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3:35 pm
March 1, 2010
Offline
I is crutial that for a good defence you have a fast reaction speed to a smash. Is there any way of increasing your reaction speed – something you can do in your house perferablely.
Or can it not be speed ed up
3:52 pm
March 1, 2010
Offline I had the same problem,
try stand in-front of the wall in your gym and play with it…
or ask the player with the hardest smash to smash to you and you try to take and pass the shuttle above the net.
11:14 pm
February 28, 2010
Offline I don’t think there is any quick-fix to reaction times. However, there are some simple ways of inproving your defensive skills. Firstly, relax! Always make sure that going into a game and during each and every rally you aren’t tense, this can actually have a big imposition on your game as a whole. Next, anticipation, being able to spot your opponent’s favoured smash direction and speed is a key skill to develop. Another personal favourite of mine is one of Paul’s theories, focal points along the net. That one is fairly hard to explain in a single post, so I recommend you redirect to Paul’s videos on this site and check out that particular one.
11:56 pm
March 1, 2010
Offline I have to deal with this a lot when coaching. I usually start with a simple routine of one player at the net and the defender at 3/4 court. The player at the pushes shuttle to the defender feet both sides, defender plays tight return to net. With this set up it is easy to vary the difficulty. Start of with light pushes to get some momentum then build up to a fast pace. Most important part of this routine is the defender must be up on their toes looking to take the shuttle early. Once this is going well can add a third person. The third takes a position behind the attacker about 1/2 – 3/4 court. Now the defender lifts the net attacks to the rear court and defends to the net from the resulting smash, net attacker pushes to feet of defender and sequence repeats.
There are two forms of defence active and passive. With a passive defence you wait for the shuttle to come to you. With this sort defence you delay your shot to as late as possible therefore giving you the greatest amount of time to plan your shot. This has the trade off of giving your opponent the most time to recover to his/her to cover your replies. With active defence you move to intercept the shuttle early, you have to be quick here to achieve this but if played correctly you rob your opponent of recovery time. There is no one correct choice it is down to person style and choice but a balance of the two is a good start.
Another time to look at is the racket you use. A even/head light racket will allow you to have a quicker defence with a trade off in power and stability. For the racket to become an element in your defence your stokes and approach must be right.
7:50 am
February 15, 2011
Offline
All great anwsers here.
There are a number of things you can do to train for this off court. The key contributor to reaction time is your core. If you have a weak core, then your reaction times are slower.
All movement is generated from core activity. The great martial artist Bruce Lee spent a huge amount of his training time developing his core because he had figured this out. He wasn’t building a six pack to look good or to take a punch. He built a strong core to maximise his reactions/reflexes. That’s why he was so fast.
The other areas to work on are your hand skills. Do the armchair exercises, especially with the racket cover on and this will help speed up your hands.
Another unusual court activity I’ve tested in the past is “catching” the shuttle from a smash. Feeder lifts 3/4 court to player who smashes the shuttle. You are defending, but without a racket. The idea is that you need to get your hand on the shuttle. Now, you’ve lost plenty of reach without your racket so you’re pushed harder to touch the shuttle. This helps speed up your hands and feet as you’re doing more.
Another great exercise to improve reaction times is to block out the net. Place bin liners on the net so you can’t see through it. Have a feeder throw shuttles from below net height to you can’t see the shuttles. The feed is to the net in “net kill” territory. Your job as a player standing on the front service line is to scan the net and react fast to kill the shuttle – very hard. The feeder can increase the intensity as you get more proficient. Begin using half the net only.
When you’ve done this exercise, remove the covers from the net and do it again. Notice how fast you are!
I know the second exercise is attacking based, but it really does improve your reactions.
There’s plenty more exercises to try but start with these two beauties.
Paul
5:09 pm
March 1, 2010
Offline Thanks for all these info… i can up with one my self. Play with a ping-pong ball against the wall, however i broken 2 ping-pong balls in one day.
2:52 pm
March 1, 2010
Offline Hi Paul,
These look like great ideas to try out, however the emphasis seems to be on increasing speed of movement to reduce overall reaction time( which is obviously a good thing!) . Is there anything specific to increase the mental aspect, ie the time it takes for your brain to tell your hand to move. One aspect I struggle with is getting into the games, admittedly this is usually when I have worked late and come straight to a club. Everybody seems to be moving awfully fast, and I can’t keep up- this isn’t a purely muscular thing because it is the same when I am sat on the bench watching a game. After a few games I get into it but this can be too late into the session quite often- so is there a way to warm up mentally before a session, or things to do avoid, ie caffiene, eating, etc.
thanks,
Nic
8:50 pm
February 15, 2011
Offline 
Hi Nic
You’ve asked a really great question…and a tough one to answer!
One of my previous articles on preparation discussed foods to keep you going in a tournament. In this article I recommended Maximuslce products which I personally use. I use the Viper drink as a pick-me-up and recovery drink, although there is also a special recovery drink too (see link on my blog).
I’m not sure whether foods are the answer here, but you do need to test this for yourself. After all, if you don’t know your body then who else does? So, this is one place to start.
If you’ve had a hard day at work, one of the tools I’ve used many times to lift me and get me ready for action is music. I used to use the theme tunes to Rocky as I used to train to this music. It really got me in the mood quickly.
Find a piece of music or whole albums if need be that have a positive effect on you. Something which always makes you feel good rather than a tune that could send you to sleep on the couch. You already know which music wakes you up and makes you feel alive, so try it.
Because you’ve felt good with this music before, your brain already knows how to respond to it. You also need to find music that get’s you excited or gives you the adrenalin rush. It’s almost predictable that once you find the right music, you will instantly feel refreshed and alive and ready for action.
Here’s another tool. Think of a time when you were absolutely itching to get on court. When you played, you could see the shuttle so quickly, reacted so fast and played really well. Remember what you saw, what you heard and how this made you feel. Take those feelings and double them, double them again and feel how alive and ready you are. Now do this when you get to the badminton club.
Nic, with this last exercise, once you know what you’re doing, close your eyes and really go for it. Link this to your music to intensify it even further. When you’ve done this, double it again.
Repeat this exercise at the club with earphones on listening to the specific piece of music you’ve linked to these feelings. No go on court and let me know what happens.
If you do this right, I can predict you will have an almost unbelieveable experience.
Paul
1:13 pm
March 1, 2010
Offline I hadn’t thought of music, but these seem like really interesting suggestions- I am always buzzing after games and for once the long drive home could work in my favour- I’ll play specific ‘trigger’ tracks on the way home to lay down the foundations and then use then on the drive in next time to wake me up. I’ll let you know how this and the visualisation work.
Nic
4:17 pm
February 28, 2010
Offline I think it’s important to see that improving things such as your core strength or your defence technique will provide a greater defence than trying to speed up your “brain to arm” reflex speed. However, something as simple as music is always a good thing to get the adrenaline going before a match.
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