This time though, I decided to go with a different version at a cool AU $49.99 😮 – the Toalson Ridge Power 66 to try out.
The seller is currently in Prospect, Sydney so I got the item pretty much the next day.
As soon as I picked up the racquet, it felt easy and comfortable. It’s a balanced racquet which suits perfectly for a beginner. It felt like the favourite Prince (Tour Lite) racquets I used in the past.
Compared with a $35 Yonex racquet I got in Rebel or a Decathlon branded one this feels much closer to those high end Yonex racquets.
The recommended tension is 25lbs which is great because anything under 25lbs is what you need when the hand and wrist powers have not yet developed.
Overall, I’m a happy camper and can’t wait to get this one to the court for a test!
I’m following this channel below closely these days. It has a great amount of free contents. The videos are succinct but informative, and not to mention they are professionally created and choreographed. There’s a paid option if anyone is interested:
I hope they go well and will consider getting a subscription some time in the future.
As I pointed out in my beginner guide, footwork is a critical part of improving your game. I can see that in the social baddy groups I currently play not everyone can move around effectively. Most of them picked up the experience by playing for years, they have the instinctive skill sets but lack the foundation of the game. This old but gold channel is one of the first ones I followed. It contains short videos of the important pieces of footwork:
The very first channel I watched a lot back in the days is this one below. Anna Rice – the instructor – spent a lot of time going into details in her videos. A lot of stuffs may not make sense first of all but if you revisit the videos after some time, it will start to click.
Badminton double play is fun and requires coordination between partners to solve the puzzle. Sometimes, it’s not the stronger team that wins, but rather the one with better coordination.
Last updated on July 20th, 2020 at 01:23 pm AEST (+10:00)
* This guide is written for the double footwork under the assumption the player is right handed.
During the course of my training, also back in 2018, I came across a coach who emphasised on footwork so understandably a large portion of each training session (probably 20 mins) was dedicated to footwork.
Here it is, my attempt to put all this training into words:
Basic elements
Hopping (left and right)
Majority of the time we want to hop left: moving back diagonally to the left or moving back straight
The rest we hop right and land with right foot at the back
Rolling
Left foot in or right foot in
Left foot in to cover a short distance (straight) as it takes an even number of steps (2-4-6, etc)
Right foot in to cover a longer distance (diagonal) as it takes an odd number of steps (3-5-7, etc)
Aim for 1 or 2 steps (majority of the time) and a maximum of 3 (sometimes)
Front court
There are 2 variations:
Left foot in, right foot in, hit (both forehand and backhand)
Right foot in hit, right foot back 1 step, split step (square)
The triangles
Visualise in each quadrant of the court, there are 2 triangles, each can be navigated in 2 directions: clockwise and anti-clockwise.
There will be 4 different variations as illustrated below:
To navigate we start at the smiley icon then follow the arrows. To go back we use the hopping and left or right foot in as per description above.
To move sideway, we move to the centre and do a split step (square feet) and do the front footwork (1st variation)
Back hand
There are 4 variations:
Spin left, right foot in and hit
1 hop left, spin left, right foot in and hit
2 hop left, spin left, right foot in and hit
Right foot back 1 step, left foot back 1 step, spin left and hit
Hope that helps. Let me know your footwork tip in the comment section below!
Last updated on July 22nd, 2020 at 08:30 am AEST (+10:00)
Back in February 2018 when I was helping out with running a badminton group in Granville, I put together a short guide with the intention of giving it to the newbies as they discover the group.
As I found out, there’s nothing better than having someone to take you through the first steps in the sport in order to stay with it for the long run.
What it really means is when you start baddy in a social group and get mixed with different levels, in order to have a fun time and be able to mix with everyone, you need to put in the work and move up from the rank of newbies. Of course the other option is to hit the thing any way you like but the point of joining a social group is not really there.
Here is how it goes:
“Prelude
Congratulations! So you picked up a racquet and decided to wander in new territory. It can be daunting at first but with proper guidance it could be an enjoyable journey.
I’m writing this from the perspective of a newbie once I was. It’s not meant to be a detailed walkthrough but should have the essential elements to get you started.
Shoes:
It’s paramount to have a good pair of badminton shoes. Ones that give you good grip on courts. So while your Nike runners are nice, they don’t really belong on the court (for your own safety)
In my own experience, you need to invest in something decent that last for a while. My first pair (Victor brand) lasted nearly 2 years. You can grab something on sale at Victor Badminton Centre (47/2 Slough Ave, Silverwater NSW 2128) at around $80-$90.
Racquet
No need to go overboard here. You can get something decent for around $100 or less.
Brand name manufacturers like Yonex or Victor make great racquets and they are expensive. My first 4 racquets were Yonex and Victor but after clashing them I realised it’s a real danger of wasting lots of unnecessary money here.
After all, we’re not pro players who get sponsorship for their gear.
These days I use Prince Tour Lite (Fig. 1 & 2) and similar racquets like Toalson Wave Nano Power (Fig. 3). They’re really good in value, well rounded racquets suitable for most people.
Figure 1: Prince Tour LiteFigure 2: Prince Tour Lite‘s specificationsFigure 3: Toalson Wave Nano Power
Cheap but effective. It feels almost the same as Prince Tour Lite, that means awesome maneuverability.
String:
When you first start out, best to have a low tension (21 lbs – 23 lbs) because the higher the tension the more force required to generate power on the shuttle. When you get stronger, you can experiment with higher tensions to achieve better control.
I have only used Yonex 65, 66 and now 99. If you first start out, use Yonex 65 so it lasts a lot longer.
Footwork
Ever seen the pros float around the court so effortlessly? Thanks to efficient footwork, they preserve energy yet maximise their reach in retrieving the shuttle.
If you want to learn by yourself, there’s no better source than YouTube. The more you watch the better you will understand the concept.
Footwork is so important that you will need to at least get the basic steps first before thinking about hand techniques.
Training
I assume at this point you still want to stick around the sport and want to get better. It’s recommended to have some training to reinforce the basic such as footwork and the fundamental shots.
It will be probably the greatest investment in this sport for something that you carry with you for a long time.
I still attend training at the point of this writing. My late coach told me to work on my wrist strength which I did and I could see a big difference. My latest coach emphasised so much on footwork and the smooth movement on court. It was like watching a dancer executing his seamless choreography!
If training is not an option, at least observe the experienced players and ask questions. I’m sure most will be willing to help every here and then. It will probably take longer to notice your improvement however.
Conclusion
Now that we have reached the end of this guide, I hope that you find some useful pointers and build on from here.
See you on the courts!”
There was one guy who seemed keen at first. I decided he’s the one that I will dedicate this guide to so I printed a copy and gave it to him. He did not turn up any more after that 😅
I hope I did not scare off the bloke, let me know your newbie tip in the comment section below!
