I'm not a professional photographer, but I do like to take pictures at local badminton tournaments. You get to see snapshots of certain player dynamics, styles, and teamwork-- things that are often overlooked by the human eye.
Taken at Seattle Super Regional Junior Tournament 2012
While I was snapping away during this year's Seattle Super Regional Junior Tournament, I began to notice small differences between good players...and the best.
I'm sure lots of players wonder the same question that I used to ask: Why train? You can get better by just playing more games, can't you? Sure you can. But you'll improve at a slower rate. And eventually, there will come a time where you will plateau. Where you'll realize you just can't get faster, where your shots are not cutting it, because the technique is not there. By then, your bad playing habits will be so ingrained that it will take an excruciatingly longer time to "unlearn" your habits than it would have been to just train and learn the proper techniques to begin with.
How do I know this? Well, because that's me.
The importance of technique may be pretty obvious, but I had a certain lightbulb "Aha!" moment when I was taking pictures at the last tournament. I realized the less experienced the player, the longer it took for me to get a shot with "perfect form". But as the games progressed towards the finals, almost every snapshot I took was golden. The birdie placement was perfect, the posture was beautiful, and every jump smash was worthy as a Facebook profile picture.
Most importantly, their play seemed effortless.
Constant training is done so that the proper technique becomes so ingrained that, come gametime, it's effortless. It gives you more time to think about your next shot, react to quickly, and place the bird at the exact corner that you want it to go. You can have the right idea, but your opponent's shots can vary so much that you will have to accomodate your shot from wherever you are to get the birdie to where you want to go. It's not very easy when you don't practice...and in the long run, it'll be even harder if you don't practice properly.
Remember that the next time you practice. Your shots should be deliberate. Think before you hit, and be aware of how you're moving. Take a video of yourself so you can see where you're moving, where you should have been, and start tweaking each movement little by little. Watch your favorite players on YouTube-- pause at a shot you thought was done wonderfully, and see the details in how they moved. Mimic them, while accommodating to your own playing style.
You might not notice the change in the short run, but eventually you'll notice that your playing is much more efficient than it has been before.
Remember, it's all in the details.
