What happened to the old badminton grip?

How do they compare?

The old forehand grip was almost the same as the basic grip; the old backhand grip was the same as the thumb grip.

What was the problem?

One badminton grip is not enough

One badminton grip for each side is not enough.

For example, backhand net kills and backhand clears require completely different grips:

More than one backhand grip

• Backhand net kills need the thumb grip.
• Backhand clears need the basic grip.

More than one backhand grip

• Backhand net kills need the thumb grip.
• Backhand clears need the bevel grip.

Similarly, forehand clears and forehand net kills require completely different grips:

More than one forehand grip

• Forehand clears need the basic grip.
• Forehand net kills need the panhandle grip when the shuttlecock is well in front of you.

Every badminton grip works on both sides

Every forehand badminton grip has a backhand application, and vice-versa. Let’s look at examples for each of the fundamental badminton grips:

Basic grip

• Use this for forehand and backhand drives when the shuttlecock is at your side.

Panhandle grip

• Use this for forehand net kills when the shuttlecock is well in front of you.
• Use this for backhand clears when the shuttlecock has travelled behind you.

Thumb grip

• Use this for backhand net kills.
• Use this, with a slight adjustment, for forehand clears when the shuttlecock has travelled behind you.

Bevel grip

• Use this for backhand clears.
• Use this for forehand sliced drop shots.

These ideas might seem strange, but they are perfectly logical if you think carefully about how the badminton grip angle must change depending on the position of the shuttlecock relative to your body.

Conclusion

So we’ve seen that one badminton grip is not enough for each side, and that every badminton grip works on both sides.

For both these reasons, it makes no sense to teach the forehand grip or the backhand grip. Teaching badminton grips with these names is highly misleading for players.

For example, teaching the forehand grip creates two major problems:

Problems of the forehand grip

• Players (incorrectly) assume this badminton grip should not be used on the backhand side.
• Players (incorrectly) assume this badminton grip is right for all forehands.

Worst of all, coaches who teach these badminton grips tend to share their players’ misunderstandings. Therefore, instead of correcting these assumptions, the coach reinforces them.

But everyone else says…

I know some of you are still unconvinced.

You don’t believe me, because everyone you know, including your coach, disagrees with me. This is because many badminton coaches and players share common misconceptions about grips. If I discuss badminton grips with three ordinary coaches at a conference, then I often get three contradictory opinions. If I have the same discussion with three high-level coaches, I get much more consistent opinions.

Coaches make mistakes. We’re not perfect, and very few coaches are as academically thorough as I am (I have a strong academic background). For example, at the last coaches conference, one of my colleagues instructed a junior player to plant her foot toe-first on a lunge. Fortunately, the instructor corrected him: foot strike should be heel-first on a lunge. I repeat: coaches make mistakes.

There is a discrepancy between what many badminton coaches teach, and what world-class players actually do. For many years, coach education courses taught new coaches over-simplified badminton grips (at least in England).

The teaching has changed, and for the better; but it will take years for it to overcome the old, inaccurate teaching. Not every coach keeps up to date. Established ideas die hard.

Who else agrees?

My badminton grips teaching is based on Badminton England’s coaching manuals, and my further correspondance with a Badminton England coaching representative.

Lee Jae Bok teaches a very similar system of badminton grips, although he uses different names.

Just about every video I’ve seen from Asian coaches supports the new teaching. For example, Zhao Jianhua, former world champion in men’s singles, demonstrates the principle of adapting your badminton grip depending on the situation, and not using just one forehand or one backhand grip.