Have you guys started playing badminton? If so, did you guys enjoy the game so far?
For me, i always enjoy playing the game. Well, I believe the main reason I'm still enjoying the game is due to the fact that i treat it as part of my life.
Last time I used to hate PE lesson because of running, but not anymore. I enjoy running now because I want to lose weight to make myself more lighter and able to have faster movement on badminton court.
Although not playing often now, I enjoy every session I have when I'm playing. Getting better technique and footwork is one of my goals but most importantly is to have a fun game.
My passion for badminton is right there every moment. Whether I'm stress or depress, playing a game of badminton allow me to forget my worries.
Guess that's end of this post. Thanks for reading.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Strings
Now that you know more about the racket, it's time to know about the strings! By the way, it's not those strings that is use to sew the clothes.
Strings can be classified into few category, which is
All these strings come in different durability, thickness, colour and of course, price.
Durability
Referring to the string whether it is able to withstand the force during the impact. Different thickness and string tension affect the durability.
Thickness
The thickness comes in 0.63mm to 0.75mm.
The thicker the string, the more they are able to withstand the force but they suffer some repulsion loss. On the other hand the thinner string are not able to withstand the force if it is been hit hard but the repulsion is far greater than those thicker string.
So if you are a hard hitter (Able to whack very hard) it is best to choose those thicker string as thinner string may break easily and you might need to restring often!
What happen if I'm not hard hitter (like me!), can i still use thicker string?
My answer to you is, YES. For the string, it is a matter of your own preferences. Whichever string you are playing with and is satisfy, just stick with it.
Colour
Yes, you read that right. String comes in different type of colour as well. But due to the coating of the colour, it somehow affects the durability of the string. Not to be afraid though, the difference in the durability is hardly noticeable.
Price
The price of the string ranges from $12 to $30. Sometimes it is better to go for those thicker string.
Why? If you break string often, that means you have to keep restringing for the racket and that means your pocket going to have a big hole soon.
Just my 2 cent.
Strings can be classified into few category, which is
- Natural Gut
- Sheep Gut
- Multi-filament
- Bios Root (from plant)
All these strings come in different durability, thickness, colour and of course, price.
Durability
Referring to the string whether it is able to withstand the force during the impact. Different thickness and string tension affect the durability.
Thickness
The thickness comes in 0.63mm to 0.75mm.
The thicker the string, the more they are able to withstand the force but they suffer some repulsion loss. On the other hand the thinner string are not able to withstand the force if it is been hit hard but the repulsion is far greater than those thicker string.
So if you are a hard hitter (Able to whack very hard) it is best to choose those thicker string as thinner string may break easily and you might need to restring often!
What happen if I'm not hard hitter (like me!), can i still use thicker string?
My answer to you is, YES. For the string, it is a matter of your own preferences. Whichever string you are playing with and is satisfy, just stick with it.
Colour
Yes, you read that right. String comes in different type of colour as well. But due to the coating of the colour, it somehow affects the durability of the string. Not to be afraid though, the difference in the durability is hardly noticeable.
Price
The price of the string ranges from $12 to $30. Sometimes it is better to go for those thicker string.
Why? If you break string often, that means you have to keep restringing for the racket and that means your pocket going to have a big hole soon.
Just my 2 cent.
- The type of string is your preferences, some people will tend to prefer thicker strings than thinner strings.
- Performance is depend on your choices of string as well as your stroking technique
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Racket (Continue)
I will be covering the different type of length, grip size, frame and balance point of a racket on this post.
Length
A badminton racket has various length ranging from 665mm to 680mm. In competition, the racket length limit at 680mm. Standard length of a racket would be 675mm.
Shorter racket tends to have better maneuverability than longer racket. Longer racket tends to reach the shuttle at it's highest contact point while shorter racket can't.
Different length of racket will more or less affect your swing, contact point as well as timing of the shot. Best to find the racket length that suits your style of playing.
I actually prefer standard length racket which is 675mm as it feels right for me.
Grip Size
It is referring to the size of the racket grip. Be it small palm or big palm, you should be using smaller grip and bigger grip respectively. If going by Yonex grip chart, the smallest grip available would be G6 while the biggest grip would be G3. Grip size G4 and G5 are design for asian use (smaller in size) while G3 are more for eurasian use (bigger in size).
Some other racket company go by opposite of Yonex grip chart, such as G2 being the smallest grip and G4 being the biggest grip. Get the right grip size for your hand!
