X Step Driving Critique

[JoshV]

Here is a video of my drive that I've been looking over for the last while. The few things I have realized based on this on my own are:

* Don't grab the disc with my trailing hand, keep it back to provide more swing.
* My X Step is useless right now as I am not pivoting my body. My heel/butt should face my target on the first step and then pivot out with my arm following to provide more power.
* Keep the disc level on my back swing, I seem to flare it up for no reason.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYp0djqHttU

[JR]

Those and you're weight back. The heart should be as close to the target as the right knee when the disc leaves the fingers. Your x step moving direction is for an anny -where you trying those? A flat release should start at rear center and end up at front center (excuse me is it centre in Canada?) of the tee with the right leg of the plant step landing on the center line of the tee or a couple of inches right of it. The more right you plant the more hyzer your body is tilted and the more repeatable the angles are gonna be. As long as you align everything the same. It's not just the disc angle in the hand and arm swing line that determines the angle the disc is flying at. The arm acceleration optimum varies from person to person according to their current muscle speed and power and it's gonna change along the career. Check out what happens if you stay loose until the rear of the disc is by the right pec or even later.

Your wrist didn't stay down. It raised above neutral which is way bad. Did the discs shoot up? Well I looked at the first one more closely so I'm not sure if the second drive from the same. The wrist needs to stay down and may require the effort of wrestling to keep down if you want to get extreme nose down.

Does the left hand in front of the face for most of the throw distract you? It is dead weight like an anchor being dragged around. If you could move it during the throw so that the pivot isn't disturbed you would generate more power. And make everything happen faster so you also would likely need to change timing and aiming.

[JoshV]

Those and you're weight back. The heart should be as close to the target as the right knee when the disc leaves the fingers. Your x step moving direction is for an anny -where you trying those? A flat release should start at rear center and end up at front center (excuse me is it centre in Canada?) of the tee with the right leg of the plant step landing on the center line of the tee or a couple of inches right of it. The more right you plant the more hyzer your body is tilted and the more repeatable the angles are gonna be.

Ah - very good. I usually go back right to front left. Will change that.

Your wrist didn't stay down. It raised above neutral which is way bad. Did the discs shoot up? Well I looked at the first one more closely so I'm not sure if the second drive from the same. The wrist needs to stay down and may require the effort of wrestling to keep down if you want to get extreme nose down.

Yes actually, I have that problem alot. I have had a few drives where I must have had my wrist staying down and discs were going on a completely different line, I'd like to keep it at that. Good tip!

Does the left hand in front of the face for most of the throw distract you? It is dead weight like an anchor being dragged around. If you could move it during the throw so that the pivot isn't disturbed you would generate more power. And make everything happen faster so you also would likely need to change timing and aiming.

Nah, It's usually off to the left not distracting, but I'm sure I'm losing power.

[JR]

Regarding keeping the wrist down have you tried raising the rear of the disc from the seam of the hand to a little up on the base of the thumb? And not pushing the wrist all the way down at the beginning of the throw and really pushing down somewhere during the elbow straightening. Also you should get help from keeping the muscles as loose as possible in the arm to the right pec position to facilitate the wrist staying down. The tighter the muscles in the forearm the more they are gonna pull the hand up.

[JoshV]

Update from tonight:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxC_1GMRU30

Still getting a big of fade left at the end but quite an improvement overall.

[JR]

You try too hard with the legs. The hardest effort you have there is the initial push with the left leg in the first step. The leg work should accelerate toward the end. You look like you try to jump distance without a run up. That tilts you left at the waist because you lost balance. That is exacerbated by planting the final step with the right leg a little left of the line you're running on=anhyzer tilt from the leg up. A little shorter x step would help in maintaining balance. Christian Sandström is the world distance record holder and he's making an instructional DVD. The promo had a piece where he said that the final step should be a little wider than the shoulders and the follow through step should be equally long and equally rotating. So at the end of the throw you should stand still with the chest facing 90 degrees right of the target.

You also strong arm the throw. Try to stay loose and mellow later and later in the arm swing before accelerating to see which starting point gives you the best distance. When the disc leaves the fingers the left knee ain't straight. That's lost power. Straightening the knee would also help you to shift your weight forward. Limiting the height of the throws and preventing stalls or at least lessening the adverse effects.

One hand on the disc and getting the disc close to the body would create more speed and spin on the disc. A couple of local far throwers here insist that the way you turn the torso generates more power. That's counter to my personal experience and standard DGR advice but people are different and they are way more muscular than I am so the situation may reverse with added athletic ability. The usual DGR advice is to pull the disc close to the right pec. You should try both ways to see which yields the best distance for you. Acceleration dominates in both ways and if one is good and the other one isn't it doesn't necessarily mean that you wouldn't get more D eventually with the other method that works worse for now. That's why you should periodically check if the situation reverses.

You get virtually no hip twist to the right. That's the second most powerful power generator in a throw after the legs. That deserves attention. The torso should face right of the knees and the shoulders should face right of the navel pointing direction.