Help With Thumber/Tomahawk

[MrHoversten923]

Hi All,

I have read reviews of courses for a while now, but am new to actually writing. Took me like 10 minutes to even figure out how to post here, so forgive me if this is already out there (probably is).

Question: Can anyone offer some general insight into proper form or technique for throwing thumbers and/or tomahawks? I am a baseball player, used to play for Kent State, can still rocket just about any ball, and I can throw a backhand drive about 350', so I am not lacking for arm power, yet my overhead throws have gotten shorter and shorter. I used to bomb them, 250' AND over trees. Then at a tourney this past weekend I struggled to throw it even 175' without elevation concerns.

I am still extremely accurate with it, I often use a soft thumber shot as an upshot instead of a traditional putter backhand to the basket because I feel 100% confident in accuracy...once at Am Worlds I actually "called my shot". I was in heavy woods and saw a fork in a tree (like a Y) and I told my group I was going to thumb it through the Y and did.

But I watched a pro throw what looked like a 450' BOMB with an overhand, with extreme elevation, over massive trees and up a mountainous hill (Slippery Rock University Hole 7) and I doubt he can throw as hard as I can being a lifelong baseball player.

Is a certain type of disc better (over stable, under, etc) Form? Snap? I usually throw a Disccraft Flick on my thumbers and as I said, very accurate, but distance is gone.

Thanks for your time

 

[armiller]

Hmmm I was gonna chime in here, but I think you're more advanced than me, at least with thumbers.

For tomahawks, I might start with a mid or even lid (e.g. Ultrastar) to see what you can do. First see if you can get a decently smooth and "proper" flight out of it, (like an ultimate "hammer") trying to figure out if you have any issues with wobble, wrist action, release angle, etc. Once you have that kind of slower, smooth shot down, then go back to throwing the harder shots with Firebirds/Flicks and the like. Hope that helps. But really, I'm the first to admit you could teach me a thing or two about thumbers.

 

[Dan Ensor]

Pros bomb thumbers because they throw them clean (very little wobble), and they throw them on great angles.

I don't have any advice for either of those things. Angles, you just have to play around with. And I'm having my own problems throwing them clean.

Tomahawks are just an upward anhyzer forehand.

 

[DiscJunkie]

Relax.
Trying too hard on Thumbers (like most throws) is murder for distance.
Back off the effort, and ramp up the smooooth.
Don't forget to give it a bit of snap when you let it go.
Release it vertically (that is, the disc should be vertical at release) to get max distance.
Also, aim not only on a line, but also aim for elevation. A Thumber needs elevation to get distance.
Look on youtube for Schwebby or Schweburger. Study his thumbers for great form.
Hope this helps,

 

[zenbot]

All about the wrist snap.

 

[zenbot]

zenbot's OH Rant: Copy and Pasted for your perusal.

There is conventional wisdom that can help you with disc selection. I don't subscribe to the theory that you should only use overstable discs.


Overstable discs will complete their turn more slowly. This increases the amount of time the disc is parallel to the ground which keeps it in the air longer.

Less stable discs complete their turn more quickly. Less distance but I find them to be more accurate as the disc starts falling to the ground quicker and is less influenced by wind and variances in your release angle.


One other note is that if you're throwing an understable thumber you need to aim slightly more left of the target than you would with an overstable disc. (Assuming you're throwing RH)

To get you started the Firebird is a very popular disc for overhand. I use my for distance thumbers and a Teebird for shorter shots. Keep in mind that overhand shots are rough on discs. I recommend premium plastic.

To read more about thumbers and tomahawks here's some other threads you might enjoy...but you don't have to take my word for it.

Why overstable for OH?
Thumber disc poll
OH distance
overhand plastic
Thumber Tips
Whats your favorite overhand disc?
Tomahawk vs. Thumber
Overhand Throws: Does discing down still apply?
What was your overhand disc of 2010?
Thumber disc?
Thumber/tohahawk thing...
Disc Selection for Overhand Shots
best tomahawk/ overhand driver?
thumbers - good discs to buy
Overhand disc
What is the best overhand disc?
Favorite Tomahawk Disc?
Trying to incorporate the Tomahawk into my game.
Help: Overhand throws.
Thomahawk and Thumber
Overhead Discs
mid or putter thumbers?

