Preparing for a new distance tutorial video

[Olorin]

...one beautifully explained post from Jhern took me from 250' inconsistent crap to 400'+ within a week.

I'm still stuck at 250+. Hey, I've never claimed to be very good.

Can you find that post and give a link to it here? I'm pretty sure the old DGR forums are accessible even though they went down for a while.

 

[timothy42b]

Per your request for suggestions.

1. Maybe include standstill throws, if you're weren't planning to.

2. Maybe address baseline checkpoints. I'd want to compare the right frame of my video with the same frame of yours to see how close to the right position I am. Some places don't matter, others are critical.

3. maybe mention what software you use to do frame-by-frame and the nice graphics, arrows and such, you do.

 

[Trent B]

can you do for both backhand AND forehand?

i feel like forehand distance tutorials are often forgotten/ignored.

both open field and golf lines too.

I second the inclusion of forehand in some form. There just isn't enough detailed guides like there is for BH.

 

[rhatton1]

I'm still stuck at 250+. Hey, I've never claimed to be very good.

Can you find that post and give a link to it here? I'm pretty sure the old DGR forums are accessible even though they went down for a while.

I can't seem to get on the forum, it was in the breaking 300' thread that went on for a million pages, just one post with a little try this idea and it was like lightbulbs exploding in my head. It was basically all about using the body to drive the arm, I ended up making some crappy videos about them for a couple of friends too far away to work with personally after I had great results using them with both myself and other people learning and after they worked for them remotely as well I uploaded them to Youtube around 4 years ago, have been intending to remake them for years and get rid of all the little bits that are wrong or that annoy me in them for years! They're in the instructional thread stickied on here now - https://www.dgcoursereview.com/forums/showthread.php?t=119328

For the record I slumped back down to crappy 250' form within a couple of years until a form post on DGR in about 2010/11 got critiqued by the one and only Sidewinder in one of his first online form forays and got me back on the right path again.

 

[NathanNoodleArm]

I can't seem to get on the forum, it was in the breaking 300' thread that went on for a million pages, just one post with a little try this idea and it was like lightbulbs exploding in my head. It was basically all about using the body to drive the arm, I ended up making some crappy videos about them for a couple of friends too far away to work with personally after I had great results using them with both myself and other people learning and after they worked for them remotely as well I uploaded them to Youtube around 4 years ago, have been intending to remake them for years and get rid of all the little bits that are wrong or that annoy me in them for years! They're in the instructional thread stickied on here now - https://www.dgcoursereview.com/forums/showthread.php?t=119328

For the record I slumped back down to crappy 250' form within a couple of years until a form post on DGR in about 2010/11 got critiqued by the one and only Sidewinder in one of his first online form forays and got me back on the right path again.

Re: Maxing out @ 300ft...
Postby JHern » Tue Jan 19, 2010 5:28 pm

Two facts:

Fact 1: 300 ft is about as far as most men can throw using primarily the strength of their arm to propel the disc. For women it is closer to 230 ft.

Fact 2: The fact that you get the same distance no matter how you do your step implies that you aren't getting anything out of your legs, which drive your torso, which is the platform for your shoulders...

The sum:

Fact 1 + Fact 2 = You're strong-arming, throwing with your arm, and you're not getting much of anything from your torso and shoulders.

Your arm is of order 10X less powerful than your legs/torso. Stop throwing with your arm! Your arm is only useful for positioning and gripping, other than that, it is purely passive. Your arm needs to be turned into a whip that is driven by the powerful motion of your legs/hips/torso/shoulders.

Here's an exercise I might suggest:

Stand still with your arms at your side, completely relaxed. Turn your hips and torso back slowly and then rotate your hips quickly to the open position. Your arms should be whipped out and around in a windmill motion, without you using a single muscle in your arms. That's the feeling you should be aiming for.

Next do the same thing, except extend your throwing elbow out sideways from your body and hold it there (as if you put a vice around your shoulder). Allow your lower throwing arm and hand to hang limp from your elbow. Do it as if your arm were asleep and some mechanical device was locked onto your shoulder to keep the elbow pointed out side ways from your torso. Don't allow your elbow to move forward or backward, nor up nor down. It is completely locked in place, as if you no longer even had a shoulder joint and your upper arm were fused into your shoulder so that it would always point out sideways.

Now slowly turn your hips and torso back, and turn them abruptly open again. Don't use a single muscle in your arm! Now you should find that you've turned your arm into a whip. Your lower arm should be whipping forward super-fast. In fact, you can whip your lower arm forward way faster in this manner than your arm muscles could ever dream of doing. Your arm muscle strength decreases rapidly as speed increases, so they are useless anyways...trying to use them will only slow down this motion. You'll find that whipping your lower arm forward in this manner, with the elbow "stopped," will feel relatively effortless in comparison to trying to throw with your arm as you've probably been doing before.

