Badminton History and Tradition

Badminton was invented in ancient Greece and Egypt as a form of sport. Badminton was originally a child' game and was initially called "battledore" or "shuttlecock." Originally Badminton was played with a feathered shuttlecock back and forth with tiny rackets. During the 18th century in India, Badminton was called "poona." British army officers who were stationed in India during this time brought this version of Poona back to England during the 1860's. Once it was back in England it spread slowly as the army met would introduce the sport to friends. It wasn't until a famous party in 1837 that the game really got going. The Duke of Beaufort had a party at his country place where the sport was played. The name of the country place was "Badminton in Gloucestershire. At the time of this party, the game had no name, and so it was simply referred to as "The Game Of Badminton." That's how the game got it's official name!

Now that the game had a name, it spread quickly from England to the United States, New Zealand, Canada, and Australia. Despite its "male" beginnings, the sport is now pretty evenly divided with about the same number of women playing the sport as men.

In 1899 the first All England championship for men was held and the first tournament for woman was organized in 1900. For some reason or the other, these two tournaments were deemed to be unofficial, and it wasn't until 1904 that the "official" beginning of the All England matches started. In 1920 there were only about 300 badminton clubs in all of England, but by 1920 there were 500, and amazingly, only 10 years later, there were over 9,000 in the British Isles after World War II.

The International Badminton Federation was organized in 1934 with 9 initial members - Canada, England, Netherlands, Denmark, France, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, and New Zealand. It wasn't until 1981 that this organization because the sports only international governing body. The International Badminton Federation, in 1939, decided it was time for International competitions, and the IB president at the time, Sir George A. Thomas, Baronet offered a trophy to the winning team. Ironically shuttlecosk shortages during the war and post-war caused a delay in the first "Thomas Cup" games until the 1948-1949 season. Someone tried to introduce an international women's team around the same time, but ultimately it wasn't acted upon due to financial difficulties. Eventually, during the 1956-1957 season, the "Uber Cup" was held. The Uber Cup was a women's international triennial tournament where the trophy was donated by Mrs. H.S. Uber of England. In 1992 Badminton was first contested as an official Olympic sport in Barcelona, Spain. There are now several world Badminton events including the Uber Cup, World Championships, World Juniors, Sudirman Cup, the World Cup, and the World Grand Prix Finals.

The game of Badminton today resembles tennis and volleyball and involves the use of a net, a shuttlecock and lightweight rackets. The shuttlecock is typically a cork ball fitted with feathers for stabilization. It's played with either two or four players and is played indoors or outdoors on a marked court about 44 feet by 17 feet wide for two players and 20 feet wide for 2 players. The official measurements for the net are that the top edge of the net should be 5 feet 1 inch from the ground at the posts and 5 feet from the ground at the center. During Badminton play, only the serving side can win a point. If the side serving the shuttlecock fails to return they lose the serve and if the side receiving fails to return, they lose the point and they will receive again. A Badminton game is played to 15 points, except in women's singles, which is played to 11 points. If the score is tied toward the end of a game, it can be decided through a procedure called setting. Setting is a tie breaking procedure which involves different procedures depending on the point at which the score is tied and the rules may be different for men and women's competition.

Badminton has a rich and interesting history, and it's popularity is always increasing with the availability of inexpensive equipment and places to play, almost anyone can enjoy the sport of Badminton. New competitions are being planned including the development of a SuperSeries and some one-off "Spectaculars." Searching on YouTube for badminton yields all sorts of interesting videos and match play and exhibition games.

MyCheapTools.com Has what you need to get started playing Badminton today!

Badminton is Hours of Fun

A good badminton set will have all the basic equipments required for a thrilling game of badminton. The foremost requirement is a badminton racquet. A standard set usually comes with 4 badminton racquets. Apart from this, there is another essential equipment, the shuttlecock. Most badminton sets contain two shuttlecocks.

