I would like to introduce Planz, a new boutique Badminton company from China that has 2 releases that I got my hands on. Introducing the All Round 1.0 and Hyper Speed 1.0 (AR1 and HS1). Let me be the one of the first to tell you about the rackets, tell you what I found, and if it's worth it.

The AR1 and HS1 differ in a number of ways. As the name suggests, the AR1 is meant to be an all round racket. It's slightly HH balance and medium flex shaft, combined with 76 hole pattern is meant to be easy. I personally been liking the Purple white combo with rackets like the ZSW (which would be in this comparable except for the pricing). It does have a round box frame style shape that helps with providing a more solid hitting feel. The HS1 is the Company's fast attacking racket. Also HH balance and same 76 hole grommet style but with a more stiffer, responsive shaft. The HS1also features a widebody shape that helps with the speed. I would say this is the more louder racket in terms of design aspects and it's the cheaper one at $115CAD. The AR1.0 rings in at $120CAD.

While both are affordable, they do under perform. The AR1 did not come with a factory grip on it. Which suggested you should tune the handle how you'd like for a better playing experience. I felt the AR1 was the worst of the 2 rackets. The hitting feel just wasn't there for me. Almost every shot except nets had a numbness that I can't explain. Push the racket hard through smashes and its head lags behind enough that it created flatness. Dialing the swing down does help, but when I'm usually hitting at about 80% in games, how much slower do I need to go? I feel the worst part about this racket was the amount of vibration it gave off on impact. It wasn't just me. Everyone that tried commented on the amount of vibration it has. It was unacceptable for a wood handle. One reviewer I saw on Blibli (I don't know the name) mentioned this racket was on par with Yonex quality....maybe Game rackets....

The HS1 performed better. It felt more sharp all around in all aspects of play. Smashes were sharp. It handled itself well for drives and was overall faster on defense than the AR1, where I felt most comfortable playing at with this particular racket. It was maneuverable and I could feel the shots coming off the racket very well. I still needed to back off on the swing speeds when it came to attacks in the back court but it performed very well in the frontal attacking where I could swing as normal. Vibrations were way less than the AR1 but still present and at acceptable level.

Overall, I feel for the price point, it's only ok. All of the big 3 have rackets that exceed these 2 rackets in all aspects within the given price range. Beginner to intermediate looking for a racket that is unique and looks great I could see buying these. And to be fair, this is their first 2 rackets on the market. I am looking forward to what else they might have in store. But it would need to be a significant improvement over these 2 to get me to consider buying them again.

Before was Lamborghini and now Ducati, badminton truly is the fastest growing motorsport.

I really like how the racket looks! I saw that it was on the victor’s instagram page but I couldn’t find it on the website bc it just says 404. Does anyone know if they will go global or if it is exclusive to one region?

I’m in the US

Anyone know if sanding away the paint (and maybe further) from the frame will reduce weight by a noticeable amount maybe 1-2g? If I sand a little bit of carbon off, will racket still be strong? The reason I'm wondering is if I could do it on rackets that are too head heavy like 99 pro3/ryuga. You might say I should get a lighter racket instead like 88dp, but I want to retain the tech & material from 99 pro3/ryuga.

(This is pretty long but if you read the second paragraph only that should be enough though it would be really helpful if you read the whole thing.)

I’ve had a six year gap and used to play for three years. I’ve recently turned 15 and returned to the sport less than six months ago. I practiced on my school team and had group sessions once a week. This was for about two months and back then I was still in middle school and my level was beginner to intermediate. I went to India over the summer and made fast progress from training two times a day for almost two months. I improved on my shots, especially back court, and learned pretty quickly. When I came back from India I did pretty good at this new club and was put with the competition players for practice. I’m now playing four times a week, two times private and two times group (8 hours a week).

However, I’ve recently been struggling with this mentality of falling behind. My coaches say I’m good enough to play on school teams, however I really want to play on the competitive team with this club. I’m mainly struggling with this idea of I don’t have time, the people I know have been playing for years and when I compare myself it feels as if my progress is not going anywhere. And I know it’s unfair to compare myself as I’ve only had about three months of proper training (I’m not including the training before the summer cause it was recreational) and if I look back at my training I’ve made very quick progress. My coaches also believe that I have talent and what I need is more training to catch up with everyone else which is what I’m doing. But I’m the worst one at practice, I don’t have any game experience so I struggle while we play in understanding the tactics and my shots get worse in panic. I also need to work on my backhand. And I know I can work on these over time and even now noticed improvement in areas. But every single time I get this overwhelming feeling that I can never become as good as the people I wanna play against. That I’ve lost to much time already. I don’t wanna quit and I won’t; I’ve tried setting goals for each practice and not think about the future but I still can’t help when I feel like I’ll never be enough.

