My friends first form critique, he is looking to improve on distance.

[dekdo]

My friend has been playing for a couple years, but has gotten a bit more serious about the game as of this year. He is looking to improve on his distance for his sidearm as he doesn't really throw backhand. I am the opposite lol.. my sidearm SUCKS, but id say i have a fairly decent backhand. So the amount of advice i can personally give him is quite minimal.

In this video he probably throws the disc about 250-275'... with most of his drives coming in at that special 300' mark. On some of his better throws he has hit 350.

What would it take for him to be able to throw 350-400 and beyond consistently with his sidearm?

 

[dsmeyer90]

This is me.... This was one of my "good" shots, not best, but I wasn't mad at myself after it. My friends have always been telling me that I lean back a ton, and sometimes (by the way I feel) I can definitely agree. Watching this video I am very surprised to see how far I have been leaning back, to be quite honest.

The thing is.... I never feel it, and when I actually make an effort to tell myself not to lean back, things go haywire; just crap throws every time.

 

[DiscinFiend]

I'd say try to compact your form a little more, try to do a single x-step instead of two. As you stated don't lean back so far & try to be more smooth with it. I would also say to try & practice with Mids, Putters & understable discs. Learning how to flick Mids & Putters really helped out me out a lot. Also try to put more weight on your plant foot, I feel not leaning back could partially help with this.
I try to emulate Big Jerms forehand style as much I can, I tryed Avery Jenkins style & got significantly less distance than with a style closer to Big Jerms.

In this video Big Jerm shows how he throws sideram http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_NRd5SuT4ow

 

[Fraser]

Your run-up is doing nothing for your distance. By leaning back in the way you are at the release point, and not being centered (your chest more inline to your left knee and your weight over your left heel), the momentum you have built in your run-up is released well after the disc has left your hand. There isn't any back-to-front weight shift until after the disc has left your hand. The distance you are getting is only coming from your arm. The motion of your arm looks pretty good and it looks like your wrist-close (what generates the spin) is pretty solid.

It would also be good to know what discs you are using for your distance. The more overstable discs will mask a lot of form issues and zap your distance potential. Work with neutral to slightly overstable putters/mids/fairways/drivers to find out if you have some OAT issues. FH is very susceptible to bad OAT.

If you really want to improve your distance, start throwing from a standstill and concentrate on increasing the speed at which you close your wrist. When you can get 200-225' out of a standstill throw (be sure to be weight-centered), you should then work on shifting your weight from back-to-front. Increasing this weight-shift should be enough to push the disc close to 300'. Adding in a single or two step run-up, with proper weight-shift, should get you out to 325-350'. Getting longer distances requires a lot more work and that is where I'm struggling. Also, by learning how to throw far from a standstill will drastically increase your accuracy. (95% of my upshots are thrown FH from a standstill. It's just a whole lot more accurate for me than BH at the moment.)

For reference, I can throw fairway drivers from a standstill to 300' and slightly faster drivers to 350' with a one-step run-up. Getting to 400' is a lot harder for me as I'm getting older and the fast-twitch fibers aren't as fast anymore.

Edit: Working from a standstill will also help in fixing any nose-angle issues that you might have as well as learning how to throw hyzers and anhyzers. By leaning back as much as you do, I'm sure that you are throwing mostly nose-up. The weight-centering will help with getting the nose-down release angle.

 

[dsmeyer90]

@DiscinFiend I actually throw with one finger, and I just can't seem to get the hang of that two finger no matter how much I try. On a similar note.... I find myself not forehanding my mids and putters because I can't grip them firmly, I am very inconsistent, turning them over more than I would like. I forehand the Zone often, though.

@Fraser to answer your question.... My go to distance discs are Volts and Teebirds, been going to the Volt more lately as it takes less room to get the distance I desire, and I can throw it down tight fairways very accurately with distance as well. I do struggle with nose-up when I 'mess up', but it is not a terribly consistent problem. I feel that most of my shots come out pretty flat when I want them to.

 

[DiscinFiend]

@DiscinFiend I actually throw with one finger, and I just can't seem to get the hang of that two finger no matter how much I try. On a similar note.... I find myself not forehanding my mids and putters because I can't grip them firmly, I am very inconsistent, turning them over more than I would like. I forehand the Zone often, though.

I throw with one finger also, I feel that I get more snap out of it than with a two finger grip. Even if you can't throw with two fingers like Big Jerm you still can learn from his form. I also flick Teebirds & they are great for learning sidearm IMO. Also if you don't wanna throw Putters & Mids sidearm (besides the Zone) try throwing some understable Drivers like the Leopard or River. Throwing understable discs helps with form & OAT issues.

