How do you play Badminton? The best Badminton game tutorial!

Badminton is an almost effortless game with painless rules that is easy for the family because the it doesn’t take too much athletic skill to enjoy it. Plus, the badminton shuttlecock is soft as it’s made of feathers and even if it flies to 200 miles per hour, it wont hurt the kids. It is played by hitting a badminton shuttle with a lightweight badminton racket over a net on a rectangular court so it flies to the opponent’s side of that court. For sheer family fun, badminton can be played on the front or backyard and you need only draw a line on the ground to partition the playing court. The kids can have endless fun with it plus it is good exercise for both adults and children.

It starts with a serve to send the shuttle flying to the opponent’s courtside. The opponent hits it to return it. And he can only hit it once. A returned shuttle starts a rally and once the shuttle hits the ground, the rally ends. Once a shuttle is served, the battle begins. By using hitting techniques or strokes to direct the shuttle, you can beat the opponent. Very similar to tennis except that badminton is less demanding.

Badminton was first played in the middle 1800s in British India as the game called poon. But the shuttlecock and battledore were traced to Ancient Greece as far back as 2000 years ago. In 1934, the International Badminton Federation was formed comprising of England, Wales, Ireland, Scotland, Denmark, Holland, Canada, New Zealand and France, with India. Then in 1966, it became adopted as a commonwealth games sport in Kingston Jamaica. Nowadays, starting in 1992, Badminton is being played as an Olympic event.

Badminton Rules and Scoring

When the shuttle hits the ground of your opponent’s badminton court, because he is unable to hit the shuttle back, you score. You also score when the shuttle does not clear the net, or if it makes contact with a player’s body or clothing. These instances end the rally and a serve must be made to start a new one. When you hit the shuttle wrongly and it flies out of the court’s boundaries, then you commit a fault and your opponent scores. When you make a fault, the other team gains the right to serve. Two opposing players (singles) or two opposing pairs (doubles), can play badminton but the size of the court will vary a bit – bigger on a double’s game. Serving should be underhanded and must be done on the right when the score is even, and on the left if the score is odd. The first to make 21 points wins.

How to Play Badminton

You should wear comfortable clothing and training shoes that will allow you to stretch and run easily. Top athletes wear shorts and tank tops or t-shirts when they play.
Learn to use backhand and forehand grips. Here’s a tip: the backhand is a good response to any backhand shot. But keep in mind that the backhand is your weaker shot.
The badminton court should measure 44 by 17 feet wide for a singles game, and 44 by 20 feet for a doubles game. The flooring can be sprung wooden, pvc, pu, wooden strip or vinyl. Kids play anywhere for fun, even on dirt, an
You will need badminton raquets, a shuttlecock and a net to start the game. Top brands are Yonex, Raquetball, Wilson, Li-Ning and Adidas. The important thing is for the string surface to be even. A good raquet is lightweight, strong, and technically balanced.
Usually a coin toss determines which side of the court make the first serve.
Serve underhanded by shooting the shuttle diagonally across the court. Serve from the right when the score is even, or left when it’s odd.
Tally points and whoever gets 21 points wins a game. For a tie at 20, the winner is the team with the first 2 point lead. But if the score is 29 and none of the teams has reached a 2-point lead, the match is won by the best two or three games they played.

Badminton is one of the world’s favorite sports because it is both fun and active while not being overly strenuous. It is good to teach kids to play it when still young because it teaches coordination, fitness and team-work. Most of all, it promotes bonding time for the family.