Do you manually bend your knees?

[Malawi]

Hi again,

Had some progress lately really trying to understand the concept of feeling it from ground up into the core out to a relaxed armed that is just slings around the body, atleast in some throws.

But i dont totally get the concept of staying balanced. I know that i should be on the balls of the feet but do you bend your knees aswell or do the knee bend come from lifting up your heels aswell as your waist? should you focus on bend knees and waist?

I think im crouching to much sometimes.. dont feels right in the xstep. Its like i get on my balls then putt butt out and then bend knees.

 

[sidewinder22]

Bend at the hips first - we want a Hinge motion pattern(dead lift, walking/running), this engages the posterior chain - hammy, glute, calf.

Bending at the knees first is a Squat motion pattern that we don't want, this disengages the posterior chain - hammy, glute, calf. You will feel this more in the quads, and most likely end up in spine extension - S-posture / anterior pelvic tilt / butt out.

There is nothing wrong with one heel being on the ground during x-step, this actually gives your ankle more stability. If you are standing still you want both heels on the ground and no knee bend. Only once you start going/falling into motion do you bend a knee or lift a heel.

 

[Malawi]

Bend at the hips first - we want a Hinge motion pattern(dead lift, walking/running), this engages the posterior chain - hammy, glute, calf.

Bending at the knees first is a Squat motion pattern that we don't want, this disengages the posterior chain - hammy, glute, calf. You will feel this more in the quads, and most likely end up in spine extension - S-posture / anterior pelvic tilt / butt out.

There is nothing wrong with one heel being on the ground during x-step, this actually gives your ankle more stability. If you are standing still you want both heels on the ground and no knee bend. Only once you start going/falling into motion do you bend a knee or lift a heel.

Alright got it. Just like in the pic i uploaded?
It wasnt so clear to bend the hip instead of waist when i tried to. trick was to putt your butt out abit keeping the back straight then hip auto bended, i can also feel my knees bend slightly.

But so if i got it right you should also focus bending the knees after you bend waist and get on your balls in a xstep or is that slightly knee bend enough?


Did a few throws today focusing on just that, and all of em was pretty consistent. Was easier to keep your upperbody tilted all the way through the shot, before sometimes my upperbody is straightening up in power pocket and release in a anny when trying to throw flat or hyzer.

 

[Brychanus]

Alright got it. Just like in the pic i uploaded?
It wasnt so clear to bend the hip instead of waist when i tried to. trick was to putt your butt out abit keeping the back straight then hip auto bended, i can also feel my knees bend slightly.

But so if i got it right you should also focus bending the knees after you bend waist and get on your balls in a xstep or is that slightly knee bend enough?

Might be able to help since I struggled with this. If I follow what you mean, I think I'd suggest focusing on the hip hinge. Bending at the waist will be much less powerful and risk tweaking soft tissues when you throw.

When you get it right, you should feel a little "stretchiness/bounciness" in the calf, hamstrings, and glutes even if your heels are still on the ground. When you get in "athletic" posture with the butt slightly out, your knees will probably naturally bend a little like in the golf stance - if they don't, you've overdone the "posterior" part and need to relax a bit. The trick is being in that athletic posture without letting that posterior chain go slack/load too much anterior.

If you get stuck trying to do this, the posterior chain is well-engaged by a straight-leg deadlift, but in golf/disc golf, you want that natural loose posture loading that chain rather than the more extreme posture that the deadlift puts you in. I actually did straight-leg deadlifts first to figure out which muscles should take the load, then settled into the more athletic posture for throwing. I found that it is really easy to "cheat" which muscles take the load if you're not used to it, so it might take some practice depending on your background/body awareness.

When you take steps in that posture with the posterior chain engaged, like seabas22 Hammer X-Step, you should feel like your legs are a bit springy/resisting the ground when you walk ("pogo" legs). That's part of how you get fast force transfer from the ground/legs into the throw. It might be much easier to feel if you use a hammer on the heavier side (a 3lb mallet triggered the right loading for me) or something else that weighs a few pounds.

 

[ru4por]

I laud you all for continuing to seek improvement.

But, dang.............I really need a pair of those automatic bending knees.

 

[Malawi]

Might be able to help since I struggled with this. If I follow what you mean, I think I'd suggest focusing on the hip hinge. Bending at the waist will be much less powerful and risk tweaking soft tissues when you throw.

When you get it right, you should feel a little "stretchiness/bounciness" in the calf, hamstrings, and glutes even if your heels are still on the ground. When you get in "athletic" posture with the butt slightly out, your knees will probably naturally bend a little like in the golf stance - if they don't, you've overdone the "posterior" part and need to relax a bit. The trick is being in that athletic posture without letting that posterior chain go slack/load too much anterior.

If you get stuck trying to do this, the posterior chain is well-engaged by a straight-leg deadlift, but in golf/disc golf, you want that natural loose posture loading that chain rather than the more extreme posture that the deadlift puts you in. I actually did straight-leg deadlifts first to figure out which muscles should take the load, then settled into the more athletic posture for throwing. I found that it is really easy to "cheat" which muscles take the load if you're not used to it, so it might take some practice depending on your background/body awareness.

When you take steps in that posture with the posterior chain engaged, like seabas22 Hammer X-Step, you should feel like your legs are a bit springy/resisting the ground when you walk ("pogo" legs). That's part of how you get fast force transfer from the ground/legs into the throw. It might be much easier to feel if you use a hammer on the heavier side (a 3lb mallet triggered the right loading for me) or something else that weighs a few pounds.

Cheers for details! i perfectly understand what you're saying, tho i had to use google translate on some of the body parts haha.

Its really intresting how much you learn about the body trying to throw better. 1 year ago i didnt know anything how our body actully works to generate power.

 

[Brychanus]

I hear ya, that's part of why I keep coming back for more - I used to think about my body as a big meat bag that carries my head around between meetings. That's true, but it does a lot of other neat stuff too!

It's crazy how much I've learned about anatomy just trying to get my body to move better.

 

[BogeyNoMore]

man·u·al·ly
/ˈmanyə(wə)lē/
adverb

using the hands.
"the rescuers manually hauled each climber to safety"

• by hand rather than automatically or electronically.
"manually operated gates"

So to answer the OP:
No, I don't use my hands to bend my knees. :|

 

[Malawi]

So to answer the OP:
No, I don't use my hands to bend my knees. :|

Lol, my english... should have asked instead if you actully focus extra on bending your knees or if the bending from tilting hips and get balanced is enough but that would had made a pretty long title.

 

[sidewinder22]

There has to be a purpose and sync to bending the knee or knees. Ever stand on a kiddie swing set and pump yourself?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HssJQD1rRo&t=2m30s

 

[BogeyNoMore]

Lol, my english... should have asked instead if you actully focus extra on bending your knees or if the bending from tilting hips and get balanced is enough but that would had made a pretty long title.

It's all good. Your English is far better than my insert any other language here.

It's nice to see DGCR gaining members in other parts of the world. I often forget there are quite a few people who post on these forums, for whom English is a 2nd (or maybe even a 3rd) language, and will try to keep that in mind.

 

[ohtobediscing]

B. B. Rodriguez does mine for me.