 

[Fraser]

Working with the putters and mids will really help in cleaning up any release issues. I would suggest working with neutral ones in a field anyway. This translates into a cleaner throw from your drivers and therefore, increasing your distance potential. They are also less nose-angle sensitive so you don't really have to worry about that part of the throw.

One finger or two shouldn't matter all that much. It just takes practice to find where you need to pinch. By practing in a field, you'll be able to experiment a lot more without having the pressure of trying to post a good score.

I also use volts so I know where you're coming from. Add an amp, if you haven't already, to pair with the volt. They are laser beams for me at the 300' range. Great for low tunnels. You could probably benefit from having some slightly faster discs for an immediate distance gain. A pro wraith is my distance driver. I've hit 400' a couple of times with it. 350-375' is pretty easy for me with the wraith.

Generating more spin, with your same arm speed, is where I think you need to be focused. If you practice with putters/mids, concentrate on the spin (wrist-close) more than how fast you throw your arm forward. Matching your arm speed to the speed of the disc while increasing the speed of your wrist-close should generate a lot more forward momentum and carry. This will also help with your consistency with all of your discs.

My distance gains have come as a direct result of learning how to throw putters and mids. Not only that, but it has helped me learn how to throw turnovers without burning them due to OAT.

 

[dsmeyer90]

I will tell you... I rarely get out to the field and I honestly don't have a good excuse as to why that is. Also, I have added a 175 Amp to my bag... (I think my Volt is 171-173) and it is not too understable for me yet for some reason, I'm working on beating it in too fill the slot I wanted it for. Right now it is just a touch different from the Volt for me.

 

[sidewinder22]

Fraser pretty much nailed it. That is all arm and torque on the elbow and leaning back like you are trying to do the limbo. Your elbow is too far ahead of the shoulders at the hit to really get your whole body into it. Stay taller/balanced/centered and then get low into the hit and push your throwing shoulder and arm forward and low and the other shoulder should go backward. Try doing a tiny x-step behind or crow hop.

Watch the position of the shoulder and elbow during the throw compared to yours:

 

[DiscinFiend]

My distance gains have come as a direct result of learning how to throw putters and mids. Not only that, but it has helped me learn how to throw turnovers without burning them due to OAT.

:thmbup: I agree 100%

 

[dekdo]

 

[Fraser]

I will tell you... I rarely get out to the field and I honestly don't have a good excuse as to why that is. Also, I have added a 175 Amp to my bag... (I think my Volt is 171-173) and it is not too understable for me yet for some reason, I'm working on beating it in too fill the slot I wanted it for. Right now it is just a touch different from the Volt for me.

Well, get out to the field then.

As far as the Amp/Volt, MVP's discs are very responsive to spin. The more spin you can impart on each of these discs, the more differences in the molds you'll be able to see. However, I feel that they can be used as "teaching" discs if you are trying to maximize spin. I've been working on my BH for drives and I use these discs to help me focus on generating spin. When I generate the necessary spin needed for these discs, they perform different roles. If I don't, they fly real similar to each other. With my FH, they are definitely used for different purposes. Also, the Amp will probably take a long while to beat in to fill the slot you're wanting, so you might want to pick up something a little more understable for the time being. A Sidewinder might be a good start. If you can throw a Sidewinder FH without it burning, you're definitely on the right track.

 

[Fraser]

...I do struggle with nose-up when I 'mess up', but it is not a terribly consistent problem. I feel that most of my shots come out pretty flat when I want them to.

I forgot to touch on this. I'm not really talking about throwing flat, I'm talking about throwing flat with the disc being in a more nose-down orientation. As with a BH, throwing with a nose-down angle will generate lift and be less likely to stall. This will allow the disc to climb at a steady rate (or stay flat, depending on the throwing plane) during the high-speed portion of the flight.

I've only seen one of your throws (the video posted) and it looks to me that the nose is oriented slightly up in relation to the throwing plane. It's hard for me to tell because I can't step frame-by-frame. Getting the nose more inline or below your throwing plane will help you get more distance.

 

[LavaBoii]

STONY CREEK!

 

[tylerc]

have you tried to do a split finger grip to throw putters and mids? I throw a powergrip on drivers but when I get to thinner rims it feels awkward but I can do a split finger grip and consistently throw mids and putters for nearly every shot they can do