“Badminton is a well-known sport around the world. In order to beat your opponent in badminton, you would have to be better at the fitness components compared to your opponent. The important fitness components important to badminton are Speed + Agility and Muscular Endurance.” ——Claude
I was only 6 when I first got hold of a badminton racket in summer. I was hitting the shuttlecock quite well when an older man (in his 20s) played opposite me. The wind was against me and I had to hit the bird harder. Then he stretched forth his racket hand and smashed the bird towards me. All of a sudden, the world turned black. The shuttlecock went straight into my right eye. I thought I was going to be blind. I cried. And for days, I vowed revenge. But I could no longer remember his face, for it was the first and only time I saw the guy.
Fortunately, my eye was not blind. After a long time curing in the hospital, I was discharged from hospital.
Badminton was just either a backyard or a street game for my parents back in the early 90’s. They told me that neighbors played in their yard or in the streets with cheap rackets. Girls, including the maids, loved the game. They think it was so sissy of us to play with them. No jump smash, no drives, no tricks. We were just hitting the cheap plastic bird to our delight. It was the pure fun in those days.
I continued playing badminton——
Then in my elementary school, the boys started to play the game, outnumbering the girls. After class, I joined the training. We hit the bird hard, and tried every smash and every trick. The goal was to keep the bird within the boundary and to hit the opponent very hard. So I mastered my defense, having experienced the pain of being hit in the eye a year before. We also improved our lift, lifting the bird higher than the coconut trees. It was really, really delightful.
Now I took part in the school intramurals. With only my knowledge in backyard, I just tried to try my best. Then I joined the badminton club in GCA. I was out to prove my strength.
On every Wednesday, I played with the members. After sports, my badminton friends were talking about the secrets I won. What is it in the street game that helped me improve my game? I showed them these skills they have never learned and experienced:
Control We were playing with an imaginary net. The street lines served as our boundaries, so we had to control the shuttle to keep it in.
Drives In an open space, sometimes we played against the wind. So we had to hit the bird hard. Lift. Aiming to hit higher than the coconut trees strengthened our wrists. Smash. To be able to hit our opponents, we had to smash them hard and in the area where their defense was weak. We usually target the backhand side.
Defense To defend ourselves from those killer drives and smashes, we had to be on the proper stance and racket position. I knew what it is to be hit on the eye. Footwork We kept on running in our imaginary court. The right footwork made it easy for us to cover all corners.
Placing Since my opponents ran faster than me in an open field, I had to properly place my shots to all corners to get that precious point.
I played better and better. Because of the conflict between my classes and the matches, it was such a pity to miss the games. On the other hand, I go on playing badminton, I learned the spirit in sports. I am fond of this game.
I was only 6 when I first got hold of a badminton racket in summer. I was hitting the shuttlecock quite well when an older man (in his 20s) played opposite me. The wind was against me and I had to hit the bird harder. Then he stretched forth his racket hand and smashed the bird towards me. All of a sudden, the world turned black. The shuttlecock went straight into my right eye. I thought I was going to be blind. I cried. And for days, I vowed revenge. But I could no longer remember his face, for it was the first and only time I saw the guy.
Fortunately, my eye was not blind. After a long time curing in the hospital, I was discharged from hospital.
Badminton was just either a backyard or a street game for my parents back in the early 90’s. They told me that neighbors played in their yard or in the streets with cheap rackets. Girls, including the maids, loved the game. They think it was so sissy of us to play with them. No jump smash, no drives, no tricks. We were just hitting the cheap plastic bird to our delight. It was the pure fun in those days.
I continued playing badminton——
Then in my elementary school, the boys started to play the game, outnumbering the girls. After class, I joined the training. We hit the bird hard, and tried every smash and every trick. The goal was to keep the bird within the boundary and to hit the opponent very hard. So I mastered my defense, having experienced the pain of being hit in the eye a year before. We also improved our lift, lifting the bird higher than the coconut trees. It was really, really delightful.
Now I took part in the school intramurals. With only my knowledge in backyard, I just tried to try my best. Then I joined the badminton club in GCA. I was out to prove my strength.
On every Wednesday, I played with the members. After sports, my badminton friends were talking about the secrets I won. What is it in the street game that helped me improve my game? I showed them these skills they have never learned and experienced:
Control We were playing with an imaginary net. The street lines served as our boundaries, so we had to control the shuttle to keep it in.
Drives In an open space, sometimes we played against the wind. So we had to hit the bird hard. Lift. Aiming to hit higher than the coconut trees strengthened our wrists. Smash. To be able to hit our opponents, we had to smash them hard and in the area where their defense was weak. We usually target the backhand side.
Defense To defend ourselves from those killer drives and smashes, we had to be on the proper stance and racket position. I knew what it is to be hit on the eye. Footwork We kept on running in our imaginary court. The right footwork made it easy for us to cover all corners.
Placing Since my opponents ran faster than me in an open field, I had to properly place my shots to all corners to get that precious point.
I played better and better. Because of the conflict between my classes and the matches, it was such a pity to miss the games. On the other hand, I go on playing badminton, I learned the spirit in sports. I am fond of this game.
