Badmington: My newly discovered love for a semi obscured sport......sadly too late.

As an australian resident for most of my life, sport was unavoidable (as was meat pie). I was pleased enough to enjoy the latter but had created numerous ways to avoid the former. You see, I’m not built to match that of a masculine Aussie stereotype so Australian football and rugby was out of the question. Cricket is too slow to even define it as a game for me. Although It links to this country’s love of a good time under the sun. The only sport that comes close to avoiding any injuries is Tennis. I like the speed and that excitement. I appreciate the skills involved and praised the performances of these athletes. I have also participated the sport but I’ve found it not the same as I expected. It requires power, which I only have for the first 2 minutes into the game. It requires a lot of running, which my body cannot take very well. It requires a great deal of control and solid core body balance, which I could possess but renting the court and finding a partner or coach could be expensive. But the most important reason I cannot enjoy this sport as much as I wanted to  is....... The sun. I’m very susceptible to the sunlight and heat, and sunstroke is a familiar occurrence in the my life. Oh and have I left out any other sports? lets run them through quickly:

Basketball?: Im not tall and I hate getting into physical contact with the opponent. 

Soccer: read the above reasons.

Running: boring, under the sun.

Table tennis: fun but I’m tired of picking up an impossible-to-pick-up pingpong ball, which takes up most of the playing time.

Boxing: hahaha. you should already know the answer to that.

You might already assumed the kind of person I am and the physical body that I belong to. In actuality, I’m quite active. I Love activities that requires dexterity and skill. I always believed my reflexes are better than most people. I love mind games and obtained the talent for dancing and sports that require fast movements. Unfortunately I’m just not physically fit and strong enough or in some cases brave enough to tackle the sports most people would define as manly. And one more thing, my parents are chinese.

I think the last fact speaks a lot. The hard truth is that the asian physique is generally incompatible to many other races. We generally have a smaller frame, shorter and the sun is our arch enemy (perhaps that’s just me).

There’s a reason for the rant and I will digress. The reason is that I’ve reached the end of my 20s and I still haven’t found a sport I could excel in and feel good about myself after playing. I became really frustrated I have a personality and the spirit to become a great soldier or fighter, yet I fear most of the sports that most people would have no problems getting in there.

Finally, I found Badmington. And my endless search is over for good. I’m not going to playing other sports but this. My only regret is that I’ve discovered it too late.

When I return to china I was exposed to badminton almost on a weekly bases. I played a bit back in Australia but it was too casual and a very few can play it at a high degree. So I never felt like I was playing well. But this sport is a fad in china. Almost everyone is a pro. I have become so good at it without even a day with a coach. I felt like I was born to play this excellent sport. Thanks to so many people I’ve met that have shown me many tricks and from my personal experience, I knew immediately what it takes to win and what not to do to avoid a lose.

There’s a point to why I b***ed a lot in the first few paragraphs. Because playing badminton solved all those problems I have with all the other sports. First and foremost, Its fast, very fast. THE fastest sport (table tennis is fast too but I won’t reiterate). I believed a good game is a fast game. And the ones with the fastest reflexes wins. Also, this is one of the few sports that people like playing rather than watching it on TV. Because the camera angles can never do justice to how a player has to go through.

I can’t stress this enough: fast. It takes less than a nano second to strategize your ball landing and your movement tactics in doubles. Its not always about fitness as much as being tactical all the way. The slightest misstep from your opponent could allow you to take advantage of it. And I graveled every time I thought I tricked the opponent with a fake short and yet they read my bluff. Its light speed poker (light speed is measure of distance only, I know). Can you imagine fielding at a cricket or baseball match all day and when the ball finally comes your way you would panic and could screw up that catch and ruin the whole play. And there’s a few chance to rectify your performance there after. In badminton, you can make a equal number of mistakes as you would make a perfect shot in a very short time.

I mentioned previously that I like tennis but physically don’t have the power to control the tennis racket and in turn unable to control the shots. I love to be able to do this things accurately and badminton gives me that chance. The racket is so light you really feel like its an extension of yourself. So if you missed a shot it really is your fault. I rarely missed when I defend from a fast smash so this justifies my quick reflexes. marshal arts and boxing also requires this attribute but as I stressed before, I don’t want injuries. 

Are you flexible, nimble and fluid in your movements? If you aren’t the person that knows your limits and not in touch with all your joints and muscles than you can’t learn the sport fast. It requires sensibility and finesse in all parts of your body right up to your pinky. Not all shots are smashes. Being too aggressive will always lead to mistakes. It’s also a mind game. both players are constantly out doing each other through a series of teases. You need to judge where the other player is going to hit the ball to before he/she does it. Being able to predict their thoughts will give you a great advantage.

It’s in-door. I don’t have to compete with the sun. There’s not a lot of running, but a lot of other unique movements that looks cool and feels great. No physical contact besides the occasional shuttlecock impact to the body. Come on, it’s just feathers. There can be injuries but It hasn’t happened to me yet. I’m just tall enough to take advantage of my height against the net. Strong enough to smash just like a pro.