This is something I've been thinking after I've seen this video of Volleball serve from Ash: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hyzjVMp-Xnc He said that the serve should be performed above the shoulder. Then when I think about the smash in Badminton, shouldn't we do the same? I've been thinking that the smash that has been teached to be hit above the head is wrong (I think ALL the coaches teach to smash above the head, NO ONE tells the students to smash above their Shoulder), my Reason: 1. We can reach higher and have a steeper smash. 2. Get full power from body rotation if we do the scissor kick 3. Our arm will be twisted or bend a bit so we don;t get full power on shuttle, or the direction isn't straight. If my hyphothesis is right, It's fascinating how no one seems to notice this.
As far as I can remember, I have been telling people to hit the shuttle above their shoulder Many people actually strike their clears out to the side of their body. So perhaps some people say hit it above the head to compensate for this. By trying to hit it above their head, they end up hitting in a better striking position. As a caveat, no one method of explanation will fit all pupils. There was a post where a sequence of captures frame by frame of the overhead was posted up. Unfortunately I can't find it now. It shows that the shuttle is hit above the shoulder. Ehh, scissor kick? As I recall, you prefer the reverse scissor kick (see below quote). Have you changed back to the conventional scissor kick? Yes. Fascinating but you are not the first Sorry to disappoint.
Really? I thought it was standard teaching. Even then, you have to be a bit careful. Often the contact point should not be above the shoulder, but out to the side. This is useful in the forehand corner when you are not rotating (which is most of the time). By insisting that players always try to hit the shuttle above the racket shoulder, we can make these shots difficult (uncomfortable, even). As for "above the head" -- well, that would only be for a round-the-head forehand.
Wow, that means I'm on the darker side as we mainly are told to aim for the shuttle above our head and up untill I saw that Video I always try to hit it above my head. for the scissor kick, I said if someone does the scissor kick (I'm not doing it). thanks for the clarification.
As far as I am aware - virtually no coach tells players to hit above the head. And, to be honest, the thing I hear most is to take it EARLY, not where to take it in relation to the body. If I were to teach it though, I would say for a power shot that it should be played roughly in line with the racket shoulder, if not a little further to the side. Lots of coaches will tell you to reach up, but when you do that, its fairly normal to tilt the shoulders so that the racket shoulder is higher - and hence it feels like its above the head, but actually its wide of the body (if you think about straightening out the shoulders). Good luck. I am glad you now understand. Here is a tip for people who want to learn to hit overhead properly: 1. Use the correct grip. 2. Relax. 3. Reach up and take the shuttle EARLY. Get behind the shuttle where possible and take it in front of you. 4. Practice lots and lots and lots - you should be practising accuracy! Hitting targets near the lines! If people just do these 4 things, they will probably develop excellent technique!
If we go to the slow motion videos of badminton on YouTube, this is very apparent. Even with round the head shots, one has to reach over tilting the shoulders. This is a good thread for the extra insight.
I think this is what went wrong, I try to hit above my head rather than above my shoulder, so It feels that if I do a Scissor kick, the direction and the mechanics of the shot seems very uncomfortable. Maybe just do this this smash style of tilting your shoulders and then try to smash (look at the semifinal of Asian games 2014, Nitya-Polii vs ZYL-QT, this is ZYL doing the shoulder tilting, time - 41:38 ) : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yo9lpa7tBF4 still need much more learning
They are tilting their shoulders (even if only slightly) for EVERY single overhead shot. Sometimes round the head it will seem very pronounced - but you also see this in the forehand corner sometimes too. I personally don't think all these details are all that helpful - just go and practice more everyone Good luck!
