Form critique and distance help please

[Asian Style]

I'm throwing a Zombee. The flight was pretty much straight, maybe a slight turn to the right and finished slight left. Disc flew maybe 12-15 feet above ground the whole way. Even though it looks like I'm starting with a small hyzer, I intended to release it flat and it flew as I expected.

It only went about 265 feet, which is about what my max distance is on an 80% throw. If I try to do 100% power I just lose accuracy and it doesn't go much further. I can throw my putters and mids almost the same distance with similar accuracy, anywhere from 30ft or less. Besides shaping lines, my drivers don't really go any farther than I can throw my putter or mids.

I'm hoping someone can point out 2 or 3 things that I should be focusing on that is limiting my distance potential. Thank you for any feedback.

 

[sidewinder22]

You aren't using your hips. Easy to see in the followthrough, your rear knee finishes out and around instead of finishing behind/into the front knee straight and remaining balanced on the front leg.

You need to stay more upright in posture to brace yourself against the front side and stop/slow your spine from moving forward during the arm swing so your arm/disc releases forward faster. You want to keep the spine's rotation tighter(faster) and on the same axis throughout the throw.

 

[Asian Style]

Thanks, I think my hips are tight, so even though I think I am rotating them, I'm not getting much. I'll work on stretching them. Thanks for the videos, I haven't seen the 3rd one. I had a few questions if you don't mind.

To clarify, a big problem for me is that I'm not transferring my lateral weight shift and movement into rotational power?

I think I see what you mean with my spine. I watched some pro videos and through their motion, their spine barely moves at all until after the release whereas mine seems to go from leaning back to leaning forward. Is this what you mean?

My upper body shouldn't have much lateral movement then? It should all be in the hips?

I totally know what you mean by my rear leg not finishing in line with the rest of my body! I will definitely use that as a sign that I'm not rotating my hips deeply enough. Thank you!

In the 2nd video, he's braced the whole time, I always thought the weight shift was for momentum but it seems like it's more about getting your body into a braced position before you apply your rotation than anything else. If that's true, I think my timing is off. When should the disc start coming forward in my reachback? Should I be fully braced before it comes forward or is it natural for it to start moving forward, say to the middle of my chest before I'm fully braced?

You gave me some advice awhile back about changing my axis a little by leaning forward (towards the side) and getting my chest over the disc a little. When you say I should stay more upright in posture, can you clarify for me what my ideal posture/axis should be?

Thanks so much for the help! I think in order to get this right, I'll try taking some video of me applying what I hope is corrections to a stand still throw. That way I can really focus on turning the hips and keeping my spine on the same axis through the throw.

 

[sidewinder22]

Yes to everything, should feel more weight on the front leg before you begin to swing and hit max transfer just before the whip of the arm/disc. Upright posture is no leaning or bending the spine, it can be tilted forward but always balanced/centered between the feet like doing a squat/athletic stance.

 

[Asian Style]

Small update. I'm still recovering from pulling my side but I'm healed enough to start trying some things. It might not look like much has changed but my throw feels a little different. It does feel like I'm getting maybe 10-15 ft more distance and it feels like I'm straining less.

Things I'm "trying" to do in this video:

- Trying to stay more balanced and have a more centered posture. (I do feel some difference)
- Trying to brace more (See question below)
- Trying to turn my hips more but my hips are really tight, still working on stretching them.

Question about the shawn clement videos. So he shows how to brace (for a golf swing) but looking at slow motion pro drives, their hips aren't nearly as exaggerated as they would be in a golf swing. I think this might be part of my back problem. I think I was really trying to match the way shawn clement had his hips but in disc golf it seems like the hip position is more subtle because we have so much momentum to brace we would be off balance if we were over the front leg that much. Is this correct? The hip bracing is more subtle compared to a golf swing because our stance is wider? In the lead card driving EO2013 video (11 seconds), all the pros form a sharp reverse K at the point they are bracing it seems. Is this what I'm striving for when you say brace the hip hard? It seems like the bracing is meant to be a hard stop on the linear motion, like a car crashing into a wall, except we are using that force to power our rotation. I'm just trying to get a better idea of what I need to tell my body to do.

Thanks for any feedback.

 

[sidewinder22]

That's a little better in balance. Your stance is too wide though(restricted hips) and the rear foot spins out and around instead of leading the heel forward ahead the toes off the ground and finishing into/behind the front leg. You also begin your shoulder rotation ahead of the bracing.

The EO video is showing them throwing slightly downhill, so their upper bodies are tilted over more than a normal throw. The width of stance is about the same in golf or dg from a standstill, but in dg we use a more closed stance because it's a one-handed swing from the front side and need to release one arm straight. The bracing is stopping and clearing or redirecting the front side hip and keeping the same spine angle dynamically. If you watch Rory or Pagraig do the happy gilmore they use almost the same exact mechanics as dgers in the x-step. The stance widens with more forward momentum. You also need to remember that drills are exaggerations and points of emphasis that you must work into your throw.

 

[Asian Style]

Thank you for the feedback!

I'll work in shortening my stance. It feels like my momentum might pull me off balance if it's too narrow and it feels harder to brace? How wide should my stance be about?

Can you elaborate a little more on the rear foot? I'm having a hard to visualizing what my rear foot should look. I'm not sure how I lead the heel forward? Is this a symptom or the problem?

When you say I start my shoulder turn ahead of bracing, are we talking about when I start moving the disc forward from my reach back or when the disc is half way at my chest? Is the trick here just to try and delay my shoulder turn?

Thanks

 

[Asian Style]

Ok, I've been watching more slow motion videos carefully and I just noticed something! I'm amazed I didn't see this before. I noticed that the pros consistently have all their weight on the front foot and their rear foot has come up before the disc has even passed the middle of the chest. Does this have anything to do with what you are trying to get me to do? I imagine this is happening because they are bracing even harder than me and their timing is much better but are there other points to this I'm missing? Thanks for your help!

 

[sidewinder22]

Pretty much.