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we've been getting a lot of comments
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requesting for more doubles content
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recently and while it took us some time
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we're happy to finally reveal our first
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mixed doubles video today we're going to
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talk about why Chinese badminton players
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are so good at mixed doubles and how the
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nation is dominating this category with
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the current world number one two and
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three all representing China and another
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two pairs ranked 12th and 13th in the
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world there's no question that China has
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the strongest mixed doubles players
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currently the real questions are how and
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what are Chinese badminton players doing
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differently to dominate the mixed
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category after watching hours of Chinese
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mixed doubles pairs there are a couple
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of things that stood out to us first we
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want to put emphasis on the female
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player and specifically look at their
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rhythm of play players like hang yakong
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often play with a rhythm of hit hit as
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opposed to hit weight hit let me explain
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we all would like to take the net early
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as naturally shots are easier to execute
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and you have more options from that
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position but to play the net early
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especially in doubles does not
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necessarily come from being very quick
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on your feet while that's definitely
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part of the reason 80% of your ability
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to take the net early and cut off shots
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comes from your preparation you must be
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ready for the shot to move to it early
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Chinese players have a strong
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understanding of Rhythm and you can see
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it in their Play There is almost zero
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delay to prepare for the next shot after
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the female players hit their shots at
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the moment the shuttle leaves their
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racket they are ready for the next shot
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this focus on Rhythm allowed Chinese
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players to cut off so many more shots
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compared to their opponents and take the
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shuttle much earlier which consistently
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puts the pairs in an attacking position
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now we are aware that this skill of
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preparing fast is not limited to Chinese
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players but what you'll notice is that
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other players are often limited to doing
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this in combos that they have practiced
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in training for example one of the most
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commonly practiced patterns are two-
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shot combos where players play a drive
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or net into a kill players from other
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nations frequently play their combos but
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are often not ready for what comes after
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on the other hand Chinese players can
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often be seen continuing to take the net
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up high for multiple shots until the
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opponent ultimately lifts one thing that
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helps Chinese players play at these fast
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Paces as well is their shot choice they
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often play faster Nets in half crosses
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that don't require significant control
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compared to shots like spin Nets this
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means they don't really need to slow
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down when hitting their shots and can
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immediately focus on the next shot the
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idea is that you don't necessarily need
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a very good spin net or other
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highquality shot to get the lift as long
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as you take the shot early and play a
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shot that's going down you force your
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opponents to be the ones choosing
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between lifting or controlling back to
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the net from below the
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tape speaking of shot Choice One thing
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Chinese players do far more than other
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players as well is play cross shots they
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often do this most effectively from the
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mid to front court and on defense the
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idea is to catch your opponent off guard
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and force them to respect multiple shot
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options it's especially effective in the
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front and midcourt where there's less
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time to react opting for quick Cross
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shots often forces your opponent to take
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the shuttle late from the extra time
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required in reacting and
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moving sets up the point
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additionally Chinese players also make
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use of shots toward the middle far more
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than their opponents if you watched our
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other videos you'll know that playing a
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shot towards the middle is a great
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strategy to neutralize the rally this is
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the case in doubles as well a return
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from the middle will have reduced angles
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that makes it much easier for you and
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your partner to cover for example take a
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look at this clip and how Utah wanabi
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and Jung seway contrast in their shot
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selection wanabi ultimately goes
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straight at the end which gave Jung the
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opportunity to play a hard cross drive
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that his partner could not
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cover the added bonus of playing shots
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towards the middle and doubles is that
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it can be confusing as to who takes the
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shot the psychological consequence of
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making your opponent Clash rackets is
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not one to be underestimated and is
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absolutely something you should try to
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defending couldn't quite finish it off
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J sh excellent retrieval from Jun
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just now we are aware that everything
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discussed so far is not necessarily
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limited to Chinese mixed doubles pairs
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these are strategies that everyone tries
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to execute on the highest level but the
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Chinese players just do it much more
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consistently one thing that does seem to
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be unique toward the Chinese team
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however is how they create their
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pairings there is a distinct pattern in
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the Chinese pairings the female player
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is often one that is more controlled
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with a higher focus on skill while the
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male players are explosive tall or both
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this contrasts with many other pairs on
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the circuit where the female player
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focuses a lot on being quick while the
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male player is often more controlled
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most notably the Korean Pairs and the
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pairs we also see that the Chinese pairs
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tend to be led by the female they're the
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ones that are often more vocal and
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expressive about how the game should be
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played whether this is a coincidence or
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not it does make a lot of sense having
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the female player dictate the pace of
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your pairings game makes more sense than
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the male player doing it if the player
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aren't necessarily on the same page the
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male player will generally cover much
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better than the female player just think
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who's going to reach the shuttle faster
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jungu or chai Yu Jung I think the answer
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is pretty clear crosscourt shot that he
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got from that far corner all the way
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cross additionally think about the type
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of shots of male covers compared to the
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female male players will often play the
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back court while female players play the
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front the front Court arguably requires
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far more control than the back court
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ideally you should be fast and control
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your shots but if that's not possible
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you would almost always choose control
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over speed in the front Court
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comparatively you can often get away
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with hitting the shuttle downwards as
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hard as you can in the back
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court this makes it generally preferable
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to be caught off guard in the back court
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rather than the front court if you're
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going to get caught for these reasons it
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makes a lot of sense to train your
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female players to be smart and skilled
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rather than quick and strong and put
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more emphasis on explosiveness for male
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players rather than technical
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let the female player dictate the
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strategy and pace of the game and have
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the male player react rather than the
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reverse situation of course you still
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need to be at a decently high level in
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all elements in badminton don't let this
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come off as only train physical if
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you're a male and only train skill if
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female once again it is important to
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mention that Rhythm the use of cross
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shots and letting the female dictate the
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game isn't exclusive to Chinese pairs
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these are just qualities that stand out
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more from them compared to other pairs
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it is also important to mention that
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Chinese pairs can still lose two and
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that having these strategies does not
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necessarily make them Invincible
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regardless for those of us that do play
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mixed doubles or even normal doubles we
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can learn from watching Chinese mix
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doubles Pairs and take pointers from
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their Rhythm and shot Choice more
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specifically prepare for the next shot
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pretty much the instant the shot leaves
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your Racket and opt to play more shots
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that don't require you to slow down at
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the front like Fast Nets and half
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crosses and in the midcourt playing your
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shots cross and to the middle as much as
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you play straight shots can disrupt your
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opponent's rotations and catch them off
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guard just make sure you communicate
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what you're going to do beforehand so
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your partner is ready the game is much
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easier when you're anticipating rather
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than reacting what do you think though
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what are the reasons that make Chinese
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mixed doubles pairs so good let us know
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in the comments section below
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additionally if you liked this video
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