Think I figured out the grip slip!

[HyzerUniBomber]

No, not argumentative at all. I just wasn't quite sure what you were saying. Now I got you.

From the right pec, technically you're aiming the leading shoulder at the target. Some people will bring the trailing shoulder through to varying degrees at the right pec position.

Try it by keeping your right shoulder static, elbow out front, disc at right pec. You can pretty much touch the left shoulder to the disc and keep your leading shoulder aimed.

The easiest way IMO to work out timing though is not trying to turbo boost your extension of the forearm by adding shoulder opening.

Once you have dialed in a solid timing and know that you aren't over opening, adding that back in is worthy of some exploration. Certainly works for some guys.

 

[JCone]

Ok, I got it (for the most part). Here's where you're losing me: You can pretty much touch the left shoulder to the disc and keep your leading shoulder aimed.
I've never thought much about the left shoulder at all, other than trying to keep it level on a flat throw.

 

[HyzerUniBomber]

Ok, I got it (for the most part). Here's where you're losing me: You can pretty much touch the left shoulder to the disc and keep your leading shoulder aimed.
I've never thought much about the left shoulder at all, other than trying to keep it level on a flat throw.

Paul is an example of this, where Jeremy is more aimed shoulder. Since the shoulders aren't connected by solid bone, you can turn into the release angle to some degree with the upper body without taking the leading shoulder off the line.

 

[Shamis]

I think hyzerunibomber should put out his own disc golf magazine. It would sell many more issues that what is currently out there.

 

[slowplastic]

From the right pec, technically you're aiming the leading shoulder at the target. Some people will bring the trailing shoulder through to varying degrees at the right pec position.

Try it by keeping your right shoulder static, elbow out front, disc at right pec. You can pretty much touch the left shoulder to the disc and keep your leading shoulder aimed.

I discovered this, but in the opposite way, last weekend. Playing in the cold, having not-warm muscles, and throwing terribly. I realized the back of my left shoulder (RHBH) was getting sore/strained. I wasn't bringing it forward, and it was holding me back from opening up my right shoulder/getting a full arm swing. Once I consciously brought it forward a bit to allow a full follow through, my drives were more similar to normal. It's funny how I've never thought of doing that before. Just another thing now to put in my troubleshooting list when my drives aren't there that day.

 

[Mocheez]

I discovered this, but in the opposite way, last weekend. Playing in the cold, having not-warm muscles, and throwing terribly. I realized the back of my left shoulder (RHBH) was getting sore/strained. I wasn't bringing it forward, and it was holding me back from opening up my right shoulder/getting a full arm swing. Once I consciously brought it forward a bit to allow a full follow through, my drives were more similar to normal. It's funny how I've never thought of doing that before. Just another thing now to put in my troubleshooting list when my drives aren't there that day.

Bringing the left shoulder forward follows the same concept of what you do with your left hip during the weight shift and should happen at the same time. You are basically bracing the entire left side of your body to allow the right side to explode open at the hit.

 

[HyzerUniBomber]

I think hyzerunibomber should put out his own disc golf magazine. It would sell many more issues that what is currently out there.

Perhaps I'm cynical, but I really fear for the longevity of any magazine. I used to love Alpinist. It was a GORGEOUS climbing magazine. The photos were spectacular, very few advertisements and the paper was high super quality... and I think it cost like $10 or something. Needless to say it didn't take long to run out of money and I met one of the photo editors shortly after he was laid off in a dirt parking lot, where we were both living while climbing in the California Needles for a couple weeks.

Alpinist shut down for a while, eventually got bought by somebody else and slowly lost it's way to the point where I stopped subscribing.

I believe they've since gotten better, but I don't follow climbing like I used to.

They were always the high water mark for me - and I figured if somebody as high class as early Alpinist couldn't make a run of a magazine publication, then likely nobody can.

I really do love writing though - and that's why I started HeavyDisc.com. If any of you guys like writing or photography and want to contribute - you've all got an open invite to use it. I can setup accounts super easy and off ya go!

I discovered this, but in the opposite way, last weekend. Playing in the cold, having not-warm muscles, and throwing terribly. I realized the back of my left shoulder (RHBH) was getting sore/strained. I wasn't bringing it forward, and it was holding me back from opening up my right shoulder/getting a full arm swing. Once I consciously brought it forward a bit to allow a full follow through, my drives were more similar to normal. It's funny how I've never thought of doing that before. Just another thing now to put in my troubleshooting list when my drives aren't there that day.

There's so many of these little motions that add/subtract pressures into the system. The puzzle pieces are never ending.

 

[dekdo]

I'd say many players do grip full strength all the way when they don't know better. I remember a few years ago Staying loose to firm is the way to go until the power zone then hard. Looser for more distance, firmer for more accuracy.

Id say this is my biggest issue right now. I feel that my form has really improved.. but I am still stuck around the 450 mark, and I can tell that the main culprit is my timing and grip.

