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Pulling instead of throwing?

DiscChainBasket18

Double Eagle Member
Silver level trusted reviewer
Joined
Jul 27, 2008
Messages
1,501
Location
Hendersonville, NC
I'd always heard that you should pull your disc through & across (skimming) your chest. On my RHBH drives I feel like I am pulling the disc through instead of throwing it. As my arm pulls through I feel like I'm falling over backwards over my plant foot instead of pushing forward at release. I feel like I'm leaning back trying to get the disc pulled across my chest & this sets my balance back on my heels instead of forward on my toes. It's bad form & I need some of my DGCR peers highly respected opinions on how I can't fix it. Any pointers?
http://s282.photobucket.com/albums/kk270/jdubent08/misc DG/?action=view&current=AFdrives.flv
 
I'm not great at video critiques, but it looks like you're starting your pull too early. Instead of starting it when you plant your foot, start it just after you plant your foot. This normally causes griplock, but it looks like you're compensating by planting your foot way off to the right. Your chest should be over your plant foot at the pivot and through the pull. You can see how off balence you are after the hit. You should be walking in the same direction as the disc flight. Watch some videos of pros to see what I'm talking about. I find Timmy Gill, Walt Haney and Ken Climo to have the easiest to emulate, and correct forms. Guys like Steve Rico and Barry Schults do some non traditional things that are generally not recommended.

You're also leading with your upper body rather than with your knee and hips. Your shoulders and head should be the last thing to pull through after your knee, hips and elbow (in that order) first.

Timing wise it looks like you're strong arming the disc. You're slowing down when you should be accelerating the most (right after the hit). Starting off slower and not worrying about accelerating until the disc reaches your right pec is key.

As of how to fix all that, do this:

https://www.dgcoursereview.com/dgr/...2&t=9959&sid=68cb4d37f3cc138f8bec2be93cf8a24f

Working from the hit back like that will be the easiest way to fix your weight shift problems, but it will still take some time.
 
i tip my hat to masterbeato, its an excellent video tutorial, probably the best out there for people who are not complete beginners, really focusing on accelerating from the right peck out has been a great improvement.
 
man what a cool vid. been studying it for a couple hours now. i cant wait to try it. I knew I could trust the DGCR boys to come through with the goods.
 
It looks like you are mainly reaching back with your upper body. As you rotate through the hit your weight doesn't shift forward enough. If you keep the disc closer to your chest on the pull through and focus on shifting your weight forward, that should help.
 
As of how to fix all that, do this:

https://www.dgcoursereview.com/dgr/...2&t=9959&sid=68cb4d37f3cc138f8bec2be93cf8a24f

Working from the hit back like that will be the easiest way to fix your weight shift problems, but it will still take some time.

I watched this video this morning a few times. Went out today and played 2 rounds afterwards and immediately felt an improvement! understanding when to accelerate the disc and keeping my weight balanced farther forward helped alot. I turned over discs today that I don't usually, and could feel myself generating more power with less effort. Thanks for posting that link!
 
I agree. This video is really great at showing where the acceleration spot should really be hitting. Nice!
 
I agree. This video is really great at showing where the acceleration spot should really be hitting. Nice!

I am a You Tube disc golfing junkie and got to say this is by far the best driving video I have ever seen.
Thanks so much. :)
 
I'm certainly not a coach, but when I compare your video to pros with standard good form, I notice that they reach back much farther than you do, and their X-step is much deeper as well. A bigger reach back gives you more arc through which you can accelerate your arm. I agree with others, and the Beato video confirms it, that your arm stops accelerating, and might even be decelerating, before your release. I like to think of the disc as the lash of a whip. You can't make a whip crack unless the lash is moving its fastest at the moment you snap it. Another analogy might be chopping wood. You want the axe to be moving the fastest as it hits its target, which is actually out in front of your leading foot.

A ball golf swing works the same way. Tons of people let their clubhead ahead of their hands before impact (analogous here to the "hit"), and this causes premature deceleration. You won't hit the ball over 250 yards unless you can keep the clubhead behind your hands until after contact with the ball. I took a few lessons from a golf pro a couple of years ago, and he said the single best thing about my golf swing is how well I keep the clubhead back. My ball golf drives sometimes reach 300 yards because of it. He also teaches his students to hit the ball of their front foot. I could probably bore you with discussions about how baseball hitters hit the ball off their front foot, not between their legs, but I'm starting to ramble.

The long and the short of it is that your hit/snap/release should be out in front of your body, at the moment when your arm is moving its fastest. Accelerate through the release, not just up to it.

Now if I could only incorporate what I've learned from other sports into my own disc golf form.
 
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