The influence of body positioning, trunk rotation (x-factor) and training effect on quality of the badminton forehand overhead smash

Abstract

One of the dominant skills in badminton is the forehand overhead smash. This technique accounts for twenty percent of all attacks during a game. Unfortunately, no existing research has used full-body three-dimensional motion capture and modeling to examine the contribution of body positioning, trunk movement and training effect. The aims of the following two studies were to determine the influence of body positioning, trunk rotation and training effect on smash quality. Ten novices and fourteen skilled players were analyzed using three-dimensional motion capture and full-body biomechanical modeling. The results have revealed that the body positioning has a direct influence on shuttlecock release angle and clearance height (Study 1); and the trunk rotation is a key contributor to shuttlecock release speed and a unique whip-like movement (Study 2). In comparing the two groups, the results showed that training effect also has direct influence on smash quality.