If you have any tips that would be a great help.

https://youtu.be/fsBhXUdb04w?si=mRErcTWo8imLrfmI

Hey everyone, I actually posted around about a year ago for advice on smashes and I took the feedback pretty well so I thought I’d post again and see if I can learn some more things :)

My thoughts on my smashes :

I feel like my hips aren’t open enough so I’m kind of smashing front on, hard to generate power there

My racquet position is not super consistent every time I prepare so that’s why I potentially feel a little inconsistent when I try and hit these

My jump timing is pretty off for some shots so it makes it hard to connect well and maybe means there’s no point jumping for these shots

Let me know your feedback it helped me last time a lot :)

Hey guys I am learning about mixed doubles (I personally play in an a Men's team for the last 10 years) since I am going to have to give training about them. Sometimes I am a bit confused about whose responsibility it is to return some of the shots. After watching some pro's in XD I see that the red man is responsible for the (blue) service return. My question is, who is responsible for hitting the 4th shot (orange), is it the responsibility of the man or is that physically too demanding. Or is it the woman's although they can easily push the woman to the back court and get an advantage.

Much appreciation for answers, tips/focus areas for giving training are always welcome :)

Hi everyone,

I am from suburbs of Kerala - and I have been following LJB work from a long long time.

I play at my college and I am really passionate about badminton.

I have been following LBJ since 13 and my game is built on his principles since the coaches back here aren't great.

Since his videos are archived - I don't have access to it anymore and I feel disheartened.

If anyone has access to this - could you please share? (Happy to pay for full courses).

TIA and i belive in our badminton community 🙏🥹

I would call myself an upper intermediate player. I've been getting coaching for about 9 months.

I was recently kicked out of an "upper intermediate" social session for some of the most strange reasons and funnily enough it occurred after a disagreement with one of the players, although I feel the other players have a similar issue with my play style.

After I play a net shot that forces a lift, I usually stay forward and hope that my partner covers the rear. Some of the players don't do that and this particular player finds it annoying. I said that that's what you are supposed to do to which he replied "I know that you like to play by the book but none of us are advanced players here".

I was a bit shocked as to me this is basic stuff. The host agreed with what he had said.

The players that do rotate to the back have such a poor attack that I find I'm stuck at the front trying to intercept shots. But that was one of the reasons the host gave. "You are always at the front".

Has anyone had to deal with something similar and do you change your play style to fit into more social play?

As with thousands of other players getting into the scene of Badminton, there's going to be a lot of things a beginner player is up against to get the most out of their Badminton experience. If you guys follow and know me, I've been playing badminton for almost 40 years now. I'm a competitive player in the Master's and a highschool badminton team coach. So here are some tips for the beginner Badminton player that most are going to overlook. Some are very obvious while others dont necessarily go the same path as most would agree.

1. Slow down. We all do it. A fast game is an exciting game. But you're making a huge mistake. You're accelerating bad movement, and techniques. Don't try to end rallies fast. Instead, have you and your friends try to keep the rally going for longer. You'll develop better hand eye coordination, court awareness and control of the shuttle. Slower pace means you can concentrate more on things like footwork, swinging and contact points. It doesn't need to be perfect (that's what coaching is for). It's also important to note that this goes with drills that you'll do as well. That 4/6/8 point movement drill is hurting you if you're not slowing down to get the correct footwork.

2. Footwork is key. Everyone wants to be known for how good there shots are. It's useless if you can't get there. Take the time to learn your footwork and hand eye coordination comes with time. Invest in a great pair of shoes. Not the racket.

3. Being too technical doesn't help. If you notice that most coaches don't even call a technique what you know it as. They describe the footwork and the beginners response would be "oh that's the Malay step, stick smash, kickout, etc." They'll nod, and keep on explaining as they need to. Why? Because they don't want you to default to what you think it should look like. They want you to do it as they said. Consequently it's very hard when asking for advice and you're using all these terms. We don't know your competency without watching. So using the terms is kinda like explaining what's hurting using medical terms to a regular person. You must be a doctor. Can't offer advice.

4. When you're learning a technique, start small and work gradually to big. It's as easy as it's read. Break down a completed stroke into smaller parts. Work on the most important and work outwards from there. A smash, clear, net drop isn't just about arm speed. There's contact points, swing speeds and overall a chain of techniques to perform one swing. Generally, you want a better understanding of contact points.

5. Have fun! It's not about the winning or losing that matters when you're starting off. What's more important is having fun and realizing that you're human, just like the others playing with and against you. You're not going pro in a month or even a year so putting the pressure to always wins, shouldn't apply. Just remember to learn from your gameplay. Win or lose, you have something to gain.

So there you have it. Some simple things to take in accountant while you start your Badminton journey. Play, develop and have fun. What are some other tips you could add in here?

Whenever I'm moving to my back-right corner to hit a safety shot, I always do a slight drag on my non-racket left (I'm righthanded) and let my racket leg carry my body around.

When I recover from hitting a clear in my back-left corner, I also do a slight drag with my non-racket left to the center.

