The Art of Badminton

By George Thomas

Originally published in 1930, this book was written by George Thomas, the 'All-England Singles' Champion of that time, and the man whom the famous 'Thomas Cup' is dedicated to, which is still played for yearly today. A fascinating look at the sport of badminton at that time, and accompanied with advice that is still useful and practical today, this book is highly recommended for inclusion on the bookshelf of anyone with a passion for the sport. Many of these earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Read Books Ltd.
• Release date: Feb 5, 2013
• ISBN: 9781447486749

George Thomas

George Thomas was born in 1922, in the former Dutch East Indies, now Indonesia.Called into the armed services when Japan started the war in the East, he was caught in the mountains of the island of Java and consequently interned in Japanese concentration camps for four years. He ended up working on the railway the Japanese were building through the island of Sumatra from Pakanbaru. This until the end of the war.After the war he went back to Holland and received an interest free loan from the Government, enrolled in the Academy of Arts and started studies in Interior Architecture and Design, a five year full time course.The fourth year, being a practical year, was completed in Sweden.Whilst in Sweden he was offered a scholarship to finish his studies in the final year of the Swedish Design Institution in Gothenburg, which led to his first job at the age of 26.He then married, started a family with the birth of a son and migrated to Australia in 1964 where 2 more sons were born into the family.He soon had a job designing school furniture for the New South Wales Department of Education, which he held until he retired.After retirement, he settled in Dunbogan New South Wales until moving into a retirement village at Avalon Beach at the age of 89, where he completed this book.

Book preview

BADMINTON

INTRODUCTION

Badminton is a game which, at the outset, presents no special obstacles to the beginner. But this lack of difficulty in the initial stages is apt to prove a trap to the unwary, and to hamper steady progress later on; since it so often gives rise to careless and unsound methods, easily acquired but extremely hard to eradicate. The beginner, believing himself to be getting on swimmingly, frequently pays much less attention to the details of stroke production and so forth than he would if they gave him more trouble at the start; with the result that, after advancing fairly rapidly up to a certain stage, he finds further improvement extraordinarily difficult, owing to some radical defect in his methods. He can execute most strokes after a fashion, but real mastery over them is quite out of his reach, and will remain so until he overcomes the failing that holds him back.

Good Badminton can, in fact, only be built up on a thoroughly sound foundation; and anyone who aims at proficiency must be very careful, from the first, to develop his game along the right lines. With this object, he should examine for himself the principles involved, making sure that he understands their raison d’être as well as their application.

In this book, I have tried to arrange the sequence of ideas in such a way as to avoid, as far as possible, the necessity for constant reiteration of fundamental points—though I have found a certain amount of repetition unavoidable. For this reason, I want to impress on the beginner the importance of keeping in mind principles already laid down when going on to anything fresh. For example, the chapters dealing with particular strokes are not complete in themselves; to make them so would entail the tedious reiteration in each of much contained in the previous chapters on footwork, etc. But there is no need for that if the beginner—appreciating the fact that the correct execution of a stroke often depends as much on the position of his feet as on the manipulation of his racket—applies the essential principles already enunciated as he goes along.

By this, I do not mean that all players should strive to produce the same stroke in exactly the same way. There are certain definite rules which no one can contravene with impunity; and it is these that the beginner must keep well in his mind. But there is also plenty of scope for individuality in style, and I am altogether opposed to slavish imitation of any particular player, however skilful; many minor details of method arise from the personal characteristics of the individual concerned; and—subject always to proper observance of the real essentials—everyone should aim at development along the lines natural to himself. Though, without falling into the error of copying a model too closely, much can of course be learned by observing the methods of experts—both in regard to strokes and to tactics.

As with anything else worth doing well, the more you know about the game, the more pleasure you are likely to derive from it; from the actual performance, that is, quite apart from any superior attraction in winning as opposed to losing! At its best, Badminton is a remarkable combination of strenuous exercise, manual dexterity and subtle headwork. There is, I think, no other game in which these contrasting features are so harmoniously blended. The casual spectator is probably more impressed by the quick working of hand and eye, and the almost uncanny accuracy of the placing, than by anything else; but the finer points of the play, though less obvious, are even more fascinating to anyone who really understands them; while, from the purely athletic point of view, there can be no finer exercise. Judged from any angle, it is a game of the very highest class; and, rapidly as it has gained ground in recent years, I feel sure that the near future will see it making still greater progress in popular favour.

I wish here to express my gratitude to Mr. P. V. Dupré, to whom I am indebted for all the photographs which illustrate this book; also to Mr. G. S. B. Mack and Mr. J. F. Devlin—the present holders of the Doubles Championship—who very kindly posed for a number of the photographs.

CHAPTER I

THE RACKET—AND HOW TO HOLD IT

A REALLY good racket is, of course, a necessity to anyone who wishes to play well. Equally, of course, it would be easy to over-estimate its effect on the play of its owner. For in Badminton, as in other avocations, a bad workman is apt to blame his tools. A capable player can, as a matter of fact, make excellent strokes with almost anything in the shape of a racket. But only with one that really suits him can he do himself justice.

