I hope I don't regret this

[Midnightbiker]

Ok, my father took some video of me last week teeing off with his cell phone. I can't seem to get over 270ft, so please tell me what I am going wrong. I am they guy in the black shirt. That is my brother in the red:



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-akXeIpHgc

[mark12b]

i'm not too good at video critiques, so i'll let others say more, but the first thing that jumps out for me is that your hips don't open until well after the release. you need to think of the throw as more of an uncoiling motion, with the hips starting to face the target when the pull starts.

[WraithMe]

The main thing I see is that you are failing to utilize your hips for power. Your hips do not turn at all untill the disc is gone. Leading the throw with a powered hip turn could likley add 50' to your throw. There is a lot that happens during the pull, too much to think about while I throw but I'll give you my checklist that highlights the things that are critical for me.

Grip the disc tight but ensure my lower arm swings freely before I begin to throw.
Get my knees bent as I runup so that I can utilize my leg muscles.
(here is the x step and then plant)
Push off and lift my rear leg and then rotate my hips as fast as possible.
Pull through close to my chest.
Hard shoulder turn/arm pull.

I was getting about 330' without a pull close to my chest. Max D and golf D were basically the same.

Probably about the same but with more consistency once I brought the disc in close and moved the hit out infront more. Had some longer throws but not always.

Then I realized I wasn't using my hips, added a powered hip turn and saw a nice increase in consistent D to 360-380 on a golf line. Also, this change in mechanics really changed the way my disc flew and my Max D shots now have much more potential than my normal golf lines.

The other thing to consider is disc weight, for distance drivers I throw 168's or 169's. I think it's important to find a wieght that enables you to get good wrist action and have the disc actually fly more so than act like a projectile. Basically I would pick a wieght that is light enough for you to make the disc climb on it's own due to it's life properties without being nose up.

[Craig Smolin]

a simple fix in addition to thos above, would be to limit your arm movement during your runup. your arm seems to move all over the place and not keep any one "plane"

keep your arm "loose" but "firm" and in the same plane throughout your reach back

[Roy]

I'd say to shorten your run up. I'm not sure how long that hole was, but you took quite a run up. I dont start that far back when I throw 100% and that didnt look like a 100% type of hole.

[rehder]

I think you are doing the run-up and throw too fast, which doesnt allow you to focus on a good pull and strong finish. You look like a prime candidate who wold benefit a lot from the the right pec stand stille excersise. It will teach you a good pull.

[JR]

A lower stance by bending the knees more helps to kick harder with the left leg. That'll pivot you faster and build up momentum that helps in accelerating the hip twist. Both of those really add power to the throw. When you get power from the legs and hips your timing changes because everything happens faster.

Can you accelerate your arm 10-12" before the arm straightens faster than that? If not maybe hitting a boxing sack from 10-12" without moving anything else than the arm would help to get the feel for late acceleration. Once you get the straight punch down at full speed when hitting the bag changing to a RHBH throw mechanics for the last 12" brings the idea to fruition. Hopefully. With practice that should happen.

[JR]

Push off and lift my rear leg and then rotate my hips as fast as possible.

That's accuracy form. For max D the left leg should stay on the ground until after the disc leaves.

[masterbeato]

Rotate your body away from the target when you pull back.

Doing this you will get more rotational pull and power at the hit.

Your body is positioned in a manner to where your still physically able to never take your eyes off the target which is good for accuracy, but no good for distance.

Lead with your elbow first, that's very important. Punch your elbow out before you start rotating your body and that will keep the disc tighter to your body so you can accelerate faster. Bust through an imaginary board with your elbow.

Your using too much body by moving your body along with your arm on the pull through. Your starting your body rotation to early it should be Arm first, then body.

Rotate your back towards the target -

Lead with your elbow -

Watch baseball pitchers and focus on their elbows.

For max D the left leg should stay on the ground until after the disc leaves.

If you watch Coda Hatfield's footwork, his back leg is completely off the ground before he releases the disc. He line drives 500'+.

I tested this out and it appears that his form is rotation based and he has his footwork in such a way where he gets enough push forward in which he does not need his back leg on the ground when he releases.

[black udder]

Your using too much body by moving your body along with your arm on the pull through. Your starting your body rotation to early it should be Arm first, then body.

This is the only part I don't agree with... but from a purely theoretical based perspective.

If you start your rotation in the hips, then transfer to the body, then shoulders, then arm, it's not that the body starts to early, but that the timing is off between the body and the pull through. Perhaps the arm speed needs to increase?

In order to maximize the lower body power, it would seem you have to keep them in order or you would lose the power and speed you've built through the transfer of that power from the bottom up.

When you rotate the hips and body, your arm will be pulled along just be natural movement. This places your arm closer to the position where you want to pull as fast as you can through the finish. It allows your legs, hips, torso and shoulder to get the arm moving and provide you with a great rotational speed, you just have to take advantage of it and pull through fast enough to not be late.

The trick is in putting in the practice to get the timing right. You might need to slow down the body (or in Aaron's case the arm) to sync up with where you want your release.

I could be wrong, but this just makes all kind of sense when I think about what I'm trying to do.

[CJ1998]

I've not been able to test the idea that you would push your elbow out first, but I can see how it would work. It would cause some timing problems for me simply because I don't consciously attempt to do that. Who knows. Maybe I'm already doing it to some degree.

I went back and looked at the videos on this site of Jenkins, Climo, Brinster, and Kallstrom. It looks like in all cases, the elbow leads any sort of rotation, but not by much. It's easiest to spot in Kallstrom's throw. It's almost as though the elbow punch is a trigger for the rest of it.

[Midnightbiker]

Thanks for the info everyone. Its been driving me crazy that I can't throw more than 270ft. I have never had a lesson and am self taught. I have asked for help from some of the local pros, but nobody wants to take the time to help me out. Thanks for the info. I am heading out to try a few things.

[masterbeato]

I was talking about the upper body timing, nothing to do with the lower when I was talking about leading with the elbows.

[Beetard]

Look at Sunspot's video. I'd guess he gets 350-375. He reaches straight back and then pulls in a straight line with the disc passing close to his chest. Sunspot leads with his elbow. This is what leading with your elbow should look like.

You and your brother both kind of curl the disc around your body when reaching back and pulling through.

Once you get that nice, straight line pull, it's easy easy easy to break 300.

[black udder]

I was talking about the upper body timing, nothing to do with the lower when I was talking about leading with the elbows.

So are we talking about doing the same thing then? Not arguing, just hoping that what I'm thinking is what you're doing