In general, I advise people who have problems to time the split step landing when the overhead stroke hits the shuttle. These people tend to have a more prolonged contact time on the floor and their acceleration is not so fast. When they move off the base, the shuttle has already left the opponent’s racquet. Going at the other extreme, international players can split step land well after the shuttle is hit because they have great muscle memory, great strength, great coordination and great reading of the shuttle. Another problem I see commonly when receiving an overhead shot is a split step where the feet land very slightly one after another. This makes moving off the base more slow.
That's dependent on the side you're on and also where the opponents are. E.g., if you are on the right hand side, shuttle lifted near right corner, non racket foot needs to be slightly ahead so that you've got room to hit the backhand defence in the tramline.
These are seniors players, movement is restricted but they get to the shuttle well. High shuttle - racket leg slightly in front as default. Split step doesn't land until shuttle is nearing the net. Stop the video and slow down to 0.25
You write "Split step doesn't land until shuttle is nearing the net." <-- This is something i've noticed too and is unfortunately not more well known.. Here is a quote from a Badminton England foundation coaching manual.. https://easyupload.io/9andpz but indeed , contrary to the coaching manual, and particularly when breaking down when the landing is, it looks like the land is quite a bit after the hit to the extent that, as you say, "Split step doesn't land until shuttle is nearing the net." One would perhaps need to see a lot of player examples to see if there are exceptions.. and where.. But what i've seen and experienced when trying split step, reflects what you've said. One could probably break down the landing too 'cos the landing could be elongated figuring out where the shuttle is going, as the time between landing and moving off might vary. But trying to land when(or even the moment after) the opponent hits it can perhaps lead to issues like getting stuck not knowing where it's going. . . I am open to the idea that some players might be able to see from the racket, even when playing against a great player that keeps their racket motion the same till the last moment. In which case they could perhaps know very early even before the sound.. But clearly here they're judging the trajectory of the shuttle and figuring that out before they move and it takes a while!. Maybe for a flick serve one would have to judge a bit by the racket 'cos there's so little time to react.. Here's an interesting question.. I don't think people to a split step when returning a flick serve.. Now, if it's the case that one has to split step to move fast, then how is it possible for players to return flick serves so quickly?
You basically need a split step each time you move, be it a flick serve or not. That's the best way to initiate you movement. Actually, it's not really the split step per se. The important aspect of that is when you drop your center of gravity activate your muscles to then pounce. When returning a short serve, you'll see players drop their weight and then pounce without changing their feet position. When we talk about directional split step, feet position is just a way to optimize the footwork. The main purpose of the split is the dropping the weight part to pounce
When watching at these 2 videos, there are 2 phases to split step. The "jump" phase and the landing phase
Yes and first video states that you split to where you think the shuttle will go hence you "know" where to go
Very good question. It will help if you are about to land on your foot, just when the opponent is going to hit. You can experiment this when warming up with your buddy. For example lift your right foot and step forward. The moment the opponent hits your foot is landing, and if he hits a drop you have already started to move forward. If he hits a clear you immediately push from your landing right foot and you will reach the back court in good time. This doesn't work well against wide smashes, but.. nobody is perfect ♂️
