The badminton basics series will help beginners get a better grasp on the fundamental concepts of badminton. These will include basic techniques, tips, and tactics. You will also find this series under the Badminton Basics tab.

#1: The Grip

Hi everyone! In this article I will talk about grip and its importance. This is the first part of a series of articles covering the most basic aspects of badminton. Beginners especially will find it useful. But if you’re already an experienced player, feel free to skip this read.

What is grip and how is it important?

The grip is simply how you hold a racket. Proper gripping technique is what separates the rookies from the experienced players. A good grip is one that is suitable for the stroke that one wants to play.

Since the grip is how and where you hold the racket, it becomes the point of contact through which the power form the arms, and the motion from the wrist is transferred to the racket. How you hold the racket also determines the angle of the racket head to the direction of the swing. Hence, a grip is a key factor in shot-making, one that often determines how accurate or how powerful your shot is. In some instances, the grip can even be used to trick the opponent.

The correct grip

As stated already, a good grip is one that is suitable to the shot you’re trying to play. But does that mean that the grip changes for each and every shot? “That’s a lot of work!“. Actually, not really. There are two basic variants of the grip. The others, with little bit of tweaking, are variations of these two simple ones.

The Forehand Grip a.k.a the “Handshake“

For serious players is a no-brainer to master the forehand grip. I can’t emphasize this enough, because using this grip makes hitting much easier than it would be otherwise. This grip is used for overhead forehand shots like smashes, drives, clears or drops; as well as the forehand lift. This is because this grip generates maximum power.

The forehand grip or the handshake grip, as the name suggests, is holding the racket as if you were shaking hands with it. Essentially, the racket head would be facing sideways rather than towards you. Confused? Imagine holding a sword. Or a hammer. Refer to the picture below.

Note that the “V” between your index finger and thumb comes right on top (the narrower side) of the handle, aligned with the shaft, while the thumb lies on the wider side of the handle. The racket is primarily held by your fingers, with the palm only providing counter-support. It is important to note that the thumb MUST lie between the index and middle fingers. This way you can generate much more power, because the thumb then acts as the fulcrum about which the racket rotates. Also, hold the racket loosely, so that it can be easily rolled when a change in grip is required.

The forehand grip is useful, but it cannot be used to hit the shuttle when it’s on the side of the less dominant hand, or backhand. For those kind of shots, the backhand grip is applied.

The Backhand Grip

A backhand is hit with the back of the hand facing the shuttle. Whatever shots you play in with forehand, can be played backhand as well, although they are less powerful and more difficult. Here’s how to get a backhand grip:

• hold the racket with forehand grip.
• roll the racket between your fingers, by around 30° to your right, so that the thumb now rests flat on the wider side of the grip
• wrap all your fingers together around the handle, while extending the thumb towards the shaft of the racket

OR hold it just like you would hold a pan!

The power in a backhand shot primarily comes from flicking the wrist, so for maximum output, it is necessary that the racket face meets the shuttle at right angles, and at the sweet spot. However, hitting at an angle is useful for cross court shots and deceptions.

Here’s an exercise to practice backhand shots: hold the diagonally opposite ends of your handkerchief in your hand. Place an empty bottle or a used shuttle in front of you, at chest height and a bit to the left (or right if you’re left handed). Now try hitting the bottle or shuttle off by flicking your handkerchief. The motion that you used with the handkerchief is the same as what you’d use with a backhand shot! Keep practicing until your flicks land accurately and powerfully.

For hitting backhand clears, this grip is somewhat awkward as it not possible to provide full face of the racket when the shuttle is behind the body. Therefore, you need to rotate the racket back a bit towards the forehand side so that the thumb now rests on the very short surface between the top and wider sides of the handle. Like holding a pair of tongs!

These two gripping techniques are pretty much all you need to get started. I suggest that you practice them everyday until you’ve got hold over them. Also, practicing with a suspended shuttle will be helpful.

Did you try these out? Would you like more info on improving your gripping technique? Please comment below! And feel free to write to me if you have any questions.

Have fun!