The badminton set also comes with an official sized net and stakes. Any of these pieces missing in the set would be a great hindrance in playing the game. Some people also include special badminton shoes without which the game could not be played with such ease. Any of these things missing would not really mean playing badminton.

The game of badminton is generally for those who are craving for absolute fitness in their lives and are always in the quest for improved skills. There are some people however, who play this skillful game just for fun. The badminton set for these category of people definitely differs from the set of the professionals.

For these fun loving individuals, the compact sets are usually avoidable. It is suggested that they should assemble their own set by buying stuff that would suit their individual needs. They can buy many shuttle packs and racquets that cost anywhere between $40 to $100. They can keep their equipment in a professional looking bag and this would complete their desired set.

The trend of playing badminton has definitely changed over the years. Initially, racquets and shuttlecocks were the only requirements in a set. In fact, a casual game of badminton for the sake of amusement did not require wearing of shoe at all. However, with changing times, the requirements changed. Badminton sets today are much more sophisticated, advanced and expensive too.

It is to be remembered that a set that suits your need is the best for you. It is not always the price that counts. For example, a badminton racquet that suits your style is the best for you. Similarly the choice of shuttlecocks lies with the player. The feathered cocks are preferred over the plastic ones in spite of the fact that the plastic ones last longer. Most badminton sets include feathered cocks.

Dony Samuals writes about sports equipment such as badminton rackets on the website Badminton Set Central.

Choosing A Badminton Racket

Choosing the correct badminton racket can be a crucial decision, whatever level you are at. With ao multitude of rackets available these days,it can seem a little daunting to know which racket is best for you. Hopefully, with a little help, i can help you find just the right badminton racket that suits your style of play.

As you search to find the perfect badminton racket you will soon get to know the more established racket companies such as Yonex, Carlton, Wilson, Head, Prince and numerous other brands, who all want you to part with your cash and select their badminton rackets. Yonex are the most successful and prominent badminton brand, but which manufacturer you choose is entirely down to you.This is where the fun begins. But with the right guidance and information you will be able to make an informed decision, so that you find the best racket for yu, and only you.

All badminton players are different, with their own strengths and weaknesses. The trick is to find the right badminton racket which compliments your style of play. You can spend a lot of money on your weapon of choice, or, like most of us, you will no doubt have a limit on what you want to spend on a badminton racket. Remember, you are investing in your game, to improve your standard, so you need to choose wisely.

It can be a real pain when you have spent a whole load of your hard earned cash on the latest "must have" badminton racket, only to find it doesn't quite live up to your expectations, and you can't understand why you aren't playing like the glossy adverts say you should be. Guess what? you have just fallen for the marketing hype, a subtle, sneaky little trick that we experience every day of our lives. However, if you follow my advice i can guide you in the right direction, so you can make the best decision.

Think of your badminton racket as the cherry on top of the badminton cake. Without the base and the ingredients your little cherry isn't going to taste so sweet. In case your wondering what i am talking about, the base and ingredients are your game, your footwork, technique, grip, fitness and tactical ability. Without these, your new racket is much less effective, and the shuttle will not go where you want it to. In my opinion, a badminton racket you buy will give you, at most, an extra 5% to your game. The actual racket strings are probably more important than the racket itself. The other 95% is all down to you. But don't worry about that, i can help you get the best out of yourself, so you can get the most out of your badminton racket.

I have played with many different rackets over the years, from various manufacturers, and most of them offer something a bit different, sometimes good, sometimes not so good, but it's all part of the experience of finding that one badminton racket that suits you down to the ground. It's a great feeling when this occurs, but first you need to learn about yourself, your own game, then you can fit the right racket to your game, not the other way round.

What kind of player are you? Perhaps your a power player who smashes the shuttle hard? Or maybe your a touch player who enjoys moving the shuttle around the court with angled shots and deception. Once you know what kind of game you play, you can then find out which badminton racket will bring out the best in your shots, and thus improve your badminton.

