Chapter1 The Structure of the

Game

The purpose of this part of the book is to analyse the logical

structure of the game in order to create a tactical framework for
you and your partner to use. This framework will apply equally to
ladies; men's and mixed doubles at whatever level you play the
game. It can be used to decide what tactics to adopt and how you
will combine and work as a pair in attack and defence to defeat the
opponents and win the contest.

Tactics and the principle of attack

I am going to assume that we all know the different aspects of the

game to some extent. We know that it includes the skills, the strokes,
general movement and footwork. It includes tactics which we know
are somehow related to the skills. Fitness too is related to the skills,
and we also realise that certain attitudes play a large part in our
performance. We admire those players who can concentrate and
show determination in their efforts to win. We experience feelings of
frustration, annoyance, fear, joy and excitement which may or may
not help us to play better. Finally, most of us have a sense of what is
correct behaviour in a game with another person and believe that
fairness is highly desirable; we know this because we often discuss
such things in conversations about the game and its players.
It is vital for all players and spectators to recognise and under-
stand the connection between strokes and tactics. This is central to
the game. If the connection is understood, players should be able to
play more intelligently and with more imagination so as to create
opportunities to win the contest. Likewise, spectators should
appreciate to a greater extent the subtleties of play and the battle of
wits between the two sides.
However, this is not to exclude the other aspects as unimportant.
Indeed, they are very important, for if a player's attitude is not
appropriate and his fitness is not up to the demands of the game
then his strokes and tactical play can be affected. The
Chapter 1: The Structure of the Game 15

wrong attitude, fear or annoyance, can divert the player's thoughts from his
opponents and the best means to beat them. Poor fitness can result in a
tired body and affect the strokes and movement about the court, thus
preventing the player from using his strokes effectively as tactical moves
to defeat the opponents. If players cannot reach the shuttle and hit it
accurately with control because of fatigue, then for all their skill and
intelligence they will not possess the necessary instrument-a fit body-to
carry out their plans; and it is most important that they should be able to
carry out their plans, for tactics are the most essential part of the game-
they give meaning to it.
Tactics cannot be physically seen; they are the underlying ideas which
make sense of everything else that the players do during the game. They
determine the extent to which all the other aspects are used and the way
they relate to each other. Although without knowing tactics it is possible to
enjoy the way players hit the shuttle, their athleticism and grace of
movement, and to ad-mire their competitive and sporting behaviour
throughout the contest, it is not possible to know what they are trying to
do or appreciate the sense of what they do. It is also impossible to judge
what they do as right or wrong, good or bad, appropriate or inappropriate
in relation to their partners, opponents and aim-to win the contest.
When a player smashes the shuttle to the midcourt and then travels into
position to cover certain replies, he is applying tactics. Each time one
player hits the shuttle he should be making a move to obtain a reply which
will enable his side to make another move or end the rally. Tactics reflect
the player's thinking-or lack of it. In choosing one particular tactic instead
of some other, players should be guided by an underlying principle, the
`principle of attack': at all times try to create a situation in which it is possible to
make a scoring hit. All the tactical moves are made towards this end, for this
is the most important principle in the development of badminton as an
attacking game. It provides the general strategic reasons, the rationale, for
the use of any tactic.
If tactics are the moves in the game, then strokes are the means of making
the moves. If the players apply the principle of attack in a game then the
strokes cease to be only strokes and become , stroke-moves'. The strokes
and the moves become inseparable. Tactics do not exist without the strokes
and the strokes are meaningless in the context of the game unless they
carry out the tac-tics. The other components of the game, fitness and
attitude, become important solely because they are necessary to ensure
Part One: The Game 16

that players can maintain their chosen tactics throughout the duration
of the contest. If one player is lacking in physical strength or firmness
of character, then he and his partner might be forced to change their
tactics during the game. For example, a pair could not choose tactics
designed to speed up the game or out-hit the opponents if one or both
partners were lacking in strength and agility, determination and
adventurousness. The choice of tactics depends on skill to make the
moves, and fitness and the right sort of attitude to keep up the work
and maintain the pressure throughout. A doubles pair must be able to
carry out the tactics which it adopts in accordance with the `principle
of attack'

The situations in the game

These can be identified quite easily. Fig. la shows how the court is
divided into three main areas: the rearcourt (RC), midcourt (MC) and
the forecourt (FC). These areas provide the location for all the
situations which occur in the game. As the court is rectangular and
divided by a net 5ft (1.5m) high it is possible to establish a specific
number of situations in each area. This is done by taking the position
of the shuttle in the court, relative to the height of the net and the
player about to hit it. The shuttle is either high or low in the court. In a
high position the shuttle is above net height and can be hit in a
downward direction; in a low position the shuttle is below net height
and must be hit in an up-ward direction. These positions will vary from
very low (near the ground) to very high (the highest point a player can
reach to hit the shuttle). Midway between these two positions, at
approximately net height, the shuttle can be hit on a horizontal pathway
(see fig. lb).
Chapter 1: The Structure of the Game 17

The basic situations are:

Rearcourt situations: the stroke-moves are made from high or low

positions at the sides and the centre of the rearcourt.

Midcourt situations: the stroke-moves are made from high or low

positions at the side and centre of the midcourt.

Forecourt situations: the stroke-moves are made from the sides and
the centre. The shuttle positions will be clearly above net height,
just below or above the net, and near the ground.

The moves in the game

Each time one partner hits the shuttle he makes a move which
alters the present situation and creates a new one for both his
side and the opponents. The new situation will be to the
advantage of one side or the other, or to the advantage of
neither side -a sort of status quo. During each rally many
different situations will occur as each side creates new ones,
and if we study these we can obtain much useful information.
In each situation a number of moves are logically possible. For
example, imagine that the shuttle is high in your right
rearcourt. From there it can be hit in various directions with
more or less force to different places in your opponents' court
(see figs. 2 and 3). Though certain moves are
Part One. The Game 18

logically possible, not all of them would be appropriate in the

situation. For example, it would be silly to play a slow drop shot from
the rearcourt with the opponents waiting in a forward defensive base
(see page 72). A sensible move would be to smash to force a lift for the
partner to attack from the forecourt, or to hit an attack clear to get
the shuttle behind the opponents and force a late reply-that is, if the
player can hit an attack-clear, which might be difficult for an
inexperienced player. The suitability of a certain move in a situation
partly depends on the ability of the players to perform various strokes,
for players need technical skill to be able to execute the full range of
strokes in a given situation; if that skill is lacking then the number of
moves they can make will be limited and that might prove
advantageous to their opponents. Players who are limited in any way
can now do something about it: the charts on pages 20-27 describe all
the situations and the stroke-moves players need to learn.

The logical structure of the game

This is summarised in the diagram below.

The situations that obtain are determined by reference to the nature

of the game: the court shape and space, the net height, the
equipment used, the rules, the human limitations of the players,
and the position of the shuttle in the court.

The moves logically possible are determined by reference to the type

of situation from which they are played.

The moves appropriate are decided by reference to the `principle of

attack' and a consideration of the positions and the ability of the
opponents.
The moves actually possible depend on the ability of the player
hitting the shuttle.
Chapter 1. The Structure of the Game 19

The move actually played in a situation will only be appropriate if

the player judges the situation correctly on the basis of the facts he
knows about the opponents, and then makes a move in accor-dance
with the `principle of attack' to end the rally or create a situation
which enhances his side's chances of winning the rally. The
framework is the sum total of all the parts of the game. It is
determined by the nature of the game and can be no different
unless there are changes in those factors which make up the game.
The framework is illustrated in the charts which follow.in Chapter
2