Up next in 10
A few days ago, we created a video titled, "Studying 2008 Lin Dan Will COMPLETELY Change The Way You Think About Badminton." In that video, we felt that a sentiment among viewers was that 2008 Lin Dan was abnormally explosive and it feels extremely difficult for the typical badminton player to copy. Although that is the case for some people, what you want to learn from 2008 Lin Dan goes beyond his explosiveness and can be implemented regardless of your physical capabilities. In this video, we'll talk about the real reason you should copy 2008 Lin Dan and some of the things you can take away to become a better badminton men's singles player.
🤝 Our Sponsors & Partners
Get Exclusive NordVPN deal here ⬇️ https://nordvpn.com/getgoodatbadminton
It’s risk-free with Nord’s 30-day money-back guarantee! ✌️
📚 Must-Read Books For Athletes
Rising Strong by Brene Brown ➡️ https://amzn.to/4cBFeAR
Ego Is The Enemy by Ryan Holiday ➡️ https://amzn.to/3GbhjvK
Can’t Hurt Me by David Goggins ➡️ https://amzn.to/3Y5YXm3
Atomic Habits by James Clear ➡️ https://amzn.to/3Y6xssC
The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle ➡️ https://amzn.to/4lHAfmm
As an Amazon Associate, I earn commission from qualifying purchases.
📱 Check Out Our Socials
Check out our blog: https://getgoodatbadminton.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/getgoodatbadminton
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ggatbadminton
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/getgoodatbadminton
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.ca/getgoodatbadminton
Show More Show Less View Video Transcript
0:00
A couple of days ago, we published a
0:02
video on how studying 2008 Lindan will
0:05
change the way you think about badmitten
0:07
and there were some misunderstandings
0:08
that we wanted to address. A lot of
0:10
people like to dismiss 2008 Lindan as a
0:13
player with phenomenal speed and
0:14
explosiveness that nobody else can copy.
0:17
While that is half true for some people,
0:19
one of the key things people have missed
0:21
from our discussion of young Lind Dan is
0:23
how you can simultaneously become more
0:25
consistent and make it difficult for
0:27
your opponent to play. This is what 2008
0:31
Lindan was truly good at and what you
0:33
should be copying. Today, we'll discuss
0:36
how a younger Lindan plays a game that
0:38
allows him to prevent his opponents from
0:40
playing winners and puts himself in a
0:42
position to effectively use his speed
0:44
and power.
0:50
But before we get into the video, a
0:52
quick word to our partner, NordVPN. We
0:55
talked about NordVPN a few times on this
0:56
channel and thought it was a good time
0:58
to give them a mention again. On Get
1:00
Good at Badminton, our rule is to only
1:03
take on partnerships with companies
1:04
whose products we actually use and
1:06
believe in. And NordVPN definitely fits
1:09
this description. Before partnering with
1:12
NordVPN, we were already paying
1:14
customers and it has become an app
1:16
that's absolutely crucial in our lives,
1:19
especially with regard to this channel.
1:21
Most of you are probably aware that a
1:22
lot of BWF badmitten content is
1:24
restricted based on where you are in the
1:26
world. For example, the most recent
1:29
Canada Open was not available for people
1:32
in Canada to watch on YouTube. But if
1:34
you have NordVPN, this is not a problem
1:36
at all. Simply switch your server
1:38
connection to one of the many available
1:40
options and voila, you can watch the
1:43
Canada Open YouTube broadcast in Canada.
1:46
If you want to try NordVPN, use the link
1:48
in the description or on the screen for
1:50
a huge discount. It's completely risk-
1:52
free with their 30-day money back
1:53
guarantee. Thanks again to NordVPN for
1:55
supporting the channel. Now, let's talk
1:58
about why you should copy 2008 Lindan.
2:04
Lindan almost never forces shots that
2:06
either result in winning or losing the
2:07
rally outright. These are shots like
2:10
playing spin nets off the serve or
2:12
around the service line, out of position
2:14
full smashes, flat pushes when you're
2:17
below the tape, or any shot aiming to
2:19
hit the lines. When you do the things
2:21
above, you are gambling the rally where
2:23
your next shot will either win or lose
2:25
you the rally outright. While it's not
2:27
wrong to play any of the shots we just
2:28
mentioned, and there are times where
2:30
gambling for your shot does make sense,
2:32
players today gamble on their shots way
2:35
too often. And it is the reason why
2:37
seemingly anybody can beat anyone in
2:39
men's singles.
