Tips for Beginners: What Not To Focus
There are two things I enjoy in badminton: fashion and shots. But these are things a beginner should not focus on.
Badminton is one game where you can see players well-dressed; just like when they are going for a sporty wear at night with friends over a cup of coffe or tea in a cafe. Maybe because of the upper wear. But this is of course the least of a beginner’s priority—fashion. Don’t go for the fashion. What we mean is going for the ultra-fashion—buying or getting the latest rackets, latest pair of shoes for badminton, latest wear, or latest badminton bags. These things are great. But of course as a beginner, we are still at the stage of trying to find out what would suit us best. Perhaps it would be more practical to have the not-so-expensive equipments. And listen through different views and opinions from veterans in the club before going to buy an expensive item. It would be a waste to get all these very expensive equipments and end up hoping to get a less expensive equipment which could suit you best.
The wise thing to do is to play with a good quality racket, which is many out there. One quality brand is Yonex. But don’t go for the ultra-high end and ultra-expensive. Not all expensive rackets can give you the feel of what you are looking for.
Much waste will it be, if after a month you end up throwing all these equipments after waking up from bed that badminton is not the sport for you.
The other thing a beginner should least have as a prioirty is the shots. This is more important than the issue of fashion, and more detrimental for a beginner to advance as a player. Beginners often focus more on the shots rather than on their footwork, strokes, grip. Beginners tend to concern themselves more going for a strong smash rather than going for a simple steady basic forehand return. Beginners would tend to practice more on doing a fancy shot or trick shot rather than on understanding the footwork.
To learn this great shots, learn the basic strokes and footwork first. If a beginner learns one or two fancy shots first, he will end up just learning those. If a beginner learns with the basic strokes and footwork, he will end up inventing many other fancy shot as he progressses.