Movement training

Discussion in 'Techniques / Training' started by captaincook, Apr 9, 2015.

  1. captaincook

    captaincook Regular Member

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  2. visor

    visor Regular Member

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    Our legs and feet are not well designed for moving backwards...

    In badminton, we have to turn sideways in order to quickly cover moderate distances backwards.
     
  3. MSeeley

    MSeeley Regular Member

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    The key thing for moving well is, as visor said, learning to turn sideways. Big things that help though are:
    - keeping your feet wide
    - staying "low" as you move (think crab!)
    - not jumping in the backcourt - when you learn, jumping is a "get out of jail card" as you try to cover some extra distance by jumping, It usually results in poor balance however. Instead, stay on the floor and hit the shuttle cleanly and in balance, and move quickly back to the middle of the court. Once you are an advanced player that can move effortlessly on the floor, then start jumping.
    - staying on the floor as your opponent hits the shuttle. This is VERY important - so many players worry so much about their split step, that they exaggerate it and start to jump up as their opponents hit the shuttle. Instead, stay on the floor, and then push off as quickly as you can to the shuttle. In order to push off quickly, you will be doing a split step, so its fine. This is the secret to never being off balance or wrong footed (e.g. against very deceptive players).

    Thats all I can think of for now.
     
  4. stumblingfeet

    stumblingfeet Regular Member

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    These types of general exercises are good, but I like to make the movements even simpler to really pay attention to the positioning and technique. This way you can catch any issues with the movement patterns early - for instance in the video the coach's knees collapse inwards (knee valgus) most likely due to insufficient glute activity. There's no point in integrating it into a countermovement->jump->landing->run pattern when even the countermovement has issues like that.

    So what can we do as a progression? It's important to keep it simple, so you can be precise about the technique:

    1. learn the correct body position and posture for the athletic stance
    2. hop then drop into that athletic stance, making sure to "stick" the landing instantly
    3. introduce forward/backwards/lateral/rotational movement into the hop to increase the challenge
    4. single leg variations of the above
    5. instead of sticking the landing, redirect the momentum into another movement instantly
    6. increase the initial landing load by dropping from greater height

    There are also continuous drills where you hop in a fixed pattern for a short duration. The difference with these drills is that you learn to relax the muscles at appropriate times to facilitate faster movement.
     
  5. Charlie-SWUK

    Charlie-SWUK Regular Member

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    For the rear court, I like to: Split -> Cross -> Chasse -> Hop

    As Mseeley has said, it can be a get out of jail free card. I like to use the hop because you can either use it for that extra distance, or if you're close to the position, you can use it for an angle advantage.
     
  6. rlim701

    rlim701 Regular Member

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    Are you saying you only do the split step after the opponent has hit the shuttle? I am currently struggling at not being fast enough to initiate the movement and am trying to time my split step just as the opponent is hitting the shuttle, i.e. just before he hits, my feet are off the ground, and once he hits, I'm landing. Am I doing it right? It's very frustrating because I really have problems with the initial movement being quick enough. As a consequence, I'm always just a tad bit late and can't get into position for a clean and relaxed shot.

    Any suggestions on movement drills that can be done alone? I do shadow by myself but found that it's not quite the same in terms of reaction time. It feels alright while shadowing because my brain is already telling my body which direction to go, whereas in a game situation, by the time my brain says go net left, it's already too slow. How to improve? I tend to use my age(44) as an excuse but I still think that there is room for improvement. Have been doing footwork drills at least once a week outside court time such as these https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnnUGFtoP5Q. But still find that my reaction time is still not fast enough. Please advise.
    Thanks.
     
  7. visor

    visor Regular Member

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    Make sure your feet are not completely off the ground during your split step. You'd lose valuable time and energy if you are...

    Your timing is appropriate if you're playing a non deceptive player. However, against a deceptive player who can hold and delay their hit, obviously it necessitates delaying your split step a bit... to the point where you're very sure of the shuttle's direction before you commit yourself.
     
  8. captaincook

    captaincook Regular Member

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    I also find that I can't keep up with advance players when I split step with the opponent hits. I now split step when I see the swing started. Not the best thing to do against deceptive/delay hit player. Just don't have the leg to do the PG version (looks painful). See link below -

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNB3mBZPtpc
     
  9. Cheung

    Cheung Moderator

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    For those who find it difficult and ask what is going on, it is difficult to give an answer but here are some mistakes that people make unconciously.

    - the split step lands with feet a fraction alternately. This will slow you down

    - when the split step lands, there is too much weight on the heel. Roughly speaking you want to have more weight on the balls of the feet, say about 70%

    - many people do not lower their centre of gravity low enough on the bounce. MSeeley also mentioned this point about getting lower and it's a very crucial issue. Most amateur players, even those with good skills, don't realise it. Even when you think you are lowering your centre of gravity, you are probably not doing it well enough.

    BTW, the coach in the first video in the squash court stands up straight so that's no good for badminton.

    Nicholas' footwork exercises video work on foot speed but not the technique of the first step which is what this post is about.
    [MENTION=3985]rlim701[/MENTION], I think this is all in the previous thread you posted for help. I would advise you post a few video clips of your game in that thread and point out the time clips you felt you feel slow. We can then make a better diagnosis and give you more targetted advice. Because what you think you are doing may not be actually what you are doing on court.
     
