a couple of months ago we made a video
explaining a problem with Nara which
made it difficult for him to achieve
more titles however Nara is still a
professional player and was ranked as
high as number two in the world so what
exactly makes him so good and what can
we learn from him to implement into our
own
games arguably one of the most important
factors of badminton that will likely
determine if you win or not is your
Rhythm your Rhythm on the court
essentially represents how well you're
controlling the pace of the game and
depicts how smoothly you are moving on
the court that is why we always put
emphasis on breaking your opponent's
Rhythm because by doing so you are
making them uncomfortable in their
footwork in this part of the video we
want to put more emphasis on how naraoka
stays in Rhythm and later in the video
we will describe how he breaks his
opponent's Rhythm if you take a look at
these rallies naraoka is able to stay in
the rally precisely because his rhythm
is so good from Nara
oh he's playing well
here in this rally focus on kodi's
footwork getting that return of serve
Fair bit of height there lifting to the
back the woot and height on that lift as
well
an example of the incredible retrieving
capabilities first we want to take a
look at what shots Nara chooses to play
when he is in a defensive position if we
take a look at his front Court notice
that if Kodi is late to the shuttle and
chooses to play the lift he will lift it
much higher to give himself more time to
prepare for the next shot not only does
this shot give naraka more time to
prepare but it also prevents many shot
options from his opponent if it is
played with good shot
quality and by playing it higher Nara
can slow down the pace of the rally and
make it difficult for faster players to
capitalize on their speed this is the
skill that players like Kento mamota and
Chen long excelled at
[Music]
oh that's
nice good job brilliant
cross but he hasn't done that
yet now this is a simple concept to
understand but in the midst of a match
it is easy to get caught up in your
opponent's Rhythm and play a flat lift
when you're not in position to do so or
when your opponent is in position to
change pace and while it is simple it
does require a bit of technical skill
and strength to be able to play a lift
from low with a short swing this is one
of the things that Kodi does to keep his
rhythm in check
oh another aspect that needs attention
is kodi's body language on defense in
this clip when he sees liia about to
attack Kodi lowers his center of gravity
as he performs the split
[Music]
step Le Chang way was also one of the
players that did this very well
so now we know a little about how
naraoka stays in rallies but what about
his attacking Rhythm how does he score
if you guys have watched our other video
about the problem with Nara you would
know that Nara simply didn't have the
Firepower to end rallies a lot of the
time his attack leads to the opponent's
counterattacking him so when your
backourt isn't necessarily the best you
must find different ways to score and
this usually entails scoring through the
front and midcourt on offense Kodi will
play a faster attacking style which will
allow him to put pressure on his
opponent simply by taking the shuttle
[Applause]
earlier that's a great return
he plays down in the back court and
follows up in the midcourt and front
court with a driver net this quick
followup to the net will give him more
opportunities to attack in the back
which is why you see him jump off two
feet to attack a
lot look how quick he is for jumping off
two feet for attack is better because it
will give him more angle on his attack
as he can reach a higher contact point
and allows him to transfer his body
weight more effectively so when he hits
the shuttle his weight is already coming
forward instead of going
[Music]
[Applause]
backwards a big reason why kod is able
to play this fast-paced taking it early
at the net and setting himself up is due
to how active he is on on his feet if
you want to improve your movement on the
court you should look at and study Pro
players footwork in this case we can see
how bouncy nooka is on his feet Kodi
bounces on his feet which keeps him
ready for the fast exchanges at the net
but also allows him to jump and attack
at the
back so now we know a little about how
Kodi stays in Rhythm what about breaking
his opponent's Rhythm to break your
opponent's Rhythm you need to catch them
off guard with an unexpected shot if
they are able to guess all of your shots
then the match will be very easy for
them one way to play an unexpected shot
is to change your shot at the last
second this is one of kodi's greatest
strengths if we take a look at this
rally we can see on N oka's around the
headside he plays the reverse slice and
when the shuttle travels back to his
around the headside he plays the
straight slice these changes in your
shots keeps your opponents guessing the
more they have to guess the more
uncomfortable they become in their game
which is the ultimate goal as your
opponents become more and more UNC
comfortable playing against you they
will start to make more
[Music]
[Applause]
blunders when we talk about Kodi we
cannot forget his consistency and
tenacity in his rallies it is evident
that Kodi believes in his Fitness as he
essentially plays to outlast his
opponents in a battle of attrition while
many badminton fans don't like this type
of style as it's not very exciting to
watch it is still a strategy that can be
used for the players with more endurance
that's why a lot of Cod eyes rallies go
past 30 plus shots and these rallies
often end in the opponents becoming
impatient and forcing a risky shot
however the higher level you go the more
consistent everybody gets so you cannot
win a match simply by rallying you must
have a way to score points of your own
in badmington when you play against
someone around your skill level You
Can't Win Every rally it is inevitable
that you lose some but a player should
have the mentality that every rally
serves a purpose that aids them in
winning
[Applause]
it if you guys like this video make sure
to hit the like And subscribe button
thanks for watching
[Music]