Once you have your gear ready, are familiar enough with the basic principles and rules of badminton and know how to hold your racket you are prepared to play. Please pay special attention to footwear and your grip because the mastery of these two is essential to prevent injuries.

You should have a considerably built fitness, but that can be always adjusted and boosted with practice.

Let’s say you have your grip memorized and are also pretty quick on changing it. Badminton shots are a basic tool by which you can win a point, counter your opponent and eventually win the entire match. These shots can, in general, be divided into defensive and offensive shots.

As the name already suggests, these shots will represent your main shield of defense in badminton. They are mainly used when an opponent is in the offense and tries to get you into a particularly bad situation. His or her main goal is to place the birdie in such a way that you wouldn’t be able to react appropriately and thus will lose the exchange.

This will secure a continuation of the serve for the opponent and a lasting disadvantage for you. This is precisely why there are defensive ways by which you can counter the offensive ones.

The Clear Shot

The first on the list of defensive badminton shots is the clear shot. When performing this badminton lob try to hit the birdie with the middle of your racket head. It should then fly up in the air above the net and ideally land on the rear part of your opponent’s court.

The clear shot can be effectively used when you see your adversary is in the front part of the court or even glued to the net. When executed correctly, the shot triggers a retread and forces a change of position. From a tactical point of view, this can also grant you a better starting position for your next return or in an ideal case, win you a point.

The Drive Shot

The drive shot is another option which can be used to counter an unpleasant situation. To give a basic characteristic: it’s a flat shot that should fly directly over the net, which makes it a nice smooth and effective instrument in your hands. Its nature is very basic and represents a fast counter-attack. When preparing for this shot, make sure the head of your racket points ahead. You could also hit your opponent with this shot which can result in them being surprised and not really know what to do first, thus not moving at all and losing a point.

The Net Lift Shot

This shot might be a little bit trickier since it’s supposed to fly very closely above the net. Be sure you do your best because if performed poorly, the shot can be a smash opportunity served on a silver plate. It’s especially difficult to react to such a smash.

The strength of the shot is crucial as well. Play it too weak and you will have to face a smash, hit the birdie too strong and it will fly outside the court.

This shot type is usually used if you have to counter and excellent net shot. When you hit the birdie make sure it flies high and drops at the other baseline. In terms of your racket technique make an underarm upward forward movement. Another important piece of advice is to let the birdie calm itself and hit it only once it’s facing downwards.

Now let’s reverse the roles and a look at some offensive badminton shots. In this scenario, you want to score the winning point, end the exchange and win or maintain the serve. These shots are primarily focused on placing the birdie in an unreachable fashion to the other side of the court.

Don’t worry, I will describe some of these shots and give you basic information on how to use them. However, probably the most important tip of all is: Make your offensive shots look unpredictable!

The Smash Shot

The badminton smash shot is regarded as the most powerful shot of all. It’s possibly also the most used one and has ensured many points in the history of this sport.

Its essence is in the fact that it’s aimed sharply downwards, and therefore, very difficult to react to. You have a very solid chance if the birdie is up in the air, this way it allows the creation of the before-mentioned sharp angle. The shot is performed with a flick of the wrist that sends the birdie down to the ground.

The Drop Shot

The second offensive shot, the drop shot, is mostly used when you receive the birdie on the front part of the court.

Try to hit it and send it down to your opponent’s forecourt. In addition, the birdie should go closely above the net. It ought to look like a drive, but if you use less power on the shot it will get the birdie over.

This option is strategically beneficial if a defensive backcourt shot is expected from you. It’s extremely hard to react to such short shots in a very limited time. Nevertheless, if performed poorly, it can cost you the point.

The Net Kill

The net kill is much faster and doesn’t require any special preparation time when compared to a classic smash. It’s used predominantly in the net area, where time is of the essence, and therefore, needs to be fast, sharp and effective. A great setting for this shot is when the birdie flies high near the net, which gives you the ideal opportunity to strike.

Prepare your racket in front of your body so you have it set for this quick badminton net shot.