unlearning bad habits in form

[ragmanXL]

First of all I apologize if a thread like this already exists but I have a quick question for anyone that cares to answer this and that is How do I go about unlearning all the bad habits that I have developed over the years in my form?

I have seen plenty of form videos and drills that Sidewinder and others have shared that have helped me tremendously but it seems like every time I go out for a round my form falls right back where it has been for years.

Until I joined DGCR I never really knew what or how proper form even was so now all the correct information on how to throw a disc properly is available to me but I was doing so many things wrong now I don't know where to start.

Thank You all in advance for any tips or help you can give me.

 

[azplaya25]

but it seems like every time I go out for a round my form falls right back where it has been for years.

I am on the same journey as you, rebuilding form after watching the beto drill and strong arming with terrible form for 8 years. I quoted this part because this was a difficult realization I made - if you are serious about fixing your form, you probably need to stop playing rounds for a while. I spent about 8 weeks in the field, filming my throw, posting in my form thread, getting advice from Sidewinder. Made tons of progress. Then I decided I was ready to play some golf. Went and played a few rounds and my results got worse and worse. Super frustrating after 8 weeks of field work every single day. When back to the field, turned on the camera, and I had basically unlearned everything and was back to strong arming off my back foot.

When you are doing form work, you need to not care where the disc goes and just focus on getting a feel for correct form. It is next to impossible to not care where the disc goes if you are standing on a tee pad. Unless its just a wide open hole with no lines you need to hit.

That said, field work every single day with no disc golf gets super lame after a while. I found myself burnt out and losing my passion for it, especially if it had been a few days between any major form breakthroughs. Soooo...it started playing a couple rounds a week and the only shot I threw were flicks with my putters, and putts inside the circle. I developed a nice little putter flick shot that I could put on a variety of lines out to about 150 feet. The rounds are quick, super fun, and I've learned a really useful scramble/approach shot. Doesn't mess with my form, and I get to work on my putting and just get out there and play some dg.

As far as where to start - hard to say, but I know for me, I started with the one leg drill, and keep going back to it. Learning out to throw off your front leg takes a really really long time and when my form breaks down, the first thing that happens is I start throwing off my back leg because it feels powerful and that's the way my body is used to doing it.

Best of luck - it's a long journey - just try to temper your expectations and enjoy the process, and make sure you are still having fun, which is why we all play this awesome game, right?

 

[sidewinder22]

The older you are, and/or longer you have played, the harder it is and longer and more will power it will take.

Keys for me were:

1. Working on the fundamentals of balance and posture. If your balance and posture are off you will have tension and slack/collapse in your body reacting to that out of balance condition which is death. You want to be relaxed, smooth, taut, and free wheeling.

2. Changing my philosophy of throwing/leveraging the disc like a hammer rather than a spinning a circular frisbee.

3. Training Mode vs Trusting Mode - Read "Golf is Not a Game of Perfect". As mentioned by azplayer to not care about the immediate results, but focus on working on the process to attain those results or goals.

4. Visualization and study.

5. Routine Address/Finish Position. https://www.dgcoursereview.com/forums/showthread.php?t=134167

Slow learning and the hand-speed fairy:
https://parkeddiscgolf.org/2017/11/15/slow-learning-and-the-hand-speed-fairy/

It is funny how this process works, I can't even attempt to throw with old strong arming habits that I unlearned, my brain won't let me do it.

 

[fish58320]

The above two responses are great.

I will add on that you need to be humble and realistic--film yourself, ask for feedback, and don't try to take shortcuts because they don't exist. You're trying to break something that's learned, and it's impossible to do all of that at once. Instead try to isolate certain parts, film again, ask again, and continue to treat this as a learning process.

 

[Alyjos]

I like to believe I've had success doing field work one day then playing a round in the next free spot. Reason being is that sometimes you find inspiration in a round you couldn't have elsewhere. It also gives me an opportunity to focus more on hitting specific lines while applying fundamentals in field work. It's quite a mental exercize.

I don't believe this will work if you don't have a goal you're trying to reach.

 

[azplaya25]

I like to believe I've had success doing field work one day then playing a round in the next free spot. Reason being is that sometimes you find inspiration in a round you couldn't have elsewhere. It also gives me an opportunity to focus more on hitting specific lines while applying fundamentals in field work. It's quite a mental exercize.

I don't believe this will work if you don't have a goal you're trying to reach.

I guess it kind of depends on where you are in the process. For me, I don't feel like I've established enough of a feel for proper form to trust that I will catch myself if I revert back to bad habits during the round. The last thing I want to do when trying to build new muscle memory is to go out there and spend a couple hours reinforcing bad form. I do like the idea of bringing your camera to a specific hole, and working on hitting a line, while filming yourself and making sure everything is tight with your form.