 

[Pymm]

Relax.
Trying too hard on Thumbers (like most throws) is murder for distance.
Back off the effort, and ramp up the smooooth.
Don't forget to give it a bit of snap when you let it go.
Release it vertically (that is, the disc should be vertical at release) to get max distance.
Also, aim not only on a line, but also aim for elevation. A Thumber needs elevation to get distance.
Look on youtube for Schwebby or Schweburger. Study his thumbers for great form.
Hope this helps,

I throw both Thumbers and Tomahawks quite a bit to get out of trouble. I agree with this. Throwing too hard destroys distance and elevation is critical. Usually, I have the elevation because I am normally throwing these over trees that I have parked my drive behind. Also, and if this is obvious, please forgive me, alter your line (if your stance/obstacles permit) to account for the skip that the disc takes when it hits. I have seen them skip a long way, especially with the lighter weight discs I throw.

 

[NOStheBOSS]

this is purely distance, but the majority of the distance comes from the first part of the turn. So the time the disc is in the air going from perpendicular to the ground, to upside down (if that makes sense). When it reverses and comes to the ground on its other side, it loses a lot of speed and is pretty much done flying. To maximize distance, you need to maximize that first part of the flight. You can do this by throwing overstable discs and throwing them as perpendicular to the ground as possible. Since doing this will cause the disc to drop towards the ground pretty rapidly, you will need to get pretty good height on the throw. I'm sorry if this is confusing, I am trying my best to describe the flight of an overhead shot and the way I strategize. For reference, I can push them out to about 325 feet.

 

[Rockwell]

As a baseball player myself, I found that tomahawks went further for me, perhaps due to using my fingers in a similar manner to pitch. Put your middle finger against the inside rim, with your index finger pushed up against it (like a forehand grip).

Throw it like you would from deep center field all the way to home, so you'll be releasing well above your head and at a higher angle.

I've found discs like the Boss, Nuke OS, or D1 to fly furthest for me. For shorter shots use less stable discs or start them on an angle.

Video of your shots always helps as well.

 

[DoOgSauce]

I throw my longest thumbers (350ish) when I throw it like I am just getting the ball in from the outfield to stop the runner at a single. Same arm speed and angle. When I start throwing them like i am trying to gun someone out at home i lose at least 50' of distance. I can throw thumbers hard no problem, but something about tomahawks kills my elbow.

The best thumber discs I ever had were champ Banshees in the high 160's weight range. i think the smaller rim lets me get more snap on them which leads to more distance. I now throw flat star firebirds because the banshees were getting harder to replace.

 

[disc cogg]

i am also a ex baseball player and softball player and love thumbers. 100% recommend a crystal Nuke OS best thumber disc hands down. deadly accurate with it and can get it up to about 370ft. work with angles of release cause you can do different things with the disc but for max distance you want the disc to release perpendicular. straight up and down and always follow through.

 

[lucasgg]

Instead of recommending new discs, studying different styles and stuff, I'd just take a few rounds playing catch or just throwing to get your rhythm and smoooothness back.

 

[dehaas]

Like others have said, be smooth and make sure to follow through. Just like a good baseball throw, it's an all body movement, not just the arm, so make sure you're getting a good weight shift with the hips. I too aim for elevation and not distance, just after throwing them for so long you just know how much height you need for whatever distance.

Play with your release angles too, one of the most effective shots you can learn is the tomahawk that pancakes flat on its top plate and doesn't pan back.

 

[Dan Ensor]

i am also a ex baseball player and softball player and love thumbers. 100% recommend a crystal Nuke OS best thumber disc hands down. deadly accurate with it and can get it up to about 370ft. work with angles of release cause you can do different things with the disc but for max distance you want the disc to release perpendicular. straight up and down and always follow through.

I just want them to come out with Z-Lite Nuke OSs for my poor arm.

 

[cdunlapb12]

Life long baseball player here too, for both throws I pretend I'm throwing to home from CF and only put about 87.5% power into it. I focus more on clean release and a loose wrist snap. I can consistently hit tree-fiddy with my destroyers like this.

 

[armiller]

How much do you guys use these for approaches & obstacle avoidance? I really don't know what my max distance is, cuz it always seems like I have a better forehand or backhand line when distance is important. But I do find myself throwing tons of shots in the 50-200 foot range, either because there's an obstacle (right in front of me or in the green), or bad stance, etc. Particularly for the 200 range, I think my champ Firebird tomahawk is my most accurate shot if the sky is open.

Another thing I've been noticing lately: I recently got a strange, domey Ledgestone Ti Flick in a misprint pack. Still "Flick" overstable, but this thing has some good overhand distance, particularly tomahawk.

 

[ejvogie]

I used to use a lightly thrown thumber for short distance approaches where I needed a fade to the left. A Rhyno would flip to upside-down and coast left at about 30% power. Good for approaches where you're stuck in vegetation and can't do a RHBH