  10. Cheung

    Cheung Moderator

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    this split step video by Peter Gade is excellent. He is over emphasising the bounce so you can see clearly. He is not leaning forward or crouching as much to lower the centre of gravity because the shots are quite slow (by his standards!).
     
  11. |_Footwork_|

    |_Footwork_| Regular Member

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    Everything being said by Cheung and McSeeley is valuable advise and absolutely correct.

    In addition to that, on this forum I often have the imprssion, that people overanalyze minor issues and don't see the broader picture. Imho, getting to the shuttle early has a lot to do with technique (movement patterns, split step, ...), which have been discussed here (and in dozens of other threads).

    But one major thing has not been mentioned at all: Physical fitness!
    In (higher level) singles games, fitness is crucial!

    Can you guys heavy squat, jump, rope jump and run as good as Lin Dan and LCW? If not, you will be slower on court. Period.
    A lot of lower level players put very little emphasis on physical abilities. But they are crucial to being a good (singles) player!

    Squat heavy, do explosive jump drills, rope jump (singles and double unders), go running (steady and interval), etc. Not once in a while! 3, 4, 5 times a week.
    And on top, work on your core stability (power transfer!!).

    This is where a lot of you guys have huge potential I would bet.
     
  12. MSeeley

    MSeeley Regular Member

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    That is correct. I am suggesting you INITIATE the split step AFTER the opponent hits. That means that as you land the split step, the shuttle is already on its way (which may seem bad) BUT you will be able to move powerfully and explosively to the shuttle knowing exactly where it is going (which makes you fast).

    This is a key recommendation from me to everyone: if you are struggling with the split step timing, go LATE rather than early. If you do not reach the shuttle, its probably because your weight or balance was off as you performed the split (Cheung describes the importance of being very low and where your weight is).

    As for movement drills, I recommend the Rasmussen footwork drill. I understand about the fact your brain has decided where to go during practice. However, if you do the drill such that you pick two corners and move between those two, and then pick two more, and then two more etc, you will have practised all of the different types of movement. The next stage of practice is then very important: keep on doing the practice such that you can switch off whilst you do it. This state of mind where you don't have to think about it is the one you need on court - once it is comfortable with the movements, your mind will start to use them properly without you having to worry about it.

    Good luck!

    p.s. the existing drills you do are very good for making explosive movements. Just set off a little later, and push off powerfully. I am sure you will be ok!
     
  13. captaincook

    captaincook Regular Member

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  14. MSeeley

    MSeeley Regular Member

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    Thats fine, but not easy to do in matches if you are struggling with the timing. A big jump is what you may do naturally when you are feeling good with your movement. I have found it is difficult to learn to move this way - but that may be because of the fast pace of the rallies not giving me time to learn and experiment with a bigger jump.
     
  15. captaincook

    captaincook Regular Member

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    Tried the slow into split jump today. It seems to work well....but I was only practicing half court. Didn't have time; have to practice other double drills.

    I think it will work well with full court too. I felt that the SLOW into split step forced me to STOP my movement as I went into the split step. I found myself in very good balance - so call, nailed the landing. I was able to split step at 60/40 or 50/50 leaning forward bias toward my racket foot. I was able to contol if I want 50/50 or 60/40 on my weigh distribution. Without the SLOW into, I sometime even lean a bit backward into the split step because I was late on the previous shot and I don't have full control of my weight distribution. Today I felt that I was dictating the rallies, or at least in full control of my movement (if my practice partner disagreed that I was dictating the rallies). Everything just seemed so much easier, even blocking his jump smashes, or retrieving his stop-drops.

    The lesson learnt today - one way to nail the landing (split-step) is slow-into-split step. I am sure this is not the only way, but SLOW gave me the adjustment time needed to time the split step. I am sure advance player can nail the split step landing coming out of all kind of pressure situation with or without the slow-into preparation (e.g. Chen Long).
     
  16. Cheung

    Cheung Moderator

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    That video, she gets it at 7.20m. Better split step. She also has a better rhythm.

    As a side note, I have reservations about the last step to the forehand overhead. I won't teach it like that anymore.
     
  17. captaincook

    captaincook Regular Member

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    Yes, most of the time, for man single, we don't have time to step into the shot. Our feet stay side way and we skip back to base with both feet, leading with non-racket foot. When I am late, my racket foot sometimes point toward the baseline (thumb grip) to play the forehand. Very un-natural, but taught to hit like that for months/years - and now it becomes a standard movement for me.

    If I know how to how a few seconds here and there from a youtube video, I would have a lot to share/discuss.
     
  18. rlim701

    rlim701 Regular Member

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    Alright guys, this video was taken about 6 months ago. In terms of being late especially to the backhand forecourt, please look at 2:22 and 2:50. Perhaps you guys can point out adjustments I can make. Any general points of improvement will also be appreciated. Thanks for helping me improve.
    https://youtu.be/rooOWw9oTIo
     
  19. Gollum

    Gollum Regular Member

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  20. Cheung

    Cheung Moderator

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    The Peter Gade video is an excellent one to learn from. It can be quite difficult to see what's wrong in your own game.

    1) place a video camera in roughly the same position as Peter's video and record yourself. That will give you an easier comparison.

    2) your feet position when the opponent strikes an overhead is right foot forward, left foot back. Sub optimal. Look at Peter's feet. They are wide apart almost equidistant from the net

    3) everything about split step in this thread you have to try to get on board. When the opponent strikes the shuttle, you have no split step at all. You will find it so difficult to reach the forecourt.
     

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