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Tjitte Weistra

National Coach / High Performance Manager

Badminton New Zealand

auckbad.co.nz

"Court Presence - Habits of the World's Best"

The Eyes...The Body...The Voice

 "Badminton is a game of situations in which those who can control their own and dominate/influence their opponents’ emotions will come out on top."

Make no mistake about the mental strength one needs to survive in modern, Top International Badminton. First have a look at the below images which is just a tiny selection of athletes showing their positive emotions and their fighting spirit. 

Expression of positive emotion is without a doubt a very powerful tool for success on the International scene. It is an interesting question to ask why so many players show negative emotion very easily but struggle to express positive emotions.

I'm not a (sport) psychologist but I also do not believe one has to be in order to identify the need for positive expression on the Badminton court. I often believe there is a huge lack of positive expression amongst New Zealand athletes. Are they too humble?

Let me start with Tony Gunawan from Indonesia (pictured left), in my opinion "The" men's doubles legend of the last 10 years and perhaps of all times. Winner of Olympic Gold and he was twice world champion with different partners. Tony is no doubt one of the most humble persons I know, off the court. On court however he is a master in dominating his opponents with his eyes and body language.

I have to write about Camilla Martin (pictured right) from Denmark. The only female who could consistently compete with and beat the Chinese players in her times. She had it all, the eyes, the body and definitely the voice. She was ruthless in her mental approach and without a doubt a key factor in beating her Chinese opponents.

During the Thomas Cup finals in Jakarta a few weeks ago Peter Gade was playing against Park Sung Hwan from Korea. A key match for both himself and his team as Peter had been suffering from injuries and illness for a long time and it was his first tournament back in action. Peter is also not getting any younger and come-backs are getting harder and harder in today's International circuit due to the rapid rise of the overall standard. In this match Peter was more vocal than he usually is because he needed it. He needed to release that tension, a way to release energy and to recharge for the next rally. Where in the past Peter has lost many tight matches at key moments he won this time. It was his strong expression of desire to win which pulled him through.

So, to some up or give a bit of an overview of the most important habits Top players have I have listed some key things here below.

Top players often:                                                                                                             - Seek for eye contact with their opponent to confirm their   presence and desire to win   - Express vocally and physically positive emotions after   winning a rally, a set or match   - Dominate the rhythm of the match whether winning or   losing   - Control disappointing moments during the match or   make sure that frustration and anger turns into better   play the following rallies   - Display intimidating body language   - Hide their fatigue and pain   - Display strong physical and mental ability at key   moments during a match   - Know how to disrupt their opponents rhythm and   concentration   - Know the mental weakness of their opponent(s)

A player who has any aspirations to become one of the world’s best or wants to be able to compete at a high International level must possess the skills to express positive emotions through body language, eye (facial) expression and if preferred/necessary vocal expression. It is not necessary to express yourself vocally but it can be very powerful if applied at the right time. The body and eyes say a lot. Your opponent can see you all the time so the question is;

"What are YOU going to tell your opponent through your eyes, body and your mind?"

Non verbal communication is very very powerful. You must possess the skills to tell your opponent that you are ready for the battle, that you are not afraid and that you are willing to fight for every point harder than he/she is. There is this perfect saying in New Zealand which goes; "A possum in a head light". Don't be the possum, be the head light!!!

It takes some courage and some may have to take Karate lessons to learn the skill of strong body language and vocal expression. To feel comfortable with being expressive may take time but I have seen some young players in New Zealand change over the last few years and those players in my opinion are performing better and are slowly getting ready to perform at the International scene. They have overcome the fear of showing positive emotions. They have also seen the need for mental aggression on the Badminton court when playing overseas.

Winning starts with playing like a winner or better said, behaving like a winner. A winner may not always win but will always behave like one. A winner can still win on his bad days because he behaves like a winner. Winning starts with confidence, to get more confident you need the wins. The earlier you start behaving like a winner, the sooner you will start winning, the sooner you will get more confident. Winning is an attitude!!!