Hi, I have more questions for singles players: 1) When the opponent clears the shuttle deep into your court and you are forced to look up as you move backwards to get into position for your return, how often do you take a very quick "sneak peak" or "glimpse" of your opponent's position before you return your sight on the shuttle above you? I ask this because I saw a professional singles player in a rally one time take a quick glance at his opponent before he returned his line of sight to the shuttle above him. He was originally looking up at the shuttle coming from above, then he glanced forwards, and then returned his sight to the shuttle above. Do you also take these quick peaks/glimpses (thus losing concentration on the shuttle above for split second) so that you know where the sidelines are as sometimes, we lose periperhal vision of the lines? 2) I notice that when the shuttle gets past you on your forehand side and you try to clear it (thus, you are chasing the shuttle), it's extremely awkward to do the scissor kick at this point and any attempts to do the scissor kick might even put you off balance. Can somebody explain the footwork for this scenario and also the return footwork back to the base? Thanks. viper_mav
I've been told that you are to use your footwork to tell the lines when you can't see them. Example: If you do your footwork from base to one of the the back corners, your right foot (if right-handed) should be on the baseline. It's easy to lose orientation during a rally, so if in doubt, hit it. If you're given a kill shot at mid-court near the side, hit it anyways even if its half a foot out because you never know when you might have lost the lines. Phil
It depends if you have time to take a quick look at your opponent. If not don't look just focus on your return. Use attacking, defensive or neutral stroke depending on the circumstances. This has been discussed before, do a search on the threads and you should be able to find it. About watching your opponent before you strike, a word of caution though: some experienced players put themselves in a vulnerable position for the opponents to notice. When the opponent have to focus on the stroke the player will move into a favourable position where he anticipates the shot will be placed. My opinion is if you like to play singles, practice your strokes and make the clear, drop and smash as identical as possible. Like the previous posting, if you practice your footwork you should have a feeling where the lines are. Assume you mention upperhand (overhead) stroke. http://www.badmintonphoto.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=22_36&products_id=4223 http://www.badmintonphoto.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=22_36&products_id=3408 Landing would be similar. No scisors kick if you can't make it. http://www.badmintonphoto.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=22_36&products_id=979
re: hi viper, as for looking to check the opp. u should already have in mind what shot you are going to hit based on what your opponents strengths - one would assume that if he / she is clearing to your backhand that they would be sneaking in (my exp anyway) so I would either smash to their hip (whatever side they hold the racquet) to jam them or hit a clear back to their backhand. As for a on a forehand clear you have many more options but still base it on ur opps. strengths. As for ur footwork, the previous post should help you. Gluck
Question 2. (whihc happens to be uncompleted!) http://www.badmintonforum.com/vb/showthread.php?t=11102&highlight=footwork shall we continue in this thread or that thread? Very briefly, the situation is the same as in the Mens singles final of 2000 Olympics when Ji Xin Peng plays out of his deep forehand corner. For right handers, move the right leg back in the direction of the corner. Turn the body to face sideways at the same time. Then, left leg crosses behind the right leg. Withdraw the racquet to prepare for the stroke. Then step with right leg towards the forehand corner. The foot must be planted in a way that it points almost to the back of the line of the court. (it helps stop over rotation of the body and prevent inuries to the ankle). Time the stroke so that the shuttle is struck simultaneously with final planting of the right foot(quite difficult in practice). This will aid speed of recovery. Recovery: If you have chosen to play a forecourt shot, push with right leg to rotate body and face the net. Feet should end up in forward-behind position. The left foot, right foot and the area you play to should roughly make a straight line. No need to rush to middle of the court! Stay back a bit - this controls choice of shot your opponent can make. High shots back are less likely (you are covering the rear court). Netshots are more likely so you can commit to these much better and concentrate on your forecourt return.
For qeustion 1, like Viver says, it all depends. If it really is that good a shot, you just have to be patient and reply with a good quality shot (drop or clear), the aim of which is not to give the opponent any advantage. Important to realise you are extremely unlikely to make a winning stroke - attempt to do so and there is a very low margin for error - i.e. you'll probably end up making a mistake.
2) I'm a right hander, my footwork for this situation would be a right step to the back from ready position to make both my feet and body in line pointing towards the forehand corner, chasse once (if needed) and jump towards the corner without the scissors kick while keeping balance and hit the shuttle. I have to say though, it requires a lot of arm strength to do a good high clear, most of the time people just slice the shuttle down. If you do a clear and its not high, your opponent can rush back, at the same time you'd probably rushing back to the center as well, and the opponent can easily do an attacking clear deep into your forehand corner again. In time, this tactic can wear you out no matter how strong you are.
Q2 I tried to post a picture showing what Cheung described but something went wrong. I think this is a link to it. http://www.badmintonforum.com/vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=2793
As previously indicated, Singles strategy is a matter of patience and moving your opponent out of his/her base and also tiring them out (if you think your fitness level is better than theirs). If you got a deep clear to reply, it is very highly unlikely that you will be able to hit a winner outright unless your opponent is so out of position that you could do so. Basically, focus on the reply that you want to make and recover quickly to cover any possible replies. As for knowing the lines, you should know how far you need to go to get from your position to the lines (hence, you don't even have to look to know whether the shuttle will be going out or not). Why do you think the pros know when to leave a shot and the shuttle falling just an inch out? As for question 2, I think Cheung and Neil has provided links to the the answer.
Q2 The footwork was well explained. But there is one important point in the upper body position when you do the shot without the scissors jump: your right shoulder (if your are righthanded) should ALWAYS stay behind. DO NOT try to rotate the shoulders. It is your forearm pronation that will help you to hit a nice and powerful shot (if needed). JR
