Moment of Impact

Timing of contact with shuttle 

 

A leaver is a mechanical device that makes work possible and easier in most cases, for example; a wheelbarrow, or a leaver within the body such as the wrist. a lever consists of three basic components:
1. Effort: A degree of effort must be applied to ensure movement
2. Load: The resistance that the effort attempts to overcome
3. Fulcrum: The centre of rotation or the axis around which the effort and load arm rotate
(Hamill& Knutzen, 2006).

Third-class levers are defined as speed multipliers, with the effort located between the fulcrum and the load, and are the types of leavers found within the body, as well as within many racquet sports including badminton (Stanley, 2009).  Third-class leavers require a larger effort be applied, for the outcome of the load (racquet) to move at a higher speed. An overhead clear shot utilizes these levers within the racquet, through the player’s arm extension. This increases the resistance arm of the lever; the distance between the effort (the players’ arm muscles) and load (the racquet). Consequently, the leverage of the racquet increases, as the speed at the end of a lever increases with the lever’s length. As the resistance arm of the racquet cannot be extended, the most effective way of increasing leverage is extending the arm.

 

The optimum angle to make contact with the shuttlecock during the overhead clear is between 80 and 90 degrees, this is due to the optimal time to contact the shuttle and the projection in which the shuttle travels throughout the clear shot, as it is a flat shot (fig3 (1)). Ordinarily, when striking or throwing an object, the optimal angle of release is approximately 40 degrees (Blazevich, 2013) , this changes with the badminton overhead clear.  The optimum angle of release will decrease as the relative height becomes more positive; this being the height of the racquet (Blazevich, 2013). If the badminton player only slightly outstretches their racquet arm(A), their power will be directed into both horizontal and vertical velocity, the use of a full extension of arm and racquet (A) requires only horizontal velocity ensuring more power is produced through the shot (Blazevich, 2013).



Figure 3
Sourced from:
http://pixgood.com/badminton-clear.html





Shift in body weight 

To perform an effective overhead clear, it is important to exert as much force and momentum as possible onto the shuttle. By employing appropriate footwork to the shot, this force can be greatly achieved; by standing side-on to the shuttle (as discussed in wind-up phase). The side-on stance allows lower leg muscles to be able to produce force by shifting bodyweight which then in turn is applied as momentum to trunk and upper arm muscles, allowing these muscles to produce great force (Blazevich, 2013). If the player was standing front-on to receive and return the shuttle, power can only be produced from shoulder and arm muscles, with only small amounts of force coming from the legs and trunk(Blazevich, 2013).

The overhead clear's kinetic chain takes on a throw-like movement pattern, with all muscles moving sequentially from largest to smallest. This specific movement pattern and shift in body weight is a significantly superior chain of movements, compared to a push like movement pattern (Blazevich, 2013), which may have to be used if a player is not standing side on, nor gaining momentum and force from all body parts sequentially. This can be seen in figure 4 (i & ii), as a front on shot only has three phases of playing the shot and summating forces while a side on shot can have up to  seven phases.

Soured from:
http://info.allbadminton.net/tag/badminton-clear



 A badminton player applies this principle by using the legs, hips, trunk, shoulders, arms, wrist and hand, specifically in that order. The order in which body parts are moved is essential; using the largest body parts first, generates momentum for the smaller, faster-moving parts to maintain and amplify. During the shot, body parts move with optimal timing to produce maximum momentum; the hips complete their greatest potential range of motion as the trunk and shoulders begin to move.