Form check 1 month before first tournament

[mrosjnur]

Hi, I've only been playing for 9 months since june 2015. New to posting here, but have been lurking these forums for a while and wanted to get some feedback on where I'm at.

I've improved a lot the last 3 months. For Reference, here are my form back in november 2015:
Sideways and from behind.

Since then I've been working a lot on getting a good reach back, clean release, snap and follow through throwing putters from standstill 3-4 times a week for 2 months. Only recently I've been starting to get my hips into the throw and aligning my body better for the x-factor and shifting my weight into the brace starting from the ball of my back foot. I'm also trying to get my back foot more perpendicular to my line.

Some benchmarks: Back then I couldn't get past 300 feet with my fairways. I'm now getting classic aviars 260-290' max from a standstill. I throw my roc3s on a straight line up to 330' on a good rip (standstill and with x-step) and am getting my drivers averaging about 340-365 with x-step on flat to hyzer lines and have been hitting my record of 390-400 a couple times with my champ tern and star wraith on huge turnover shots and s-curves.


Here are some videos i shot today (somehow my form looks a lot better from behind IMO)

From behind with slow motion
Raw footage HD (no slow mo)

Sideways with slow motion
Raw footage HD (no slow mo)


My form is smoother, and more effortless than before, but I'm probably losing a lot of power still.

From behind, it looks like I'm planting to far out to the left and my disc goes more to the right, but it might be the angle of the camera. If it is not the angle, then I suspect some power is lost in the change of direction. I could probably also get more on my toes on my back foot.

From the side, it looks like I'm turning my body too much. It's also easy to se that my head is eager to turn and that probably makes my shoulders open too early, or too much, correct me if I'm wrong.

I think timing is something I need to work on, as well as getting my body in the right position at the right time. I find it hard to fully utilize the x-step, but I really want to push myself to get all the power from the back foot into the brace and let it unwind from there.
I think consistent 400'-420' is in my reach this season and maybe 450' next year. That is my goal at least.

Feedback is much appreciated. I'd love to get some pointers or drills that I can focus on improving. Feeling a bit lost on what to work on and how to do that. This causes my fieldwork to be a bit unstructured and I'd like to get more out of my sessions.

 

[sidewinder22]

You need to load your weight/balance more internally inside/centered in more athletic tilted posture and swing back more from the inside to outside. Your backswing is always outside your posture, the disc should swing back close your body as it passes your spine, then go wide and mirror that on the forward swing. You are also swaying your hips to the left side of the tee some.

 

[mrosjnur]

Thanks for pointing that out. It seems like such a small thing, but what you're suggesting just seems so obvious now that I look at it. I've been so focused on getting my hips to work, that I completely forgot my balance and posture going into the throw.

I think this picture illustrates what you're noticing.

It looks like when I'm reaching back and getting http://i.imgur.com/sqWTXMb.png?1 nto the brace, my hips and upper body gets into a kind of awkward position that can't load up much power going into the brace. I also looks like this position makes me reach my arm almost parrallell to my shoulders instead of perpendicular and in line of the throw. I'm just not balanced and postured like you say, and miss that tilted axis to brace and pivot around.

I'll work on those drills going forward.

 

[sidewinder22]

Yep, that's the top your backswing about to go into the transition move. In that position you should be in the door frame drill or tug of war, and turned further inside yourself and tilted. You can see in the pic below how loaded Brinster is with all his planes matching and perpendicular on a tilted spiral. Also note where your rear arm is compared, and how much more weight Brinster is shifting forward into his heel before even starting to swing the arm. Your shoulder/arm should swing back and forth more under your chin(to foot) like a pendulum/dingelarm.


When you swing forward(or backward) past your center, your body is in the way of allowing you swing through further before you extend your lower arm. In your forward swing you can see your arm/disc gets bunched up toward your body, and you have to swing around your body instead of swinging after your weight shift/hip clear. In the pic see how Brinster's chin is over his foot and elbow/disc and is compressing into the ground/weight on the front leg/braced, so he has this huge power pocket in the triangle to swing through opposite his center of mass/navel, but inside his athletic posture. You are standing up out of a braced tilt/compression(not nearly as much weight on the front leg), so you don't really have a completed power pocket to swing through. Your rear arm is also hanging back/not shifting your weight forward into a braced front side.

 

[mrosjnur]

Hi, reporting back with some progress. Been doing the drills and getting some wierd looks from the gf, but allready saw some improvement. Had a couple 390' feet throws already that just blew my mind, because it was so effortless. I even got a p2 340', so I see where my potential is.

I'm still guilty of actively reaching out of the power pocket (triangle) but I'm getting there.

Here are a 350 feet throw with a star wraith from yesterday as well as a picture of me vs Shusterick that illustrates that my rotation and backswing needs more work.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EsbH2u7p8G4

 

[lucasgg]

I've had dreams about my driving form. It was kind of odd, because they actually helped!

 

[Mocheez]

Just looking at your screen shot, it appears that you are dragging the disc behind you. Your hand should be on the side of the disc like Schusterick.

Also, look at Will's right knee compared to yours. His is pointing towards the camera while your is pointing off to the left. Seeing that, I can tell that Will's right hip will plant closed while yours will plant open.

 

[mrosjnur]

Hi, had a lot of progress lately. From consistent 310-360 feet, I'm now in the 350-400 consistently with 2-3 out of 10 throws reaching 395-405 with a slight tailwind. My understable plasic comes out on a slight hyzer and I finally see the discs beautiful flight as it flips up to stable, then turns a bit over in the high speed portion of the flight and comes back nicely at the end instead of burning to the ground.