The choice of a racket is, therefore, a matter to be undertaken with care. The qualities to be desired include both lightness and power, which are in a sense mutually antagonistic—any extreme development of the one leading to a corresponding sacrifice of the other—and the individual must discover the compromise best suited to himself between these conflicting requirements. Here, it is only possible to indicate the chief points which should influence his choice.

These are balance, weight, the shape and size of the handle, stringing and good workmanship. The balance of a racket goes a long way towards making or marring it. Roughly speaking, a well-balanced racket may be defined as one feeling lighter than it really is. Of two rackets, that which is actually the heavier may, if better balanced, seem appreciably the lighter in the hand; it will then be easier to manipulate, while possessing an extra quarter of an ounce or so of weight for service in those strokes which require power. And though a quarter of an ounce may sound very little, it makes a lot of difference in so light an implement; while the greater ease of manipulation is of vital importance, many strokes requiring the quickest possible movement of the head of the racket.

This combination of essential qualities is obtained by reducing the weight of the head in comparison to that of the handle. The amount of wood in the head is cut down virtually to a minimum—subject to the preservation of sufficient strength to stand the strain of tight stringing. The thickness of the shaft joining the head to the handle is also reduced—again subject to necessary considerations of strength. Properly proportioned in these respects, the racket should feel hardly any weight at all; and, when swung, the head should come up so easily as to move apparently of its own volition. Even in this, however, I think one may have too much of a good thing; and I, personally, like a shade more weight in the head than the majority of good players; not a heavy head, of course, but one the weight of which has not been reduced to the absolute minimum. I find there is then sufficient ease of manipulation for all practical purposes, while the extra weight is very useful for hard hitting. The rackets I use weigh about five and seven-eighths ounces—varying possibly one-eighth of an ounce either way—and balance about ten and a half inches from the end of the handle; that is to say, the racket should balance evenly if supported at that point. But, to show how tastes differ, I may mention that G. A. Sautter—though an unusually hard hitter overhead—likes an exceptionally light racket—as near five ounces as he can get it, I believe. Most good players, I fancy, use rackets weighing between five and a quarter and five and three-quarter ounces.

The exact shape and size of the handle is also a matter for individual taste; and you should choose one that fits comfortably into your hand, giving you a secure grip. I use a handle four and a half inches in circumference, and with the facets parallel to the playing face of the racket only a trifle broader than those at the sides. The difference is just enough for me to feel it, but no more.

Many players, however, like it to be much more pronounced, giving the handle a comparatively flat shape. This flat handle possibly gives a more secure grip to anyone who suffers from a tendency to let his racket twist in his hand; but the usual source of trouble in such a case lies, I fancy, in having too small a handle rather than in one of the wrong shape.

The power of a racket depends almost as much on its stringing as on its weight, and I like one strung absolutely as tightly as possible. But good stringing is not only a question of tension. The quality of the gut is also a vital factor; it should be fine and, when held up to the light, look clear and of uniform density, without dull spots in it. This is, of course, one of the essentials of good workmanship.

Some of the others—a properly seasoned frame and so forth—are not so readily apparent, and must be taken more or less on trust. That, however, can be done pretty safely in the case of any well established brand; for racket-making has been brought to a very high pitch of excellence by the leading manufacturers.

Now, as regards the grip—that is, the method of holding the racket. Even in such a fundamental matter as this, there is no strict uniformity of practice among the experts. However, although small differences do exist, I think my own grip is fairly typical of that of the great majority of strong players; and I shall refer to it, from now on, as the normal grip. The two illustrations of it (Plates 1 and 2) show the front and the back view of the hand; and a study of those illustrations will convey, more clearly than a long written description, the exact position of the fingers, etc. The main points for the beginner to observe are that the handle is grasped practically at the end; that the facet of the handle crossing the palm of the hand is one of the two parallel with the face of the racket; and that the knuckles at the base of the fingers lie diagonally across that facet.

It will be noticed that the second joint of my thumb bends down the handle, overlapping the first finger; but that is one of the minor details in regard to which good players differ, many keeping this joint practically straight across the side of the handle; and the position which comes most naturally and comfortably to anyone is, I think, the best as far as he is concerned. The way in which fingers and thumb circle the handle must naturally depend somewhat on the size of both hand and handle; but so long as the knuckles lie correctly across the facet there can be nothing much wrong.

THE NORMAL GRIP (Back View)

This normal grip seems to me absolutely natural for most purposes, and I use it for nearly all strokes, either forehand or backhand. As almost all Badminton players also play lawn tennis, it may be as well to point out there is not, at Badminton, the same reason for giving the handle a quarter turn before a backhand stroke as there is at lawn tennis. In the first place, you have not to keep the trajectory of the shuttlecock as low as that of the ball in the case of a backhand drive; and secondly, there is no question of imparting top-spin. Some