Towel drill fail

[Frolf_noob]

Hello all! Short background: I've been plateau'd at 350 for about a year (speed 9-11), I'm decently strong, think I'm strong arming the disc. I've tried throwing the other side of the disc (the snap videos), lots of other things, but I end up throwing about the same distance no matter what I change. :thmbdown:

I noticed that I completely fail at the towel drill. I can't get the snap and I'm probably not pulling through on a straight line even though I'm consciously trying to pull through on a straight line and accelerate late.

Any tips are greatly appreciated! :thmbup:

 

[Rol6566]

Posting a video of your form would be helpful

 

[B3NDER]

Posting a video of your form would be helpful

This x2

:thmbup:

 

[bobmcnelly]

I got great advice with my form once i added some video.

 

[Frolf_noob]

I got great advice with my form once i added some video.

Fair enough! In the meantime, is there something I can learn from tweaks in my form making 0 difference and not being able to snap a towel? Maybe I could take that advice and then make a video after?

 

[Star Shark]

Alot of the point to the snapping the towel drill can be seen in videos of Markus Kallstrom. In Brad Walker's terms, how crisp is that border between the inward and outward pull. The inward pull is slow and smooth and a setup for the hit/outward pull. Figuring out where the optimal point for the rip is is the key to big power. The later in the throw, the better. If the disc is coming out right in front of you, that's way too early. You want it to be at least a foot past your sternum.

 

[Dan Ensor]

My pure conjecture is that you're not getting your elbow forward.

 

[DiscFifty]

Fair enough! In the meantime, is there something I can learn from tweaks in my form making 0 difference and not being able to snap a towel? Maybe I could take that advice and then make a video after?

Well.. a classic misinterpretation imho is the term "snap" when doing the "snapping the towel" drill. Because obviously you're not snapping the towel in the same way you would snap someone in the a$$ with a towel.

"Snap" in this case simply means the sound the towel makes when done properly. If not done correctly, the sound is smooth, when done correctly the sound is more crisp, louder, "boomy", etc.

Mr. Feldberg states it perfectly in this short video. Slowly accelerate through the throw. "Concentrate on accelerating at the last possible second."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfQzUrn80UI

 

[garublador]

One problem with the towel drill is that it doesn't really teach you how to make the towel snap or how to translate that to your throw. It just verifies that you can get the timing right when holding a towel. You're stuck just blindly experimenting until you get it exactly right. The secret/hammer pound drills from DGR do a much better job of teaching the first half of how to get the timing right. They're based more on feel than just a sound and that feel is easier to replicate.

One thing that's worth remembering is that you can't get hung up on thinking you're doing anything right. You have to be willing to change just about everything. It's all about getting the feel right and then figuring out how to get that feeling when you throw, not about trying to simultaneously follow dozens of tips about how you should be moving.

 

[tcblank]

Another thing I have found when going for distance, don't worry as much about accuracy right now. Too many people want to keep their face and eyes in the direction of where they want to throw. It will seriously hurt your distance doing this. I find it better to just close my eyes until I release when I was practicing. Watch what the disc does afterwards in flight. While throwing instead visualize how you are trying to throw and get the feeling of the throw down. You want muscle memory and consistency. It's really no different in how a professional bowler learns to bowl. Looking at the pins is only going to screw up someone looking to be a good bowler.

Practice on the feel and release. Watch what the disc does after release. Make tweaks based on he end result of the flight to the feeling of your throw.

Of course following the proper instruction of how to throw for distance helps too. Which is to have a good windup. Coil your body appropriately. Pull through with a lawnmower type pull through the core of your body. Keep everything as compact and concise as possible. Let all the coiled and tightly spinning energy explode at the last possible moment in repeatable delivery form. Repeatable meaning you can do the same thing every time. If you can consistently throw the disc the same way, even if originally you were going for accuracy, you can then make adjustments based off the flight of the disc from a consistent throw to become accurate as well as now have the distance you are looking for.

 

[Frolf_noob]

Thanks for the tips; wish someone would do an updated door frame drill if the towel drill is useless