If you have just started playing,the chances are that you will not know what type of player you are yet. It's all part of learning the game. There is no point buying the most expensive badminton racket at this stage, you will probably not notice much difference in your play, trust me. However,as your skill level improves you will then start to know more about yourself and this is when you start to look for a specific racket. The more you improve, the more you will understand the basics of badminton, and you will be looking for that tiny advantage to beat your competitors, this is where your badminton racket comes in, but it will only give you a slight advantage, period.

In upcoming posts i will guide you through the badminton racket basics, what to look for, what to avoid, how much to spend, and where to buy.

Visit the badminton racket blog and find out everything you need to know about how to choose the best racket for you.

For the Love of Badminton

Badminton is one of the most popular sport ever created by humans, it is usually played by two to four players hitting the feathered ball with a racket in opposite direction. I really love this game because it doesn't require a lot, just buy a racket, shuttle cock and invite friends to play badminton even to the streets.

History of Badminton

It is said that this game was invented in the ancient Greece, derived from the child's game battledore and shuttlecock, where two persons will hit a feathered shuttlecock using a long thin racket. The Indians call this game "Poonai" in the 18th century, the British officers who stationed in India are the ones who bring the game in England, introduced it to their friends, introduce some rules and developed some equipments.

This game was officially launched in 1873 at the Badminton House, Gloucestershire. During that time, the game was referred to as "The Game of Badminton," and the game's official name became Badminton. 1992 is the year that Badminton became an Olympic Sport.

Benefits of Playing Badminton

Don't you know that a complete game of badminton can make you loose from 350 to more a thousand calories? Yeah that's true, now you know why many want to loose weight through badminton, its will not only make you thin but it can also make you reduce bad cholesterol and for better blood circulation. Because this game is more on ball focus, Badminton is also recommended for those persons with poor eyesight and ADHD kids.

Court Dimension, Scoring, Racket, Shuttle Cock and Net

Full width of the court: 6.1 meters ( 20 ft )

singles: 5.18 meters ( 17 ft )

Full length of the court: 13.4 meters (44 ft )

Service line distance

singles: 1.98 meters ( 6 ft )

doubles:.78 meters (2.6 ft )

Twenty one (21) is the winning point unless there's a deuce, a deuce happens when the score is 20-20, the winning player/s must achieve at least two (2) points ahead in order to win. Thirty (30) is the maximum winning point. Badminton Racquets are light usually 80-90 grams of weight, its is made out of light metals such as aluminum. the strings are usually made-out of carbon criss-crossed together for added strength to stand hard smash.

The shuttle cock is a conical shape material made out of protractor shaped cork covered with clothe and feathers.

Badminton Playing Tips

o Perform warm-up exercises before playing to avoid injuries.

o Hand Shake Position is the best way to hold the racket.

o Always remain to the center area of your court, it's the base position.

o Always put the ball where your opponent cannot get that ball easily.

o Be prepared, focus on your opponent's body movement, it may give you an idea on where he will put the ball.

o Smash the ball whenever you have the chance

o Estimate if your opponent's hit will go out or not.

o Defense is better than offense.

o Be confident, it can help.

Thanks for reading my article.

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Get Kids Moving With Badminton Fun

The other day I was watching the kids in our neighborhood looking pretty bored.  It was one of those perfect days the sky was blue and the sun was shinning.  It was a perfect day to do just about anything you could think to do outside. 

Watching the kids I could tell they couldn't think of anything to do.  This made me think about when I was a kid, and what kind of things I liked to do.  One thing came to mind that I hadn't thought of in a long time and that was badminton.  My sister and I use to play badminton for what seemed to be hours. 

Backyard badminton is a fun game almost anyone can play.  One thing I have noticed is that you don't hear about kids playing badminton these days.  I find that kind of sad.  With all the attention that is given to overweight children on the news and in the magazines, you would think badminton would be one of those games that would be recommended to get kids moving. 

