The warm up is basic in Physical Education. We do it everyday, so it is the first thing you must learn.

WHAT IS A WARM-UP?

A warm up is a series of exercises you do before physical activity, to prepare your body for it.

For example, before playing an intense sport you can run slowly to warm your muscles and your heart.

Warm ups must prepare the muscles for the activity.

There are very different warm ups, (high intensity, low intensity, for basketball, for tennis...)

So, the warm-up volleyball players do is different from the one footballers do.

Warm ups are specific to the sport or activity you practice.

Benefits of the warm up:

If you do a good warm up, you get:

1) Protection against injuries
2) Better performance

And also:                    

 PARTS OF A WARM-UP:

1. Movements of your joints.

This is the first part, and it must have a low intensity. We move our arms in circles forwards and backwards, we draw circles with our hips...

2. A small run.

This is to warm up your heart and lungs, and also the muscles.

3. Exercises similar to the sport you are going to play and/or a game.

In this part, you warm up the muscles you use in the sport or activity.

This part must be progressive in intensity. It must start slow and increase the intensity.

It must end at a intensity similar to the sport you are going to practise.

4. Stretching of the main muscles.
This makes the muscles more flexible, prevents injuries and also helps the muscles to develop more power.

You can watch a warm-up in the folowing video. It is divided in different parts but that does not mean it is not correct:

THE COURT:

 A) for singles:

Light blue areas are the left and right service areas.
You serve from there.

The shuttle must fall in the equivalent areas in your opponent´s court.

If it falls in the dark blue or red areas, it is a fault.

After the service, all blue areas are valid.
The red areas are not a part of the court, so they are out of bounds. If your shuttle falls there, you lose the point.

B) for doubles:

The court for doubles is a little different.
The shuttle can fall at any part of the
court now, except in the red area when
serving.
If it falls there after the service, it is valid.

THE GRIP:

Forehand Grip

Use this grip to hit shuttles that are on the forehand side of your body and around your head.
Place your hand on the handle as if you are shaking hands with it.
There must be a V shape in between your thumb and your index
finger.

Backhand Grip:
Use this grip to hit shots that are on the backhand side of your body.

Hold the racket as in the forehand grip.

Turn the racket to one side and place your thumb against the back part of the handle for better control and power.

You need to learn to change grips quickly between shots.

A) Basic position:

To react quickly you must have a good waiting position.

Feet apart, more or less at the width of your shoulders. Bend your knees slightly.

Hold the racket in front of your body, head up. Weight on your toes.

Move fast and hit the shuttle comfortably, apart from your body with an ample movement.

                                                                Image: www.badmintonconnect.com

B) The serve:

When you hit the shuttle, the head of the racket must be completely below your waist. If you hit it with the racket above the hip, it is a fault and you lose the point.

Relax your body and bend your knees slightly.

Place your non-racket leg on the front of your body. Bring your racket back and then swing it forwards.

Hold the shuttle by the feathers and let it drop slightly in front of you.

Hit it with the racket and follow through.

C) The Clear:

You can do forehand and backhand clears.

You must hit the shuttle when it is over your head.

The clear makes the shuttle fly high and land on the back part of your opponent´s court.

Use it to move your opponent to the back of the court or to defend.

 D) The smash:

It is the strongest of all badminton shots. There are forehand and backhand smashes. 

To do a good smash, hit the shuttle further in front of your body than the clear. The shuttle goes to the ground.

The trajectory of the shuttle makes it difficult for your opponent to return.

E) The Drop:

Badminton drop shots are delicate badminton  to decieve your opponent.

There are forehand and backhand drops.

You can use it pretending to execute a smash, so your opponent moves to the back of the court.

Slow your arm at the last minute and hit the shuttle slowly, so your opponent does not have time to run to the front of the court.

Badminton is a fast racket sport. The shuttle reaches 260 km/h!
Badminton is one of the most played sports in the World. It is a very popular sport in Asia and some parts of Europe like Denmark and U.K.

You can play badminton in Individual competitions (singles) or Doubles.

Men and women can play together, as there are Mixed Doubles (a man and a woman).

 Image:www.independent.co.uk

Basic Vocabulary:

Basic Rules:

Badminton games have a 21 points rally format. This means you don´t have to be serving to score a point. You can score a point no matter who serves.

So, how do you play?
-To win a match, you have to win 2 out of 3 games.

-To win a game, you have to score 21 points.

-You score a point when your opponent can´t return the shuttle or the shuttle he/she returns falls out bounds (out of the court).

-In singles, you serve on the right service court when your score is an even number (0, 2, 4...).
-You serve on the left service court when your score is an odd number (1, 3, 5...)

-If a score becomes 20-20, the side which scores 2 consecutive points will win that game.
-If the score becomes 29-29, the side that scores the 30th point will win that game.

Here you have a small video reviewing the main rules: