Okay, so basically at my school where I play the floors are extremely slippery. I carry around a towel and wipe down my shoes, however it doesn't help very much. Even when people mop the floors, they are still slippery. I literally cannot play well on slippery floors, as my shoes don't have proper grip, and my game is probably like 60% of what I can do on proper floors. My questions are. Is this because of my shoes? I've been wearing them for maybe close to a year? They're fine on other surfaces like actual mats, only at my school. Is there a way I can make it not so slippery? Anything I can add to the shoe to make it have a better grip? Thanks for your help and advice!
do other players also have the same problem or only you? if only you, then you need new shoes... otherwise aerosol hairspray works well on the soles... basketball players do this all the time
An old timer once told me to go to the toilet, use hand wash on the soles of my shoe and then dry them properly after washing. Worked pretty well!
Fizzy drinks on the soles of the shoes makes them a bit more "sticky". Maybe too sticky... maybe... Also, making your base slightly less wide on the floor will help you to push off - I know its not great to change movement technique given the floor conditions, but it does help. Also, when moving to the shuttle, try to use your ankles more than your legs.
Although you can try some tricks to mitigate the problem, you can't escape the simple fact: Slippery floors are common and slippery floors are bad. If the slipperiness is due to dust / mud / dirt (as often happens when outdoor shoes are used in the hall), then it can be solved by brushing the floor (if you have a suitable brush available).
I clean my soles with a squash ball. seems to work but if the floor is bad you just get dusty again. Beer works wonders... best badminton at my club is to be had after a rock concert the night before (saw Alice Cooper at that venue, surreal to play badders there) and the floor is sticky. I've not tried applying the beer to the shoes though.
One hall I sometimes play in has this wooden slippery floor. It's very soft so that you feel like you are flying when you jump, but very slippery. Players use to wipe and drag their feet outside of the court every few points. It helps a little, but if it's not due to the shoes the only real solution is to remake the floor.
Lay a damp towel on the ground at the side of the court, quickly go stand on it in between every point.
Dust buildup on wooden flooring especially in a school hall is very common. The floors obviously need to be cleaned and rewaxed properly in order to fix the problem. However this will happen at the decision of the school and then the problem will return within a few weeks of being fixed. As craigandy mentioned get a damp hand towel and lay it on the side of the court next to a dry handtowel. Every 1 -2 points stand on the damp towel and then stand on the dry towel. You will feel as if there is no dirt on the floors for the next 1 -2 points depending on how bad the hall is. Aside from this as old as your shoes may be Its the dust on the floors which is the real issue. I would never reccomend applying any substance to the base of your shoes or the court. It may give you more grip however the chance that at the right angle of movement the shoes will not have the natural give needed due to the extra adhesive it could be the cause of a very significant injury.
For a quick solution, I wipe the sweat from my forehead and rub it on the sole of my shoe (just under the ball of my foot). Sounds a bit odd but it works for me
Lol nice recycling. I have never done that but i have used the sweat from my lower inside leg to rub the sole of my opposing shoe as well.
i use my left hand to "clean" the soles quickly i think its disturbing to go to the towel at the sideline every 2-3 points..and i fear it might make my lower legs hairless if i do it like craigandy
Lol oh yeah, caution do not try this untill your legs have ample sweat and not too often or you will wax your legs in the most painful way. You are right about it being disturbing to dampen the soles off court but not half as disturbing snapping your hamstring on a big lunge that slips. Some halls it is just necessity the hand won't cut it.
hehe. I do this too. Gotta wipe the sweat anyways. Works for about 2 or 3 hits, then it can get dicey again. I've also seen a guy wipe the bottom of his shoe on the top of this other shoe. Works for him. Would be better if we could say put a removable velcro towel there or something....someone invent this, I give up the patent.
Maybe Adidas will, I read somewhere else they are incorporating a towel style pad for wiping hand sweat on their shorts i think?
This works for the first time, but after that your forehead will start getting covered with dirt as you transfer dirt from the soles to there.
But it doesn't last long right? What if it go slippery again?? Your hand is dirty to swipe the sweat from your forehead.. LOL
Haha, yes that thought does cross my mind when I do it - but if I sweat enough the dirt on my forehead gets, uhh, 'washed' away! I might try craigandy's method next time, but worried about my hairy, hairy legs. Sweat transfer aside I suppose an effective way to deal with slippery floors is to adapt your playstyle. I've noticed that players who regularly play in a dusty old hall have lots of deception and double actions, moving opponents around whilst keeping their own movement efficient. However it's all too easy to forget when I just want to leap aroud, jump smashing like a maniac.
Write a brief and super-polite letter to the school's safety department or janitor pointing out that the floor is dangerous even when the correct footwear is worn.