Frame
There are 2 types of frame available for badminton racket which is
Oval head
Oval head racket are much older than isometric head racket and some people swear by it. It's
(Click on the image to enlarge)
Isometric head
Isometric head are much more popular than oval head, as
(Click on the image to enlarge)
Personally i prefer to use isometric head racket since it is more easier to use than oval racket.
Balance point
Mainly it is to determine whether the racket is head light balance, even balance or head heavy balance. All the balance point are measured from the butt cap to the shaft where it is evenly balance.
Here are the characteristic for each of the balance type.
Head light balance:
Even balance:
Head heavy balance:
Many people prefer head heavy racket for it's power (powerful smash) but at a expense of weaker defense.
I prefer even balance as it don't really suffer much on power or maneuver. If you are curious about my racket balance point, I am really to share with you all. Most of my racket balance point are around 282mm to 285mm which falls under even balance.
That's the update for this week. Thanks for viewing.
Length
A badminton racket has various length ranging from 665mm to 680mm. In competition, the racket length limit at 680mm. Standard length of a racket would be 675mm.
Shorter racket tends to have better maneuverability than longer racket. Longer racket tends to reach the shuttle at it's highest contact point while shorter racket can't.
Different length of racket will more or less affect your swing, contact point as well as timing of the shot. Best to find the racket length that suits your style of playing.
I actually prefer standard length racket which is 675mm as it feels right for me.
Grip Size
It is referring to the size of the racket grip. Be it small palm or big palm, you should be using smaller grip and bigger grip respectively. If going by Yonex grip chart, the smallest grip available would be G6 while the biggest grip would be G3. Grip size G4 and G5 are design for asian use (smaller in size) while G3 are more for eurasian use (bigger in size).
Some other racket company go by opposite of Yonex grip chart, such as G2 being the smallest grip and G4 being the biggest grip. Get the right grip size for your hand!
Frame
There are 2 types of frame available for badminton racket which is
- Oval head
- Isometric head
Oval head
Oval head racket are much older than isometric head racket and some people swear by it. It's
- sweet spot is much smaller than isometric head
- harder to use compare to isometric head
- the shot produced are much more powerful than isometric head racket.
(Click on the image to enlarge)
Isometric head
Isometric head are much more popular than oval head, as
- sweet spot is much larger than oval head
- more easier to use compare to oval head
- the shot produced are not as strong as oval head.
(Click on the image to enlarge)
Personally i prefer to use isometric head racket since it is more easier to use than oval racket.
Balance point
Mainly it is to determine whether the racket is head light balance, even balance or head heavy balance. All the balance point are measured from the butt cap to the shaft where it is evenly balance.
Here are the characteristic for each of the balance type.
Head light balance:
- 275mm and below
- Easier to perform defensive shot
- Less power produce
Even balance:
- 276mm to 289mm
- Moderate speed and power produce
Head heavy balance:
- 290mm onwards
- able to produce power shot
- harder to perform defensive shot
Many people prefer head heavy racket for it's power (powerful smash) but at a expense of weaker defense.
I prefer even balance as it don't really suffer much on power or maneuver. If you are curious about my racket balance point, I am really to share with you all. Most of my racket balance point are around 282mm to 285mm which falls under even balance.
That's the update for this week. Thanks for viewing.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Racket
Come to a important equipment in badminton and that is badminton racket. Without a racket, don't even think about getting the game start!
Racket itself has different type of
Stiffness
Stiffness of racket is mean by how stiff the shaft is. There are a few types of stiffness available for a badminton racket and they are
Flexible
As mention earlier, due to its flexibility, this allows weak arm player to generation powerful shots. But if a strong arm user uses racket this type of flexibility, it will make their powerful shots LESS POWERFUL. Another thing to take note is that the control of the racket may not be as good as other racket with higher stiffness.
Medium
Just one level stiffer than flexible. Allow user to generate decent shots as well as control. Some of the beginner uses this stiffness to start off playing the game. Most of them can easily adapt to the stiffness as well as more forgiving. However the risk are still there. If the user cannot take the stiffness, most likely will cause the shoulder joint sore after ending your session.
Stiff
Most low intermediates to high intermediates like to use this level of stiffness. Most 'arm' and 'wristy' player prefer to use this stiffness. Due to the stiffness of the shaft, when player 'flex' the shaft it allows players to maximize the power and control of the racket with fast swing. After you 'flex' it, the shaft will quickly return to its original position faster than flexible racket. This the reason why it was able to produce more power shot than using flexible racket.
