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Badminton

March 9, 2008

by Nate

HB and I played with a DC badminton group for the first time this afternoon. While it wasn't exactly a bastion of American badminton enthusiasm (at least half of the other players had foreign accents), it was certainly filled with players that are better than we were, which means it's a chance to get better.

In case you don't know how it arrived that HB and I became remarkably able and competitive badminton players: Two summers ago, JW purchased a backyard badminton set and declared that MTB, HB, and I were going to play with her. I was game. Pretty soon, Jess and Bill were joining us regularly, and we were getting more and more competitive. Because of the amazingly poor quality of the racquets in JW's set, I purchased my own racquet at Amazon.com and was roundly mocked for my seriousness. Within a month, everyone else had bought one exactly like it.

At some point, we trucked to the Temple Iglehart in Annapolis to play on the court in there. Indoor play was a revelation: with lines, no wind, and no sun, we were all able to play with a level of precision previously undreamed of. We were spoiled for life. We played on successive Sundays for hours and hours--as many as five at a time, I think--and I would always wake up Mondays sore and bruised.

I was getting pretty good, you see: we'd play a lot of doubles, where strategy was aggressive, but play wasn't as aerobically demanding. But HB and I got particularly competitive in singles play. HB had a mean attack; he figured out how to hit an aggressive jump shot with an alacrity I've never managed. He also figured out how to focus on returning to the center after every shot, and was soon beating me on footwork. My style, on the other hand, was to hurtle myself bodily toward the shuttlecock; when you have as much mass as I do, this makes for some spectacular rolls, slides, and crashes. Still, though, I had a good serve and good placement: by the time we stopped playing regularly, I had beaten HB quite a few times in a row.

(Sadly, my status as champion ended the first time Bill finally joined us in Annapolis. It should also be noted, for fairness's sake, that HB performed better against him than did I.)

It was the most enjoyable competition I've ever had, though, and the exercise was fantastic. So we finally found another place to play. My penchant for hitting the floor continued, earning me a bit of unsolicited advice on footwork, but I'm happy to say that HB and I deserved to be in the same gym as most of the people playing, if not always in the same game. If we can survive the coaching, I think it'll be great.

So! In the tradition of Mike G., today I am thankful for badminton, for some burned calories, and for aches well-earned.

Comments

On March 10 at 1'38 AMPermalink, KJ wrote:

1

I am nothing if not jealous — but in a good way.

On March 10 at 1'47 AMPermalink, hb wrote:

2

Woo-hoo—you got KJ to comment! Nicely done.

I should mention that Nate’s typical dramatic rolls (I misspelled it the first time) were quite the hit at this club. I mentioned afterwards that the reaction was so great in part because Nate is gargantuan in comparison to most everyone there. I think he took it badly—thinking that he is in fact gargantuan, perhaps, when in fact he’s just well-proportioned. I meant the comparison favorably to him, since it appears that badminton excellence typically comes in an inverse proportion to muscle size. for myself, I stretched much less dramatically, but to probably less success.

On March 10 at 8'44 AMPermalink, Nate wrote:

3

KJ is, of course, a better moniker to go by; sorry for regressing to JW. Anyway, it wasn’t quite the same without you.

HB: that’s helpful clarification. I think that—even amidst my considerable enjoyment—I was feeling self-conscious about so much helpful correction, and was too ready to take any comments negatively. To be fair, I’m probably used to far less serious communities of players, where any advice is offered apologetically. It’s my standards and not theirs that need adjustment, I imagine.

Anyway. The one time I really did roll—ground, shoulder, then back on my feet—was pretty impressive, I thought.

On March 10 at 11'01 AMPermalink, Tim wrote:

4

I too have a badminton racquet with a cover. I got hooked on proper, rule-bound badminton playing against President Nelson, of all people. The local badminton club just opened a branch in town this year, but there were only 30 spots, and they were gone by the time I found out about it. Maybe next year.

On March 10 at 11'37 AMPermalink, Nate wrote:

5

That’s extremely unfortunate re: the limited spots. I certainly urge aggressiveness in trying to grab a spot for next year.

I, in turn, am pretty jealous that you’ve had a chance to play badminton with President Nelson. Also: if we were able to scrounge up some badminton during croquet this year, would you be interested?

On March 10 at 12'11 PMPermalink, Tim wrote:

6

It’s a good thought, but I’m afraid I’m not a croquet attendee.

On March 10 at 1'12 PMPermalink, Nate wrote:

7

Well, hell and damnation.

On March 10 at 1'42 PMPermalink, hb wrote:

8

I’d be willing to play after the competition. What’s a little 5-mile run, anyway?

On March 10 at 1'53 PMPermalink, Jess wrote:

9

Oh, I am quite jealous too. My racquet sits languishing in my attic right now.

Glad you guys found a way to pick it up again.

On March 10 at 2'06 PMPermalink, Nate wrote:

10

HB: good point. You’ll be in no condition to play. Though it’s possible, I suppose, that you’ll beat ****** so handily due to his crash dieting that you’ll have energy to spare.

Jess: come join us on a visit, man.

On March 10 at 5'35 PMPermalink, hb wrote:

11

Well, we’ll see. I’ll certainly be up for it in spirit, if not perhaps in leg stamina.

On March 10 at 10'15 PMPermalink, ****** wrote:

12

Nate: I would post a witty retort, but it’s time for my 5th Metabolic Drive! protein shake and another serving of HOT-ROX EXTREME.

On March 10 at 11'38 PMPermalink, hb wrote:

13

A link, for the googling-challenged.

