# How to time your footwork with Shuttle Knockdown

> Lay shuttles out on court, knock them down and tap your phone: every set is timed, so you see how fast you move, whether you fade, and how it compares with last time.

Source: https://www.getgoodatbadminton.com/docs/shuttle-knockdown
Updated: 2026-10-29
Answers: How do I time my footwork? / How does Shuttle Knockdown work? / Where do I put the phone for Shuttle Knockdown? / What does random mean in Shuttle Knockdown? / What is fade in Shuttle Knockdown? / Why is set 1 slower in Shuttle Knockdown? / Can I pause Shuttle Knockdown? / How do I save a Shuttle Knockdown pattern? / Why doesn't my run compare with my old runs? / Is Shuttle Knockdown on Starter?

Shuttle Knockdown times your footwork. You stand shuttles up at spots on court, knock one down at each spot in a set, and tap the phone to end the set. Every set is timed. The footwork simulator and interval timer set your pace for you; Shuttle Knockdown measures how fast you go.

## Before you start

- You need **Pro** or **Coach**. Shuttle Knockdown is in the GGAB app only, under **Training → Tools**.
- Shuttles: enough to stand the same number at every spot. In Four corners the phone takes one corner, so 5 at each of the other three takes 15.
- Somewhere to put the phone on the floor, screen up, where you can tap it on the way past.

## Build the court

### Step 1: Pick a pattern

Open **Shuttle Knockdown**. Choose one of your patterns, a **starter pattern** to copy, or **New pattern** for an empty court.

The starters are Four corners, Six corners, Base + corners, Front–back and Side to side.

### Step 2: Place the phone and the spots

Put the phone on the map where it will sit on court, and a spot wherever you'll stand shuttles up.

- **Tap** the court to add a spot. **Tap a spot** to remove it.
- **Drag** the phone or a spot to move it.
- **The phone takes a spot's place.** Drop it on a spot and tapping it stands in for knocking that one down. In Four corners the phone is the front-left corner: tap, knock down the other three clockwise, tap again.
- **Snap to spots** puts spots and the phone on the named positions. The corners are where the singles sidelines meet the short service line and the doubles long service line, the mids sit halfway between, and Base is the middle. Turn it off to place either anywhere, the phone off court included.
- Spots are numbered in the order you add them, and that's the order you run them. **Reorder** renumbers them: tap the spots in the new order.

### Step 3: Set the run

| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| **Order** | **Pattern** runs the spots in their numbered order. **Random** means you choose: one shuttle from every spot each set, in any order. The app never tells you where to go. |
| **Shuttles at each spot** | How many shuttles stand at every spot. |
| **Shuttles per tap** | In Pattern, how many you knock down before tapping the phone. It can be fewer than the spots: with 4 spots and 2 per tap, sets alternate 1–2 then 3–4. |
| **Rest between sets** | Off runs straight on from each tap. With rest on, each rest ends with another 3, 2, 1, Go. |
| **Get ready** | Seconds to walk to the middle after **Start**. |
| **Log to training** | Adds the run to today's training. |

The line above **Start** shows what that adds up to, such as "15 shuttles · 5 sets of 3". If the shuttles don't divide evenly, it tells you how many the last set has.

## Run it

### Step 1: Start in the middle

Put the phone down, press **Start** and walk to the middle of the court. Three beeps count you in, 3, 2, 1, and a higher beep is **Go**. You don't need to watch the screen.

### Step 2: Knock down, then tap

From Go, knock down a shuttle at each spot in the set, come back to the phone and **tap anywhere on the screen**. The tap ends that set and starts the next one straight away.

In Pattern order the screen lights the spots for the set you're on. In Random it shows no order.

A second tap within one second is ignored, so a double tap or a stumble doesn't end a set early. **Undo last tap** puts a set back together if you tapped by mistake.

### Step 3: Pause or end early

**Pause** stops the clock. The set you were in isn't counted, because a time with a break in it isn't a time. Stand its shuttles back up, press **Resume**, walk to the middle, and that set starts again on its own 3, 2, 1, Go.

**End** finishes the run and keeps every set you completed.

## Read your results

- **Seconds per set, average** is the headline: lower is faster.
- **Vs last run** and **Vs your best** compare with your earlier runs of the same layout (see below).
- **Best set** and **Slowest set** are your quickest and slowest single sets.
- **Fade** compares the last third of your sets with the first third. A plus means you slowed down by the end.
- **Distance** and **Speed** add up the straight lines between your spots, so they're estimates, and they only show in Pattern order. A random route is yours, so the app can't know it.
- **Seconds per set** charts every set against your average. Point at a set (or tap it in the app) to read it.

Set 1 starts from the middle, but without rest every later set starts at the phone, so set 1 isn't a like-for-like start. It's outlined on the chart, marked **From the middle**, and left out of fade. The same goes for a set restarted after a pause. With rest on, every set starts from the middle, so they all count.

## Save and compare

On a new or starter layout, press **Save** and give it a name. After that the pattern saves itself as you change it: the header says **Saved**. Tap the name to rename it. In the patterns list, the **•••** menu on a pattern renames, duplicates or deletes it.

A run compares only with runs of the **same layout**: the same spots, phone, order and shuttles per tap. Changing the shuttles at each spot, the rest or the get-ready time keeps the comparison, so a 5-set and a 6-set run still compare on average per set.

Moving a spot or the phone, or changing the order or shuttles per tap, starts a fresh comparison. Your earlier runs aren't lost: they stay in Training, and the pattern's **Runs of this layout** card says how many were on the old layout.

Deleting a pattern keeps its runs in Training.

## Where your runs go

With **Log to training** on, each run is added to today's training session as a Drill, under the pattern's name, such as "Shuttle Knockdown: Four corners". If you have no session today, it starts one. Average seconds per set is tracked over time under **Training → Tests**, next to your beep test, and GGAB reads it when you ask about your speed.

## Troubleshooting

- **A tap didn't end the set.** It came within a second of the last tap or of Go, and was taken as a double tap. Tap again.
- **No sound.** Turn the volume up. The beeps play with the phone on silent.
- **My run says it's the first of this layout.** Something in the layout changed since your last run: a spot or the phone moved, or the order or shuttles per tap changed.
- **I can't open Shuttle Knockdown.** It's part of Pro. See [Starter and Pro](https://www.getgoodatbadminton.com/docs/starter-vs-pro).

## Related guides

- [Training tools](https://www.getgoodatbadminton.com/docs/training-tools)
- [The footwork simulator](https://www.getgoodatbadminton.com/docs/footwork-simulator)
- [Training](https://www.getgoodatbadminton.com/docs/training)