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Forehand Overhead Technique
November 5, 2015
2:46 pm
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evilchap
Devon
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I have had some videos taken… mostly this one:

https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipN6F9qPAp_jq5SZh2CrjF7BZbX8r4hMdea-ExyHFE9uE3ViNTVIuMszOi-z4d4ibg/photo/AF1QipNo9n16YE5_RJOTxVmptyTWs-KINYC_YYUSzaee?key=MmNuV0RlaU1YTENSSXBzcFF0Z0xzQ0V6czRMeWJR

At time 0:10 and 5:30 I do some overhead shots. I appreciate I wasn’t playing overly well, we struggled to get going and get our eye in last night after a 1hr+ drive to the venue after a long day working, we were all pretty tired.

I think I haven’t moved back far enough to play the shot, but can anybody point out any footwork shortcomings please, or general posture and stance?

I have a long running shoulder issue that is OK so long as I make clean hits, and dont over-stretch. Due to being fairly tall, I think I use my reach instead of moving to where I ought to be, not on purpose but because subconsciously I can, so I do. I would like to avoid this and any other poor technique to improve my game.

Thanks for any advice anybody can offer!

November 8, 2015
5:40 pm
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evilchap
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https://goo.gl/photos/fnuWgwNEtLHqLUhT7

Just spotted a link to the album got posted above, I meant for this to be the one up there, sorry!

November 8, 2015
11:16 pm
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Matthew Seeley
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Aha! I can log into the forum again 🙂

As I am now able to log in, I will give you a quick analysis. In particular, I am looking at the overhead shots played at 5:30. I know you asked about the posture/.positioning specifically, but I will give a full analysis anyway. Pick and choose what is useful feedback for yourself (if any!)… here we go:

Grip: you appear to be using a basic/neutral grip. This is good 🙂

Arm action: You appear to be using a good arm action. You are making use of the correct muscles (forearm muscles) and are getting a good contact it would seem. Well done!

Accuracy: The smashes you have highlighted are all going with good angles in good places. I haven’t watched the rest of the video, but if they are all aimed at your opponents hips, then you are doing very well.

Contact height: You are reaching up quite well for the shuttle, but could possibly take the shuttle sooner (NOT necessarily higher – just try to reach it even earlier if you can).

Racket carriage: just before you hit the shuttle, you have a good “ready to hit” position with both arms elevated. However, whilst you are moving, you do not have this racket carriage. Your racket and arms are both lower, until you get into position to hit the shuttle, and then you get the arms ready. As a coach, I would want to see moving in the same position as you have just before you play your stroke – gets those arms and that racket up! Being ready to hit as you move is very important if you play at a faster pace against better players – you won’t have time and will end up taking shots late unless you make it a habit (on all shots, not just overheads!).

Racket action: When you are about to hit the shuttle, your racket dips down below your head, and then you perform your backswing – this additional swing is unnecessary. People use it to try and generate extra racket head speed. In reality, it may affect your shots accuracy, and is one of the things that may stop you from playing a shot quickly enough if you play against better players at a faster pace. I suggest making the swing shorter and simpler is always a good thing, and helps skill mastery by eliminating unnecessary movements. Badminton is a game of precision, and anything that may affect precision should be eliminated where possible. Try to lock your racket into a stationary position before you hit the shuttle, you may get a cleaner/better contact as a result!

Movement: You are making use of your reach alright 😉 Watch what happens just before the overhead at 0:10. What moves first? Basically you move your head as you watch the shuttle. And then when you can’t keep your eye on the shuttle anymore, you arch your back. And THEN you start moving. This means you are moving very late, which results in you not getting as far back as you could, which leads on to my final point…

Contact point: The big one. You are playing smashes, but you are not behind the shuttle. Behind the shuttle means that if the shuttle is left to land it SHOULD land in front of you. Not on your head. And definitely not behind you! This is caused by several things:
1. lack of movement as mentioned previously
2. habit – you probably always hit this way, and don’t know what it feels like to get behind the shuttle!

The contact point is too far back, meaning you haven’t moved far enough. This does several things:
Sight: Firstly, when you are going to hit the shuttle, it is directly above you, and I can see you looking directly upwards. You probably have no idea where your opponent currently is, just before you hit the shuttle – you can only see the shuttle and the ceiling! If you moved further back, you would see the shuttle AND your opponents court.
Weight transfer: Look at where your bodyweight is going after your shot. You are falling to your left! This is going to affect your ability to remain balanced and get the next shot, your ability to move to the correct location on the court or move forwards if appropriate, and will affect the body weight you can put INTO your smash… which leads us to…
Power: Because your bodyweight isn’t being utilised, your smash will be less powerful than it could otherwise be. Ideally you want your bodyweight going in the same direction as your smash to give it some extra oomph!

I think thats everything. What does this realistically boil down to?

I recommend you try to move a little quicker to get behind the shuttle. This will improve the power in your shots, your ability to target whatever areas you want to target, and help you stay balanced. While you are moving, get that racket ready to hit, and just try to take the shuttle as soon as you can. Its ok to remain comfortable if you are protecting the shoulder, but cutting out the additional pre-swing will alleviate some of the pressure on your shoulder too as it will have less conflicting movements to perform in quick succession. But overall, you have a nice effective overhead it would seem.

