This might just be your new favourite sport (Badminton - General)

Member Name: valve90210

Product:	Badminton - General
Date:	01/07/09 (84 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great exercise, good fun, cheap to get started

Disadvantages: I can't afford to play it every day

Many moons ago when I was a kid, my brother and I used to spend the days during the school holidays with our grandparents as our parents were both out at work.

During these times, we would often join them when they went to play badminton with a group of their friends, most of whom were saga members. At the time we played a lot of matches and enjoyed it but didn't really pay much attention to the tactics of the game, concentrating more on just getting to the shuttle and hitting it back.

It never really occurred to me back then that it used to be my brother and I who were running all over the court while the 'oldies' didn't have to move half as much....

Roll forward 20 years or so and I have started playing again with my girlfriend and some of our friends. I know realise just how much the early years of playing have helped my game. Subconciously I must have absorbed a lot of the tactical play without really realising it as I can now see exactly what the 'oldies' were doing, forcing the opponent to have to move about the court a lot to open up space for a finishing shot.

Badminton often gets a bit of a bad rap for being a bit of a namby pamby sport but in actual fact it is a really fast paced game that required great reflexes and good stamina as you run around the court to cover positions and reach the shuttle. It really is a great form of exercise and will have you sweating in no time at all.

Having played for a few weeks now, all of us have improved our game immensely and are all enjoying the games very much. At the end of each hour that we play (twice a week) we are all thoroughly exercised and realy fired up and energised, to the point that it is a real shame that we have to stop playing.

If you've never played badminton I really would encourage people to give it a try, it isn't expensive to get started with, a cheap racket will only set you back about £10 or so and court hire isn't too bad, espectially if you get three friends along and play doubles, so it really isn't something that needs a large investment, and I really do think a lot of people would really enjoy it.

If I could afford to, and my friends were up for it would be playing 4 or 5 times a week, I really am enjoying it that much and am certainly feeling the benefit of the exercise too!!!

Summary: Give it a try