Gripping the racquet with 2 fingers and how it affects the technique – Steve’s Badminton Blog and Website

I recall when I was younger I learnt that in badminton, there 2 was for gripping the racquet. 1 was the normal way when do almost every hit, and the other was the backhand grip. But learning to play badminton using Han Jian’s method blew my mind away. There was much more to this than I initially thought. Let’s discuss.

Han Jian taught me to hold the racquet firm with only 2 fingers, the pointer finger and the thumb. All other fingers were not needed when holding the racquet. The other fingers only comes into play when we hit. We would need to hold the racquet firm at the moment of the hit, after that, the other fingers would let go again, with only the pointer finger and the thumb still holding the racquet. Using this method, the racquet is free to rotate within the hand, and it allows for a short swing where the axis of rotation is the hand. Using my old technique, where I would hold the racquet firm and I would swing to hit, the axis of rotation is my shoulder.

Turning the racquet using the fingers allows the racquet to spin much faster. It is like how the some peope spin the pen with their fingers. By using the fingers, they can move it faster than if they were holding it firm.

The same concept is using in stick fighting kung fu where the stick is spun quickly. The kung fu practitioner lets go of the stick and let it spin along the rear of the palm of his hand before catching it again.

What is being taught by Han Jian is the application of kung fu in badminton. We are using the spin technique used in martial arts to spin the racquet. This allows for much faster speed than if it was swung as an extension of the arm. And the interesting thing here is, by using this technique, we can achieve the same distances as the swing while holding the racquet firm.

This week’s Steve’s Monologue video talks about how this grip is done, and demonstrates how it is used to make the overhead swing which was the topic of the previous monologue video possible.

Holding the racquet with only 2 fingers allows the racquet requires swings to hit with the racquet to be done in a whip like manner. The backswing needs to be in a small circular movement, similar to how Indiana Jones cracks his whip.

Swinging the racquet with a firm grip is similar to a throw. The arm pulls back for the backswing, and then pulls forward quickly to generate the speed to put into the swing. A javelin throw represents this very well.

If I were to sum up the racquet technique taught by Han Jian and used by the elite Chinese players against what I learnt while playing the Malaysian / Indonesian technique, it would be this. A whipping motion to hit against a throwing motion to hit.

With this difference, everything about the way of playing badminton changes. The overhead swing becomes the whipping motion as I demonstrated in the previous monologue video. When going for lifts, the swing becomes a whipping motion upwards. When hitting drives, the swing becomes a whipping motion from the sides. Every taps and pushes becomes a small whipping motion in front of the net.

The emphasis of the technique Han Jian taught us is on moblity. Less time and effort is spent on the swing, so that the player has more time to focus on moving around on court. This is very apparent in matches when we see Chinese players bouncing all around the court in a match.

The emphasis on the Malaysian / Indonesian style of play is more direct when it focuses more on power. The swings are slower but much more powerful. And again, this can be seen in a match where the Malaysian or Indonesian player appears to be moving less than a Chinese player, waiting for the right opportunity to unleash their smash and win the point.

There are tactical considerations which need to be taken into account for these 2 styles of play. Players will always need to play to their strengths, and their technique’s strengths, in order to win on that day.

I have always emphasized that there is no right or wrong way of playing badminton. Every playing style used by the pro players competiting works. It all depends on the player and how he is able to use the techniques he has learnt to achieve the goal at hand, and that is beating his opponent on that day. That is only answered on that day between the 2 players.

That’s all for this entry.

Until the next update, eat well, get plenty of rest, and keep the badminton going!