Good luck to you!

November 10, 2015
4:24 pm
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Roger
West Midlands UK
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Excellent coaching appraisal from Matt.
I agree that the main problem is not getting behind the shuttle. One thing I noticed is that your split step was square to the net. Try doing a split step angled to the line of travel. If you had done that for the first smash it would have given you time to put in another step so you would be well behind the shuttle.

Going a bit off topic. In MX at the level many of us play at it’s imperative that the lady gets to the net at every opportunity so that the man can set her up for attacking shots and vice versa. In the second point on the video you do quite a loose shot from mid court that that is returned to your partner,also in mid court. Your partner does a decent cross court shot that the opposition are going to lift all day long but does not follow into the net. Then you are both stranded. You don’t move your feet for 4 shots and your partner is pinned in position without a strong enough shot to get on the offensive. You lose the point. Try not to miss an attacking opportunity.
Well done for posting the video.

November 11, 2015
10:50 pm
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evilchap
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First off, thanks hugely chaps.

Your observations all ring true, and during tonights unusually lively club night I could feel myself doing what I shouldn’t.

Also the mixed positioning and movement – you’re spot on. This is our first season with fixed pairings, and we’re all learning a lot about who ought to be where, and when. We previously played with lots of different partners which made things a real challenge, so we have fixed partners this season but have much to learn.

So back to my shortcomings… I get the impression game play and certainly match play will not cure me.

Can anybody suggest any good drills for correcting this, or perhaps such a thing is already in the subscription coaching video area of this site?

I know I have many areas to work on, but getting these basics right will stand me in good stead to move forwards I think.

Also, as you probably gathered from the video, our matches take place in some random places! Has anybody got a cunning way to get themselves used to poor light levels, strange coloured light and white walls? These are all favourite obsticles in my leagues and represent a significant home advantage for some teams.

Thanks

Ben

November 15, 2015
3:23 pm
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Matthew Seeley
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I will try to give you some advice.
Game play/match play will only make it worse. You need to practice. The BEST time to practice is during your warm up. Just focus on two things – getting the feet moving a lot, and trying to get WAAAAAAAAAAAY behind the shuttle. And then taking the shuttle in front of you in a relaxed way – don’t try to hit too hard, just get used to the feeling.
Ultimately, private coaching is the fastest way to improve – you would probably only need a couple of hours private coaching to resolve all your overhead problems and set you on the right track… or its all covered in Pauls residential coaching weekend along with a whole host of other things.
There are lots of videos in the subscription area for improving overheads. There is a smash contact point one (featuring ME!) where Paul throws shuttles to me and I hit smashes. Its a great way of learning the feeling of a proper smash.
There are also probably videos about overhead preparation. Have you heard the phrases “lock it” and “fire it” that Paul is very keen on? The “lock it” will stop you doing your pre swing. The “fire it” may help you take it earlier.

Finally, regarding matches and venues. There is a very easy way to get used to strange venues: stop noticing. Its only an issue if you think it is. Just go on court and play. Who cares what the conditions are like: its the same for everyone. The only reason the home team doesn’t get bothered by it is not because they can see the shuttle better than you, its because they have stopped being so preoccupied by how rubbish that white wall is and focused on where the shuttle is. So just ignore the conditions and play the game. There are two ways of observing it: “this lighting is rubbish and I can’t see the shuttle” OR… “sorry partner I miss timed that shot”. One is a fact, the other is a negative thought/opinion that will not help anyone or fix anything. I can guarantee that if you just get on with it and play, that by the time the first game is over, you will be used to it. So, in the meantime, don’t look at it or worry about it. Just relax, play and enjoy the game.

Good luck!

November 16, 2015
11:55 am
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evilchap
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Thanks for the continued advice!

Last night was a mens match against our ‘B’ team, so I took it as a chance to give some of this a try in warm up and in the games.

Blimey, that extra half a step makes quite the difference! At the beginning of the evening while I was fresh and moving well I was back to hitting my familiar and much missed powerful smashes.

As I got a little more tired, after the match playing some singles and non-match doubles I could feel myself slipping backwards – so I need to get on the case with this and get the full and proper movement to be second nature!

Once I have permission from SWMBO I think I’ll get signed up for the coaching weekend early next year also, and follow through with turning up this time and everything! 🙂

November 18, 2015
10:04 am
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Roger
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Wise words from Matt as usual.

One thing I would add regarding venues. Don’t be rushed in your warm up. Get as much hitting time as you can before and between games. Do some hitting on a spare court if possible.
Make the warm up meaningful by having a warm up routine, not hitting just any old random shots.
Warm ups are important to get you in the zone for match play so glean as much information out of them as you can.

Good luck with the season.

December 7, 2015
2:06 pm
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evilchap
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I just wanted to pipe up and say thanks again to everybody here.

Last night was a 9-0 win for the team, last week we had a near miss 5-4 defeat, and my game is improving.

Paying close attention to movement both on and off the shuttle has made me a much more useful partner, with some decent shots coming back into my game which were missing – I can smash again for a start without it coming back anything like so much!

December 14, 2015
9:51 am
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Paul Stewart
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Delighted you are getting results! Well done, after all, it’s you that makes the changes.

Keep us posted on your development and also keep up the questions!

Paul

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