Feel & Direction of pull and rotation.

[bfowler]

I'm always working on my throw and technique and I've found a few more things that seem to make a difference.

1. Everyone says you pull and throw the disc down an imaginary line to your side. I've always done that. But when I do upshot or fairway shots my throw are a totally different feel and have much more accuracy.

I'll start pull the same with my hand parallel to me on the other side of the disc. When my hand starts to turn the disc I pull to the right and snap hard. I don't fling it forward like I used to.

You'll know you're doing it right if your accuracy improves and if it's much easier to follow through all the way around your body. That because I'm starting my snap much later because I'm thinking of pulling to the right. I can't pull right until my arm get further out. My old way I started my late acceleration just as it passed my chest.

Feels much more like a ballerina spin with power.

2. The second thing is I found to focus on turning my chest more inline with my hips. My first start of my hip turn pulls my disc from reach back to right before or at my left pec. Hip turn start, then pulls shouders which pulls disc into my left pec. This also where I shift my weight forward from the toe of my plant food to my heel. I then turn/spin on my front heel (and twish/push with my back toe) and turn my whole torso towards the basket. My hips, shoulders, forearm, hand, disc.

My forearm will whip out faster and when it gets to almost the end of my arm I smoothing snap my wrist/hand/forearm to the right.

It's not quite as 1, 2, 3 as I'm writing it as some turns overlap the next one to create that kinetic chain.

Before I was letting my hand get out to far in front of my shoulder rotation and relying on my hand to pull everything into my follow through. I'd never get a good follow through. My hand always wanted to stop 90 degrees or even less from the basket instead of a full rotation to 180 degrees from the basket.

Now my hips/core/torso/shoulders are pulling my hand around.

Hope all that makes some kind of sense.

 

[FriedInTheDesert]

On the reach back, are your shoulders turning 90 degrees or more? When I watch top players on youtube I noticed their shoulders don't get perpendicular to the target line.

Will has a video where he teaches the full throw. He turns his shoulders more than 90 degrees on the reach back. I've seen multiple throws of him not getting to 90 degrees when he's playing.

I don't understand how these guys can bomb it so far without a full shoulder coil.

 

[bfowler]

Sometimes.

The complete turn back of your shoulders can add some distance but it's more about timing at the end of your throw.

When you hand goes from the opposite side (away from you) of your disc around the front and to the side and snaps out of your hand is what is most responsible for distance.

The disc increases greatly in speed over a very small period of time at the end of your throw. This is called the hit or snap.

I've seen pros with huge shoulder rotations and I've seen guys who seen to almost not rotate their shoulders at all.

 

[FriedInTheDesert]

I'm fascinated by the similarities between a ball golf swing and a disc golf swing.

I'm not exactly sure what happens during "the hit" but I know where it should happen. I was basically turning past the hit (which is coming over the top in ball golf, one of the most common flaws). When I focus on where the hit should take place I get much better results.

Also, if I stepped on the gas too early in the swing it would spoil the results. Sounds just like the slow to fast advice.

I loved to teach half swings with about 50%-75% effort to learn the quickest. It's the smallest swing you can make while still getting a full wrist hinge. This is similar to the right pec drill.

 

[JedV]

Thanks bfowler for sharing your insights. These threads are always interesting to me. Keep em coming!