

3) If you are able to do so then your grip applied is just nice.

4) If you cannot then your grip is a little too hard.

5) Your lower arm muscle should not be tense.

6) By flexing your wrist forward, your racket handle tip must not hit onto your lower arm just after the wrist. If this is so it will restrict your forward angle.

Why is the application of the grip so important ?

In logically sense ; if the grip is too hard your suprinators and the pronators of the lower arm will be tense. This will result to stiff wrist. In badminton wrist action is like 99%.

So the more flexible your wrist is the greater the angle and also the higher the velocity is been delivered thus result in increases in shuttle speed.

We will get to the types of grip after my break.

Until then understand your grip and practice it out of the court.

Trainedtotrain

All about Badminton training drills blog

2008-06-26T10:59:00.001-07:00

Hi Shuttlers and badminton lover,

This is a blog that i created for badminton lover around the world to exchange training drills and i will also post some of the drills that i had came across.

We sportsman are never selfish, i will try my best to post out more training drills when i have time. Cheers.

Almost forgot to announce, that this blog will be link together with my other badminton blogs such as allaboutbadminton.blogspot.com