Amanda Knapp
Badminton is a racket sport played with a shuttlecock over a net by either two or four players. The four fundamental skills in badminton are the grip, the ready position, footwork, and the serve. The grip is the way a player holds the racket, and it can be fine-tuned for forehand and backhand grips. The ready position is the athletic stance that allows players to be ready for any shots that come their way. Footwork is the way a player moves around the court, and the serve is the way a player gets the shuttle into the opponent's court.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Grips | Forehand and backhand grip |
| Ready position | Standing in the center of the court with feet shoulder-width apart, hips back, knees bent, weight in the balls of the feet, and a slight lean in the torso |
| Footwork | Shuffling, gliding, stepping, lunging, and moving backward |
| Serves | High serve, low serve, flick serve, and drive serve |
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What You'll Learn
- Footwork: Learn to shuffle, glide, step, and lunge across the court
- Racket grip: Master the forehand and backhand grip for any shot
- Ready position: Adopt a solid athletic stance to prepare for any shot
- Badminton serve: Consistently get the shuttle into the opponent's court
- Shots: Practice rallying with an overhand strike, throwing the shuttle high
Footwork: Learn to shuffle, glide, step, and lunge across the court
Footwork is a fundamental skill in badminton, and mastering it can significantly improve your game. Being able to move swiftly and efficiently across the court is key to success. Here are the four essential footwork techniques to practice: shuffling, gliding, stepping, and lunging.
Shuffling is a quick and agile way to move sideways across the court. It involves moving your feet in small, quick steps, keeping your weight low and knees bent, to maintain balance and stability. This technique is useful for covering short distances and helps you stay light on your feet, ready for the next shot.
Gliding is a smooth and seamless way to move from one side of the court to the other. It is a fluid motion, keeping your body relaxed and your feet in constant, graceful motion. Gliding helps you cover larger distances quickly and efficiently, allowing you to reach shots that are further away.
Stepping is a basic and essential technique for moving forward on the court. It involves taking a step forward with one foot, followed by the other, in a steady and controlled manner. This technique is simple but important for covering ground and getting into position to reach the shuttlecock.
Lunging is a dynamic and powerful movement, propelling you forward to reach shots that are just out of your reach. It involves taking a large step forward with one foot, bending the knee deeply, and extending the other leg behind you for balance. Lunging is an explosive movement that can help you make those crucial shots at the front of the court.
Practicing these four footwork techniques will improve your agility, balance, and speed around the court. They are essential skills to master, helping you to move with efficiency and grace, and ultimately improving your overall game.
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Racket grip: Master the forehand and backhand grip for any shot
The four fundamental skills in badminton are learning how to hold the racket, serve the shuttle, move your feet, and move on the court. Here is a detailed guide on mastering the forehand and backhand grip for any shot:
Forehand Grip
The choice of forehand grip is fundamental for all badminton players, regardless of their experience level. The grip affects not only the way you hit the shuttle but also the power, control, and spin you can give to your shots.
To learn the forehand grip, pretend you are shaking someone's hand. You want to create a ''V Shape' with your thumb and forefinger, with a little space between your index finger and middle finger. Your fingers should be loosely around the grip, which is important for generating control and power in your shots and for quickly changing between grips during a rally.
Backhand Grip
The easiest way to learn the backhand grip is to set up with your thumb on top of the wider section of the grip, with your strings facing the floor and ceiling. Your fingers should be relaxed around the side.
Bevel Grip
The bevel grip is an advanced variation of the backhand grip. To learn this grip, start in a backhand grip and move your racket head so that your strings are now facing diagonally, and your thumb is on the ridge or bevel. If you are right-handed, move your racket anti-clockwise from your backhand grip position. If you are left-handed, move your racket clockwise.
Panhandle Grip
The panhandle grip is the most natural grip for beginners as it is easy to hit overhead shots with. To execute this grip, place your thumb on the side of the racket, pinching the sides with your thumb and fingers.
Practice Drills
When learning or adjusting your grip, it is important to remember that it may take some time to get used to. Repetition is key to integrating the new grip naturally. Start with a conditioned routine where you switch grips after every shot, such as playing a backhand defensive shot followed by a forehand defensive shot, or a backhand drive followed by a forehand drive. You can even do these drills against a wall if you don't have a partner to practice with.
