Team England's instructional videos in English

Detailed process of manufacturing of shuttle cocks

Very educational video of RSL's factory in China.

Overhead swing action

The overhead shot is the most important shot in badminton.

Why?

It allows you to hit the shuttle at the highest point, by doing that you
a. will be able to take away reaction time from your opponent
b. allows greater deception
c. allows maximum power stroke, by making full use of arm extension (Lever)

Basically, all coaches will teach this shot as it is the most fundamental stroke. One can hit a drop, clear and a smash from this shot.

The overhead can be liken to a throwing action. Basically you stand on a sideway position and then 'open' up with your racquet arm. Your non-racquet arm points to the direction of the incoming shuttle, this is important for balance and follow through.

Next the sequence is the hitting action. Which can be a drop; which you lightly tap the shuttle slightly in front to force the shuttle to travel near the net.

The clear is you hit the shuttle slightly behind you so that it travels high and far.

The smash is hit with pace and with the wrist in a downward action.

This cartoon illustrates the hitting action of the overhead stroke.

Serving in Doubles

It's important in the game of doubles to tell your partner what kind of serve you are serving.

The prefered serve is the backhand serve.

GIFSoup
For example, one can serve to the 'T' or the front corners.
One can also serve to the back corners called the 'flick serve'. Below is Fu Haifeng doing a flick serve to Tan Boon Heong's backhand corner.

GIFSoup
Another variation is the drive serve.

The server should signal to the back player what kind of service he's doing. For example, if the server did a flick serve, he should communicate to his partner via a signal. When doing the flick serve, both the serving side must be prepared to defend a smash and adopt a side by side stance.

For the serve to the front corner, a simple signal will do, so that the back person gets ready to smash. Here Koo Kien Kiat (MAS) signals to his partner Tan Boon Heong (MAS), the direction of his serve.

Racquets I used to own

My current racquets:

1X AT900P 3UG5(Markis Kido)
1X NS9900JP 2UG5
1X Gosen Roots Aermet 6900 3UG5
2X Ti-10 3UG5 (Koo Kien Kiat)
1x Carbonex 21SP 2UG4
1x APACS weight training racquet 120g G5.

Used to own:

2X AT900T 3UG5 SP/JP
1X AT700 3UG4 SP
1X NS9000X 3UG4
1X NS5000 3UG4
1X Carbonex 21 special SP 2UG4
1x Gosen Roots Aermet 2700 3UG5
1X Wilson K-Tour
1X Wilson K-Pro
1X MP99 SP 3UG5
1X Ti-10 3UG4 (2nd Gen)
1X Carbonex 8 SP

Heck I'm such a Yonex Homer, they will be lucky if I work for them. :) How to submit my resume?

Reverse Badminton :)

The term around the head shot can be named interchangably with reverse shots.

i.e. reverse smash, reverse clear, reverse drop and reverse drive. Basically it is a shot you take over your non-dominant shoulder. It's primarily an overhead stroke (above net level)

It's the prefered way to hit the shuttle on your backhand side. It has numerous advantages over the backhand shot:
1) you can see the shuttle in front of you and the position of opponent

2) you can hit a forehand shot (via pronation which is more powerful than supination)

3) you have more variety of shots to hit

4) you can gain the initiative to attack

The disadvantage are the following:

1) in singles, it's more draining on your stamina than a backhand shot. Backhand strokes are quicker to return to the ready position at center court.

2) higher risk of ankle roll since the upwards of 3X your body weight lands on your foot, especially the reverse jumpsmash.

It's always taught to players to use this shot rather than the backhand. Backhand = Bad habit.

Fu Hai Feng (CHN) going for the reverse jumpsmash

Koo Kien Kiat (MAS) going for the reverse jumpsmash

Former player Zhang Ning(CHN) doing the reverse drop

Former player Zhang Ning (CHN) doing the reverse sliced drop



Anthony Clark (a leftie) pulled off two reversed sliced drop in succession

GIFSoup

Xie Xing Fang (CHN) doing a reverse smash


Scissor kicking

Reverse shots are a dynamic shot. Basically you need to use your body's momentum to generate power. It's not only the wrist that's involved. The scissoring of the body is known as the scissor kick. It basically enables the player to hit a powerful shot on their forehand and allows the player to return to base quickly. This is fundamental to recovery for the next shot.

For singles player, the scissor kick is directed to centre court. For doubles player, it's usually to centre as well but behind the front player if you are smashing from the baseline.


Here Lee Chong Wei (MAS) demonstrating the scissor kick after a reverse shot

Sony Dwi Kuncoro (INA) scissor kicking to return to centre court

Koo Kien Kiat (MAS) scissor kicking to return to his base on the right

Weight of racquets and stiffness

When choosing a racquet, there are questions one need to ask.

1) Am I a single or doubles player?
2) Am I a defensive/offensive or all around (defense/offense) player?

Generally to answer these questions is pretty simple.

1) If you are a single player preferbly a head heavy racquet is better as it provides more momentum in a slower swing.
If you are a doubles player, a headlight racquet is definitely better than a headheavy one. Headlight racquet favours the wrist as it generally quicker and benefit the short hitting action. In doubles, there is more pressure in the defense and the defensive properties of a headlight racquet is better. One can also choose an even balance racquet if one plays both singles/doubles.

2) Generally, a stiff racquet is consider a more offensive racquet. However, one must bear in mind, if one has a fast swing and strong enough to flex the stiff racquet, then the power of the racquet will be unleashed. A more flexible racquet benefits a slow swing which benefits weaker players. A medium flex is suitable for both strong and weak players. A defensive player will probably benefit from a headlight flexible/medium racquet or a flexible head heavy racquet. A offensive player will probably benefit from a stiff or extra stiff head heavy/even/headlight balance racquet. An all round player is probably suited for even balance stiff/medium balance racquet.