It’s BADMINTON time, Baby!

by

I yammered lovingly on Monday about how I adore our morning routine.

Active play is a huge part of what I love about our trio & since we’re all morning people we tend to git our PLAYouts on before school rather than after.

Additionally, asolutely nothing sets me up for a better day than belly-laughing at how flipping uncoordinated I am some movement as a family.Some of our PLAYouts are sweaty-active like the SKIP IT.

Others are more, uh, games of strategy (oooh brain fitness) like the below:

(disclaimer: yes I am wielding a marshmallow gun.  in this highly organic morning PLAYout one of us shoots said ‘mallow gun in the air whilst the other 2 run around & attempt to catch plummeting ‘mallow with mouth.  I am nothing if not a healthy living role model.)

Yesterday morning’s PLAYout was, to my tremendous surprise, the mac daddy of them all (to completely misuse a dated phrase): BADMINTON.

We grabbed the rackets & birdie pretty much ONLY because they were blocking the back door on a whim & yet quickly discovered how, for us, badminton is PLAYout  perfection.

Allow me to share why:

  • There are rules, but we dont need no stinkin’ rules.  As a family we like to stick to athletic endeavors where there are very few rules and regulations. We’ve learned through trial & error this works best for us.  We have more fun.  We waste LESS TIME debating proper protocol.  We get RIGHT TO THE PLAYout & squeeze in more activity.  Sure there exist hard & fast badminton rules but, really, who knows them offhand? We just hit the birdie back and forth.  No out of bounds, or point system, or (if youre us) net.
  • Anywhere works.  We are rebels.  We play STREET ‘MINTON (we neither endorse nor advocate this).  The older two of our “we” recall playing lots of badminton at cookouts with and without nets.  Pretty much anywhere from an empty parking lot, gymnasium or playground to a fancy grassy court will do!
  • It’s working out without noticing you’re exercising.  Hence the fact the three of us deemed it PLAYout perfection.  You squat, you lunge, you run, you work on hand/eye coordination, you focus on balance, you tax your core as you LAUGH & attempt to keep the birdie aloft as you do so.  It’s full body exercise your  brain wont register as working out.  This fact is always a WIN in my book.
  • It’s inexpensive.  Indeed badminton has been an Olympic sport since 1992, but let’s be honest none of us are headed that way.  Our “set” is from the Dollar Store.  It sat outside in the rain, and Texas sun for months before we FINALLY decided to give it a try and it STILL worked just fine for our needs.

(The Tornado is very proud of the posed pic above)

Now you.

When was the last time you played badminton? Was it an adult-organized game or more of the renegade Street ‘Minton (shhhh) we played?

And, if it’s been EONS or never since you’ve ‘mintoned, are you now sufficiently motivated to snag you a set at your local Dollar Store?

please to table the shuttlecocks & hit us all up in the comments below.

POSTS BY EMAIL

Never miss a post. Enter your email to get my latest posts delivered to your inbox.

Comments

  1. I played badminton as a kid, but I remember playing ‘tennis’ on our street as a kid. Our street ends in a cul de sac and when I was young we basically knew everyone there. My bestie and I would get out on the street and hit a tennis ball to each other. *Sigh* was bliss.

    PS. We also tried the lemonade stand but nobody (other than our parents) bought anything! (No through-traffic. Obviously!)

    Naturally I’m talking of the 1970s here in Oz when it was ‘safe’ for kids in single digits to roam the streets themselves… although it still may be in my small hometown!

    Deb

  4. I just adore your relationship with your daughter. In fact, I was going to email you yesterday because I was so irritated that your comments were closed ;). Good reminder to me of things I can do with Kay in the future!

  8. I played badminton last summer? Or was it the one before? Either way, it was fun and this post made me want to PLAYout!mmmm.now. p.s. I’d love a marshmallow gun.

  11. Oh fun! Reminds me of playing it as a kid. We didn’t know/care about the rules. We just liked to see if we could keep hitting it back and forth.

    Since we live right next door to a tennis club we have a lot of stray balls in our yard. We’ve been playing baseball with them with a plastic bat.

