Was introduced to the game in late June and was immediately struck by Eros' Disc. ;)

I found the forehand throw to be very uncomfortable (12yrs of summer baseball is to blame here) and committed myself to learning the suttleties of the sidearm. I'll tackle the fore next season.

The threads here and Blake T's sight have been extreamly helpful and like to extend my thanks to you all as they've help made me competitive with the local Club.

Anyways, down to business.
I was wondering if anyone could give an explination of how to max the snap of the sidearm.
Or advice about weither or not I'm going down the right road, if my explination of what I'm trying is clear enough to understand.

From the article on Blake's sight:
"What you want instead is a snap that turns the inside part of your wrist up (supination for you logophiles)"

Ok...rotate the radius (the bone of the forearm closer to the thumb just in case).

I now start my throw with the disc flat (palm facing forward) and wrist bent back, and then rotate the radius 90 degrees while bringing the wrist forward as I hit the release point to end with the palm up.

Will starting the disc vertical (palm down) and wrist bent back, thus increasing the rotation of the radius to 180 degrees, add more spin to the disc?

I've had mixed results on the practice field as the greater rotation makes it difficult to get a flat release, but i feel with more practice this difficulty can be overcome. Am I traversing the right path?

tnks fer the time
Euphoric

I use the term "forehand" and "sidearm" and "flick" and "two-finger" to mean the same thing.

Anyways, in my experience, I agree that to properly throw a consistent forehand, you are probably using the "supination" technique or that your hand/wrist looks as if it is scooping water.

However, I found that thinking about my wrist or arm was less than helpful when learning a forehand. It was difficult for me to think in those terms and the results were sketchy. I've had much better success thinking about the movement of my fingers. I tend to think about making sure the trigger finger (middle for me) extends fully while giving a touch of forehand hyzer as it releases from the rim. If I release it this way, my wrist/hand will naturally look as if I am scooping water.

Kind of off-topic, but related is that in my experience in reading about proper technique for disc golf, or anything else for that matter, translation is problematic, especially through the printed word. It is useful to present the same concept from several different viewpoints since people's minds thankfully don't think alike.

Whoops.... :o

"I found the forehand throw to be very uncomfortable (12yrs of summer baseball is to blame here) and committed myself to learning the suttleties of the sidearm. I'll tackle the fore next season."

Should read

"I found the BACKHAND throw to be very uncomfortable (12yrs of summer baseball is to blame here) and committed myself to learning the suttleties of the sidearm. I'll tackle the BACKHAND next season."

would seem that i had sidearm on my mind at the time ;)

That's exactly the reason I throw forehand. Throwing backhand feels like I'm batting left handed. I drive forehand about 95% of the time. Right now I'm slightly injured so I spend time practicing my backhand but it feels weird still even after about 20 years of playing.

P.S. Can we all try to drop the term FLICK to describe a throw? It just doesn't sound very athletic. Plus if it's used to describe a short throw it could be backhand or forehand.

Stick with the backhand. It takes a while to develop it but once you do, you'll wonder how you ever lived without it. I sucked at backhands at first, but stuck with it and can now throw pretty much any driver over 400'. Once you get good at backhand, you'll throw farther than you ever did sidearm. More accurately too.

P.S. Can we all try to drop the term FLICK to describe a throw? It just doesn't sound very athletic. Plus if it's used to describe a short throw it could be backhand or forehand.



sorry pal, but it's here to stay. to us former ultimateers a forehand is always a flick and a flick is always a forehand.

I suppose you circle your penalties too.

Mr. Nightmare, the backhand must be kept in the bag, but the forehand is an extremely valuable tool. It can open up a hole that backhanders can find difficult.
I like using two fingers together on the rim, instead of one, or two fingers spread. Those are the three most common forehand grips. Two spread gives you more control at times, but two together gives you power and control. Think of it like this: you just ate a good piece of lasagna, and you go "Mama Mia!" Two fingers and the thumb pressed together at the pads, then kissed. That is how I grip the disc. The grip is very important to spin and snap, more than the position of your wrist or arm.
My wrist actually stays straight until I move the arm forward to flick. The elbow leads the way so that you can use the arm from the elbow to the fingers as a slingshot. Right before you snap, the elbow more or less stops and the wrist follows, pivoting like a lever.
Keep your fingers quite firm, make sure your wrist doesn't go back too much, and follow straight through your line with the arm.
Keep your head still and straight, rotate you body around it, and use the lower body for power. The forehand is not just arm.
Most of all, do what feels comfortable; not all sidearms are alike. Concentrate on the speed of the slingshot action from the elbow to the firm fingers, while developing a good, comfortable technique, and the snap/spin will come.
A forearm can be thrown a long ways whether in the air or on the ground. And practice lots.I hope this helps.
Oh yeah, have lots of PATIENCE; you'll need it.
Peace

What are you getting at RIch??
Circling your penalties? do you mean circling scores with a penalty stroke in them? Isn't that the rule of scoring in discgolf??
i fail to see your point.

-Scott Lewis

Birdies are circled in golf. Bogies are squared. I was playing ultimate before many of you were born. Never even heard the term "Flick" or saw a player circle a penalty until I played with East Coast players at AM Worlds in 2002. The terms forehand and backhand are sufficient. If someone saw me throw forehand, flick would not the appropriate word.

It doesn't matter what you circle or square, the numbers add up the same. You can use triangles or brakets or squiggles, it makes no difference and has no effect on the score and the TD or scorekeeper will not care.

And a flick is a flick. That's the word. If you don't like certain words, write Merriam Webster, maybe you can have them publish a dictionary of only the words you like.

The circles and squares are just simple visual clues ball golfers use to simplify the scoring process. Circles in disc golf are relevant for breaking a tie-I think?- and I've always called sidearm, "theflick, maybe due to my intro into discgolf was via ultimate and discgolf with 175 ultimate discs, plus I always like the word flick.. Chad

From the Dirrty Dirrty (/msgboard/images/graemlins/ooo.gifface)
finger popper.

You know, I always circled my penalties because the way it was explained to me: if everybody just circles where they needed a penalty stroke, a TD can tell where an OB was too extreme and might need to be taken out the next year (if you see 75% of the field go OB, it might need fixing). I think that that is as solid a reasoning as I can find.


-Chris.

Is it better to have your arm fully extended on a sidearm snap as opposed to having it bent at the elbow ?

You can get crazy power with a fully extended arm and a big spinning follow through. It's easier to snap with your elbow bent though.

It depends what you are wanting to do. If you are throwing for distance or want a shot that is straight with little fade - you want to extend your arm all the way out. If you want to throw a sidearm accurately within 300 ft you probably want to bend your elbow some and use less arm speed. Neither technique is wrong, and both ways can get good distance if thrown properly. It is just a matter of what feels comfortable. I generally extend my arm completely just because it takes a lot of stress off the elbow. However, when I am playing on a tight wooded course I go for accuracy and use more of a bent elbow technique (also better for hyzers).