Extra Stiff
Most demanding and stiffest of them all. Require user to have strong arm as well as wrist to 'flex' this racket. Once it 'flex' successfully, the power and control are much more powerful then using the stiff racket. Most professional player like to use extra stiff racket for this purpose.
If you can't really understand the stiffness concept, it is no surprise. To understand the concept well, what you need is to see strong player to 'flex' the racket infront of you. (Don't come look for me to demostrate for you, i'm still a beginner. haha)
Alright, that's all folks! Check out my update soon!
Racket itself has different type of
- stiffness
- length
- grip size
- frame
- balance point
Stiffness
Stiffness of racket is mean by how stiff the shaft is. There are a few types of stiffness available for a badminton racket and they are
- Flexible
- Medium
- Stiff
- Extra Stiff
Flexible
As mention earlier, due to its flexibility, this allows weak arm player to generation powerful shots. But if a strong arm user uses racket this type of flexibility, it will make their powerful shots LESS POWERFUL. Another thing to take note is that the control of the racket may not be as good as other racket with higher stiffness.
Medium
Just one level stiffer than flexible. Allow user to generate decent shots as well as control. Some of the beginner uses this stiffness to start off playing the game. Most of them can easily adapt to the stiffness as well as more forgiving. However the risk are still there. If the user cannot take the stiffness, most likely will cause the shoulder joint sore after ending your session.
Stiff
Most low intermediates to high intermediates like to use this level of stiffness. Most 'arm' and 'wristy' player prefer to use this stiffness. Due to the stiffness of the shaft, when player 'flex' the shaft it allows players to maximize the power and control of the racket with fast swing. After you 'flex' it, the shaft will quickly return to its original position faster than flexible racket. This the reason why it was able to produce more power shot than using flexible racket.
Extra Stiff
Most demanding and stiffest of them all. Require user to have strong arm as well as wrist to 'flex' this racket. Once it 'flex' successfully, the power and control are much more powerful then using the stiff racket. Most professional player like to use extra stiff racket for this purpose.
If you can't really understand the stiffness concept, it is no surprise. To understand the concept well, what you need is to see strong player to 'flex' the racket infront of you. (Don't come look for me to demostrate for you, i'm still a beginner. haha)
Alright, that's all folks! Check out my update soon!
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Right shoes for right sports
There are many shoes design for many type of games as such as
You can wear other types of shoes to play badminton but you are increasing the chances of getting yourself injure. In badminton, it is better for us to wear badminton shoes rather than running shoes. Comparing with badminton shoes with other shoes, the badminton shoes offers more gripping on court, cushion on the front feet, the heels and reduces the chances of spraining ankle.
So does wearing tennis shoes or volleyball shoes get the same benefits as badminton shoes? Answer will be Yes and No.
Tennis Shoes
Tennis shoes almost offer the same as badminton shoes but the gripping texture is different. In badminton the movement is multi-direction thus it require a lot of gripping from the shoes. While in tennis, the movement is not as much as badminton. It require less grip compare to badminton shoes. Therefore the grip for tennis shoes is not as good as badminton.
Volleyball shoes
Volleyball shoes is as good as badminton shoes, however one must keep in mind that the shoes design is not meant for badminton. The gripping texture is on par with badminton shoes just that the volleyball shoes sole is which a little bit high off the ground. It will cause spraining of ankle if you accidentally unbalance yourself or fall down.
Indoor court shoes
They are many brands offer indoor court shoes. Do keep in mind that the indoor court shoes are design not only for badminton but other indoor sports as well. Therefore the gripping for the shoes might not be great if compare to badminton shoes.
That's all for the topic on shoes. Remember! Must wear the right shoes for the right sports, it will reduce the chances of getting injure as low as possilbe.
Thanks for viewing!
- tennis
- volleyball
- squash
- soccer
- street soccer
- badminton and many more.
You can wear other types of shoes to play badminton but you are increasing the chances of getting yourself injure. In badminton, it is better for us to wear badminton shoes rather than running shoes. Comparing with badminton shoes with other shoes, the badminton shoes offers more gripping on court, cushion on the front feet, the heels and reduces the chances of spraining ankle.
So does wearing tennis shoes or volleyball shoes get the same benefits as badminton shoes? Answer will be Yes and No.
