Starting badminton is a learning experience. You have to learn the rules, all of the different types of faults, and all of the different types of shots. This necessitates learning the special terminology. There are a few different types of shots in badminton, and part of learning the game is learning the different classifications of shots.
One of these shots is the drive. Each drive shot is different. The drive shot differs from drop shots and smashes in different ways so let’s explore how.
What is a drive in badminton?
A drive is a return shot that is executed closer to the net, anywhere from the half-court line on one side to the half-court line on the other. It is a quick, snappy shot that uses power from a quick snap of the wrist to cause the shuttlecock to take a fast, straight-line trajectory across the net.
The most basic drives shots are made with the forehand (forehand drive) and the backhand (backhand drive).
What is a forehand drive in badminton?
The forehand drive shot is the most common drive shot. Again, the drive shot is a snappy shot where the power is driven from the wrist and bending of the forearm. The forearm drive can be executed by extending the racket perpendicular to your body, or straight up and down.
The power behind a drive shot is not generated from winding back the racket with your shoulder. The snapping of your wrist and forearm gives the shuttlecock the speed to take a straight line trajectory over the net, as opposed to a drop shot for example which has more of an arch.
What is a backhand drive in badminton?
The backhad drop shot is the same in nature to the forehand, only (you guessed it) you are using the backside of your racket! This means that when doing a backhand drive shot, you drive badminton shuttlecock by crossing your arm across your body and flick your wrist and elbow in the opposite direction as the forehand drive.
Both the backhand grip and the forehand grip on the badminton racket are a bit looser, allowing your wrist to inject power into the racket to drive the shuttlecok.
How important is the drive shot in badminton
The badminton drive shot is one of the most common and important shots to learn how to do properly. When you get serious about becoming great at badminton, a good portion of the badminton drills beginners do is drive-shot-oriented.
Pretty much all drive shots can be categorized into forehand drive and backhand drive shots, making it a good starting place for beginners as opposed to the drop shot which has a few different types (slow, fast, backhand drop shot, slice, etc.)
Start practicing your drive shot
A good way to just start practicing badminton is to get a friend, one entry-level badminton racket each, go to a park with a nice surface, and volley drive shots back and forth similar to the GIF shown above. Even if you’ve never played before, this will give you a great feel for the game of badminton.