In this article, I want to give you five badminton tips on the areas you should focus on if you want to improve your overall game. Not specifically one area such as netplay.
Whether you’re a beginner or a professional player, there are always areas of your game that you can improve. It is important to continuously seek to develop your skills, to be the best you can be. Especially if you play competitively at any level. I have highlighted five areas that I feel are important to work on in order to improve your overall game. So below are my five badminton tips for areas you should seek to improve.
Improve Fitness
The first of my badminton tips is to improve your fitness! I am taking fitness in this context to mean the ability to play continuously without fatigue. Many people overlook this but playing any sport to a good level requires a certain level of fitness. Often they will argue they are getting their fitness training by playing.
However, this is not always the case. It is relative to the level you are playing at. Playing at the same level all the time will simply mean that your body is adapted to that level. However, if you were to play someone who is perhaps a little more experienced or skilled, you might find you are more tired than you usually would be.
To really improve your fitness, one must push the boundaries of what they are currently capable of. You need to force your body into uncomfortable situations in order for it to become more responsive and grow dynamically to changing pressures you put on it.
There is no shortage of ways to improve fitness. The most convenient is running. You’ll find as your fitness improves, you’ll be better able to cover the court, play longer rallies and think more clearly during rallies. This is something often not appreciated but is it an important benefit! In a match between otherwise equal opponents, the one with superior fitness will succeed.
Footwork
Of my five badminton tips, this is the most important technically. If you watch the professional singles players they seem to glide around the court with very little effort. The video below shows a great rally between Lin Dan and Lee Chong Wei. Even though they are both clearly pushing each other in the rally, it’s so hard for either player to pull the other out of position. (With added trick shot bonus)!
Being able to get around the court efficiently will allow you to reach the shuttle earlier, putting you in a much better position to play a range of shots. Somebody who lacks the proper footwork may often be late to the shuttle. This will be exploited by better players. Having good footwork also helps to conserve energy. Again watching the video above, although they are both clearly moving very quickly around the court, they are actually taking very few steps to reach the shuttle.
Another benefit is a reduced risk of injury when playing. I have seen many players on court falling over their own ankles as a result of covering the court using poor footwork. Of course, this could happen to any player but at least if you learn the correct technique you can mitigate this risk.
Swift Badminton School has a great video on helping you move to the four corners of the court (video below). Check out his channel he has a lot of useful information for badminton players!
Low Serve
The reason I highlight the service is that it’s arguably the most important shot in badminton. If you can’t serve consistently well you have already written off a number of points through service errors. Or your opponents are able to kill the shuttle. It’s frustrating in a match to give away cheap points so easily. This is the case in both singles and doubles.
The serve is particularly important in level doubles and mixed doubles. The opponents often stand close to the service line ready to attack the shuttle. A good low serve will prevent this from happening but also give you an advantage by allowing the server to quickly cover the net so that the opponents feel pressured and may give away the attack. The more you practice, the more consistent your low serve will become and the more confident you will be. Especially at critical moments in a match.
Swift Badminton School has helpfully put up a video to help you get the perfect serve.
Racket Grip
The way you hold your racket is very important depending on the shot you play. A forehand grip is not the same as a backhand grip so you must adjust accordingly during rallies. It will seem hard initially as you will find the quality of your game might drop as you practice. Eventually, it will become so natural while you’re playing you won’t even think about it.
Beginners usually start holding the racket with the panhandle grip. There is some confusion about what the panhandle grip actually is. I would define it as gripping the racket in such a way as making a fist around it. Whereas the forehand grip is more of a handshake with the racket handle.
The panhandle grip is not an incorrect grip and should be used on a forehand net kill when the shuttle has just popped up at the net. However, this grip should not be used universally. Panhandling other shots will limit your power, ability to play steeper downward shots and can lead to injury of the wrist. I will summarize below the 3 most common grips you should use:
- Forehand Grip – for the majority of forehand shots including all overhead shots.
- Thumb Grip – for backhand defence, backhand drives and pushes
- Bevel Grip – for backhand clears, smashes and drives.
The grips are somewhat flexible on the backhand side in that you could play a backhand drive (as an example) with both a thumb and a bevel grip. It depends on the position of the shuttle, your racket and your body.
Therefore you cannot simply apply one grip to all backhand situations. The best way to learn this would be to have a badminton coach show you the different badminton grips and put you in situations in which you must switch between grips. This is also a skill that you can practice without a court by simply holding the racket in your hand and practising switching between them.
Identify Basic Strategies
The last of my badminton tips is to be able to identify basic badminton strategies. Strategies are not always for advanced players. They are simply identifying weaknesses or employing strengths you intend to exploit in order to win. Beginners and intermediate players will have visibly more weaknesses than advanced players. You should seek to exploit them, especially if playing competitively.
A classic weakness of a lot of players is the backhand, in which they may struggle to hit a good shot on their backhand or in some cases hit the shuttle at all.
Others may have a poor defence so your attack should be aimed at these players in order to maximize your chances of winning the rally. Although I call these basic strategies, they are used right up to the professional level.
For example, Yoo Yeon Seong was often targeted rather than his partner Lee Yong Dae, because his defensive play was considered to be weaker. Of course, Yoo Yeon Seong is a professional player and has a very solid defence but is considered weaker relative to his partner. Therefore opponents tried to exploit this. The video below highlights this strategy:
So How Can you Implement These Five Badminton Tips?
The best option to improve your overall game is to find a badminton coach who is able to help you improve the above aspects and more. You can learn some of the above from watching Youtube or using Google, but having someone demonstrate and have badminton coaching would be invaluable to your development as a player. If you’re weak in any of the above areas focus on them in your badminton training.
I hope these badminton tips helped you to improve your game!
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