A training or exercise apparatus may have a base and an adjacent movable armature or frame that carries a riding member, or shuttle, or carrier. The carrier has an engagement interface with an element of sporting or exercise equipment. The sporting or exercise equipment is engaged by the user, typically by being grasped. The apparatus defines a physical or virtual schedule describing an arc for a swing in the particular activity. The apparatus may include a manual or electronic means of imposing resistance to the motion. This resistance may be adjustable, and may be programmable as a function of one or both of position and speed. The apparatus may include an array of sensors such as may be used to determine the pre-existing stroke, and such as may be monitored during training to assess progress. The apparatus may be operated passively, or it may be operated interactively in a manner in which real-time feedback causes the apparatus to adjust resistance to the motion.

A composite material body (10) includes a first material layer (20) and a second material layer (30) overlapping the first material layer (20). The first material layer (20) and the second material layer (30) are wound to form a flexible and circular rod. Impact absorption is effectively improved and impact resisting strength is enhanced because energy-absorber or damping material or its composition is attached into the composite material body (10). Technical characteristics, effects and objects of this invention are achieved thereby.

Training equipment includes a hollow shaft having a sidewall defining an internal cavity and at least one polymer material filling at least a portion of the internal cavity. The polymer material may fill the entire internal cavity of the hollow shaft. The polymer material may be a visco-elastic polymer material or polyurethane. A spacer or a filler may fill at least a portion of the internal cavity. A method of making weighted training equipment with a hollow shaft having a sidewall defining an internal cavity may include injecting a curable composition into at least a portion of the internal cavity. The method may further include curing the curable composition into a polymer material.

Methods, apparatus and kits for modifying natural feathers that are used in sporting goods that result in long lasting feathers with increased mechanical stability, reliability and durability as well as improved flight consistency are disclosed. Some of the sporting goods that use natural feathers are badminton shuttlecocks, arrow fletchings, and darts. The disclosed methods consist of controlled treatment of feather shuttlecocks with crosslinking agents to crosslink the keratin protein present on the natural feathers of the shuttlecock.

A sports racquet and removable wrist strap system may include a head, a handle coupled to the head, a flexible tether extending from an end of the handle, a wrist strap, and a wrist strap connector releasably connecting the wrist strap to the flexible tether. The wrist strap connector includes a collar and an insert. The collar is connected to one of the wrist strap and the flexible tether and has an interior having a side opening and a side slot extending from the side opening. The insert is connected to the other of the wrist strap and the flexible tether. The insert is insertable into the interior through the side opening while portions of the wrist strap or the flexible tether are insertable into the interior through the side slot.

A flexible net system is provided that includes a net having a net first end and a net second end, a net top portion, and a net bottom portion. The system further including a pair of support bases including a first support base and a second support base, each support base including a base bottom portion, a support portion extending upwards from the base bottom portion, the support portion engaging and pivotably securing a control arm thereto, and a base strap having a base strap first end secured to the support portion and a base strap second end secured to the net bottom portion. The system further including a first net support pole and a second net support pole, wherein the first net support pole and the second net support pole are resiliently bendable and coupled between the net and respective support bases, and a plurality primary support ropes.

Structures with racket performance varied according to the configurations of cylindrical parts can be easily used. A grommet (25-28) includes a cylindrical part (32) which is mounted pierced through a through hole (23) formed in a frame (20) of a racket (10) and through which a string (21) passes. The string is extended in a tensioned state on the frame so as to form front and back faces as hitting faces (22). The cylindrical part includes a first formation section (35) forming both sides of a central axis position (C) of the cylindrical part and a second formation section (36) rotationally shifted with reference to the central axis position by 90 degrees relative to the first formation section and forming both sides of the central axis position. One of the first and second formation sections is disposed on both sides in a front/back direction. The first and second formation sections each have a different rigidity.

An artificial shuttlecock, a feather and a preparation method thereof are provided. The feather includes a connecting portion, a first portion, a second portion and a concave. The first portion and the second portion are disposed on the opposite sides of the connecting portion. The concave is located at an outer edge of the second portion. The concave is formed by the following steps of: defining an overlapped outline, which is the outline of the adjacent feather overlapping on the second portion; defining a reference point, which is a point where the overlapped outline is closest to the connecting portion; defining a shifting reference line, which passes through the reference point and is parallel to the connecting portion; defining a reference outline, which is located outside the shifting reference line; and cutting the reference outline to form the concave.

Provided is an analysis apparatus including an acquisition unit that acquires vibration data showing a vibration generated in a first object by having a second object come into contact with a first position on the first object, a first analysis processing unit that specifies the first position by comparing a vibration characteristic shown by the vibration data, and a vibration characteristic defined for each position where the second object may come into contact with the first object, and a second analysis processing unit that estimates a velocity after the contact of the second object based on a velocity of the first object and the first position.

A piece of sports equipment includes a handle, a head attached to the handle, and at least one dead blow mechanism. The at least one dead blow mechanism includes a chamber and a movable portion disposed within the chamber. The chamber and the movable portion each include a similar cross sectional shape.