Practice getting this feeling for a while. (Later you can work on the grip and positioning in finer detail, but for now focus on using your legs/hips/torso/shoulders as the powerful motor for whipping your arm forward.)

 

[Mocheez]

Lot's of DGR nuggets in this link... http://ripsychotherapy.com/pdf/RightPecDrill.pdf

 

[Hypnotoad]

Dear Mr. Disc Golf With Your Shirt Off,

I've been following disc golf techniques since I started playing in 2012 and actually read most of my critical information from DGR as you mentioned in this thread. I watched all of your videos when I was a beginner and fell into the rabbit hole of learning proper technique and injury-free form. I am maxing 400 RHBH on golf lines and around 450 on a wide open bomb. I'm assuming your video will help someone like myself that already achieves advanced distances. I eagerly await its completion.

Although I have learned to practice with good form and follow-through, I often forget to "warm-up" before field work or a round and often feel beat up because of power throws on "cold muscles." Perhaps briefly mention a good stretch routine before attempting max distance throws such as the ones you will be demonstrating in your video. That is all, your checklist looks spot on and I am curious what exactly you mean by "active wrist hinge."

Balance in all things.

-Dan

 

[Hypnotoad]

There may be some ideas in this Distance Secrets article by Dave Dunipace that I compiled, organized, and edited a while back.

This is where I started when I learned distance shots. Time to refresh and read through it again... its been a few years. :thmbup:

 

[Mike C]

What are your thoughts on a series of smaller videos VS one long, comprehensive video?

I'm extremely busy these days and finding time to film all of this in one go is going to prove difficult. I've been thinking about filming videos for each aspect of the throw and compiling them into a playlist.

I figured this would let me get material posted sooner, and it would be easier for people to sort through once its all up on youtube. That way someone with grip issues or FH distance questions can seek out those specific videos instead of clicking around the seek bar on a half hour video (or however long it ends up being....)

 

[RFrance]

A series of smaller videos VS one long, comprehensive video?
QUOTE]

Yes to a series. :thmbup:

 

[mizunodave]

Series is probably best. You can only digest so much at one time. If you go this route try to mention those times when it is critical to get this particular lesson down before moving on or you are wasting your time in the next lesson.

 

[XC_Eddy]

My initial reaction when seeing your outline was that it was too much for one video, and that you could do a good video on each of those topics. Go with the series shorter videos that still have great detail.

 

[HyzerUniBomber]

Every time I've started down the path of doing an all inclusive video, I've lost the motivation because there's just so much to try to talk about, let alone cohesively (I ramble) and with good examples from multiple angles. I've end up making shorter drill oriented videos like these:





I like drills that are as self-correcting as possible, meaning that if I put myself into a position that has a noticeable failure response, it's clear as day that I did it wrong.

Massive props for attempting this - I am personally a fan of one video with "chapters" linked in the description that jump you into the right time.

Also, I think it's super important to discuss keeping your spine vertical (regardless of hyzer angle tilt) so the rotation of the upper body doesn't slosh backwards and then forward, collapsing through the brace.

 

[deyo7]

I also think that chapters/series would be good; my only suggestion/caveat might be to try not lose sight of the fact that it's all one throw. In other words, if breaking down two parts of the throw in two separate videos maybe demonstrate in each video how it ties into bigger picture by way of your complete throw so that those of us who overanalyze don't get too focused on one part and thereby lose sight of the big picture...

 

[knettles]

I'm DEFINITELY going to second the smaller series of videos. One of the biggest problems with internet videos is length. People often don't want to sit and watch a 15+ min video. Keep them short and concise. Personally, I'd say 1-2 min is the golden area.

 

[Mike C]

I'm DEFINITELY going to second the smaller series of videos. One of the biggest problems with internet videos is length. People often don't want to sit and watch a 15+ min video. Keep them short and concise. Personally, I'd say 1-2 min is the golden area.

I think that's a good call. I'm going to attempt to shoot an intro and grip video tomorrow, to start the series. Next I'll probably do footwork / body positioning.

 

[crd 81]

Ahh...I remember the DGR years. It's like a lost civilization that had better technology, only to be discovered by a lesser civilization. Thankfully, some good teaching and teachers have migrated over here and have helped out the masses. DGCR has gotten better with time.

Mike, as far as video goes, I recommend sticking to the format of shorter videos.

 

[Surly Bastage]

In addition to talking about and showing positions, speak to how it feels for you or what type of feeling we should shoot for.

 

[Surly Bastage]

Please

 

[axion]

I would also be sure to mention the follow through. I always followed through, but it was what I would call mild. Once it was pointed out to me that my follow through should be hard enough that my rear shoulder comes through to the point where the outside of it ( think medial deltoid) is now facing the target I stated to get a much faster release.