Hitting the reset button

[horsethief]

Live instruction and feedback by an outside viewer should help a ton. Tendonitis ain't a bitch it's a whore from hell and you might have subconscious opening of the fingers for killed snap going on.

There may be truth to this. I have a habit that creeps in from time to time of loosening my grip as I come into the power pocket.

Okay, there is definite truth to this. I cannot stop doing this. As soon as I start my pull, my hand loosens up a lot, especially my middle, ring, and pinkie fingers. I HAVE NO IDEA WHY I CAN"T STOP. I don't think it's directly tendinitis related. It's like an overcautious reaction to prevent strong-arming or something. I can't grip it loose enough to feel the hammer pound while being strong enough to keep the disc from slipping out before I have a chance to pinch hard.

I'm at a loss, I'm not sure how I can unlearn doing this.

I realize this is old, and maybe you've moved on, but here is my experience:
If you lose track of the weight of the disc anywhere along the path between your reachback and the hit, the chances are about 9999999:1 that you're going to not be gripping at the right time (eg: slipping). On the flip side, if you're in control of the weight the entire way along the path, it's very intuitive/instinctual of when to really clamp down. I like to think of it like fishing, when you're casting your line, you're in control of the weight the entire time -> you slowly bring the weight forward (under complete control), and it's quite intuitive on when to actually hit the gas and shoot the weight forward. If you just try to swing your fishing pole forward as fast as you can (from reachback to cast), your cast is going to be shit.

Anyways, i could be wrong, i'm no authority on the subject, but hopefully it helps

 

[inthedrift]

Live instruction and feedback by an outside viewer should help a ton. Tendonitis ain't a bitch it's a whore from hell and you might have subconscious opening of the fingers for killed snap going on.

There may be truth to this. I have a habit that creeps in from time to time of loosening my grip as I come into the power pocket.

Okay, there is definite truth to this. I cannot stop doing this. As soon as I start my pull, my hand loosens up a lot, especially my middle, ring, and pinkie fingers. I HAVE NO IDEA WHY I CAN"T STOP. I don't think it's directly tendinitis related. It's like an overcautious reaction to prevent strong-arming or something. I can't grip it loose enough to feel the hammer pound while being strong enough to keep the disc from slipping out before I have a chance to pinch hard.

I'm at a loss, I'm not sure how I can unlearn doing this.

I realize this is old, and maybe you've moved on, but here is my experience:
If you lose track of the weight of the disc anywhere along the path between your reachback and the hit, the chances are about 9999999:1 that you're going to not be gripping at the right time (eg: slipping). On the flip side, if you're in control of the weight the entire way along the path, it's very intuitive/instinctual of when to really clamp down. I like to think of it like fishing, when you're casting your line, you're in control of the weight the entire time -> you slowly bring the weight forward (under complete control), and it's quite intuitive on when to actually hit the gas and shoot the weight forward. If you just try to swing your fishing pole forward as fast as you can (from reachback to cast), your cast is going to be shit.

Anyways, i could be wrong, i'm no authority on the subject, but hopefully it helps

I like the comparison to casting a line

 

[BrotherDave]

Somehow I got rid of the "too relaxed" grip thing. That was horrible, I hope it stays dead and buried. I guess I took my mind off it and was focused on something else and it more or less resolved itself.

I think I've accomplished my goal of having >300' power on speed dial, i.e. consistency. The answer: Like Shakira, my hips don't lie. Actually they weren't talking at all b/c I wasn't using them hardly. I always wondered why Beto did that little kick off with his back foot in the "Driving with Master Beto" video so I started incorporating pushing off the back leg into the throw and holy crap is the difference night and day. I can actually get my body into my throw and it fixed a lot of timing issues. Before my train was trying to leave the station without an engine car. Hips are leading the shoulders, shoulders leading the elbow, accelerate hard, hold on tight and the disc consistently sails pretty nice now. Got a little distance boost (actually messing around with a Sword now) and hitting lines and gaps in the woods a lot more consistently (the latter being my chief objective).

So I'm pretty thrilled. I need to tinker with my weight shift and forcing my pivot better (naturally), especially on my heels and not short changing my follow through if I want to get some big boy distance but I'm pretty satisfied with where I am. With my little hands and wussy grip strength I'm not entertaining flights of 500' fancy but if I can breach 400' occasionally that'd be tits.

A massive thank you to JR for all his help and also to each of you that chimed in. I really do appreciate it.

 

[JR]

Grats. Legs are more powerful than arms and so are the hips so no wonder those help especially when their use is magnified with the arm acting as a lever.

 

[Beetard]

I am hitting the reset button too. This season I am learning to throw with my opposite hand.

It is going much better than I thought because I didn't previously spend years teaching myself screwed up positions and timing with my left hand.

In the past when I was trying to throw farther right handed, I took "acceleration" the wrong way and developed a bad habit of strong-arming and rushing my throws.

With leftie mode, I have dedicated myself to building my throw from the ground-up. I try to just start my throw with a good weight shift, try to start turning from the hip after that, and let my back, shoulders, arm, and then disc come through.

Around 1000 throws, and I now have over half of the distance leftie as I did righty.

The disc actually flies prettier left handed; seems to have more carry and penetration at the end of its flight instead of fizzling out.

It is funny how my right handed throws don't go as far as it seems like they should and my left handed throws go farther than they seem like they should.

 

[UncleBrother2001]

I'm doin the same thing beetard.

There is a local pitch and putt course near my house and most holes are very short 230ft and under. So I've been throwing my Comets left handed every chance I get. I must be doing something right because instead of turning and burning like a Comet would if you are throwing it wrong it's going straight with fade. Shoot even my Elite X one is going dead straight

 

[Beetard]

How's it goin' guys!?

Isn't it exciting getting better at throwing left-handed, Uncle Brother? I can't wait until I can drive some holes leftie!

I was at the field tossing a few today, trying to get it set in stone that the weight shift is what is starting my kinetic chain and that from there I open my hips. They were all controlled, low effort throws, and I had a few that bombed (at least for me) Will Shusterick's demonstration of weight shift really helped it click for me. Fast-forward to 3:40 for those who want to get to the point

Dan Beto actually taught it to me a while ago, but at the time I couldn't see that it was exactly where I needed to start and what I needed to master in order to improve my throw.

 

[masterbeato]

I see my name getting thrown around a lot around here! haha! I kind of disappeared for a while there I thought people forgot about me. Beetard, long time no see, or hear anything for that matter.

 

[JR]

The beast lives!!! How are you Dan? I hope your studies go well.

 

[ELItheICEman]

Well since Beto is showing his face here, I may as well ask something that's been bugging me lately.

Beto - if I remember correctly, your grip places the disc slightly above the seam of the hand, yes? (see http://discgolfreview.com/resources/articles/gripittoripit.shtml) Blake has said that the disc should be at or above the seam to help with nose angle; but I've noticed that when I put the disc at or above the seam my grip doesn't feel as strong as it does when the disc is just below the seam.

Do you experience the same difference in grip strength between these disc positions?

By the way, good to see you haven't forgotten about this place! Hope everything's going well.