As you advance, make the drills more unpredictable so that you have to make quick grip changes and decisions on when to change your grip. For example, your partner can feed shots to different areas of the court, forcing you to switch grips, or they can move you from side to side as you practice hitting down from the net.
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Ready position: Adopt a solid athletic stance to prepare for any shot
The four fundamental skills in badminton are grip, serving, footwork, and movement. A key component of movement is adopting a solid athletic stance, also known as the "ready position", which prepares you to cover your opponent's shot.
The ready position is a stance and position that you want to reach before your opponent hits the shuttlecock. It is called the ready position because it helps you get ready for the next shot. Your ready position should include standing in the center of the court if you are playing singles, with your feet a little more than shoulder-width apart, and your body relaxed and waiting for play. Your knees should be bent, with your weight lowered and shifted slightly forward so that you are on the balls of your toes. This stance allows for quick and easy sideways shuffling or gliding from left to right, as well as stepping or lunging forward.
The ready position is not to be confused with footwork (how you move around the court) or positioning (where you place yourself on the court). However, it is an important precursor to both. It is also an essential ingredient if you want to avoid making things too easy for more experienced players who are good at keeping an eye on your position on the court.
The exact ready position may vary depending on how wide the opponent is in the rear court, and you may have one leg slightly in front of the other. For example, if you are playing doubles, your position on the court will be different, and you may need to adopt a defensive stance with your body facing square to the net and your legs wider than your shoulders.
Adopting the right stance can make you feel like you've gained an extra second or two for your next move, which is a lot of time in badminton. It can be the difference between effortlessly striking the shuttlecock with power and accuracy, or awkwardly shuffling and missing the shot.
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Badminton serve: Consistently get the shuttle into the opponent's court
Serving is one of the four fundamental skills in badminton, the others being learning how to hold the racket, footwork, and moving your feet. Here are some tips to help you consistently get the shuttle into your opponent's court:
First, position yourself correctly. Stand anywhere in your half of the court, but make sure your feet are not touching any of the court lines. For singles, position yourself in the centre of the court, bending your knees with your body relaxed and waiting to play.
Second, make sure you strike the shuttle correctly. The base of the shuttle, or the cork, must be struck first, not the feathers. The whole shuttle must be struck below 1.15 m. Additionally, the serve must be delivered in a forward continuous motion.
Third, be mindful of the timing of your serve. The Badminton World Federation (BWF) Laws of the Game state that "neither side shall cause undue delay to the delivery of the service once the server and receiver are ready." While there is no time limit, players have been faulted for taking too long to serve.
Finally, practice different types of serves to keep your opponent guessing: the high serve, the low serve, the flick serve, and the drive serve. For example, a high serve can move your opponent to the back of their side of the court, while a low serve can force them to get under the shuttle.
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Shots: Practice rallying with an overhand strike, throwing the shuttle high
One of the most common shots in badminton is the overhead strike, which is used during many badminton rallies when the shuttle is cleared above the net. To practice rallying with an overhand strike, follow these steps:
First, get yourself in a position to strike the shuttle. Bring your throwing hand overhead, creating a 90-degree angle with your shuttle facing your target. This is the same for both the overhand forehand and overhand backhand swings. The overhand forehand is the easier and more common shot, but the overhand backhand is useful when you are not able to line up your shot in the forehand position.
Second, step with your opposite foot as you extend your arm forwards. For example, if you are using your right hand to throw the shuttle, step forward with your left foot.
Third, follow through and finish with your throwing hand pointing at your target. The goal is to throw the shuttle high enough that your partner can hit it overhead.
Finally, straighten your elbow and rotate your forearm as you hit the shuttle, snapping your wrist to make contact. Try to hit the shuttle as high in the air as possible.
With these steps, you can practice rallying with an overhand strike, throwing the shuttle high. Remember to practice drills and work on your footwork to improve your skills and muscle memory.
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Frequently asked questions
The four fundamental skills in badminton are learning how to hold the racket, serve the shuttle, move your feet, and your ready position.
Before practising your swing and shots, you should fine-tune your forehand and backhand grip so that you are ready for any shot.
The ready position is the foundation of badminton technique. It is also known as an athletic stance, allowing players to be ready for any shots that come their way.
Because badminton is a dynamic sport, players need to use footwork to move around the court. You can shuffle, glide from left to right, step or lunge forward, and move backward.
There are four types of badminton serves: the high serve, the low serve, the flick serve, and the drive serve.
