OK, so if you know me you’ll know that I am a badminton player. That’s right I said it! It recently became common knowledge at my work place and I’ve been taking shit for it ever since. But you know what? It’s all good to me…and I’ll tell you why.

Badminton is the second most popular sport in the world, right behind soccer. The problem is that it has an identity crisis here in the States. Yes, badminton is viewed as an outdoor/backyard/garden game played by pansies and pussies and the reason is two fold:

1) Because of the machismo athletic attitude taken by many Americans. The train of thought goes something like this…if I can’t use brute force and toughness to win…then it’s not a sport. If I can’t hurt someone or get hurt myself…then it’s not a sport. If I can’t beat the living shit of out something or someone while playing (i.e. exhaustion of aggression)…then it’s not a sport..it’s simply a game.

2) The misconception of the very game of badminton. There’s this thinking that badminton can only be played one way…outdoors using a big rubber/cork ball with a bunch of feminine colored feathers sticking out of it. Many Americans that I have shown actual professional level tournaments to were awestruck by how the game is actually played!!!

Let me address these two points in greater detail so as to prove to all of you that I have much too much time on my hands…

Point #1 - Machismo athletic attitude in the US
For the life of me I have much difficulty understanding this one. While I may not be old enough to have experienced this in real life, from what I’ve read, seen, and been told, there was once a time when sports like baseball, football, hockey, etc. where populated by individuals who were half as big and brutish as the current players yet twice as skilled and honored. Look back at the pictures of athletic heroes like Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle, Wayne Gretzky, Bobby Hull, etc. (sorry, I’m not a big football fan so I can’t name drop…but I’ve seen vintage football footage and the guys were nowhere near as big as most of the players are now). There was a time when size was less important than skill and personal character made the player.

Now where are we? Half of professional “sports” are on dope, the other half is full of criminals and egotistical peons who speak in the third person and require millions of dollars in compensation to play their “sport”. What happened to playing for the love of the game? What happened to the player being a sport on the field as well as off? When did winning become the end game? Mike Singletary once said, “Do you know what my favorite part of the game is? The opportunity to play.” What happened to this kind of attitude? I’ve seen soccer moms and baseball dads get into fights and even commit murder because of perceived wrongs in youth athletics. All because they want their kids to be the best…the most valued…the toughest…the winner.

True athleticism begins with humility and desire. You must know that you are nothing compared to the sport. This un-carved block approach (note the Taoist innuendo to athletics builds a solid moral foundation on which sportsmanship and competitive respect can be built. You prove your athleticism and abilities not against your opponent but against the sport itself. This is the biggest digression from mainstream US athletics. Badminton in the US impresses this foundation of humility on its players by the misunderstood nature of the sport. Tell most people that you play competitive badminton and you will most surely have your manhood questioned by association to “smacking shuttlecocks around”.

To address the more physical “inadequacies” of badminton, lets take a small inventory of the sport’s attributes:

* The shuttle can travel at more than 200mph…seems pretty hard core given that your side of the court is only 22′ long.
* The sport is often compared to tennis. However, badminton is much faster and requires more agility, finesse, and overall conditioning. While the badminton court is smaller, the time between shots is much shorter.
* Badminton can actually be dangerous. At 200mph, a shuttle to the eye can and has caused vision and eye loss. Additionally, given the extremely fast reaction and direction changes necessary, sprained ankles and knee injuries are common; as are wrist and elbow injuries.

Point #2 - Badminton Misconceptions
It seems that most Americans only know the backyard style of badminton. This is very strange to me given that during the 1940’s and 50’s Americans were the world leaders in competitive badminton. Now, that honor falls to predominantly Asian countries like China, Malaysia, Indonesia, and South Korea. However, European countries like Denmark and the UK are also great competitors.

Real competitive badminton is only played indoors and uses quality feather shuttles. Court dimensions and net height must be exact. The sport also uses the most technologically advanced materials (with the exception of the shuttle which has not changed much for quite some time) like carbon graphite rackets and shoe material/construction as advanced as any basketball or volleyball shoe made today. All kinds of research has gone into racket and string composition and there are countless possible combinations that tailor an individual racket to the players style.

There is no other sport that requires as much agility, flexibility, power, and quick reflexes as frequently during play as badminton. Badminton is not for the big and cumbersome. Players must train for speed and flexibility in addition to finesse and power. Badminton requires a well balanced athlete; too much power and you will loose at finesse and accuracy; too much finesse and you won’t have enough power to move the shuttle properly.

So I guess this wraps up my badminton rant. I suppose my message is simply this…have an open mind, give things a chance, and don’t judge a book by its cover. I’m proud to call myself a badminton player and I’d be more than willing to help others see the light too!

Have a good day.

Tags: Badminton, machismo, sport, stigma