The jump out smash (sometimes called the China jump) is a type of smash in badminton where you jump out to intercept the shuttle from a flat lift, before it goes past you. Getting the technique right for the jump out smash is really important.
To play a good jump out smash in badminton, you need to split step, then push off and jump out, keeping your hips parallel to the direction of your split step. Bring your elbow back, open up your chest, rotate your torso, then bring your forearm through and snap your wrist to strike the shuttle.
When Should You Use The Jump Out Smash?
You should use the jump out smash when your opponent has played a flat lift and you don’t have time to get behind the shuttle.Instead, you jump out to intercept the shuttle before it goes too far past you and you have to take the shuttle late.
How Do You Get A Stronger Smash In Badminton?
It’s not just about having bigger muscles! You need to improve your technique and timing in order to generate a fast racket head speed at the point of contact, this is the main goal.
What Is The Correct Footwork For The Jump Out Smash?
Step 1 – Starting PositionYou should have your legs just wider than shoulder width apart, and bent. You can’t do an explosive jump if your legs are too narrow, or too straightStep
2 – The Split StepIn singles:The directional split step is more common as it helps you to jump backwards. This is necessary because your ‘base’ is more towards the middle of the court as you have a bigger area to cover in singles.
In doubles:If you’re the rear-court player in an attacking formation your base would be a bit further back, so your jump is likely to be more sidewards and you would therefore split step with your feet almost side-by-side.
Step 3 – Getting Into The Right PositionAfter your split step, you need to look at the shuttle and instantly assess how far away it is. Depending on this answer, there are 2 options:Option
Option 1- Simply Jump Straight Away
To maximise the power and distance of your jump, you should push off with your non-racket leg first and then your racket leg. This should happen really quickly though, so unless you recorded yourself and slowed it down, it should just look like a normal jumpOption
2 – When You Are Too Far Away From The Shuttle To Get There In One Here
Here you should do an extra chassee step before doing the same jump as in Option 1. This option will be more common for those who are smaller or less explosive.
Step 4 – Hitting The Shot
We’ll go through this in much more detail in the next section, so let’s quickly cover the final footwork step firstStep
5 – Recovery
You ideally want to land with both feet at the same time. Your knees should be bent which not only reduces the impact, but also enables you to push off again straight away and to the next shot.
What Is The Correct Hitting Action For The Jump Out Smash? (4 Steps)
Step 1 – What You Shouldn’t Do
Do not rotate your legs or hips after your initial split step movement. They should remain roughly parallel to the direction of your split step – so for example if you split step side-by-side then you would keep your legs and hips facing predominantly forwards
Step 2 – Racket Preparation
As you’re about to leave the ground with your jump, you need to prepare your arms by bringing your racket arm up and pulling your elbow back behind your body with it in about a 90-degree angle.
Step 3 – The Fastest Part Of This Shot
Now you rotate your torso and then throw your elbow forwards!When your elbow is roughly in this 90-degree position, and your hips and torso are facing the net, you bring your forearm through and snap your wrist to strike the shuttle.It’s important to mention that when we say “snap your wrist” we don’t mean flap it. Your forearm should still remain in a strong position as you hit the shot with force.
Step 4 – The Follow Through
After you’ve struck the shuttle, you should have a shorter follow-through than if you were doing a jump smash or scissor kick smash and this is because you’re not doing the full body rotation.If you were to have a big follow-through, it would force you to over-rotate, making you lose control of your smash and your recovery would be significantly worse! As you’re finishing your follow-through you should be landing, and then following the 5th step of the footwork section, the recovery.As a reminder, you ideally want to land with both feet at the same time. Your knees should be bent which not only reduces the impact, but also enables you to push off again straight away and to the next shot.
Bonus Tips
Whilst a high jump isn’t necessary, the higher you can get and the more you almost ‘throw’ your body up, the more threatening you look to your opponents. Plus, you can also get a steeper angle on your smash!Because you’re going at maximum speed, don’t expect to be able to recover back into court straight away – this is why your placement is really important and also why you shouldn’t use this smash with full power at the wrong time. In doubles your partner can cover you if you’re really off balance, but you have to play a shot which sets them up.
Learn More
We hope you’ve now learned how to effectively implement the jump out smash into your badminton game and also know when you should or shouldn’t use it!