Forehand

Hi everyone, welcome to my blog. This blog is written based on the badminton instruction book that is called Badminton: Steps to Success by Tony Grice. Today, I am going to show you how to apply forehands in badminton. In badminton, shots are usually called "clear". There are two types of forehand clear: overhead and underhand. Overhead clear is used for high and deep play; underhand clear is used for plays that occurs closed to the net. Let's go into the instructions.
I. Overhead Clear
- Preparation (Grice 50)
  1. Apply basic grip.
  2. Recover into waiting or receiving stance.
  3. Hold your racket arm up with your racket head up.
  4. Distribute your weight evenly on both feet.
  5. Move your wrist to laid back position.
- Execution (50)
  1. Pivot and turn in the direction of the shuttle
  2. Swing forward to contact as high as possible.
  3. Pronate your forearm.
- Follow- Through (50)
  1.  Follow through with your racket head.
  2. Swing toward the net.
  3. Rotate your racket arm.
  4. Push off back toward mid- court.
  5. Return to center-court.

Step- by- step demonstration of overhead clear.

* Your racket should go up about 80 degree angle in order to be flexible with your shot. Based on my experiences, I can tell that this position will help you a lot with not only this clear, but all of the "high" forehand plays like smash, slice...

II. Underhand Clear: this clear is used when you are trying to reach the shuttle after a short, and low play.
- Preparation (Grice 51)
  1. Apply basic grip.
  2. Reach with your dominant hand and foot (Sashay step)
  3. Move your racket arm up with palm pointed upward.
  4. Put your weight slightly on your front foot
- Execution (51)
  1. Pivot and reach for the shuttle
  2. Place your racket under the dropping shuttle.
  3. Put your wrist in laid back position
  4. Drop your racket down and swing it up.
  5. Contact the shuttle as high as possible.
  6. Pronate your forearm.

Visual Example of Underhand Clear.

* Your racket should get to the level of your knee when you are using underhand clear. This will help you to create an extremely short and just slightly over-net play, which could win you a point.

Questions: If you use the wrong grip, what effects will it have on your forehand plays?

Citations:
http://www.badmintoncoaching.ca/beginner.php
http://badminton.chorwong.com/badmintontechniques.html
Grice, Tony. Badminton: Steps to Success. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics, 1996. Print.