Hi A bit about myself. I'm a male beginner player with 1 years playing experience. I'm 182cm tall and average build (80kg) aged 28. I would describe my power as above average and my stamina as below average. I've had a some training and am starting to understand the game a lot better as well as working on stamina and technique. Most of the people I now play with have 3+ years of experience, some with 10+ years. These days I find myself aimlessly hitting it (admittedly into open space) but I struggle to see what my objective is. And i think the reality is that things like stamina and technique you can't learn over night so my objective really can't be keep hitting it until my opponent is tired or makes a mistake (cause chances are that will be me). So my question is, what is the most suitable style of play given my circumstances (if there is any) and then is there a top level players who plays this way that I can watch and imitate?
Accurate shot placements to the four corners, two sidelines, and smashes at the racket hip. Plus control the net with tight net shots/drops to force lifts. Easier said than done though.
Visor: Thanks. That's what most people tell me but in my mind it ends up being just hit to those spots and eventually something happens. I think i'm looking for something more concrete. Cheung: 1 x times a week and 1 x doubles.
OK. Not enough singles time. It really depends on how fast you want to improve (or how much you enjoy the game and willing to put more time). At your stage, usually, people can hit the shuttle fairly regularly, but the consistency can be quite variable. You may only hit a good high quality shot 1 out of ten times, another 5 to 6 fairly ok-ish and 3 quite wild/out/in the net. These stats get worse when you get forced to move around the court and hit. Most of it is technique and rote practice. Rote practice with routines also helps you practice hitting some shuttles slightly outside the comfort zone and getting consistent with pulling off a shot. You can look at this thread for tactics and how to construct a rally. Experience is also important. http://www.badmintoncentral.com/forums/showthread.php/144121-My-Coach In order to beat somebody at singles, you must be able to hit clears consistently to the back tramlines (straight and cross court), hit dropshots consistently (straight and cross court), serve consistently and receive consistently (i.e. don't hit the serve out/in the net or hit the return of serve out/in the net) Surprisingly, a hard smash is not a mandatory ability to win at singles. A steep smash will get you much more advantage. Once you have the clears and dropshots consistent, and then apply some of the tactics in the link, your playing partners will comment on how much you have improved. Honest!
May I add one thing to the expert advice ready given? If you find yourself lacking ideas in shot choice, try a few rallies focusing on how fast you can get to the shuttle. Getting to the shuttle a little earlier (with your racket ready) presents you with so many more shot choices.
Here's a simple, easy exercise to get a great tactical advantage. Practice high serves to the back of the court. Grab about a 100 shuttles. High serve as high as possible. See what percentage you get into the back tramlines. A serve is totally in your control so theoretically, it should be possible to get 90% or more into the back tramlines. At amateur level, a very consistent high serve to the back lines is a great tactical advantage. Because the opponent is so far back, they can't play their usual shots so accurately and you get more time to see where the shuttle is going.