On March 11 at 12'56 AMPermalink, Amanda wrote:

14

Badminton is awesome! My folks have a backyard set, but I must admit that I just enjoy it as a laid back and loosely-ruled family activity. I’m glad to read that you’ve found a nice place to play competitively! If it didn’t please me so much when this happens, I would try to stop being surprised every time I find out about another unexpected thing that I have in common with a friend.

On March 11 at 1'28 AMPermalink, KJ wrote:

15

Where did you guys end up going in the end?

(Nate, I am known by many monikers. No worries. And speaking of regression: I would love to play badminton post-competition. Would lurve to.)

On March 12 at 2'19 PMPermalink, Nate wrote:

16

*****: you’re a beast. I live in fear of your science-enhanced might.

Amanda: I’m pleased that badminton enjoys such esteem in your eyes; I’m too used to the opposite reaction: raised eyebrows and soft chuckles. “Badminton?” a friend said the other night. “I prefer something a bit more intense… like tennis.” I slapped him across the left cheek with the back of my hand. “Badminton is the fastest racquet sport and it’s more aerobically demanding than tennis,” I informed him. (Note: slap may not have happened.)

KJ: We went to the Badminton Club of DC, which uses a gym at St. Alban’s school, which is right next to the National Cathedral. People were generally… well, I don’t know if friendly is the right word, but they certainly welcomed us to the fray.

On March 12 at 3'53 PMPermalink, hb wrote:

17

It was an odd sort of public. Words off-court were few. People were surprised when we introduced ourselves before matches. Generally, the only words spoken during matches were “yours” or, more frequently from us, apologies. Then there was the advice—one guy was annoyed by my serve, so showed me how to do it the tricky, back-hand way. Still, a fun time.

On March 12 at 6'32 PMPermalink, Neil wrote:

18

I haven’t played badminton since highschool, and I probably suck at it, but if people are playing at Croquet, I might be up for a game.

On March 13 at 1'17 AMPermalink, Jess wrote:

19

As much as I respect the ‘minton, as a tennis player, I have to stand up for my game here. Your points on the merits of badminton may stand, but they do not necessarily make it more intense than tennis overall.

On March 13 at 1'28 AMPermalink, Amanda wrote:

20

Statistics on Tennis and Badminton:
http://www.badminton.bnl.gov/ten-bad.html

On March 13 at 1'29 AMPermalink, Amanda wrote:

21

I got the comment approval message, so let’s try it this way. Here are some statistics on Tennis and Badminton.

On March 14 at 1'30 AMPermalink, hb wrote:

22

Thanks for that great link. As a badminton partisan, I loved it. I found the first line pretty hilarious, though: “Statistics don’t lie.” Didn’t think I’d see anyone say that with a straight face.

On March 14 at 2'41 AMPermalink, Jess wrote:

23

I just wanted to resist the simplistic idea that badminton is somehow clearly more intense or demanding than tennis just because of its aerobic demands and the velocity of a shuttlecock. (The “fastest racquet sport” claim, BTW, is based on the speed off the racquet at service; obviously, the shuttlecock decelerates far faster than a ball. See the wiki page on badminton for more.)

A tennis ball is much harder to control than a shuttlecock. Tennis requires far more upper body strength. Tennis is more complex in certain ways, including the fact that you deal with an object that bounces.

Sports are intense or demanding in different ways and there are a number of important factors that one could measure. People make “toughest racquet sport” arguments for squash, ping-pong, tennis, and badminton (I believe racquetball is pretty much just a less intense version of squash).

I don’t know how to measure the overall intensity of a sport—either all of the relevant factors, or how to weight and interrelate them. I can only discuss certain factors that I more or less understand, and my experience. My experience is limited, having never played badminton at a high level (including mastery of proper form), as I have with tennis. I wouldn’t have grounds for a considered opinion or a reason for partisanship without having played both at a pretty high level.

On March 19 at 9'47 AMPermalink, Nate wrote:

24

Jess, I think your defenses of tennis are spurious, contemptuous, and beneath the dignity of any normative American. Your attempt to drag this debate into the tenebrous muck of actual fact has been noted; I’ll be sure to use it against you in any future political bid you might care to make.

Or, to take another tack: I agree that pronouncing a victor in terms of intensity is not as straightforward as Amanda’s rhetorically bullying (but extremely delightful) link suggests. But it seems clear to me that badminton is, objectively, a serious sport, with complexity and athletic demands that are in the same arena as the more popular tennis. As such, I think you should forgive us a bit of smack-talk against our more-recognized older sibling.

On March 19 at 11'44 AMPermalink, hb wrote:

25

Actually, they’re both ancient, so it’s tough to know which is older. Badminton and tennis.

On March 19 at 11'57 AMPermalink, Nate wrote:

26

Sorry; I didn’t mean to make a claim about their respective ages, objectively speaking, but more about their acceptance by modern, Western, popular culture.

On March 22 at 7'51 PMPermalink, Jess wrote:

27

Nate: I didn’t see your response til just now. I totally agree with the broader point that badminton is highly under-respected, of course; and smack talk is certainly in order against unabashed ‘minton-haters. I just had to stand up for the tennis a bit.

I think a lot of the difficulty is that, whatever its rigor and excitement for its players, badminton is not an especially sexy sport to watch. (It seems to me to translate to video/TV even worse than tennis, which doesn’t help.) Thus very few people have ever watched really good badminton being played, whereas most people have probably seen at least a little Federer action or something on TV now and then. This makes it easier to not take badminton seriously, to think of it as a mere drunken picnic diversion like bocce.