2:47
In fact, Lindan himself started doing
2:49
more of this after 2010, which is why
2:52
we're not huge advocates of actually
2:54
trying to play like post200 Lindan. Yes,
2:57
it is a style that seems more realistic
2:59
to execute in the sense that you don't
3:01
need the same explosive power and speed
3:03
that pre-2010 Lindan played with, but
3:06
post2010 Lindan was also just worse. You
3:09
can actually hear it in a discussion
3:10
during the 2011 World Championships
3:13
where commentator Jillian Clark talks
3:16
about how a coaching and Lindan style
3:18
change was worse for him. I think his
3:22
influence on the way that Lindan is
3:24
playing now has changed Lindan's outlook
3:28
on the game of how he's approaching it
3:30
and maybe not for the better.
3:32
We agree with this sentiment after 2010.
3:36
Lindan's performances weren't actually
3:38
that good. He was upset way more often
3:41
by lower ranking players and a lot of
3:44
people were actually discussing if he
3:46
was preparing to retire during that time
3:48
for good reasons. He made way more
3:50
mistakes in 2011 than 2008 and his
3:54
opponents had far more opportunities to
3:56
get the attack and put pressure on him.
3:58
On the other hand, 2008 Lindan was a
4:01
player that his opponents felt like they
4:03
couldn't do anything against and could
4:04
only try to keep up.
4:21
Of course, we don't expect everyone to
4:22
have or develop the same explosive power
4:24
as 2008 Lindan, but there are elements
4:27
in his game that are extremely
4:28
beneficial for anyone to understand and
4:31
copy. We mentioned that 2008 Lindan does
4:33
not gamble with his shots, but what does
4:35
that actually look like? For one,
4:37
Lindan's shots rarely ever pin the
4:39
lines, and you almost never see him hit
4:41
out on the sides. Two, Lindan puts a lot
4:44
of emphasis on taking the net early. It
4:46
is much easier to get the shuttle over
4:48
the net when you're playing the shot
4:50
around your chest level compared to
4:52
playing with your racket at your knees.
4:54
And to build on the second point, play
4:56
shots that allow for quick follow-ups to
4:59
take the net early, like his renowned
5:02
stick smash that requires little full
5:04
body commitment. or if that's not
5:06
possible, play shots that give yourself
5:08
time to recover, like high clears and
5:10
lifts as needed.
5:13
[Applause]
5:19
One major reason we talked about the
5:21
idea of playing to attack your
5:22
opponent's body control is because it's
5:24
an easy way to think about the game, to
5:26
play more like 2008 Lindan. Instead of
5:28
looking to set yourself up for smash
5:30
winners with good spin nets or tiring
5:32
your opponent out by moving him around
5:33
the court, you can think of the game
5:35
where you simply attack your opponent's
5:37
body control until they inevitably play
5:40
a loose shot that you can guarantee a
5:42
kill on. This way, you're just focused
5:44
on playing shots with good angles and
5:46
speed. And if you can sustain these type
5:48
of rallies longer than your opponent,
5:50
they'll eventually be the one losing
5:52
body control and playing worse shots. At
5:54
least for us, having this type of
5:56
mindset significantly reduces the number
5:59
of unforced errors that we make because
6:01
we're not thinking so much about how
6:02
everything needs to be perfect. In other
6:04
words, you don't really care that your
6:06
opponent is getting your shots back as
6:08
eventually they'll play a shot that'll
6:11
give you a guaranteed winner.
