Embedded Files
Ultiworld's four part series on the forehand
Ultiworld's four part series on the forehand
If you are only going to read one of these, read part 4. Part 4 includes best practices with good video examples. The TLDR is posted below
Learning and Practicing
Throw frequently at the edge of your comfort zone.
Work on your long, flat forehand.
Throw with better throwers.
Practice with non-judgemental awareness: Concentrate on areas that you want to improve. Focus more on the feeling of a good throw (power, control, stability) than on the specific physical cues.
Watch video of yourself throwing and, if possible, overlay it with throwers with better form.
Clear Best Practices
The off-elbow drive engages the shoulders and generates power.
The off-elbow snap begins the power transfer to the disc.
The chest should be pointed level to the ground.
The forearm-core angle should be close to 90 degrees to maximize power and consistency.
The hips and shoulders should be parallel and perpendicular to the core.
Alex Snyder's article on throwing
Alex Snyder's article on throwing
This article doesn't really cover any technical aspects of throwing, but outlines a lot of valuable practice ideas, some of which are mentioned in the above ultiworld series on the forehand. Alex is no doubt one of the best throwers in the world and deserves your attention.
Alex's top tips featured in the above ultiworld forehand series and are:
Throw frequently at the edge of your comfort zone.
Throw with better throwers.
Diagnosing Your Backhand Huck -
Diagnosing Your Backhand Huck -
There’s a quick way to diagnose how well you are doing this on a backhand huck [5]. The crucial diagnostic is the direction the forearm is pointing in — and for how long.
Think about the arm as just a loose set of levers and hinges. In the early to middle part of the backhand throw, the elbow is pulling forwards, and so a loose forearm is going to be pointing straight backwards away from the target [6].
Only when the elbow has gone nearly as far forward as it can and begins to pull around to the right [7] will a relaxed forearm start to snap around and overtake the elbow. So, if you look at yourself in slow motion video (most phones can film that these days) and see your forearm coming away from that straight line early in the motion, it can ONLY be because you have applied some force to it directly rather than just letting it be pulled through like a whip [8]. If so, relax, and you will be able to throw further.
Here’s Jimmy Mickle, Kurt Gibson, and Trent Dillon [9] showing that their technique is very much the traditional ‘lawnmower pull’ rather than trying to drive too early with the muscles of the forearm itself.
Jimmy Mickle huck form
Kurt Gibson huck form
Trent Dillon huck form
Strength in the arm is generally far less important than technique. Timing is so much more important than power that it’s quite possible for even little wiry people to throw far. If you try and ‘power’ the throw, you’ll pull that forearm out early and lose all the whip [10]
Once you have really got the feel for it, you’ll be amazed how much speed you can generate with minimal effort. Even for a little arm-only toss, you need far less effort than you might think, and as long as you let that (relatively slow) initial motion flow down through the chain you’ll generate plenty of speed. Players with good technique appear to be throwing slowly, because there’s no need for a hard effort and a jerky start to the throw — they just do a good job of transferring and multiplying the speed down the chain.
Ref: Ultiworld
Understanding Ultimate - 3 part series on I/O turnovers
Understanding Ultimate - 3 part series on I/O turnovers
I am not really a fan of the delivery of some of Benji's blogs, I find them slightly too verbose and academic, which means I struggle to take the key points away, however I can't fault the content and rigour he employs.
This series explores the propensity to turn over on inside out forehands, providing a number of possible explanations.
TL:DR
Good balance might be the only way to develop consistency on these throws, and it’s dangerously easy to overlook.
It's harder to throw with touch with a forehand, which makes it harder to lead a receiver with an inside out throw
TB's Tidbits
Do not pivot into a position you can't get out of quickly and easily - be balanced at all times; rein in your pivots
For inside out breaks - preferentially use speed or fakes to beat the force, to remove the need to out-reach them
Spend time developing touch on your forehand
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