Humbly request critique please

[Nine1524]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFtdb_pR ... ata_player

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocIwR_7L ... ata_player

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFtdb_pRPUA&feature=youtube_gdata_player[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocIwR_7LUl4&feature=youtube_gdata_player[/youtube]

Hello forum! Just got back into disc golf last week after about three years. I never learned any proper technique before...just bought a disc with some other virgin friends some years back and went out and started hucking them as hard as my arm would allow lol.

Now I am immersing myself in youtube clinics and this forum with a goal to learn the game and develope legit technique. Learned more in the last few days than the last 5 years lol.

My first and only disc I've ever owned is a Champion Eagle. The videos above are my first attempt since discovering this site three days ago. I've tried incorporating what I've read/seen so far; changed my grip so all four fingertips are against inside rim, read about x-step approach, reaching back with disc on approach, bringing disc straight across chest as opposed to arching it out and around/away from body, not releasing disc but letting it "rip" from fingers, whipping my arm with body torque as opposed to using mostly arm strength. I didn't know any of these before so admittedly I tried changing a lot of my bad habits all at once.

How am I doing so far? My flight has turned from being a straight line drive flight with dropping left at the end to a fairly low elevation s-curve or flex shot...still learning the differences as I've taken in a LOT of new lingo in the last few days. My gps on my phone was showing my drives ranging from 200' to 320', with two around 389' and one 530'....soooo I know with that figure that obviously I can't quite trust the readings as it was nowhere near 500' lol, I wish

About 20% of my drives would break right and almost die into a roller sometimes.

Your guidance and advice would be greatly appreciated and an advanced thank you! Its really great you all take so much time to lend a hand. I will pay forward all knowledge I can too

[Nine1524]

Also, sorry for the short video, I know they aren't the greatest.

I will try and get better video tomorrow maybe, weather permitting. Let me know if there is a certain way or angle you'd like to see to give you a better view if needed. Thanks again!

[JR]

Welcome to the addiction Your final step AKA plant step should not be flat footed. You need to pivot around to relieve the stress of running and throwing. It also gives you more power if you get the heel up or the ball of the foot up during the pivot. For a flat throw you want to plant the final step about on the line on which you are running on. In the second video your right foot was too far to the left. That made you lean toward the right tilting the disc anhyzer. That is for a backhand throw clockwise. The final angle of the disc is influenced by other motions. You want to align every body part and motion the same so that your legs won't fight the torso and the arm. The more everything fires in the same direction the longer the throw and the fewer error sources there are the fewer the variations will be.

You start the arm motion fast and don't accelerate that much. Try staying loose until the disc is by the right pec and them slam on the gas. See if the feeling and flight is different. The key is to stay as loose as possible using the arm as a whip and a lever and most of all trying to move the arm fastfastfast.

You should follow through that is step through the shot with the left leg after the pivot of the final step.

[Nine1524]

Thanks for taking the time to view and reply, JR! I appreciate it. Sorry it took me so long to get back and respond.

I have tried integrating your advice into my drive and think my way through each approach step by step. The hardest for me so far has been a good full pivot on my last step. I really have to focus on doing it as its not yet burned into my muscle memory.

I have since added a new disc to my playing for the first time ever. Picked up an Innova Star Katana and have really been making it sail. My drives are reliably further now...thanks mostly to technique...not saying its all the disc.

[keltik]

[JR]

At this point i wouldn't change anything else than the plant step distance because it will change timing. You raise your right leg toward the target from the hip joint. That brings an extra foot to the plant step length. Cutting that will make it way easier to pivot around because you're basically doing a spagat and thinking of the physics of it should be easy to see why ice skaters doing a pirouette spin faster when they have the legs closer to each other. On top of that the hip joint is basically stuck and opposing free rotation when the step length is that long.

I wouldn't reach back that far with the shoulder line in any other throw than max D efforts. It brings a lot of inconsistency to the throw. Even though it's nice to let 'er fly actual score improvements come more from accuracy and repeatability=control.