Form grind. Any help is appreciated!

bogeythrower

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My form has been through many ups and downs over the past few years. I am a huge consumer of form content on YouTube to a fault. Maxing out currently at 400', but have previously in the consistent 440's before. Have been trying to really grind out footwork, but can't seem to figure out how to get a solid consistent brace to power up my throw. Any tips on not letting my plant knee sag during my swing? Thanks!

 
Also any other tips are greatly appreciated. I'm really trying to take my form work more serious this year. My goal is to consistently get mids 400+. Thanks!
 
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Your body is moving west/left into your swing path, instead of countering your mass to the east/right away from the swing path like Simon or Olympic Hammer Thrower. Note how your front knee leaks forward over your toes while Simon pushes his knee back behind his heel.
bogeythrower simon behind rel.png


 
Thanks for the reply, SW, I am a big fan of your content!
Regarding the whip step drill: is the the ground force meant to be more perpendicular to the target line when Incorporated into an x step? I had previously been experimenting with cues such as pushing my right hip back away from the target, but that is more an opposite force to the target line than the whip step suggests.
 
The force/s is/are redirected around, first is horizontal (north-south) stopping or slowing, then rotational like Whip Step perpendicular (east/west), then vertical into the finish.

IIRC the good stuff starts around 7-8min in.
 
So I was able to get out to the field today to try out some of these drills. I really wanted the whip step to work for me, but I found it made me feel off balance and caused me to feel like I was spinning out (first video).

I then worked more with the standstill ground force drill and found that the more I could get my swing and mass behind the plant (battering ram?), the more easy snap I was getting. It feels almost like I'm throwing more to the right as I leverage off the plant. I was able to replicate this on a couple x steps as well. However, I found I was more prone to grip locking compared to my normal swing. Is this the feeling I should be going after more?





Also any other glaring issues with my swing? Thanks for all your help!
 
I also found that swinging what I believe is "inside the frame", has really helped with the plant leg knee sag, so thank you for the advice on that!
 
The "Leg Leverage" one looked the best. Your practice swings in the first Whip Step looked good, but then you did an x-step instead of a whip step.

In general when you transition from backswing to forward swing you are rising up/lifting your chest up, instead of getting lower and more athletic into the swing. At the top of the backswing you should feel some levitation of your body and swing, and then you want to reverse going into the plant/forward swing. You are kind doing the opposite motion than using a battering ram or sledgehammer. Shawn Clement talks about keeping the chest/pressure cooker over the swing and not lifting it up.

eagle me full sledge.png
Paul MH vs Sledgehammer release.png

 
So conceptualizing the tilted super spiral video and applying it to a disc golf throw, should I be thinking about keeping a "closed lid" during the backswing as well as the downswing he mentions around 8:45 in the video? It seems like a "closed lid" creates the "hyzer tilt" position that so many people talk about. I love this video for helping to visualize the brace too, will definitely be working on this for a bit.
 
So I was able to get a few reps in today. I tried to think of rocking the hips, getting high in the backswing, and pumping the downswing to get more verticality to the throw. Do these look any better?


Also I had a question regarding the standstill, should my plant leg be internally rotating on the backswing? Video for reference:
 
Your body is moving west/left into your swing path, instead of countering your mass to the east/right away from the swing path like Simon or Olympic Hammer Thrower. Note how your front knee leaks forward over your toes while Simon pushes his knee back behind his heel.
View attachment 359880



I was really trying to wrap my head around this today and I think I had a lightbulb moment. I noticed how my spinal axis would change with my hips going east during the downswing, which also results in my chest facing parallel to the ground rather than keeping the lid on the pressure cooker.
It was interesting how the amount of pelvis eastward deviation directly correlated with how much snap I felt on the throw. Then I compared myself to drew who has zero or even negative pelvis deviation, which gives him so much more mechanical advantage on the disc.
 
So I was able to get a few reps in today. I tried to think of rocking the hips, getting high in the backswing, and pumping the downswing to get more verticality to the throw. Do these look any better?

Also I had a question regarding the standstill, should my plant leg be internally rotating on the backswing? Video for reference:
Technically the whole pelvis(along with front leg) is internally rotating into the rear leg during the backswing.

Your chest/spine look very upright or moving up during the throw, instead of swinging down on a tilted axis/shoulder battering ram.
bogeythrower ss old shoulder ram.png
 
Found a good rhythm with the whip step finally. I feel like I need to focus on building up the power pocket and timing my pump with a deep pocket to generate the most power. Still having some trouble with straightening my spine on the downswing. I feel like I'm getting adequate down force on the plant, but am still getting that bend.


Additionally, I tried to incorporate the whip step feel into an x step by pushing more southeast on the teepad rather than straight east like in the standstill. What are your thoughts on that?
I'm still getting my knee too far over my toes, but am definitely feeling the counterforce to the swing better.
 
1. Start with wide open stance, so that you take a full step into the backswing/plant. You are starting feet together/closed and only taking like a half step. You can start with the left foot stepping left.

2. Note how my whole left side is stacked up when feet are hanging below hips. You are leaning over your toes too far and not stacked/loading/winding your left side back deeper/east into the rear hip/foot/heel.
whip step seq hor copy.png
 
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