I'm a fairly experienced player with lots of power and speed on my drives. When I get a decent snap I throw some magnificent shots. The rest of the time they're variable.

Does anyone understand the mechanics of snap? If you could explain it to me I might be able to figure out how to do it every time I throw instead of just when I get lucky!

Cheers

Do you snap like snapping a wet towel or do you follow through completely?

Not sure about other players snap , but for myself , it happens when I have a solid grip and pop the disc with a clean release !!!!! /msgboard/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

Practice more....

the mechanics of snap:

1) during the pull, gravity pulls the disc against the finger tips on the rim pre-stretching the muscles on the outside of the forearm and pulls the tendons in each forearm tight.

2) as the disc passes the chest close to the body, the elbow bends in order to keep the disc close.

3) as the disc approaches the hit, the elbow extends and there is an abrupt stop of the wrist as the arm changes direction from forwards to outwards.

4) at the hit wrist should open (hand bending backwards slightly) transferring the stored plyometric energy from the pre-stretched muscle and tendon elasticity, acclerating the disc and transferring a large amount of force and kinetic energy directly into the rim wall.

5) the throw finishes with the disc ripping out of the hand and a strong follow through.

5) the throw finishes with the disc ripping out of the hand and a strong follow through.



can you help me by breaking down the process from the rip to the strong follow-thru? i have a tendency to stop my arm like when snapping a towel...

keep moving your arm instead of stopping it? :P

the stop of the wrist is what triggers the hit. the force transer happens during the wrist extension and finish into the follow through... which is a continuous motion.

you can work on this with a towel. getting the towel to snap is step one... working on a smooth transition whipping through a follow through immediately after the towel snaps should help.

plyometric



OK, so you made me go to the dictionary :)

good word for the action of throwing discs

:D Looks like I need to store more plyometric energy from the pre-stretched muscle. :D

Blake T you're the man!
I do follow through big time, and I'm practising more than I have in the last 5 years (My snap was more consistent back then. and my scores...). I think my problem is that i don't always keep the swing tight to my body, so practising more with that in mind should help.

Cheers

Neal

keep moving your arm instead of stopping it? :P





that's what so great about your advice. while you can explain things in great detail when necessary, you don't over-explain when it's not going to help :D

thanks -- let's hope i have ears to hear /msgboard/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

5) the throw finishes with the disc ripping out of the hand and a strong follow through.



can you help me by breaking down the process from the rip to the strong follow-thru? i have a tendency to stop my arm like when snapping a towel...



Stopping your arm is a good way to hurt yourself. If you concentrate on putting your maximum effort into pulling through the snap, you won't be able to stop your arm, and you will have a more efficient throw. As you can develop more acceleration this way, you will also need a commensurate amount of grip strength to power the wrist and finger catapult (plyometric action). Otherwise, the disc will slip out and the extra energy will be dissipated. That plyometric action is the magic dynamo of any throw. Everything else you do, is done to be in position to properly aim and power the catapult. Once you understand this, you can throw with any grip, and any style.

thanks dave. i have been stuck in old Ultimate tendencies and still get nose-up issues though i am throwing a lot farther. (i somewhat get away with it) i need to hit the practice field and play with my technique issues... and take advantage of the modern golf disc :D

The best thing that I do when Im in a slump is to practice throwing with a towel/linen/bandanna. I slow my throw down and really focus on getting my whole body behind powering the towel. Just like throwing the disc, let your body do the work, not you arm. When I start to hear loud snaps occuring, I know that Im doing it right. And yes, it is possible to have the towel pop and still do a complete body follow through.

Its fun to watch a Tee-Rex fly 400 feet on a straight line before fading out. Get that snap down and then have some fun!

thanks dave. i have been stuck in old Ultimate tendencies and still get nose-up issues though i am throwing a lot farther. (i somewhat get away with it) i need to hit the practice field and play with my technique issues... and take advantage of the modern golf disc :D



Probably the best thing to try for nose up issues is to make sure you are snapping late with an open wrist, almost as if you shanked it. Nose up is usually the result of an unfinished throw.

Blake and Dave ... awesome stuff. Thanks.

How important is it to know your grip, and the rip point for that grip, in this process? Say if you are using a power grip, and your rip point is the index finger ... what happens if you don't "know" you need to rip off the same finger to be consistant. I think some players think this is a natural thing and assume they are ripping from the correct finger, but maybe they aren't ... I have found that if I remember that I need to rip off the index finger [when using the 4 finger power grip], it helps my snap/form.

When I was trying to understand the snap, it helped me to slow down my run up. 5 steps would take me almost 4-5 seconds. In between steps 3 and 4, I would concentrate on pulling the disc back as far as possible with my elbow fairly straight, and the disc pointing 180 degrees from my intended line. I would then try to whip the disc as quickly as possible and as close to my chest as possible, trying to snap the disc like a towel. I didn't have much follow thru, but it was easier to get snap. After I got the snap down, I started to follow thru more, and I think I snap it less now.

I'm no Blake or Dave, but that's how I did it.

Blake and Dave ... awesome stuff. Thanks.

How important is it to know your grip, and the rip point for that grip, in this process? Say if you are using a power grip, and your rip point is the index finger ... what happens if you don't "know" you need to rip off the same finger to be consistant. I think some players think this is a natural thing and assume they are ripping from the correct finger, but maybe they aren't ... I have found that if I remember that I need to rip off the index finger [when using the 4 finger power grip], it helps my snap/form.



It is extremely important to do it the same way everytime, or you will lose accuracy, timing, and power. The stronger that rip point is, the more accurate and powerful your throw can be.

snapping late with an open wrist



I don't understand. Can this be rephrased in another way?

snapping late = focusing the power and extension at the period immediately preceding the rip.

open wrist = wrist bent "open" in a manner that brings the top of your hand closer to your forearm (this is the opposite of cawking your wrist).

snapping late with an open wrist



I don't understand. Can this be rephrased in another way?



I agree with Blake except for the word "cawking". I would use "curling". Flexion is "curling". Extension is "opening".

Clarification to this thread....

While watching other players, there's snap you see, and then there's snap you hear.

Visual snap typically indicates a player with fairly solid mechanics and solid take back and follow through. Dave explained this well

The snap you hear is based on grip, typically a four finger power grip. I find that when I have a relaxed four finger grip right up until my release point, the snap gets louder. If my grip is firmer throughout my run up, I rarely hear any snap.

Visual snap contributes more to distance...mechanics are key. Audible snap is more for freaking out your foursome....you'll hear things like "did you just break a finger?" ;)