Tennis Shoes
Tennis shoes almost offer the same as badminton shoes but the gripping texture is different. In badminton the movement is multi-direction thus it require a lot of gripping from the shoes. While in tennis, the movement is not as much as badminton. It require less grip compare to badminton shoes. Therefore the grip for tennis shoes is not as good as badminton.
Volleyball shoes
Volleyball shoes is as good as badminton shoes, however one must keep in mind that the shoes design is not meant for badminton. The gripping texture is on par with badminton shoes just that the volleyball shoes sole is which a little bit high off the ground. It will cause spraining of ankle if you accidentally unbalance yourself or fall down.
Indoor court shoes
They are many brands offer indoor court shoes. Do keep in mind that the indoor court shoes are design not only for badminton but other indoor sports as well. Therefore the gripping for the shoes might not be great if compare to badminton shoes.
That's all for the topic on shoes. Remember! Must wear the right shoes for the right sports, it will reduce the chances of getting injure as low as possilbe.
Thanks for viewing!
Friday, November 28, 2008
Shuttlecock
Shuttlecocks is a must in every badminton game. One game may use up at least 2 shuttlecocks or more.To reduce the number of shuttlecocks use, the durability of the shuttlecocks is important.
There are 2 type of shuttlecocks,
Plastic:
I prefer to use feathers over plastic as the plastic have numb feel when hitting it while the feathers gives a good feedback.
Since feathers shuttlecocks have 2 types, I strongly recommend to go for goose feathers. In Singapore, shuttlecocks price is just a few dollars different. Go for the goose feathers since it have better durability than duck feathers.
As there are many brands offer goose feathers shuttlecocks, it is best for you to find out yourself which brand of the shuttlecock you prefer. Everyone had their own preferences on the stuff they like.
I prefer to use this brand of goose feathers shuttlecocks, what about you?
I will update more stuff next week. Visit again soon!
There are 2 type of shuttlecocks,
Plastic:
- high durability
- cheaper than feather shuttlecocks
- lack of real feather feeling
- can keep for a long period
- durability varies on grade
- more expensive than plastic shuttlecocks
- environment affects the overall performance of the shuttlecocks
- can't be keep for too long
I prefer to use feathers over plastic as the plastic have numb feel when hitting it while the feathers gives a good feedback.
Since feathers shuttlecocks have 2 types, I strongly recommend to go for goose feathers. In Singapore, shuttlecocks price is just a few dollars different. Go for the goose feathers since it have better durability than duck feathers.
As there are many brands offer goose feathers shuttlecocks, it is best for you to find out yourself which brand of the shuttlecock you prefer. Everyone had their own preferences on the stuff they like.
I prefer to use this brand of goose feathers shuttlecocks, what about you?
I will update more stuff next week. Visit again soon!
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Getting to know the basics
Before getting into game, it's best to know the coverage of courts and gripping the racket well in badminton.
Coverage of courts
The coverage of courts is different in single and double games. In single games, the coverage are much larger than double games, thus it require good stamina.
The coverage of court in double games are lesser as you will be pairing with your partner and each of you will be covering each other empty spots.
Badminton grips
For starters who doesn't really know how to grip the racket well. I recommend you guys to read on the grip article on Badminton Bible.
I personally find that the grip article on this website are very useful for starters or even advance player. It teaches you how to grip the racket correctly as there are various type of gripping for different situation.
This website does not only teach you how to grip the racket, it also teach the stroke used in badminton games along with some pictures to help you understand more. Two thumbs up for this website.
Knowing the basics is the great way to start the game. At the same time, do remember to enjoy the game. I have bookmarked the Badminton Bible website. Have you?
I will be covering more stuff on the next update. Come back again soon!
Coverage of courts
The coverage of courts is different in single and double games. In single games, the coverage are much larger than double games, thus it require good stamina.
The coverage of court in double games are lesser as you will be pairing with your partner and each of you will be covering each other empty spots.
Badminton grips
For starters who doesn't really know how to grip the racket well. I recommend you guys to read on the grip article on Badminton Bible.
I personally find that the grip article on this website are very useful for starters or even advance player. It teaches you how to grip the racket correctly as there are various type of gripping for different situation.
This website does not only teach you how to grip the racket, it also teach the stroke used in badminton games along with some pictures to help you understand more. Two thumbs up for this website.
Knowing the basics is the great way to start the game. At the same time, do remember to enjoy the game. I have bookmarked the Badminton Bible website. Have you?
I will be covering more stuff on the next update. Come back again soon!
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