The basic grip grip works well for overhead forehands that are level with your body.
When the shuttlecock has travelled behind you, however, you need to shift towards a thumb grip.
- Smashing from behind the body
This change in angle is necessary in order to hit the shuttlecock straight. If you don’t adjust your badminton grip, then the shuttlecock will go out at the side.
The thumb position
When you use a thumb grip for forehands, you should normally avoid having a big gap between the thumb and the badminton racket handle.
Instead, allow the thumb to rest along the badminton racket handle; this will free up your wrist for more natural forehand movements.
Think of this as adjusting the angle of the basic grip: the angle is more like the thumb grip, but the finger placements remain similar to the basic grip.
- Detailed photographs
Comparing the normal basic grip with the adjusted version
This is only an example of adjusting your badminton grip. How much you actually change the angle will depend on where the shuttlecock is.
- Normal basic grip
- Adjusted basic grip
