Han Jian’s Method for smash and its 5 power levels – Steve’s Badminton Blog and Website

Han Jian taught us how to add power into his method for smashes, and when done right, it is as powerful as the Malaysian / Indonesian style for smashes. The videos for this were released a few days ago. Let’s discuss.

Last week, there was a lull on the international badminton scene and this allows for a breather before the excitement resumes with the Japan Open. We turned our focus back to training and preparation for Fred’s upcoming tournaments.

On the 17th of May 2025, Han Jian was teaching Fred on how to increase the power of his smash, while also increasing mobility. He went on to describe the 5 power levels of his method for smash. That was something he has not talked about in ages. The last time he taught me that was in 2021, before I started recording and posting videos on YouTube. I thought that I would never be able to catch that on video, and I would have to narrate it myself in the Monologue videos. But finally being able to record it now is just gold!

In this video series, Han Jian makes Fred practice his overhead swing from the very basics all the way to the most advanced steps. This was to remind Fred on how the smash should be done. Fred’s movement has gotten out of shape, and his swing can be a bit wild, especially when he wants to put power into the smash. So, Han Jian decided to start from the basics.

Power Level 1: The Wrist

The wrist provides power by spinning the racquet quickly. This creates a whip -like effect when the racquet hits the shuttle. The momentum of the racquet is transferred to the shuttle, and as momentum is calculated by multiplying mass with velocity, the speed of the racquet when it hits the shuttle will determine how fast the shuttle goes after the hit.

momentum = mass x velocity

Add in a slight tweak to cater for circular motions yields the following:T

cicular momentum = mass x circular velocity

The mass of the racquet is not going to change. As the racquet is spinning free at the wrist, it does not carry additional mass from the arm or hand. This means that the fast the racquet spins, the greater the momentum.

The spin of the racquet can be increased by players who have good finger strength and dexterity. Players with these attributes are able to spin the racquet much faster. And this factor can add quite a bit of power into the smash.

Power Level 2: The Arm

The next power uses the arm. Pulling down the arm to the front of the player adds a downward movement to the racquet. When the player pulls down the arm, the player must grab the racquet so that it does not spin out of the player’s hand. This gives the racquet more force as the racquet is now moving in another direction on top of the spin which it is already doing.

The momentum equation still applies to the arm, and this time, the calculation changes slightly. The mass is now is the combined mass of the racquet and the arm. This is because the arm is holding the racquet firm. The velocity now is the speed of the racquet going downwards.

There is a lot going on in this snapshot of the smash. Just pay attention to the arm movement downwards during the smash for now.

The power from the downward movement of arm is transferred to the shuttle during the hit. The simple calculation for still mass x velocity, but when when we only take the arm movement into account, it becomes as follows:

momentum = mass of arm and racquet combined x velocity of racquet going down

Power Level 3: Body Turn

The next one is the body turn. This is when the turn of the body is added into the power for the smash. Again, the same momentum equation is at play.

Look again at the video above. This time, pay attention to the body turn just as I am about to hit. My right shoulder rotates from behind to the front. This shows that I am turning my body counter clockwise to the front as I hit the smash.

This circular motion adds another layer of power into the smash. The equation to calculate this is as follows:

cicular momentum = mass of body x circular velocity

In this case, the entire mass of the player’s body is at play. Even though the velocity of the spin is low, because the mass is huge, the momentum is significant.

Power Level 4: Jump

Look at the video once again. This time pay attention to the timing of the jump. In order to get the momentum from the jump into the smash, the player must hit the shuttle while he is still moving upwards during his jump. This will transfer the momentum from the player’s jump to the smash. The equation at play is as follows:

momentum = mass x velocity

The mass at play here is the mass of the player and the velocity is the speed the player is moving upwards from the jump.

There are many times when players jump too early and only hit the shuttle when they are falling downwards. This does not give the player any additional power as the player is moving away from the shuttle as he falls, and in momentum calculations, that is negative velocity.

For this to work, the player needs to jump up towards the shuttle and hit it as he is still moving upwards, not when he stops moving and starts to fall back down.

As the player’s body mass is huge compared with the shuttle, even a small amount of velocity from the jump will bring a lot of power to the smash.

Power Level 5: Body Lean Forward

The last and most difficult one to execute is the body lean forward right after the smash. When the player does this, the player would have to start his movement forward as he hits the smash, not after. This means there is a forward movement of the player’s body as he hits the smash.

This forward movement is achieved by falling forward, but pulling the legs behind the player and pulling his body forward into a fall. This forward movement provides a bit more momentum to the smash.

momentum = mass x velocity

Using the same equation for momentum, we can calculate the momentum here. The mass is the entire body of the player, and the velocity is the body falling forward. The velocity is small, but because the entire mass of the player is being taken in, the momentum is significant.

The more important reason for using the lean forward approach is mobility as it allows the player to move forward quickly.

Conclusion

When combining all 5 power levels into the smash, the power of the smash is very close to the most powerful smashes in the world of badminton, and that is the type of smash used by Indonesian / Malaysian players.

In fact, Malaysian players put more emphasis into the power of the smash than Indonesians. This is backed by the fact that some of the fastest smashes are held by Malaysian players at some point of time. Lee Chong Wei frequently hits smashes in excess of 400 km/h. Pearly Tan holds the women’s fastest smash record currently. Tan Boon Heong used to hold the fastest smash record quite a few years back. And of course, there is Lee Zii Jia who is known to have the most powerful smash in men’s singles.

Using these 5 power levels, a player using Han Jian’s method can get almost the same power in the smash, but with improved mobility. And, from my personal experience, this method is also less susceptible to injury. I have not been injured since I changed totally to Han Jian’s method! And I am not getting any younger too.

That’s it for this entry.

Until the next entry, eat well, get plenty of rest and keep the badminton going!