The Aqueduct.

It seems that most of the injuries that occur in badminton can be attributed to 2 main causes. The first is a lack of general physical preparation (GPP). This preparation is primarily for the bones, ligaments, tendons, and joints of the body. GPP makes way for specific physical preparation (SPP); muscles can be prepared in a relatively short period of time. Statistically, knees are the most frequently injured part of the body in badminton. The second cause is poor technique; as a friend of mine once informed me, tremendous relief can be had when one stops banging one's head off a wall. Poor technique can result from bio-mechanics as well as just doing it wrong.

Of course, the third and fourth are most probably old age and being overweight... oh man.

The physical load of badminton is primarily seen as an aerobic load by the body, even though many anaerobic demands are made. This is why aerobic training is so important for badminton. So, don't throw out the exercise bike just yet..

..small world

Last night we made a trip to Frederikshavn about 40 minutes drive northeast of Alborg. Agnese, one of the instructors on the course, plays with Frederikshavn and invited us up to watch; their elite team was playing a league match. We arrived about 10 minutes after the start, so we quickly took our seats among the 200 spectators. After a couple of minutes I realised that Jim Laugeson was one of the players on court. A couple of minutes after that I realised Scott Evans, aka "Mr Tarzan" was sitting directly in front of me. He's the blurry lad in white.

The course itself is starting to pick up and take shape. Kenneth has a masters degree in communication, and uses inductive learning with us. This basically means he throws us in the deep end whenever possible. Kenneth is assisted by three teachers in the core badminton subjects. Another four teachers teach us subjects including strength training, anatomy, psychology, etc. Interestingly, Kenneth proposes that the main requirements of physical training for badminton involves the development of the aerobic system, as that's how our body perceives the workload of a badminton game.

I'm starting to take shape a bit too; my injuries are healing nicely, and training is back into full swing. The gym is cool; I can slam medballs around all day long, and there are plenty of free weights and a big studio. The early morning training is taking a bit of getting used to, but it's great to have the courts just across the road. During our stay here we also get free use of the testing centre. I've already set a new pb. The national strength training coach kindly explained what complex training is at breakfast yesterday. Thanks Derek ;)