Hello, I read the bible on badminton central base positioning in singles. I was always told to return to the middle and now I see how wrong that was. I have played for many years, and I am surprised no coach ever mentioned this to me. Now I understand why sometimes I couldn't get drops. Few questions: 1. If I do a slow overhead drop shot from the right hand side, would I be bias a bit towards my right hand side and also bias up towards the front more? Or should I just go exact center and be bias towards one side? 2. If I smash from my right hand side, would I go back and be bias towards the mid-right base? 3. Should I always be bias towards one side depending on where the shot hits? Is there any time I am at the exact center? 4. So, if I clear/lift I am always towards center back? 5. How about I play a net drop from the right hand side (from the front, not overhead), would I just be bias towards the front center? Or would I be bias towards the right hand side front? 6. Why is it on the bible it says if I do a fast drop shot, I should be bias towards the back a bit? Thanks! Any other advice would be lovely.
It's actually not that wrong. It's a good way to get the grasp of repositioning without burdening you with all the variations caused by the shuttle's and your opponent's positions. It allows you to focus only on the repositioning. Once you are comfortable with this and it becomes automatic, you can consider the whole situation to decide where exactly to reposition to. The rule of thumb is to be as aggressive as your shot allows you to. In your case, if your drop is good and the only options for your opponents are a high lift to the back or a counter drop, you should cover the net because you'll have time to go back if they defend high. On the opposite, if your drop is a bit too high and your opponent has options, it's usually better to be more to the center, slightly biased towards the side where the shuttle is (to cover for the shorter straight-line path), but not too much, otherwise a cross-counter-drop could be devastating. If it's fast, it's further away from the net, which means your opponent will have a better angle to move it again to the back (they won't be forced to do a high clear). And since it will be further from the net, if they decide to counter drop, you'll have a bit more time. Which is why is this case you're more biased towards the back than in the case of a slow drop. I'm not a big believer of learning the positioning for each shot you do. I think you're better off understanding the reasons for how you reposition differently based on your shot and the opponent's position. A straight smash against a stronger player probably calls for a different repositioning than if you're facing someone weaker than you.
You mean a net shot. You can't play a drop shot off a drop shot by definition since a drop shot is an overhead stroke.
