Anyone here play badminton?

SpeedFreak · 15 Jan 2013 at 08:50

As has been pointed out by others, if you want to progress then it is impossible to overstate the importance of footwork.

In addition, establishing a strong smash return position is also important. I played a lot of doubles when I was younger so tend to prefer a backhand grip in an open poition as for me it allowed quick coverage of the percieved weaker side.

Also, fitness, fitness, fitness! High level singles badminton is about as physically exhausting as sport comes in my opinion.

Razor-BladE · 22 Jan 2013 at 05:30

semi-pro waster said:
It's always doubles though which is good in some ways but in other ways I prefer to play singles so it's more down to me whether I do well or badly.

I much prefer playing doubles! I just find it a lot more fun. It might be because I hardly ever play singles though, so I'm not that good at it!

SpeedFreak said:
As has been pointed out by others, if you want to progress then it is impossible to overstate the importance of footwork.

Definitely gotta have good footwork, makes things so much easier!
My footwork is fairly decent, apparently I need to slow down because I get to the shuttle too quickly lol. Although the consistency of my shots is pretty poor, that's my main problem atm. Once I sort that out, my game should be a lot better!

Anyone going to see the Yonex All England games? I'm going up to watch on Wed.

Buchanan0204 · 22 Jan 2013 at 12:31

jackthezipper said:
I play but don;t take it too serious. Usually just 3 of us so we play 2v1 and swap it about. Great fun being the one.

I'm rubbish with smashes though, I just close my eyes and turn my head instinctively and it's quite hard to fight it.

Where do you play?

Buchanan0204 · 22 Jan 2013 at 12:33

Razor-BladE said:
I much prefer playing doubles! I just find it a lot more fun. It might be because I hardly ever play singles though, so I'm not that good at it!

Definitely gotta have good footwork, makes things so much easier!
My footwork is fairly decent, apparently I need to slow down because I get to the shuttle too quickly lol. Although the consistency of my shots is pretty poor, that's my main problem atm. Once I sort that out, my game should be a lot better!

Anyone going to see the Yonex All England games? I'm going up to watch on Wed.

The All England isn't until march?

topgun06 · 22 Jan 2013 at 12:52

I played a lot when I was younger. Really enjoyed it. I wasn't too bad, but not played for around 6 years now.

Razor-BladE · 22 Jan 2013 at 18:11

Buchanan0204 said:
The All England isn't until march?

Yeah, I didn't mean this Wed!

Buchanan0204 · 22 Jan 2013 at 18:25

Razor-BladE said:
Yeah, I didn't mean this Wed!

Wooooops

semi-pro waster · 22 Jan 2013 at 22:16

Razor-BladE said:
Anyone going to see the Yonex All England games? I'm going up to watch on Wed.

I'm hoping to go for the Saturday with a few friends but haven't sorted out the tickets yet.

I'm meant to be playing in a fun tournament with others from the badminton club on Friday but my game has been hopeless for the past few weeks plus I've just got a new racquet so I'll need a minor miracle to do well.

Buchanan0204 · 22 Jan 2013 at 22:19

What racket did you buy?

semi-pro waster · 22 Jan 2013 at 22:40

Buchanan0204 said:
What racket did you buy?

A Yonex Nanoray 80 is what I bought or actually I gave a mate who was heading to Hong Kong some money and asked him to get me something. He did and it feels like it's a decent one albeit with a rather pimping gold highlighted head and orange strings - I think my best chance on Friday is to try and hypnotise the opposition with the shiny.

Razor-BladE · 23 Jan 2013 at 00:05

semi-pro waster said:
I'm hoping to go for the Saturday with a few friends but haven't sorted out the tickets yet.

Seeing the weekend games would be amazing and some friends are going, but after accommodation it's too expensive for me.

semi-pro waster said:
A Yonex Nanoray 80 is what I bought or actually I gave a mate who was heading to Hong Kong some money and asked him to get me something.

HK is great for buying rackets! When I was there I got a couple (one for my dad) of Nanospeed 9900 because I could get it for about £85 instead of £130 or whatever it was over here!