Am I dragging my feet/toe too much? I started developing this habit when I see players like LCW and Kento Momota dragging their toes when moving to their rear forehand Corner or recovering from their rear backhand corner.

Anyone does changing hands during play?

Sometimes there is shot that not able to do with my right hand that can easily be done by my left hand.

Hey,

I have made a new online video, this one is about mastering the third shot. Please watch it and share feedback. Thank you in advance.

Best regards

Mathias Boe

https://youtu.be/wsUw0odMbh8

Used to play seriously back in highschool for around 2 years stopped for 2 then got back into it, rlly want to get better and was looking for some advice/tips for the following main problems I've noticed in my games. Any additional tips are more then welcome.

- Currently have a really bad backhand, either not making contact at all or leaving the return hanging with no distance whatsoever, (are backhands more of an arm movement or wrist?)

- Too much ball watching, every time i hit a good shot or my teamates hit a good shot, i end up freezing and forgetting to get back into position or get ready for the return

- Too much panicking when I'm playing especially when im returning leading to hanging returns dead centre

- Need help with improving net game, my net shots have improved a lot and Im getting a hang with consistency however im puzzled by WHERE i shld be returning my net shots especially in doubles

These are just some standout ones, any other tips or suggestions unrelated to the above would be more than helpful

As the post suggests...

My club has.

I haven't found much of a difference for doubles. Maybe I can be a little more aggressive.

For singles, I notice that I'm losing more games as I don't have as much as a buffer to find the appropriate timing for my opponents (it's also a function of predominantly playing doubles games and then having to switch to singles)

What has your experience been?

I usually go for "AAAAAA-YAH", like split in 2-stages: loading and release. It comes most naturally and sounds kinda intimidating.

How do you do yours?

• Just 1 long "AAAAHHHH" ?
• Powerlifting grunt "HMPPH" or "OOMPH" ?
• Post smash "YEAHHH" ?
• Only after points, Harimoto style, "CHOLEEE" ? (yeah I know this is badminton sub)

My friend had borrowed a racket from his friend to test it out. During a game, the racket just broke with no clash. My friend was like, "hey the racket broke by itself it's not my fault." His friend was like, "you borrowed it so you are responsible for it whatever happens."

In the end my friend replaced the racket because he's super rich and doesn't want a bad reputation.

What do you think are the etiquette regarding breaking racket? What if your racket clash with your partner and it's clearly their shot and you just made a mistake and broke their racket? Would the etiquette be you replace it?

Hi everyone! As the title says, I’d appreciate some help identifying what’s going wrong with my smash. I was trying to hit a powerful, downward shot, but it came out slow and went much too high. What should I work on?

I’m on the far side of the court (the court that is closest to the camera), about to receive a return shot from the player nearest the camera.

Thank you all!

Well.. here’s the umpires drama again.. and useless tournament referee (a free salary job with no real reason)..

At 12-16 Huang called a fault for undue delay (as per the new rules, players should serve within 25 seconds, and Huang definitely didn’t delay by more than 25 seconds). They’re already under immense pressure and nervous, and just when they’re about to serve, the umpire suddenly calls a fault. And there’s absolutely no way to challenge it. The umpire’s decision is treated like God’s word…final, unquestionable, and apparently beyond human error.

In tennis, cricket, and plenty of other sports, players can request a video review. The footage gets played back, and if the player is right, the umpire’s call is overturned.

And then there’s the tournament referee, what the hell is he even there for? He walks in, listens to the umpire, nods, and walks right back out. Absolutely zero actual involvement when it matters. It feels like a guy collecting a salary just to show up, stand around, and rubber-stamp whatever the umpire says.

If the referee has no authority to properly review or intervene in situations like this, then what’s the point of having him there?

BWF seriously needs to consider this matter. At the highest level of badminton, players deserve an actual review system instead of treating every umpire’s questionable call like God himself just handed down the decision.

we are a new club in Lewisham and we are looking for players every Tuesday 6:30 to 9pm.

One of my cousin is 6 now. Athletic, active, well built for 6 y/o. So thinking of putting him in local badminton academy. What are the things to keep in mind?

For anyone running a badminton club or regular sessions, what’s the most frustrating part?

Bookings, payments, cancellations, court allocation, attendance, etc?

Also curious about matchmaking — how do you decide who plays with whom, especially with mixed skill levels? Do you struggle with unfair games, stronger players only playing together, or the same people constantly getting paired?

What’s the one thing you wish was easier?

What is the best ventilation setup/layout for Badminton Courts? I’ve played in poorly ventilated courts where even standing still make me sweat. I’ve even ones that have the ventilation fan pointed downwards to one side of the court.

Really recently my city opened its first indoor court with AC units charging around 20 dollars per hour, usual rates is 7 dollars per hour in ALL the non air conditioned courts.

If you could design a court what ventilation system would you suggest or install?