Using badminton smash technique to kill high FH short balls

[blahness]

My FH flick is strangely better against low to medium height short balls than it is for high short balls. I never managed to master the flick kill off a high short ball (I can do it if not more than like 2-3x net height). For some reason I also often can't execute the loopkill against it due to how short it is, so I can't actually kill the high opportunity ball despite my opponent already missing his serve receive which is the most annoying crap I've experienced. BH net kills are easy due to the chiquita stroke.

So I'm thinking of adopting the badminton smash stroke (pretty much a flat hit) on these high short FH balls. Will give it a try some day, I already started shadowing it (even with the recovery step lol).

 

[blahness]

Would also be interested to learn from anyone who has developed a devastating FH net kill against high short balls (for eg a high very short ghost serve)

 

[Dominikk85]

Isn't a Badminton smash hit over the head like a tennis serve? When is the ball that high?

 

[Lazer]

Isn't a Badminton smash hit over the head like a tennis serve? When is the ball that high?

With this I think he meant just hitting the ball top down.

Cheers
K-zr

 

[Lazer]

I have seen badminton players use this kind of sidespin motion in either direction
Sort of like tomahawk serve in table tennis.
If you don't like badminton example use McEnroe;s vicious slice serve.
Using a motion like a twist serve (opposite of slice serve) in tennis or using a motion like reverse tomahawk in tabletennis is also possible & I have seen players do this but is much harder.

That motion hardly usable as a serve return, I use as a smash with sidespin on high ballon balls.

Cheers
L-zr

 

[Lazer]

I was not talking about serve returns. Neither was it OP's question
I was talking about your returns againsy high short balls but using various serve motion (not serve return motion)


That is exactly what I was referring to as side chop kill except that you left out the "chop"

But he was talking about short serve returns…

 

[blahness]

Isn't a Badminton smash hit over the head like a tennis serve? When is the ball that high?

I guess it's more like a mini version. So you have your racket roughly at 12 o'clock and then pronate downwards strongly. Traditional FH flick kills have your bat at around 2-3 o'clock.

It doesn't produce topspin but probably some weird sideunderspin 😂

 

[blahness]

I also do the side chop smash but I have had that looped back at me hard, believe it or not.... And other times ppl read it and push it back correctly and then they get back into the point.

I just want it to be so fast that the ball just ain't coming back at all. After all it's a high short ball, supposedly the easiest shot in the game to make.

Usually this ball comes when I push very long and the other guy pushes upwards on the underside of the ball, or if I serve sidetopspin and guy tries to short push on the underside of the ball. It's easy to loopkill high long balls, and for BH side short high balls it's also trivial and comfortable to kill them, either with BH kill or even FH pivot loopkill because the left foot can come all the way up to the sides. It's only when it's on the FH side where it's a problem - I could kill it easily with the BH too but there has to be something simpler ...

 

[blahness]

I played with my old partner the LP/inverted penholders and managed to hit 4 such badminton style FH kills of short balls. Hehe it seems quite effective!

 

[igorponger]

ltaliano guys known to hit the ball right into face oftentimes. Fiercefulness in play is a great endowment, indeed.

 

[pingpongpaddy]

The best basic approach to high short balls is to smother them with a block so that they never reach peak bounce. Try to direct the block to centre table so that the chance of the ball bouncing twice is increased. I find you need to decide quite early so you can get into position for the block You will probably mess up quite a few before you get it right. After you have learnt this try to develop the block HIT where you add some speed., and also try an outright drop shot by adding side backspin with very soft hands. (check out Yoshimura Maharu for some samples of this one)
Remember in this situation you have a big advantage with the high ball and opponent back from the table so don't give away the point by trying to be too fancy. Execute a good block and be prepared to kill safely again. Only use block-hit or drop shot if you have mastered the skill
good luck

 

[blahness]

The best basic approach to high short balls is to smother them with a block so that they never reach peak bounce. Try to direct the block to centre table so that the chance of the ball bouncing twice is increased. I find you need to decide quite early so you can get into position for the block You will probably mess up quite a few before you get it right. After you have learnt this try to develop the block HIT where you add some speed., and also try an outright drop shot by adding side backspin with very soft hands. (check out Yoshimura Maharu for some samples of this one)
Remember in this situation you have a big advantage with the high ball and opponent back from the table so don't give away the point by trying to be too fancy. Execute a good block and be prepared to kill safely again. Only use block-hit or drop shot if you have mastered the skill
good luck

I can do that dropshot. The problem is that without a smash, they already know you can't do anything to the ball and so will just not retreat from the table. When you do the dropshot, they will be able to do some extra nasty stuff to the ball and you have to work for the point again.

Heck I even have the sidespin chopsmash and it has gotten looped back at me before.

This badminton style flat kill is far more effective in terms of point winning percentages, simply because it's a smash.

 

[blahness]

Found an example of a short high ball

0:13 here

 

[pingpongpaddy]

I can do that dropshot. The problem is that without a smash, they already know you can't do anything to the ball and so will just not retreat from the table. When you do the dropshot, they will be able to do some extra nasty stuff to the ball and you have to work for the point again.

Heck I even have the sidespin chopsmash and it has gotten looped back at me before.

This badminton style flat kill is far more effective in terms of point winning percentages, simply because it's a smash.

I forgot to mention you should use your FH block, so that opponent has to worry about you playing a kill instead.
and part of practicing the "block hit" is that develop the timing of playing power fh off the bounce.
Just waiting to block the high ball with yr bh is showing weakness

 

[blahness]

I forgot to mention you should use your FH block, so that opponent has to worry about you playing a kill instead.
and part of practicing the "block hit" is that develop the timing of playing power fh off the bounce.
Just waiting to block the high ball with yr bh is showing weakness

I know what you're recommending, I used to do it to until they stop retreating and then just counter whatever drop/block you do because it'll be a slow ball, then you'll have to work hard for the point again. I'm trying to avoid this scenario to win the point more decisively, hence the badminton style smash hit.

 

[blahness]

Actually in this same video, Alexis does this badminton style smash hit at roughly 51s except with not a lot of power as he didn't really press down into the ball (probably afraid of misreading the incoming spin) - he does win the point outright with it though!