After thinking about badminton and the fun I use to have playing, I went out and bought myself a badminton set. Hey, I figured I could always invite the neighborhood kids over for a game.  I found that most of the popular stores such as Fred Meyer, Wal-mart, and Target all have badminton at very reasonable prices with or without a net.  It's not absolutely necessary to have a net, when I was a kid we just use to hit it over the clothesline.  But now everyone uses dryers instead of clotheslines. 

Well, I have had the badminton set for a couple weeks now, and I was just waiting for the day I could invite one of my neighbor friends over for a game.  I was curious to know if they even knew what badminton was.  Either I was busy or the kids were busy.

But today was the day; I spotted Katy outside looking for something to do.  So I hurried outside (you would have thought I was just another kid looking for someone to play with) and asked if she had ever heard of badminton and if she would like to play.  She had seen it on television and she thought it looked hard.  I explained they were professionals and we would be playing for fun. 

So I showed her how to hold the racquet and how to hit the birdie (otherwise known as a shuttlecock).  At this point in time I didn't mark out the court size, maybe later as she develops her skills.  It didn't take long before we were hitting it back and forth.  At first she kept saying how bad she was, but after a short time of getting use to how to hit it she was feeling much better about herself. 

Badminton is a great way to get kids outside and moving around.  It can be great exercise for kids without them realizing they are exercising.  It can also boost their self-esteem once they get the hang of hitting the birdy consistently.  Badminton also develops coordination, timing, and balance.  It is basically a good all round backyard game that everyone can enjoy.  Badminton can be as competitive as you like, it is a classic game that is fun whether you strictly adhere to the rules or not. 

Today was another one of those perfect sunny days to play badminton.  And I am sure my friend will be coming over again soon.

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How to Be a Good Badminton Player

To become a good badminton player, beside Physical Skill, you also must have a Mental Strength. Mental Strength is very crucial especially when come to the tournament. Besides these, Sport Nutrition is also important especially for the player preparing for the tournament.

1. Physical Skill:

Let's start with the most fundamental of badminton skill, ie: Strokes, Steps/Footwork, Stamina, and Strategy.

Strokes:

The basic technique of badminton strokes includes Overheads forehand and backhand clear / smash / drop, drives, lifts, net shot. You are higher recommended to learn from the badminton demo video(see link at the bottom of this page). With the video, it will save you a lot of time learning all the basic strokes.

After you have learn the basic strokes, the next step you have to do is practice and practise. Without the ability to execute all the different strokes, one will not be a complete badminton player.

Steps/Footwork:

Steps/Footwork is always comes together with stroke. A good badminton must have a good coordination of footwork and strokes. This includes foot, body, arms, swing coordination.

Stamina:

A badminton can last anything from 15 minutes to 1 hour plus and there can be more than one game within a day. A completed badminton match is best of 3 games, that means you got to play at least 2 games continuously. Without good stamina, a badminton player will be unable to successfully execute his/her desired strokes or even cannot finish the game. Again, stamina need to be build over the time via regular training, workouts or exercises. Regular workout will also help to improve your game by increasing your arm strength.

Strategy:

With good badminton skill and stamina is not enough, you must also have a good strategy to win a game. you have to make the correct shot at the correct time, either a drop-shot, smash, or clear? This is also important to identify the weakest point of opponent. This is especially crucial for doubles game, you should identify your opponent weakness and attack the opponent who is weaker. This is the most simple strategy. If your opponent is weak on his/her backhand clear, then you should hit the shuttle towards his/her backhand more. To go one level higher, it is also important to make the correct choice for a series of return and to lay out a game plan for whole match. This is so called the strategy of a badminton game.

2. Mental Strength:

Besides physical skill, a good badminton player must have good mental strength as well. Mental strength is the ability to make the correct decision even when under pressure or at the crucial moment. For example, when one is down to 5-19, or reaching the match point, 20-20. The player must stay focus to the game regardless whether he/she is leaving behind, leading, or under huge pressure due to the internal or external factor (eg: audience). A good badminton player must also be able to change strategy during the game on different situation. A good badminton player will not go down without a fight and should be able to keep his pace and the accuracy of his shots until the very last point in the game. A good example would be the game in between Lee Chong Wei and Lin Dan during the Malaysia Open 2006. Lin Dan was already leading 20-13 in the rubber game and this was a really difficult situation for Lee Chong Wei, But he handled the pressure well and showed a great fighting spirit, slowly clawing back in to the game. And Finally, he won the game by 23-21.