  12. Omg, skip it! I wanna run out and get one today! Can I make a video inspired by this? I love it! Posted on my fan page & twitter! xo

  14. I used to play all the time when I was younger. Where we lived we kept a net up around nearly all year. Badminton, volleyball I loved all things net. My sister used to collect the bird and bring it over saying “the ROYAL bird” she was about 3-4 it was so cute!

  16. Probably not since high school. My friend had a court marked off in her yet. Regulation net and boundaries I’m sure, but that didn’t make us play any better!

    I used to play “soccer” accross my street — I would stand on one side, my friend on the other. It was NOT a cul-de-sac. There was through traffic. (We got extra points if we made the ball go under a passing car.) And I think I lived such a sheltered childhood!

    • it really is about finding what fits in your life. I could be more fit, look better, etc etc WHATEVER but right now this is what FITS.

  19. You guys – the family – love it & such role models!!! I think we all can take a page from the play book! 🙂

    Me, I don’t need no stinking rules! 😉

    Badminton, as a kid – have not played in many moons! 😉 I loved kick the can as a kid AND loved that take on it thru was it the new version of Twilight Zone – can’t remember but when the adults became kids again! I think we all need to do that!

  20. It has been years! But I have very fond memories. We had a net set up at our lake house when I was a kid and played a lot. I never thought of it as exercise back then:) Just fun.

  23. So funny, I used to choose badminton as my P.E. class in high school – because it was not hard like other options (well, except for the Frisbee class…hey, it was high school in California, what can I say?!?). Now, I bet, I’d get a much better workout playing it, because I’d probably actually PLAY, instead of stand there on one side of the net with 20 other people. LOL.

  24. Badminton greatly improves your strength and balance, from when you have to climb up on the roof after I smack the birdie up there time after time after time.

  25. Love this post, Carla! 😀 We played badminton not that long ago, and it was organized by friends but loosely organized. 🙂 We have a few teacher friends and they’ll rent out their gymnasium for a night, we invite all our friends, and go play! Two weeks ago it was belly baseball – now THAT was fun. 😀

  26. I remember playing when I was a kid! We had a net but the rules – we didn’t need no stinkin’ rules! We were doing good to get the birdie back and forth!!

    And yes, I will get me to the dollah store for some badmintony fun!! 🙂

  27. Love the ‘Minton. Had a forever set in our yard growing up in SoCal. Was looking at a set the other day for fun. Must play again!!

  29. I haven’t thought about badminton or the skip it in decades.

    I like your style, MizFit.

  30. we play badminton at school with our special needs kids-they can’t hurt each other (or us) with the shuttlecocks/racquets-so good for eye-hand coordination.

  31. I miss play exercise. It was a huge part of my childhood. Even up til age 16, I was out in the neighborhood playing Dr. Dodge on summer evenings in my bare feet. There’s nothing like the feeling of grass in between your toes 🙂

    In my junior and senior years of high school I opted to take the Racket Sports gym class just to play badminton. Being in New England, we only did 1-2 months of tennis during the year before the weather got unfavorable, so we were usually doing badminton in the gym. It was so fun!

  32. The last time I played badminton was in February, in Mesa, AZ, on the second-floor balcony of my BFF Lisa’s house. I was playing with her daughter Malea. And we laughed. A lot. And sometimes the birdie would fly off the edge of the porch and their dog Oliver would fetch it for us. Good times!

  33. I loved badminton in school. I haven’t played in years but this made me want to find my old racket.

    Where oh where did you find a marshmallow gun? I’ve been looking for one for ages.

    • toy store! Ill look when home to see if there’s a brand name on it. We’ve had it for a while 🙂

  37. Badminton is a fun-crazy game; especially with kids (I love the sound of the racket whistling as it completely misses the birdie!).

    Admittedly, we haven’t played for a couple of years; our house is surrounded by tons-o-giant trees and there are still a few birdies caught high in their branches!

    Maybe a trip to the dollar store is in order…

  39. Loving’ the gangstah lean with plastic gun. Our badminton net gets obliterated every season. Keeps the net-making people in business.

