What is badminton for? -Part 8/.

...This is a misconception and may be criticised for three reasons. First, it is strictly speaking a category error. The wrist is a joint, not a muscle; the forearm muscles control its movement. Second, wrist movements are weak when compared to forearm or upper arm movements. Some studies confirm the minor role of the wrist in power generation and also indicate that the major contributions to ‘power’ come from internal and external rotations of the upper and lower arm (try not to think hippopotamus).

Third and last, self-abuse is a private matter and is unlikely to contribute significantly to the question posed in this essay. Nonetheless some insist that the pejorative term of self-abuse is a metaphor for certain styles of play witnessed on the badboiiz court. But we have to listen to those others, including no less than Mark Twain himself, who consider the practice -‘not suitable for the drawing room’ and therefore by extension, the badminton court. However in some religious circles, self-abuse is now considered tolerable, and recovered from the sin it once was, as long as it is ‘ kept in hand‘.

But I digress.
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It is interesting to note that due to the way that its feathers overlap, a shuttlecock also has a slight natural spin about its axis of rotational symmetry. The spin is in a counter-clockwise direction as seen from above when dropping a shuttlecock. Notwithstanding the aforementioned discussion of wrist-action, this natural spin affects certain strokes: a tumbling net shot is more effective if the slicing action is from right to left, rather than from left to right; -one exception to this, is, if the line of sight of the slicing-action player, is also orthogonal to the performance of the Badboiiz Badminton Haka.

So in conclusion, what is badminton for?
More research is necessary. It is an exciting time for badminton’s cultural and scientific research. Many in the community feel that the laboratory needs to be extended in the form of numerous visitations of several pubs in any given afternoon so chosen. The development of this concept will no doubt receive much interest and attention in the year ahead.

Alan Parham Christmas 2010.