My right arm is bulging with power, my left arm is a wimp

[Alphathree33]

Originally posted by: dakata24

It doesn't take a lot of strength to hit the bird, but it does build a lot of muscle putting power into your smashes and clears.

i just dont see how that builds muscle. those rackets are lightweight and hitting those birdies far doesnt require alot of power.. even smashes and whatever clears are.. that racket weighs like a toothpick..

start lifting some weights to even everything out.

They're supposed to be light, especially if you paid as much as I did for my racket.

When you clear, you hit high and deep, forcing your opponent to the back of the court. This puts them out of position, gives you more time to react and encourages a weak return on their part. If they return high, you smash. If they return low, you drop (just barely get it over the net), forcing your opponent to run back to the front of the court. If he gets it then and he is smart he will drive you to the back. If not, he's screwed because he's now at the front and you just whaled it to the back of his court. Toast.

 

[Alphathree33]

When I think of badminton, I think of something you play at the family reunion, or the big cookout over at Jim's house. Not something you do every day or actually compete at. Just seems strange to me that there is a large league dedicated to badminton...

Nobody else agree?

Uhm I challenge you to find evidence of a single family reunion where everyone got together and decided to play badminton, or a cookout for that matter. (Who has badminton courts at a cookout?)

Perhaps you're used to what real badminton players lovingly call "backyard badminton" which is where you get any old racket, and old bird and start whacking it back and fourth in your back yard at a leisurely pace.

In real badminton, most of the people who play are good and some of them are really good. People play very fast and very aggressively (the world record for the speed of the bird during a smash was over 400 km/h).

 

[wonTong]

I was on my high school's badminton team.. and I had that same prob. I just started doing wrist curls and shoulder exercises. Swinging the racket doesn't use great bicep power.. But now I'm not playing so much... just weight lifting instead.

It's so easy to take advantage of new players by just hitting towards their backhand. Most people don't realize how important backhand clears are.

 

[Murphyrulez]

Originally posted by: Alphathree33

When I think of badminton, I think of something you play at the family reunion, or the big cookout over at Jim's house. Not something you do every day or actually compete at. Just seems strange to me that there is a large league dedicated to badminton...

Nobody else agree?

Uhm I challenge you to find evidence of a single family reunion where everyone got together and decided to play badminton, or a cookout for that matter. (Who has badminton courts at a cookout?)

Perhaps you're used to what real badminton players lovingly call "backyard badminton" which is where you get any old racket, and old bird and start whacking it back and fourth in your back yard at a leisurely pace.

In real badminton, most of the people who play are good and some of them are really good. People play very fast and very aggressively (the world record for the speed of the bird during a smash was over 400 km/h).

See, I didn't know there was a difference between a volleyball net and a badminton court.

This thread has been very enlightening.

 

[Alphathree33]

Originally posted by: wonTong
I was on my high school's badminton team.. and I had that same prob. I just started doing wrist curls and shoulder exercises. Swinging the racket doesn't use great bicep power.. But now I'm not playing so much... just weight lifting instead.

It's so easy to take advantage of new players by just hitting towards their backhand. Most people don't realize how important backhand clears are.

So... not being one who normally hits a weight room... a wrist curl would be where you take a weight and lift up with your wrist (i.e. your wrist is moving, not your elbow?) This seems to make sense as it makes a similar motion to the "snap" when you're swinging the racket.

What kind of shoulder exercises? (BTW, my right shoulder hurts like a bitch... all the time... whenever I'm playing it hurts for the first ten or twenty minutes then I forget about it. But sometimes just pulling or reaching at something during the day reminds me that it hurts like hell. )

 

[Jinny]

my left is stronger than my right. i'm a lefty though

 

[Pooteh]

Originally posted by: Murphyrulez

Originally posted by: Alphathree33

Originally posted by: Murphyrulez
Wow. I had no idea badminton was such a big sport. I was getting ready to ridicule you, then did a little searching on the subject and found it is quite a big sport....

I haven't played it since I was like 12.

Why were you going to ridicule me?

It doesn't take a lot of strength to hit the bird, but it does build a lot of muscle putting power into your smashes and clears. Yes, it is a big sport. Not as big as tennis, but badminton players do like to comment on how the average badminton player runs more than the average tennis player in a typical match.

It's also a lot of fun. I'm an academic type and I've never, ever liked sports. The only things I liked were golf and bowling because they're mostly strategy. I never thought I'd find a "live action" kind of sport like badminton with so much strategy. That's really what I enjoy about it.

When I think of badminton, I think of something you play at the family reunion, or the big cookout over at Jim's house. Not something you do every day or actually compete at. Just seems strange to me that there is a large league dedicated to badminton...

Nobody else agree?

in many states of the US perhaps thats the image. big wooden raquets and some people in victorian dress prancing around tapping a birdie around is the image i suppose

it isn't that way in other countries.
you should watch olympic or profressional badminton. its zing zing zing its bloody hard