I've been working the posture, buttwipe, doorframe, bottles/cans and armdingle drills every day. When I throw now, compared to two weeks ago, I feel like I'm not flinging the disc out anymore, but apply more force on the disc and ejecting it. I am pulling more inside my posture, getting my weight above the disc and I feel balanced when i brace and follow through.

Things I think I need to work on to reach 450: I am turning my head too much. My hips are still swaying a bit (i think), and my off-hand is following my hips instead of being a part of the rotation. Still not bending over as much as brinster does in the post above.

Here are some throws from today. Hopefully you can see some progress, but also give some insight in what to work more on.

 

[sidewinder22]

Yep, keep working your head/body/weightshift/brace and get your rear arm forward, stick your hand your in pocket if you have to. If you are throwing for distance you should be throwing out toward to the left, not throwing hooked(rounded) hyzers to the right. Don't be afraid to turn further back and reachback more behind you when throwing out to the left.

 

[Consult20]

Simon's clinic is really good too...

 

[mrosjnur]

Thanks for all help so far. I feel more progress in the last two weeks than the last 9 months. Probably watched those videoes a hundred times before, but with added focus and knowing what I need to work on, it's really helpful to rewatch and going "aha" when they talk about things like aligning the body and throwing with closed shoulders. It just makes perfect sense and I love working out how to apply everything to my form.

 

[mrosjnur]

Getting better and better. Saw a lot of improvement in timing after I changed my backswing to copying Sidewinder22s swing from the throws in the Grip/alignment video.

Max distance is now 430' on flat groud with tailwind. 390' headwind.

I'm still stuggling with keeping my shoulders closed or head down. In league yesterday, I missed my lines a lot to the right (because I'm looking after the disc or not turning my back fully to the throw). Working on that in the field atm.

Left arm is better than before, might be able to utilize it more to generate power.

Reachback is still a bit to much out i think. I noticed I'm pumping the disc forward in front of me and swinging right back instead of pumping more out in front of me and getting the disc more centered in the backswing viewed from behind if that makes sense. (My swing from front to back looks like this / while is should be more like this: \

Anything I missed and tips on improvements, drill etc that might get me to 450'?

Got two videos. I'm shooting between some trees in a headwind. Throws were not good, but my form is more important.

 

[sidewinder22]

Yeah, your weightshift needs to happen from behind like the first video below and Hogan Power Move, so you can swing from the inside. You should be turning back further/later as you plant. Your x-step/hop is also too long and rear foot not moving/leveraging you forward and following through to the right side of the tee. Your rear foot instead is spinning out and going around to the left side of the tee.

 

[mrosjnur]

Thanks, I was not aware of my foot spinning. Those throws I posted, I'm not concious of my back foot and not feeling much press from behind. I was more concerned about getting forward into the brace and perhaps that is why my hop is too long.

After working on those videos, should I feel more pressure from the back foot, like when throwing from a standstill and apply the same "load up" from behind in the run-up? I guess it should feel like the power is actively transfering from back to forward into the can-crush instead of just letting the momentum brace like in those throws?

 

[sidewinder22]

Thanks, I was not aware of my foot spinning. Those throws I posted, I'm not concious of my back foot and not feeling much press from behind. I was more concerned about getting forward into the brace and perhaps that is why my hop is too long.

After working on those videos, should I feel more pressure from the back foot, like when throwing from a standstill and apply the same "load up" from behind in the run-up? I guess it should feel like the power is actively transfering from back to forward into the can-crush instead of just letting the momentum brace like in those throws?

Rear foot spin out and hip sway/butt wipe is related, really all your issues are related to the way you shift your weight. Weight shift needs to happen from behind you in dynamic balance. Not from the front. Watch best downswing weightshift over and over and do exactly what he does in the video at the top of the backswing.

 

[mrosjnur]

In this video I do 4 "motions". Two thumb down motions, this is what I was doing wrong before.
If I understand you correctly, I'm aiming for more of the thumb up motions
Keep in mind I'm exaggerating the rear foot a bit to illustrate the point in, and the floor makes me slip a bit at the end. I feel much better pulling through with the rear foot leveraging forward and going as you say it should instead of hanging back and spinning out.

 

[mrosjnur]

Also I should not fall forward as I do on the floor but finish upright, and my back knee should get more inward and bent as it is leveraging forward, but floor makes me slip. Will practise with shoes tomorrow.

 

[sidewinder22]

Yep.

 

[mrosjnur]

Played two tournaments with rounds averaging at 945, way above expectations, but tournament play also compromised my form a bit, so time to do field work again.

Captured a few shots at a work day on a new course in Norway that is going to be a blast. Friend linked it to me through google drive, so I didn't put it on youtube, let me know if there are any video problems.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BwMucdwVs2-tVC1ZTWVIYk82c1E/view

00:00 Short downhill putter throw 168' to basket
00:30 slight hyzer with a thunderbird shot around 310' to basket
00:45 big hyzer same hole

Grip: I see my hand is not on the outside of the disc, I noticed that if i pre-curl my wrist just a tiny bit in the backswing and maintain it while I get the disc to the power pocket, I get much better release, power and the infamous rip out of the hand. Working on that.

Hips: I think the swaying is back but a bit better than before, and I still need to reach more back than out.

Head/shoulders: can be more closed, and on the big hyzer,

Upper body looks awkward on the big hyzer, not sure why, mabye my spine is twisted wrong or something for that kind of shot.

Anything else?

I'll probably shoot some max distance shots in a couple days.

 

[sidewinder22]

Need stride straighter from the rear foot and leading with the hip to give yourself room to swing.