CLEARING WITH THE FOREHAND

(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6)

(illustration borrowed from badminton.chorwong.com)

The forehand clear is one of the most versatile strokes in badminton. It can be used for defense, in which case it is called a "defensive clear." One can also attack with it, making it an "offensive clear." Yet again, players normally use it for warm-up before games. A "warm-up clear"? And beginners probably think it is the only stroke in badminton. I hope the following steps will help illustrate the stroke (note: for lefties, just reverse the movement):

1. As you see the birdie coming, position yourself by moving your right foot to the back and shifting your weight into it. Make sure the right foot is not alined directly behind the left foot as this will cramp your movement. The toes of your right foot should be pointing a little to the right. At the same time twist your body to the right so that you are now almost facing sideways to the net. See illustration (1) above.

2. While doing the above step, you will at the same time raise your arms above your shoulders with the left one leading in front (acting as a balancer) and the right arm behind, where your racquet is. The racquet should be held with the forehand grip (see previous posting on grips). See illustration (1) above.

3. Hit the birdie by bringing your right hand with the racquet to the front in a swinging motion (more on this). At the same time that you do this you will also turn/twist your body to the left and in the process shift your weight to the left foot. This will also make the toes of your right foot face to the front.

The swing or stroke is done by (a) swiftly dropping the head of your racquet behind your back so that you are holding the handle with the tip pointing upward [See illustration (2) above] (b) then immediately raise the racquet head by snapping your forearm up, locking your elbow, and twisting your wrist toward the direction of the birdie until the string bed of your racquet hits it in mid-air [see illustration (3) and (4) above] (c) continue the natural movement of your swing downward after hitting the birdie until your racquet head ends to either the left or right side of your body (follow-through) [see illustration (5) above]. These steps are all done in one swift motion and should not be done one at a time. The whole stroke is only broken down in steps for instructional purpose.

Also, you will do this stroke (all three steps) simultaneously with the twisting forward or turning to the left of your body. In other words, the turning or twisting of the body to the left, shifting of your weight to the left foot and the stroke are all done at the same time.

A little note about the above illustration: you will see that as the figure is about to strike the birdie the right foot is brought forward. This could also be done and can add forward thrust to your shot. Also you will notice that the birdie is hit directly above the head. This shows a situation where the birdie went pass the ideal hitting zone (to be discussed in the following paragraphs).

In executing this move, bear the following points in mind:

1) Your ideal hitting zone (where your racquet hits the birdie) should be above and infront of you, more or less about an arm's length away. They call this hitting at 11 o'clock.

2) Hit the birdie head on and at the highest point possible (meaning, at the highest point your racquet can make contact). The raising of the arms above shoulder level, discussed above, in preparation for the shot helps tremendously in achieving this. It helps you avoid hitting the shuttle late.

One of the most common mistakes for beginners - even among old timers with bad habits - is hitting the shuttle low. The importance of hitting high is to give you more shot options and steeper trajectory when smashing. It also allows you to send the birdie deep into the other end of the court.

3) Your swing should be just above your shoulder, not above your head (unless doing an overhead shot) nor away from your shoulder. If your swing is away from your shoulder because the birdie is way to the right by failing to position yourself properly, it will have lesser power and could hurt your shoulder.

4) Remember to always have a relaxed grip, tightening it only when your racquet hits the birdie.

5) Timing is important. You won't be able to hit the birdie if you swing early or late. Most of the time beginners swing too early and kapow! the birdie lands on their heads.

6) Most of the time, especially in doubles, you won't be able to do the whole steps outlined here, such as the twisting of the body to the right and back to the left, leaving you only with the swing. This happens because of the fast pace of the game or you are late in positining yourself. So good footwork becomes important to get you into position early so that you will be able to do the whole range of motion for that winning shot.

Now, if all these sound too abstract or complex to you and have difficulty imagining and understanding the moves because I am a lousy writer, I suggest you click on the following link and see a video of how the forehand clear is executed: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHHPaVYcfII.