2016年4月21日木曜日

My Views on Aspects of Badminton (April 2016)

Which series of rackets would be best for me, I always wonder. There are so many different types. It would be best if I had one head-heavy and one head-light racket to use for both singles and doubles. But two rackets would be too expensive -which is why one head-heavy is enough for me. So a head-heavy racket with some other functions would be quite desirable. The Yonex racket must not be too cheap but not too expensive either. That perfect racket just doesn’t seem to exist at the moment. Every year, new rackets are designed and old rackets re-designed. Perhaps next year there will be a good racket.
When using a Yonex racket, the shuttle feels different. A cheap racket requires a great amount of power and speed in the swing for the shuttle to actually fly. Good rackets are enjoyable to use, while enabling the player to control the course of the shuttle. A good player will require some theory, a lot of experience (practice), talent and a racket that fits their play-style. An expensive racket does not automatically mean that anyone who uses it is able to play extremely well. My problem for a very long time is: learning and memorising too much theory while being relatively unable to apply it during real matches. The first step is practice the various strokes until they are near-perfect. This will help greatly in singles. Practicing with a cheap racket or a heavy racket does help in training- I would like to believe.
Moving around the court is the first step to hitting the shuttle on the sweet-spot. If the body does not move, the shuttle will land on the ground. A point will be lost. Receiving smashes with the three different types of receives is one of the hardest techniques in badminton. When an opponent begins to smash straight at your body, receive the smash with a drop-receive movement. Bravery, quick responses, and other mental strengths are required.
The ‘Super Hairpin’ that Momota seems to think is rarely attempted by most professional players is actually seen quite a lot. However, the actual skill is hard to attain. To increase the speed of movements, a player must look at the opponent and begin moving to the place before the shuttle leaves the racket face of the opponent. All these things are very hard to do. The ‘jumping smash’ is also very interesting. However, too much energy will be wasted and hitting it to the right place requires years of practice. I always think before training, ‘today I will hit at least 10 jumping smashes’. Why this doesn’t happen is because normally, players try to hit lower. Opponents will rarely give you chances to smash. Therefore, when receiving short services, a hairpin return would be better than a lob.
Sometimes, such as after playing badly in a game, one loses interest in badminton. It would seem meaningless. Other times, after using a Yonex racket and playing well, badminton becomes the ‘ultimate sport’. I wonder why?