SpeedFreak · 23 Jan 2013 at 08:41

Agreed, have bought a few in Hong Kong as the Yonex prices there are fantastic.

Hamster · 23 Jan 2013 at 09:01

Just have to be a bit careful and make sure you buy from an authorised Yonex dealer. Loads of fakes about but you all are probably aware of that.

semi-pro waster · 10 Mar 2013 at 13:19

Did anyone else end up going to the All England? I was there yesterday and there were some absolutely fantastic matches, well worth going to see for about 5 hours of quality badminton. With two courts on at the same time it was sometimes difficult to decide what to watch though and the seats were not comfortable for that length of time without a break.

Buchanan0204 · 11 Mar 2013 at 02:53

semi-pro waster said:
Did anyone else end up going to the All England? I was there yesterday and there were some absolutely fantastic matches, well worth going to see for about 5 hours of quality badminton. With two courts on at the same time it was sometimes difficult to decide what to watch though and the seats were not comfortable for that length of time without a break.

I totally agree with both those last statements... I was very uncomfortable last year, I'm quite tall also and that didn't help. I was also a bit torn between matches and you end up missing good bits of one while watching the other.

I spent all day watching it on Sky Sports and loved it! The reasons I wasn't so keen to go are the ones you mentioned, that and it's a bit of traveling from Glasgow and the expense also. However I'll probably go next year regardless!

Are you a player or just a fan?

semi-pro waster · 11 Mar 2013 at 20:01

Buchanan0204 said:
Are you a player or just a fan?

I play most weeks with a club near work, there's a fair mix of abilities there but most people don't take it too seriously which is nice. I enjoy playing but I'm not all that keen on playing when the atmosphere gets so serious that it's a minor crisis if someone misses the shot.

The club also gave a subsidy for people buying tickets so that reduced the cost by a fair amount as well which was a bonus.

Buchanan0204 · 11 Mar 2013 at 22:21

semi-pro waster said:
I play most weeks with a club near work, there's a fair mix of abilities there but most people don't take it too seriously which is nice. I enjoy playing but I'm not all that keen on playing when the atmosphere gets so serious that it's a minor crisis if someone misses the shot.

The club also gave a subsidy for people buying tickets so that reduced the cost by a fair amount as well which was a bonus.

Sounds good! 2016 should be a good All England due to it being another Olympic year and all the top players trying to get ranking points.

Vanquish-Storm · 11 Mar 2013 at 22:45

Started playing a few months ago, I am not great at it and tbh I do not even know all the rules but its a fun game and gives me exercise!

I saw a bit of the women's badminton some of the shots they pull off are amazing. At times it was like a game of chess.

Buchanan0204 · 12 Mar 2013 at 18:02

Vanquish-Storm said:
Started playing a few months ago, I am not great at it and tbh I do not even know all the rules but its a fun game and gives me exercise!

I saw a bit of the women's badminton some of the shots they pull off are amazing. At times it was like a game of chess.

It's exactly like a game of chess! With these top players, it's all about deception as they are just too good around the court to outplay them. At their level all of their shots look the same in preparation, drops, clears, smashes all have the same preparation so you don't know what's coming until the last second. It makes it very difficult to read and it's all about out smarting the opponent unlike in local clubs about perhaps hitting through them or running them side to side.

semi-pro waster · 12 Mar 2013 at 22:43

Buchanan0204 said:
Sounds good! 2016 should be a good All England due to it being another Olympic year and all the top players trying to get ranking points.

I'd certainly consider going to it again, it was probably better that I went with a few mates but even if I hadn't some of the shot play was unbelievable.

Buchanan0204 said:
It's exactly like a game of chess! With these top players, it's all about deception as they are just too good around the court to outplay them. At their level all of their shots look the same in preparation, drops, clears, smashes all have the same preparation so you don't know what's coming until the last second. It makes it very difficult to read and it's all about out smarting the opponent unlike in local clubs about perhaps hitting through them or running them side to side.

You're right, most of the time you couldn't tell what they were about to play but almost as amazing is that the majority of the time their opponent would still get to it. If I could get anywhere close to the level of footwork that would allow me to get to most of the shots then I'd be pretty happy.