Badminton: a cardio friendship

My idea about badminton before 2012 was a sort of picnic game with cheap rackets and this thing that flies… a “ball” ๐Ÿ™‚ Didn’t even know it’s called shuttle cock and that a single frame rackets are out there for pros! (Yonex, Victor… not the ones that cannot withstand a stronger wind) Then, by pure luck, I started playing with colleagues from former company out of fun, in well improvised Novi Sad’s Fair hangar – you need to wear gloves during winter and tons of water during summer.

A friend of mine, Marjan (AKA Dot) and me started to be relentless and very consistent. Soon after, Biljana, another friend of ours joined and we started going for a group classes. Few other people were there, but only one remained after some time, Miljana (I can’t wait for all of them to read this post). So, a gang of 4 went to extremes – playing 2-3 times a week (2+ hours sessions) and then enjoying the nights out somewhere in the city.

The lady that kept us together and pushed us over the limit was Csilla Mihรกly – our beloved coach: former national team member, player and a certified coach with 18 years of experience. She started as a replacement coach for our group and then stuck with us until… well until now! The energy we felt between us on and off the court was incredible and we remained very close friends :). It even drew few other people in, Tijana, Boris and others that also started to play with us occasionally.

It was obvious after a while that our activities won’t stop on badminton – All of us individually have special powers! Csilla plays a guitar and is good in many other sports, Dot is former martial arts guru, Biljana is great cyclist, Miljana & Tijana – a life coach experts, and I am… well let’s skip me ๐Ÿ™‚ And then other things rolled out: drinking in pubs, making small parties here and there, cycling, playing basketball, travelling together… I had one of the best time of my life and privilege to hang out with lifetime friends!

Badmintontirci

From a sports perspective, I can strongly emphasize that badminton is the best cardio exercise I will ever have. Sweat, sweat and more sweat ๐Ÿ™‚ The skills that one need to acquire are speed, balance, coordination, fast, calculated, controlled footwork and overall strength. Trust me, you will run or you will break ๐Ÿ™‚ Thanks to Csilla, we developed basic technique to reach the creativity level while enjoying long rallies and powerful smashes – It drives you so much to learn and exercise more.

The very proof that I am not exaggerating the importance of this story, I found shortly after I moved to Abu Dhabi. I found Badminions – a social badminton play group in Yas Academy school near Burjeel hospital in Abu Dhabi. These guys are doing wonderful job making my Tuesday evenings busy and sweaty – I rarely miss a session. The best escape from buzzing metropolis mess you can afford. Thanks guys!

Badminions ๐Ÿ™‚

 

I was happy to make a small sinergy this summer when going back home to Serbia – I made a small effort to make Badminions international ๐Ÿ™‚

 

 

In future posts I will point out key things that helped me improve with some resources you can use to start and progress, in case I really warmed you up for your next racket challenge. I wish to know more about similar experience of yours, so feel free to share it with me. Happy smashing! It will benefit your hart condition, not only in cardio, but also in a social way – you will probably meet some of the best people in your life. Enjoy!

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