Beginning badminton

All of my life I have been acquainted with the sport of badminton. How wouldn’t I? Living in a country that is crazy for the sport (Indonesia), it would be difficult to not be. My father was a decent player, many of my friends played it and the country used to have some of the best players around (although that trend is beginning to change).

Just to give a glimpse of how much badminton is loved in Indonesia. I still remember vividly to have occasionally played the sport as a child with my friends on a soil based court, using bamboo sticks firmed by nails to the ground as the lines, with large tree canopies as the stadium, without any shoes! We would sometimes trip over the bamboo sticks and get hurt by the nails sticking out of them. We would play in the rain, in the day, in whatever opportunity we could. Nevertheless we had fun, tons of them.

Albeit spending a lot of time playing it, did we get any better? Unfortunately, the answer is a firm no. This is perhaps because badminton (like any other sport) is highly technical, and needs tremendous amount of dedication/knowledge to be really good at it. It’s just not enough to want to get better in the sport by only playing it without learning any sound technique.

After a long time of not really having any interest in the sport, I have just begun to nurture interest for it again. At first I felt frustrated with the fact that I was very bad in it. But little by little, I feel that I am improving.

It isn’t really that hard to hit a shuttle with a racket. Even my 4 year old son could do it. However, to get better results with less effort, and to be able to enjoy the game more, knowing sound technique will significantly help. There are many good (free) resources scattered around the internet. One of the best resources available is badminton bible. There are also good coaching videos available on youtube, which feature former world champions like Zhao Jianhua and Peter Rasmussen (check out badminton connect for more details).

From my currently short experience playing badminton, I feel that knowledge of the points below really helped me enjoy the game more:

1.)Proper grip of the racket

2.)Proper stroke motion

3.)Proper footwork

4.)Knowing the available strokes

5.)Knowing the basic tactics for doubles and singles

(For starters, you can find all of these on badminton bible)

For a total beginner like myself, I found that knowing these things improved my game a lot, thus making the game more fun for me. And it feels great to be able to stay healthy and have fun at the same time. Of course what is equally important is to go on court and practice what you have learnt. God willing, with the proper knowledge, you will come to love the sport!