Hello everyone, After few weeks of consideration I decided to get in touch with a new racket for defensive purpose. Anyone can let me know what are the factors to take note of such as: 1) Type of string and tension to get 2) Racket weight 3) Head light or heavy 4) Control, Replusion, which? 5) Brands of racket to look out for in defensive play?(Yonex Lining or Apacs only) An intermediate player. Hope you all could advise me accordingly.
a defensive racket is any racket you use that allows you to play a good defensive game. my question is, would you be doing any offensive plays while hitting with that racket?
If you are looking for a defensive racket, then some of your questions are answered already: - a mid-weight to light racket. - balance to be between head-light to slightly head heavy - many find a stiff racket better for quick defense than a flexible one. Others of your questions are a matter of your own personal preference. Get the string that you like at the tension you like. Forget what the back of a wrapper says about control or repulsion. Use your own senses. As for which racket..... that is, again, a personal choice. I enjoy playing defensively (the ol' hockey goalie mentality) but I can't stand a racket that is too light or really head-light. I prefer mid-weight balanced rackets. My current favourite is the Apacs Slayer 88. Fast enough for good D, but has some punch when you want it. Best thing you can do is to try out a few rackets with your chosen specs and choose that way. Good luck.
For me, and I stress, personally, for defensive doubles: - Balanced to slightly head-light - Med-stiff to stiff - 0.65 string @ 24lbs Arcsabers and Nanorays are what I'd find myself looking first for anything suitable. Again, based purely on my personal style/need. Yours may vary.
Thank you for your reply I will only play defensive in doubles and getting it is because i current have an offensive racket and balanced so i chose to go for a defensive to complete my racket set
Thank you for your reply You have a point in choosing the type of string and tension for personal preference but I have a problem when it comes to choosing one single specific racket and string. But if I am the type who don't do fast swings so what string tension should i go for?
Thank you for your reply I will choose a head-light racket this time because my both my other rackets are head heavy or balanced. However, what do you think of a offensive racket with stiff shaft? Does it do better offense or more defense?
As I just stated here, you cannot rely nor on the manufacturers neither your friends or trainers recommendations without playing and and testing a racket yourself, because your own impression might be totaly different. In my case I started with a head-heavy Voltric 9 neo and ended up to my surprise with a Nanoray 300 (maybe I'll add a Nanoray 700 RP after testing that one, too...) (whole story here) ! Joachim.
I read your post and wow its really a Plot twist to your racket It's good to hear you were able to test the rackets before purchasing it. Unfortunately for my case I am buying it online hence it will be a hassle for them to borrow me the rackets to try. Currently considering either whether to buy a expensive speed racket or not. I have almost the same story as you about weak wrist and likes smashing too but I do not play as often as you. Maybe only 1-2 times per week. So yeah I'm still researching what racket should I get afterall. Or do you have some fine suggestion I could adhere to? Thanks
If you "don't do fast swings" then you may be very disappointed by a head-light racket ... regardless of the string tension. A player with a head-light racket has to generate power through speed-on-contact. Without a quick swing, you will be straining to clear to the baseline and your smashes will be weak. I am not trying to rain on your parade. Buy a head-light racket if you want. But take it from a guy who has a nice NS 8000 that sits at home too much. That type only works when the arm is strong and quick.
Well, it really depends on the player. Stiff rackets require more player-power input but can result in higher power generation. Flexier rackets require less player-power input but may reach a peak in maximum power generated. As you mentioned, you feel that your wrist is not very powerful but also bear in mind that, for smashes, the wrist plays a lesser role compared to your forearm when you pronate during the smash. Personally, I don't think there are any rackets out there that can be equally good in offensive smashes and quick defensive play. It's usually a compromise on either side depending on the play-style. If you're on the fence and still not sure, I wouldn't recommend buying a high-end racket just yet. Since you're in Singapore, start with an Arcsaber in the $40-$60 range (I'm assuming you're buying off Sunriseclick's website), possibly Arcsaber D11, D18 or 3 Tour. These are medium-flex and relatively even balanced so they're good starting points to gauge what you need. Then, if you want to try something more head-heavy, you can consider adding athletic tape or lead-strips to the frame to test, or if you want to try more head-light, then try adding an overgrip. After all that, you should be in a better position to decide on a higher-end purchase.
IMVHO testing is indispensable ! Ask your dealer for it - I got my test rackets from an online shop some 100 km from here ! He asked for a security deposit ($ 5,--/racket only ! ), which will be offset if you buy the racket, but that's only understandable, isn't it ... ?!? Hey, I'm playing as often as you do, and obviously we have quite similar problems ! Anyway, if you can't test the (expensive) rackets, I'd start with a less expensive one ... ! And as you may discover youself while testing, you cannot rely neither on the manufacturers nor your trainers/friends recommendations because they may not match your own impressions. So if you ask me for a suggestion in spite of all that, I'd say you try the Yonex Nanoray 300 like I did. For me it worked surprisingly well for offensiv game (smashes, clears), but is at the same time very fast, quick and maneuverable for defensive actions, as you described in your first posting ("however ..."). Next week I'll get the NR 700 RP for testing as well, so if you insist on a high-end racket, you may want to wait for my report concerning this one ... ? Joachim.