    Shuttlecocks. Such a funny, funny word. ((giggles))

  41. Awesome pics! Love me some Badminton. I love the name Badminton in fact! For some reason we spend most of time crackin up. Maybe it’s the all out effort of whacking the crap out of that little bird and watching the slow motion float over the net. Great family game! 🙂

  43. Badminton is so fun!! The last time we had a net up was a few years ago when we lived in Atlanta. Hopefully we’ll play again soon. It has summer all over it!

  44. Long live the shuttlecocks! I love badminton. We have a few sets in the neighborhood and whenever there is a gathering, it is a popular spot. That and yard jarts, over which I rule! ; )

  47. I love badminton!! I haven’t played it years though but my sibs and I used to play a lot when we were kids. This makes me want to go out and buy a set rightthisverysecond. My boys are at the perfect age for this – thanks for the great summer idea!

  48. I wanna come down and play with you!!! I also know from experience that marshmallows make EXCELLENT shuttlecocks it their own right. IT’S ON!!!!! Canada vs. US…in marshminton!!!! Smores will follow the game! 🙂 LOVE this post, thank you for the smile this morning!!! (BTW…loved the “second wave” post yesterday!!)

  49. Now I want a skip-it. I loved that thing when I was a kid. My mom and I used to play badminton all the time – no net or anything just run around the back yard like baffoons chasing the birdie. We were still doing that even when I was in high school. Now, I play tennis with my husband and our four year old. I love the idea of a playout! Nerf gun war here I come 🙂

  50. I want to see you playing marshmallow warfare when it’s 100 outside!
    They’d be taffy!

    Fun post.

  51. As a kid, I remember batting a birdie around the yard with family and thinking it was great fun. When we bought our house, the previous owners left a lot of stuff behind – including badminton rackets. I thought it would be a fun way for Husband and I to get some exercise together. Alas, my husband does not understand the concept of playing for fun. As far as he is concerned, you need a proper net and court area laid out and one must play by the rules. Whatever the rules are because I truly don’t know. My husband does not understand the concept of ‘fun exercise’ either, so that may have been part of the problem.

  53. Badminton was one of my favorites as a kid, and one of the few things i was actually good at in the physical exertion area of life. Thanks for the reminder, i may have to pick up a set and convince a kid to try it with me.

  54. Lst year I tried pickleball, which is similar to badminton, but played with paddles on a court. I fell on the third play and my knee hasn’t been the same since. I had fun up until then, though. 🙂

  55. Oh gosh..the last time I played badminton was years and years ago. My dad always had a set in his car (in his bag of sport paraphernalia) and it would always get pulled out at bbqs and other family get togethers =)

  56. Dang, this is such a good idea and totally blows the lid off that ‘you just have to get through it’ type of attitude towards exercise. Makes me want to yell more, more, more!

  57. It’s been years….I forgot how much I love playing. I need to visit the dollar store!!!

    Keep focused!

  59. OK, I have a badminton story of a different sort. Back in the day, and ironically enough you “knew me when”–I had a badminton course in undergrad in which I, well . . . earned a very, very poor grade. PE courses were required at Penn State and I thought it sounded grand (and easy) but I lacked the self-awareness to realize that 8:00 a.m. classes were the constructs of my personal Waterloo. Perhaps it is time I redefined badminton for myself. Thanks, my dear Miz!

  60. It has been found that playing badminton till you get an increase in heart rate or mild breathlessness regularly in middle age lowers the risk of death by about 23% in the subsequent 20 years and improves longevity by at least 2 years. The optimal health benefits are achieved by playing badminton for at least 30 minutes a day after adequate warm up. So start playing badminton.

  61. My son would love it if we did this at our bus stop. I’m not sure I would 🙂

  63. Badminton ROCKS! I played it with a group of friends the other day at one of their houses. He has a HUGE activity room with a b-ball hoop & lots of other stuff. We also played without a net, just hitting it around and laughing our butts off at each other.

Trackbacks

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This