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There’s a lot of badminton going on! Some of the most brilliant badminton players visited the Philippines to pass on their passion for the sport! The best our country and Asia has produced!

There is no doubt that badminton is the racquet sport of choice of many Filipinos. It has jumped over being labeled as just another sports fad. With numerous warehouses being transformed into badminton halls today, truly, badminton is here to stay. The fastest racquet sport in the world has really smashed into the Pinoy-fitness- lifestyle. This is one game players are really happy to sweat for, and boy, talk about being passionate about this sport, badminton halls are always full nowadays with players thirsting to make that perfect smash. And fueling that passion is 100 plus isotonic drink who brought to Manila three of the most recognizable badminton personalities today for a free 3-day clinic entitled, “Power and Technique”.

Malaysian head coach Misbun Sidek, one of the world’s most successful racquet artists during the 80’s is at the helm of Malaysia’s badminton program, making sure his team remains a powerhouse in the sport. Coach Misbun was more than happy to share with us his passion for badminton and brought two of his star players, world number 2 Lee Chong Wei, who has been wracking up title after title in this year’s badminton circuit, most recent is his successful capture of the prestigious Philippine Open Crown. With him was world number 16, Hafiz Hashim, one of the most dominant players of two thousand five, considered as a force to reckon with in any badminton meet. The free badminton clinic wasn’t just a treat; it was a triple badminton treat enough to further fuel up the passion of any badminton crazed Pinoy.

Marc and I couldn’t possibly pass up the chance to get tips on how to play the fastest racquet game in the world from coach Misbun, maker of champions.

The Power and Technique Badminton Clinic was totally free and here are some tips we got from coach Misbun in improving the game of advance and intermediate level players. Misbun broke down the different parts of the body from which we get our hitting power, the shoulder, arm, wrist and fingers. He emphasized that there should be a smooth “flow” of power in these, integrated in the right technique in making badminton strokes.

According to Misbun, one shouldn’t also take the role of the fingers for granted. Practicing the handling of the racquet and how to change grips in between strokes are essential to ensure the smooth flow of movement.

In making the head shot, the swing should flow from the shoulder followed by enough force from the arm, ending with the flick of the wrist, with the fingers just tightening the grip on the racquet at point of contact, giving one better control of the swing.

When it comes to service, coach Misbun noted that the backhand service is the most efficient, for this is considered as the “attack service”, since you serve it faster into your opponent’s court. In using this serve, you are always positioned right in front of your opponent, never leaving him out of your sight, enabling you to defend your court better.

And when it comes to defending yourself against a powerful smash, the backhand shot is considered more effective than a forehand in blocking shots that comes zooming right at you.

A natural athlete, Marc was a fast learner, while I got to tap and put my old racquet skills into good use, and learned that even though there is a big difference between tennis and badminton, it has the same goal, the faster you return the ball or shuttle cock into the opponent’s court, the better.

In this 3-day power and technique clinic, coach Misbun emphasized on this basic principle, to become a champion inside the very competitive court of badminton, one must possess these four things: speed, power, stamina and technique. Not one or two of these characteristics, but all four. The good news is that one gets to have all that by doing one thing, sticking to training.

So the next time you step into the court, keep these simple tips in mind, work up a sweat, and play like an expert.

It is not all the time that one gets to attend a free badminton clinic and get instructions from a world class coach, and even get to play with world class athletes. This ain’t badminton utopia, this is for real. It was a three day triple badminton treat. Three days of badminton learning from 3 towering authorities of the sport. First stop of the 100 plus power and technique clinic was at the Philippine Sport Commission badminton hall. Next… came a visit to the University of the East Gym where the red racquet warriors got to upgrade their techniques for the upcoming UAAP Championships. Next stop was the Club 650 Sports Center where a lot of very young and eager badminton enthusiasts came to see and learn from the experts. Faces of future champions perhaps? Even world champion shooter Jethro Dionisio made a stop at Valencia. Of course as a champ, he knew he couldn’t pass up the opportunity to learn from other champions.

World class badminton players like Lee Chong Wei and Hafiz Hashim can smash a shuttle cock and make it zoom back to you at a speed of 345 kilometers per hour. Better make sure you can move fast enough, you wouldn’t want to catch that badminton comet in the face.

Beauty of this clinic… Various members of the National Team and UAAP standouts not only sat down and listened, they got to step up on the plate and pit their skills against the visiting champions. Coach Misbun’s rule, learn how to penetrate your opponent’s defenses using power and technique. How to judge a good player? Simple, he is the one who moves around less. The less shuffling around, mean the more you are in command.

UST’s Derrick Chan got to learn from coach Misbun, how to further improve his smash, he even got to try the improvement of his projectile on Lee Chong Wei who showed him soon enough why he is one of the best players in the world.

National players Christopher Flores and Wilmer Frias also got to play against Lee Chong Wei and Hafiz Hashim respectively. Though the Malaysians dominated their mini matches, the Pinoys still got score their own tricks.

The 100 plus Power and Technique Clinic was a smashing success in imparting the knowledge and passion of the Malaysians in the sport of badminton. Their brief stay in the Philippines was enough to refuel the National Team’s fire to excel in the sport and enough to make an ordinary player to start playing like champion.