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*note-all questions submitted will be answered and posted at a later date.
May 4, 2004
PLEASE WRITE BACK!
"The Cat":
i got the name "the cat" because I bitch and whine a lot and one time we were playing badminton and this girl/lady named Fabi (you don't know her, she hasn't come in a while)told me that I sounded like her cat after I made this really bitchy whining sound after I missed a shot. Everyone laughed and for some reason the crappy name stuck. As far as improving your smash, I suggest that you make sure that you make a full and proper swing. Try to hit the bird at the highest point that you can so that it gets a good angle and follow though with your shot all the way (don't hit the bird and then stop your racket abruptly) so that you get power in your shot.
July 5, 2003
Hope I have been able to help, The Cat
July 9, 2003
One-sided forever?: Mr. Cat, my backhand is very inconsistent and weak. Your backhand is tremendous. What can I do to have a backhand that is reminiscent of yours, and make my backhand a strength instead of a weakness? Should I focus on snapping the wrist, torquing my upper body or keeping my forearm in tight? Do you prescribe any exercises?
"The Cat": One-sided forever, so your backhand is inconsistent and weak. Do not be troubled by this. Many badminton players have this problem. Not everyone can be blessed with the amazing backhand skills that I possess. One thing that I can recommend to remedy this problem is to start doing drills with a very heavy racket (i.e. the beast or 3PO, or if these rackets are not available to you, just work with any racketball or tennis racket. A good drill to do with a heavy racket is to hit a birdie against a wall. The constant hitting that you do in this exercise, with a heavy racket, will help to develop strength in your wrist. It would also be a good idea to focus on hitting backhand shots against the wall while you're doing this exercise, since that is the shot that you want to strengthen. Another bit of advice that I can give you is that when you are doing your backhand shot (especially at the net), you should violently torque your wrist. This has been my technique and it has served me well. It may hurt sometimes, but the pain is often worth making the great shot. Or if this technique is not really for you, I encourage you to torque your upper body when you do a backhand. This causes you to get some good momentum in your swing and gives you more power.
Finesse: When I tell people I play badminton, they usually treat it as if it isn't a real sport.
How can I explain to them that it is as hard or harder than any other sport?
"The Cat": Finesse, when you tell someone that you play badminton and they criticize you, ask them what the hell they play: baseball? Baseball players aren't athletes: lazy fat bastards. Tell them that in the course of one badminton game, you cover around 1 mile of court and that you're always on the move. Also, the bird moves at almost 200 mph during some hard smashes. When the hell is the last time a baseball player returned a 200 mph pitch? Then tell them that its an olympic event, so the world considers it a sport. Also tell them that there can be some violent contact with the bird. I've made people cry and even given some sorry bastard a black eye, but you can't do that with FINESSE.