You also have to keep yourself calm in the court and with high EQ. Many incidents, good or bad, can happen during a match either outside or inside the court. For example, bad line calls, umpires decisions or insulted by the audience or even opponent coach. See The Athlete's Mind Guide(refer link below this page) .

3. Sport Nutrition

Beside physical skill and mental strength, Sport Nutrition (refer link at the bottom of this page) is also important especially for the player preparing for the tournament. On a day-to-day basis, you have to take care of your nutrition by consuming a well balanced diet comprising carbohydrate, fat, protein, electrolytes, vitamins, minerals and water. A Nutritionist can extend help in achieving this. Water should be consumed in just adequate amounts before, during and after play, ideally at the amounts required to quench the player's thirst.

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3 Things to Look For When Starting Badminton Lessons

As one of the most popular racquet sports around, badminton has attracted a large amount of schools and instructors, offering teaching services and helpful team coaching courses. If you're thinking of learning badminton from scratch, or even hiring a coach to improve your game, there are several important factors to look out for.
From coaching style to qualifications, finding a good school for badminton lessons can take quite a while. However, it's unwise to try to cut the process too short; mastering sports is important, and the wrong school could end up setting you back right from the start. Instead, try optimizing your badminton school search by looking for the following coaching features right from the very start.
#1: Ability.

You'll surely learn from an unskilled badminton instructor, but it's unlikely that you'll learn the right skills. When taking badminton lessons, it's absolutely essential that you get your technique right. Learning poor technique can often set you back further than it puts you forward, as the amount of time spent changing a technique that's been practiced so long it seems natural can be huge. If you want to cut down your training time and optimize your training altogether, look for an instructor that's highly skilled and qualified.
This could mean asking to see coaching qualifications, or simply chatting about their badminton experience and prowess. If a coach has won any tournaments, they'll surely put it on their resume, so don't be afraid to ask if they've been involved in competitive play. Generally, the coaches that are the most skilled will command higher prices, especially for private lessons, but the cost is justified when you consider that you'll end up learning more in fewer lessons.
#2: Teaching style.

This one is more relative and subjective. While some students excel in a school system that's rigid and defined, others achieve much more when given freedom to experiment and learn on their own. Learning a sport is no different. Depending on what type of badminton lessons you want and what kind of coaching you need, look at several different coaches and badminton schools until you find a coaching style that works for you. From direct and by-the-book to fluid and adaptable, there are hundreds of coaches out there, each offering a different lesson style and teaching method.
If you don't know what type of teaching you best respond to, experiment with different types of badminton lessons before committing to one school or coach. If you can find a coaching service that combines a great teaching style with able and confidence coaches, you've likely found your badminton school. Keep balance in mind however - traveling for an hour to see the ideal coach probably isn't the best idea when there's another in your neighborhood.
#3: Involvement.

Some of the most confident, impressive and able badminton players are poor coaches. Likewise, some of the worst badminton players end up being the best at coaching new students on to incredible badminton ability. When you're searching for badminton lessons, involvement should be a major factor in what coach you end up picking. While some of the most able players end up sitting on the sidelines and barking orders, others stay involved in the game, working through technique with their students and taking part in practical demonstrations.
Of course, this involvement needs to be balanced. Once students have reached a certain level of ability, it's best for the coach to allow them room to improve on their own. A coach that's both involved and accommodating is best for your badminton lessons.







Rudy is an avid badminton player since his childhood days. He has hired many coaches to train him and his kids now. He knows what it is like to choose a badminton coach. Visit: http://www.1sports.asia/sports/badminton-lessons-singapore.php