Form critique please

[davidh1]

Hi Forum,

I've been playing discgolf for 2 years now. I've spend hours reading this forum and tried to apply all the advices. I think I started to feel the whip and snap and I can see it on my distance. However my accuracy and consistency is not great. Well, it sucks. Most of the time I'm not hitting my lines and throw right, up and left, even into the ground.
Could you please help me to start correcting my form? What are the biggest issues you can see?

I made couple of videos, standstill, x-step and from behind, throwing straight putter.
https://youtu.be/q9vGm86vBTg
https://youtu.be/fTkF2WCygSk
https://youtu.be/nPqIJbtcO4E

I will appreciate any feedback. Thank you.

 

[bsammons]

Hi Forum,

I've been playing discgolf for 2 years now. I've spend hours reading this forum and tried to apply all the advices. I think I started to feel the whip and snap and I can see it on my distance. However my accuracy and consistency is not great. Well, it sucks. Most of the time I'm not hitting my lines and throw right, up and left, even into the ground.
Could you please help me to start correcting my form? What are the biggest issues you can see?

I made couple of videos, standstill, x-step and from behind, throwing straight putter.
https://youtu.be/q9vGm86vBTg
https://youtu.be/fTkF2WCygSk
https://youtu.be/nPqIJbtcO4E

I will appreciate any feedback. Thank you.

You're rotating into your plant/brace instead of using it to create your power. Think of planting into the ground, then throwing, instead of trying to spin really fast off of your back leg. Try in your head "one, two, plant, throw" for right leg, left leg, right leg, throw. Your brace/plant leg starts the throw, and you use it to anchor your body into the ground in order to begin the swing.

 

[sidewinder22]

Your shoulder should be closed to release the lower arm/disc targetward. Your elbow is to the right of your shoulder/wide open, so your lower arm/disc should be going 90 degrees to the right or possibly even backwards behind the tee if you actually held on to the hit. Release your elbow/disc more out to the left, instead of pulling your elbow around/in to the right.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5xfv9jPqZs#t=8m26s

Your stance is too narrow in your standstill, either need to start wider or take a small step. Should be more relaxed, start swing slow and build acceleration. You are trying to throw too hard and your disc is moving around wildly. Slow down and pay attention to how you swing the disc during the throw, smooth swing with disc on plane following the elbow.

Your x-step is planting your front foot wide open. I would forgo the x-step and work on the fundamentals from standstill.

 

[davidh1]

Try in your head "one, two, plant, throw" for right leg, left leg, right leg, throw. Your brace/plant leg starts the throw

So this is the same idea as in elephant walk drill, right? First plant, then swing. I will work on this one. Thank you!

 

[davidh1]

Thank you SW22. I got your point with too open shoulder, it's so obvious from the screenshot you posted - I will focus on this one.

 

[bsammons]

So this is the same idea as in elephant walk drill, right? First plant, then swing. I will work on this one. Thank you!

Correct. Elephant walk is great for feeling the connection between arm and lower body. It can be tough to get the hang of at first, but it should feel like a connected swing throughout the whole body. It's easier to use a heavy object like a hammer to feel it initially, the body is much better at using bigger muscles/being more efficient when swinging something heavy vs a 175g disc.

 

[davidh1]

OK, in todays fieldwork I focused on being relaxed and keeping the upper arm to shoulder angle more closed, and planting before throwing:
https://youtu.be/goQNI9OkMi8
I forgot about the stance width, as SW22 mentioned, so this is probably still too narrow? Why is the wider stance better? This width feels to me quite natural.

I have also tried to exaggerate the separation between plant and throw:
https://youtu.be/td3le_l6K6o
but I'm not sure if this is any good. It seems to me that I try to keep the disc in the full reach-back position while planting the front leg at the same time, which leads to bending the upper body to the left.

 

[bsammons]

OK, in todays fieldwork I focused on being relaxed and keeping the upper arm to shoulder angle more closed, and planting before throwing:
https://youtu.be/goQNI9OkMi8
I forgot about the stance width, as SW22 mentioned, so this is probably still too narrow? Why is the wider stance better? This width feels to me quite natural.

I have also tried to exaggerate the separation between plant and throw:
https://youtu.be/td3le_l6K6o
but I'm not sure if this is any good. It seems to me that I try to keep the disc in the full reach-back position while planting the front leg at the same time, which leads to bending the upper body to the left.

You're still rotating into the plant. Forget for a bit about rotating. You're swinging your lower body into the right leg and then throwing forward. The throw should feel almost backwards/sideways instead of directly forward. Think of walking - you don't start moving your left leg forward until your right leg is planted and anchored into the ground. Likewise, your rear leg, hip, arm, etc don't start swinging forward until you're braved against the ground. Don't swing your hips forward into the plant. Plant, and allow your body to fall into place as you throw.

 

[sidewinder22]

Your width of stance probably feels ok because you aren't sitting/squatting/hinging into your rear hip. You are pushing/extending your rear hip upward when it should be dropping lower.

Try to keep your lower arm loose and in straight line to trajectory, tow the lower arm/disc forward. Your lower arm is bending too much back across the line, so you are tightening up too much and having to swing early around your left shoulder. The disc should swing inward into your center and then out.

 

[davidh1]

Forget for a bit about rotating. You're swinging your lower body into the right leg and then throwing forward. The throw should feel almost backwards/sideways instead of directly forward. Think of walking - you don't start moving your left leg forward until your right leg is planted and anchored into the ground. Likewise, your rear leg, hip, arm, etc don't start swinging forward until you're braved against the ground. Don't swing your hips forward into the plant. Plant, and allow your body to fall into place as you throw.

Like this?

I was trying not to swing hips forward, but instead to move whole body weight on to the front leg. Or am I still getting it wrong?
When you say "forget about rotation" - does it mean that I should try to resist the rotation (which I actually did in the video) or just not to focus on it?

Thank you for your help!

 

[sidewinder22]