Edit page

Speed up the initial arm movement

The basic method for adding deception is to make your hitting action appear to be faster, so that it looks more like a smash or a clear.

Previously, you were using a slow, smooth arm movement throughout the hitting action. This meant your opponents could recognise that you were playing a drop shot before you actually hit the shuttle.

Now try changing your hitting action so that your arm movement is faster at first, and then suddenly slows down just before you hit the shuttle. You should still hit the shuttle with a soft pushing action, but this only starts shortly before contacting the shuttle.

The trade-off between deception and accuracy

The faster you make your initial swing, the more deceptive your drop shot will be. But this fast-then-slow swing is more difficult than the basic technique. If you try to make the swing too fast, your accuracy will suffer.

You need to compromise between deception and accuracy. It’s no good playing a deceptive shot that keeps going in the net!

In a later article, we’ll look at how you can use slice to improve this trade-off.

Make your preparation convincing

Players often give away their intention to play a drop shot without realising it. For your deception to be convincing, every aspect of your preparation must look like a clear or a smash.

Make sure that your movement to the shuttle is convincing. Many players move fast to hit a smash, but slower to hit a drop shot — taking the drop shot later and saving effort. A canny opponent will detect this discrepancy in your speed or style of movement, and will start anticipating your drop shots.

The top men players often take this deception to the extreme, by faking a big jump smash: they jump up high, only to play a soft drop shot instead. Every aspect of their movement suggests that a powerful smash is coming.

…but the timing cannot be exactly the same

Your hitting action for a drop shot must start fractionally earlier than if you were playing a smash instead. This is necessary because the swing is slower, and therefore takes more time to complete.

It’s not a huge difference, but it can be a problem when players are obsessed with deception and want to start their swing at exactly the same time.

If you start your drop shot swing at exactly the right instant for smashing, then your contact point will be lower. This is a common error in drop shot technique: the elbow drops, the contact point is too low, and the shuttle often goes in the net.

Be unpredictable

Many players have favourite shots in particular situations. For example, some players will almost always play a cross-court drop when under pressure in the rearcourt. This makes them predictable.

It doesn’t matter how good or deceptive the drop shot is. If your opponents can predict your shot based on your previous choices, then they can move forwards and take it early at the net.

That doesn’t mean you should be constantly varying all your shots. Some shots are better than others in a given situation. But you should avoid becoming too predictable in your shot selection, especially with drop shots.