Technical Characteristics of Badminton Backhand Drive from Speed Accuracy Trade Off

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the success or failure of the speed-accuracy trade-off relationship in badminton backhand drives and to clarify technical characteristics. The subjects were 10 male college badminton players. Backhand drives performed by the subjects at specified subjective-effort levels were recorded using a three-dimensional motion-capture system and surface electromyography (EMG) ; 500 hitting performances, 200 upper-limb-joint movements, and 180 electromyographic data were selected for analysis. Each drive was divided into takeback and swing phases, and the maximum and minimum values of joint angles, joint angular velocities, and %RMS were calculated and analyzed. With increasing subjective effort, the shuttle velocity increased but accuracy remained constant : there was no observed trade-off between them. Kinematic analysis suggested that the shuttle velocity was increased by increasing the angular velocity of the joints, while the accuracy was maintained by keeping the range of motion of the upper limbs constant as subjective effort increased. The flexor carpal ulnaris muscles may be performing tensile contraction during the take-back phase, as the EMG data showed an increase in its activity during the second half of it.