Seems to be quite normal around here (Germany) : I asked 2 online shops and one lokal dealer, every single one not only agreed, but it seemed nothing to write home about to them as well ... ! Maybe you'll just have to ask for it ... ?!? Joachim.
The best defense can be even better than a good offense If you recieve a smash tight on the net and change directions not only is the opponent going to have trouble recieving it, they're gonna have to move a lot more. Even if they do somehow manage to take your tight recieve it's probably going to be a easy shot to make a nice easy attack shot. So your wrist is weak. Then you could get a medium flex racket with a slight touch of weight to the head(Makes it more effortless to defend). This would be the most effortless combination to do high lifts. Lifts are nice because it gives you some time to look at the opponent to see what they're trying to do. But lifts that arent that high would lead to more smashes at you. Also medium shaft + slight head heavy would make control a bit of problem. If u would return a smash with a slight touched netshot, with that combination it might get a little too high which can lead to netkills. Medium shaft + slight headheavy is just a temporary combination for your weak wrist. You should do some arm, wrist training and when you feel like you could use a stiff shaft, use a stiff + slight head heavy or medium balance racket. You could see it would give much more control than the first combination. Last, when you feel your wrist is at full strength, go for a stiff+head light combination. Exellent control, fast reaction, tight netshots. Superb defense(counter attack) P.s LYD's attack isn't the best but his superb defense gets him lots of wins.
Hi there, IMHO, there is no such thing as a racket being produced specifically as "offensive racket", "defensive racket" etc. Such terms that refers specifically for a player's style of play will just make especially new players confuse if he wants to understand even better about what is a badminton racket is all about. If you want to treat and feel YOUR OWN preferred racket better then you must understand it first as like extension of your arms and i guarantee it will bring the best out of you. Any racket that is marketed out there are design to be used for all type of style of play be it offensive, defensive or control. The only difference is that the physical specification that comes with it will be used as an important guideline to which preferred style of play that can harvest the racket best potential usage. Therefore the most important information that you must know first in your quest to search what is the correct choice of racket for you is to understand first yourself as player. If your style of play tend to be more defensive and this is an area of your strength while playing, finding a correct racket that comes with a physical specification that is suitable for such style of play will be very useful. Therefore the key factor in your search for a racket for a defensive style of play involves: - Understanding the racket balance point A head heavy racket is mostly suitable for an offensive style of play since the heaviness of the racket head frame can provide additional kinetic power into your smash. Since in a defensive style of play you need a racket that feel easy in your swings then using a heavy racket head frame will not be very suitable choice unless if you have a fairly powerful forearm. Therefore searching a racket that is head balance or head light will be a suitable choice. You must understand that your racket head balance prefernces will determine your swing weight preferences. - Understand your forearm strength Maneuverability in all your swings is an important factor that you must have while choosing the correct racket for your defensive style of play. In order to make your swings maneuverability, you must know fairly how powerful is your forearm strength. If you use a heavy weight racket (2u) in your hands and it you feel it is heavy in your swings then changing to a light weight ( 3u, 4u. 5u) racket can be very useful. - Understand your swing speed As far as referring to a racket is concern, producing an optimal contact in all your hits will be determine by 2 important criteria that is understanding your own swing speed and the flexibility of the racket that you are using. If your swings is fast then it is better to use a stiff shaft. A flexible shaft is suitable for players with a slower swing speed. Since while playing defensive there are certain hits that requires to you to produce longer swings ( unless it is a block), you need to make a good contact to produce a solid hit in your defense for a better reply. You must understand that the flexibility of your racket will determine your swing speed preferences. I think this refers to a head heavy racket with a stiff shaft. This type of racket specification will not do any better in your offensive or defense or both if the player himself can't play well in any of this style of play. A racket is just a tool to facilitate a player to play and if the player himself has all the correct knowledge and sound technique to play well and this is again combined with the correct racket of choice for him, regardless of what brand he is using, he is as deadly while using a yonex or an apacs. I made a dedicated thread here for such topic for your references: http://www.badmintoncentral.com/for...cket-For-You?p=2229792&highlight=#post2229792 SS
In my opinion a defensive racket is a racket which can anticipate on smashes from your opponent. To answer your questions correctly: 1) String with good control specs. Other is preference. 2/3) Preferable light (balance). As long as you can move it fast enough. 4) Stiff for control 5) Not a key factor
