His preparation as with all pros, (I think you might agree), is in good time, The word "late" is a bit ambiguous 'cos it often means should have been earlier But it can mean still in good time. Also I think with jump smashes.. there is often a kind of pre racket prep where the actual racket prep is after they have jumped. ..There's where their racket is at the start of the jump, and where it gets to after they jump which is their actual racket prep. Pablo(yellow shirt) could have made his racket carriage at the start of the jump look a bit "neater".. or ready for the next bit, but he/it was totally ready for the next bit. He had not been a pro and had he messed up his contact point then some coaches might have said AHA it was because you had your racket over there at the start of the jump!!! Here is a nice racket prep from LCW that was far from super early.... and it wasn't a jump smash. Was Late/"Late", but easily On Time! And i'm pretty sure there lots of examples where pros get into racket prep as they move, such that by the time they arrive they're there.. it's perhaps more balanced/"natural" movement there that way. I've practised racket prep done with the first step, and i've pratised racket prep done gradually to be prepared once there. And where time i might have done one a bit like LCW did in that last image, on time, though not a good looking as him doing it,
I know is too early for changes but have a look if anything is better. For sure I try raise that arm and footwork is not there but I started pay more attention to those details now. Clears seems to have a good length .
Compared to Pablo, representing the opposite party was Wong Choon Hann. He as well as Xia Xuanze used to raise the racket hand up early when running backwards.
interesting that Wong Choon Hann has racket preped for the jump smash even before the jump.. As for how early he preps, I notice he doesn't do it as early as possible.. Like he doesn't complete the racket prep within the first step. I remember when I practised doing racket prep as fast as possible (so within the first step), fully preped, like as fast as a boxers jab, I was told it looked very good.. (even maybe intimidating - in a good way, which I understand is a good thing in badminton.. like when I tried super fast recovery footwork I got similar feedback). Is a good thing to try.
Do shadows without the shuttle. Also the shadows next to a wall. If your arm hits the wall, the elbow is too low and your forearm is too horizontal out to the right. This will help give you immediate feedback on the position of your arm - if your right arm hits the wall, you can improve.
I use to prepare early on doubles sometimes when the opponent is supposed to hit a backhand clear and I am facing him. That makes my following jump smash a bit faster to. But I don't ask pupils to move around the court like chicken wings up. That is making the center of balance high. Overall the pros are moving on the court hanging their racket low between their hits. Momota for example.
When you say "opponent is supposed to hit a backhand clear". I guess you mean like preparing for an overhead early in anticipation.. i've never needed to do that.. e.g. if I was waiting for a potential smash(or clear or drop), and I receive a punch clear, I should be able to get that. (moving from a smash defense position, to a position to get the overhead). Besides that if the opponent was going to do a backhand clear and was able to see me and I was standing there with racket prepped for an overhead, they maybe wouldn't do the clear. A funny one is if racket is hanging down and I defend a smash.. I once had a session practising lots of smash defense.. I got good enough at it to get smashes from the strongest smasher in the club.. Then in a game against some worser players than me, they weren't hitting at me. Then I just completely relaxed my arms , racket pointing to the floor. One of the opponents saw that, thought i'd quit, and smashed it at me, and it came back. He was so upset. To him it looked like i'd given up playing and still returned his smash. Very demoralising for him! You write "Overall the pros are moving on the court hanging their racket low between their hits." yeah and it shows an understanding and comfort with the game to do that too, while also getting a good contact point.
Well, when you are in a hurry to reach the shuttle at the backhand corner with your backhand you just don't have time to look back. In general watching anticipating on a doubles match is entertaining for all, if you are not playing for money
yeah seeing where your opponents are when hitting an overhead backhand is easier said than done! I remember hearing an idea of having the racket foot point out just a bit to help you turn to see, though i wonder if that might be a bit late for helping one see where opponents are.. I haven't played/trained in a while and looking where opponents are when doing a backhand overhead isn't something i've practised but I certainly should.and plan to..
One more point of view to racket preparation. I have seen several talented juniors raising the racket from low position. Is it their natural instincts? I can't say they should get rid of that habit. https://youtube.com/shorts/5hdBv2YtN98?si=CstE_Z_8G1_-rrS2
Is anyone could also recommend some footwork video as is so many on YouTube I dunno who to follow and learn from
Not really a problem. Chou Tien Chen has this style. The difficulty is judging when to to use scissor kick or China jump and that comes from experience
Yes, you Want to confuse the opponent by doing both style. Sometimes straight, sometimes diagonal. Pavlito should note that his scissors kick should be full scissors when playing singles. Otherwise running to the net will be too slow.
I think the preparation looks better. When you pull back your arm, your elbow goes back a bit too horizontally and then up into position- that is two movements. It’s especially noticeable when the camera angle is directly from in front of you. Try to pull your elbow back and up at the same time in one movement. When you have pulled the racquet back , the shaft of the racquet is angled forwards. Try to make it vertical.
The one when you throw the tennis balls is interesting. When you start to throw, I see your elbow coming up out sideways of your body and then throwing the ball. That’s actually different to when you stand next to the wall. Those ones where you stand next to the wall and shadow a throw, your elbow action is more vertical (and closer to your ear) which is better.
If you are interested, you may check the badminton training videos from this Chinese coach. May be old style, but should be useful for your learning and training for the badminton basics. Let me know if they were useful for your purpose.
It might be useful if you give a timeframe. Looking at the trajectory in which he brings back his racket into racket prep position I'm not sure what you mean when you say he is moving it in two movements, horizontal and then up. Particularly considering these images. See here If you look from A all the way through to E, his elbow is continually going up.