I know for a fact that I am gripping too much too early and that's what i really need to work on.

 

[JCone]

Wow

Holy smokes, this left shoulder issue never even entered into my head. I can see how movement not involved with the right side of my body, could be used to shift my weight and help me follow through. In messing with my shoulders while sitting at my desk, I can see where a flared-outward, behind my general torso, left shoulder could be leading to some problems.

Thanks.

 

[slowplastic]

Bringing the left shoulder forward follows the same concept of what you do with your left hip during the weight shift and should happen at the same time. You are basically bracing the entire left side of your body to allow the right side to explode open at the hit.

That sounds like a good/interesting way to think about it.

 

[zj1002]

I think hyzerunibomber should put out his own disc golf magazine. It would sell many more issues that what is currently out there.

Its all a DGR regurgitation that DGR got from Dave Dunnipace and other founding father technique junkies. I mean no offense by that statement HUB. Its cool to see someone blog about their lightbulb discoveries like DGR used to be used for. But this stuff has been in magazines before.

 

[zj1002]

For the guys who can throw pretty long, like 400+, are you clamping down with all fingers hard (pinch point between thumb/index, plus the remaining anchoring fingers that are into the rim), or are you focused mostly on the pinch point of index finger?

I focus on weight shift and being athletic through the hit before I ever focus on how hard I grip. Focusing on grip strength during the throw is a variable that adds a lot of torque. It can throw planes off pretty easy if timed wrong. But when its pure distance, I focus on extending everything forward through the pinch point of index/thumb. The disc jumps off the palm, and pivots around the pinch point. But it all comes back to being athletic first. That is what helps get the disc moving forward initially.

 

[HyzerUniBomber]

Its all a DGR regurgitation that DGR got from Dave Dunnipace and other founding father technique junkies. I mean no offense by that statement HUB. Its cool to see someone blog about their lightbulb discoveries like DGR used to be used for. But this stuff has been in magazines before.

None taken, but 95% of my knowledge came from here: DGCR Form/Analysis. That knowledge may have come originally from DGR and Dunnipace, but DGR was not really a part of my learning curve.

I wouldn't ever take credit for any of this, other than I have yet to find somebody who is as dense as I am that tried to explain it. As much I wish I could have understood what DGR was saying about this - I often left scratching my head.

I spent night after night on this forum, well past when I should have been asleep writing out these thoughts. It was honestly a group effort in many ways - that helped me figure out why things were working the way they were. And every day for months I would go to the field and try to feel the differences.

If something made sense, I wanted to share with these guys. They helped me, I wanted to help them or anybody else who might get something from it.

My whole thing is to try to explain it like I would have potentially understood it. For me, really simple is much easier than really complicated (or even a little complicated).

I honestly hope you didn't take any offense to my remark a while back about "welcome to form/analysis". I was just joking that we'll go around and around about the same topics/videos/etc - even if the same video we talked about 5 days prior. I hope it didn't come across as rude. I read your posts very carefully because I really appreciate what you have to say - and you've got great form. I use your youtube video all the time to point out good balance!

 

[zj1002]

Nah its all good. I have respect for folks that are willing to share thoughts like you do. It's not easy or simple. Takes a lot of time scratching your head. I've been there. And your do always credit your sources.

 

[TAFL]

Hell, I've been scratching my head for almost thirty years. I didn't throw backhand until about a year after I started playing disc golf. I'd always thrown frisbees underhand and began throwing golf discs the same way. So when I switched up, I asked the guys who got me started playing on how to do it.

Well, those answers didn't touch on the key elements. And my experiments over the years never garnered much insight, so I spent decades, literally, just muscling discs out. Now I'm too old and out of shape to rely on muscling chunks of plastic. That somebody else has taken instruction from lots of other people and publically pondered how to apply the knowledge has been extremely valuable. I'm rebuilding my drive completely and developing the timing slowly (so slowly), with the goal of being able to drive further than I ever have before with much less effort and little chance of messing up my creaky shoulder. (And better able to keep my balance. Falling is bad; I leave craters.)

 

[slowplastic]

I focus on weight shift and being athletic through the hit before I ever focus on how hard I grip. Focusing on grip strength during the throw is a variable that adds a lot of torque. It can throw planes off pretty easy if timed wrong. But when its pure distance, I focus on extending everything forward through the pinch point of index/thumb. The disc jumps off the palm, and pivots around the pinch point. But it all comes back to being athletic first. That is what helps get the disc moving forward initially.

Yeah I was thinking about the whole grip thing pretty hard a few weeks ago. Then I had a weekend where I was throwing really well, at the upper end of my distances consistently. The discs were staying in my hand longer...or at least felt like it through the extension. I mean I've felt that before and thrown well like that before, but this was after thinking about the grip thing. And it wasn't because I was gripping it harder or better...I was just in the right body positions so the disc stayed in my hand longer. What I was doing I don't know though because the last couple of weeks I've been throwing crappy! Stupid cold weather...