6:17
Now, we talked about how Lindan
6:18
generally does not gamble on his shots,
6:20
which reduces his own chances of making
6:22
an error. The second part is about
6:24
making your opponent's gamles even more
6:26
risky. For example, think about spin
6:28
nets. Are you more likely to net roll
6:30
when you're close to the net or far from
6:33
the net? Probably when you're closer to
6:35
the net. Since 2008, Lindan was not the
6:38
one to take chances and compete to see
6:40
whose spin net was better. He almost
6:42
always played blocks toward the service
6:44
line. If his opponent wanted to spin
6:46
net, it would be a huge gamble that
6:48
often did not play out for them. as you
6:50
can see here from Lie Chongwe in the
6:52
2008 Olympic finals. In fact, we can
6:55
draw parallels in this match with
6:57
Lindan's match against Lie Chongi in the
6:59
2011 World Championships. In 2011, Lie
7:03
Chong Wei as well as other players that
7:05
played Lindan had a ton more
7:06
opportunities to spin net and attack. He
7:09
was noticeably on the defensive more
7:10
often. And that is why Lindan's matches
7:12
in 2011 were much closer than they were
7:15
in 2008. Square one.
7:27
cross.
7:30
Similarly, the angles that Lindan
7:32
produced on his pushes in 2011 were
7:34
worse than they were in 2008, especially
7:37
to his opponent's forehand side. These
7:39
pushes were much easier for Lindan's
7:41
opponents to cut off and initiate drive
7:43
battles, which is a gamble where you're
7:46
betting on having a better drive game
7:47
than your opponent. To 2008, Lindan, on
7:50
the other hand, played his pushes higher
7:53
and passed his opponent. This made it
7:55
difficult for his opponents because they
7:57
had to jump into the shot or take a late
7:58
forehand or backhand. Additionally, high
8:00
pushes helped Lindan's footwork rhythm
8:02
because it always gave Lindan time to
8:04
adjust his feet and prepare for the next
8:06
shot. Speaking of preparing for the next
8:08
shot, pushing high is one of the reasons
8:11
why Lindan's anticipation skills are so
8:13
good and something you can immediately
8:14
implement into your own game. When you
8:17
push high and see your opponent moving
8:18
fast into the shot with jumps or quick
8:20
shuffles, that's a sign to prepare for
8:23
defense. However, if your opponent takes
8:25
slower steps instead and looks to take a
8:27
late shot, you should be anticipating a
8:29
front court shot or flatter clear. One
8:31
thing Lindan frequently does is position
8:33
his legs for the flat clear, but closely
8:35
watches the front court. The more late
8:37
your opponent is, and the lower they're
8:39
taking the shuttle, the closer you
8:41
should be to the front court. If your
8:43
opponent is below the tape, for example,
8:45
there's no way that they'll be hitting a
8:47
shot going downwards on your side. And
8:49
the more late they are, the more
8:51
difficult it is to whip a high clear
8:53
that you can't cut off.
8:56
[Applause]
9:06
At the end of the day, 2008 Lindan
9:09
ultimately was a super explosive player
9:11
and replicating that same explosiveness
9:13
is an extremely challenging task and not
9:16
possible for certain players. But that
9:19
doesn't mean you shouldn't learn from
9:20
2008 Lin Dan and at least try to copy
9:23
some elements of his game. For example,
9:25
even if you don't have as explosive of a
9:28
back court, you could study how Lindan
9:30
plays his pushes and be a player who
9:32
controls the front court. Everyone
9:34
should also understand the idea of how
9:36
certain shots like spin nets or trying
9:38
to pin the lines with a full smash can
9:40
be gamles that are not worth it. With
9:43
this in mind, you can copy Lindan by
9:45
playing shots that stack the odds
9:47
against your opponent and make these
9:48
gamble shots more unlikely to succeed.
9:51
And in your own training, you can also
9:53
consider spending more time practicing
9:55
similar shots that 2008 Lindan used to
9:57
become a player who makes fewer mistakes
10:00
while simultaneously forcing more
10:01
mistakes from your opponent. Some of
10:03
these shots include high pushes, stick
10:05
smashes, cross nets, and blocks toward
10:08
the middle. And your biggest focuses
10:10
when you practice these shots are speed
10:13
and angle rather than placement. That
10:16
said, at the end of the day, you can
10:18
play however you would like to play and
10:20
should play in a way that you enjoy.
10:23
Thus, let us know in the comment section
10:25
below who you would like to play
10:27
similarly to. And as always, don't
10:30
forget to hit the like and subscribe
10:31
button so you don't miss out on our
10:32
future videos. Thanks for watching and
10:35
we'll see you next time.
10:44
Heat. Heat.
10:50
[Music]
11:05
[Music]
11:09
Heat.