Throwing Thought: Forehand Hucks (Response to Issue #10: "Throwing for Distance")
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Loading ...I’m just going to stop commenting and tell you to read Gwen’s stuff. She nails it.
Be a good thrower for your decisions, not your throws. Put your throwing practice in the context of a game-time decision to make it that much more of a seamless process in high-pressure situations.
My two cents on forehands…first, read what Miranda Roth has on long backhands (she covers it very well–all of the articles in this issue have gems):
I’m all about maximizing torque when throwing—using rotation to generate power flowing into your throw. On a long backhand the first point is to step out so that when you twist your body you’re not killing your defender with a giant elbow to the face (this is easier for tall players—shorter players should focus on a quick stepout). While stepping out, I also reach the disc out as far as I can to create the longest lever possible (thus creating the most force). The last major step is to rip it—use your abs to pull your arm across and really focus on opening your body all the way toward where you are throwing.
A lot of the same rules apply for forehand hucks. Take into account your grip and your arm action, but the power all comes from the torque of the hips and torso transferring to the disc (this occurs through your arm and grip, so those things are not trivial: refine your mechanics if you find your best effort still yields poor (wobbly) results), with your core as a mediator (and mover–train your core rotationally).
The key difference between the backhand and forehand hucks is how the body generates power and how power is transferred. Forehands are much more of a finesse throw, but you can still generate a very significant amount of power using your body properly. For me, this means stepping out to the side, even slightly back, as I torque my torso back slightly, particularly at the shoulder (to load the scapula). Using my step slightly, I use the momentum and transfer that energy up from my foot to my body, as my body undulates–leg, then hip, then shoulder torque forward in time, and as the next link in the chain comes forward the previous link comes back, creating a whipping motion (Which is to say, as my shoulder is coming forward, my hip has begun to move back).
The essential component is to relax. Whereas you can usually brute force a backhand, too much tightness on a forehand will sap your power. Allow your body to flow, to seamlessly send the energy up through your body and into your arm. You will be tense at the core, but your arm will be very loose up until the moment of release (but your grip will remain tight throughout). Unlike the backhand, where the arm can do a lot of work, the arm can really only hinder a flick. You’ll see a lot of people throw with their elbow on the hip, which displays the lack of necessity for the arm very nicely–the ideal, however, is to get the elbow off the hip and leading the throw, much the same way a pitcher like Chad Bradford throws (but with more upright posture). Get that extension, but relax and let your body (esp. your shoulder) whip the disc.
Good stuff in this post. However I am confused by something that Gwen said in the quote. She says that on a backhand she reaches out as far as she can to generate the most force. But as I see it, reaching out as far as you can necessitates that you are throwing with an arc motion, instead of in a straight line. If your arm is fully extended to the side, then as you move the disc forward, it will move towards you laterally, creating an arcing motion. Was she implying that she reaches the disc as far back as possible (rather than out to the side)?
I prefer to move the disc in a straight-line path prior to release (sort of like pulling the cord on a lawnmower). This means that the disc is not as far (laterally) from the body as possible; but I think it’s better to achieve separation from the marker by stepping out, rather than holding the disc farther, or ideally by running a handler motion that gives you unmarked throws.
Yeah, that’s a good point. I would interpret it the same that you did, or perhaps Miranda means to reach as far out as she can while still throwing effectively. I think the same as you do, but I think with practice you can learn to throw with mostly an arcing action (ie, full or near-full extension) while getting the disc to move in a straight line just before release. Not that I think it’s the most effective way, but it works for some.
I stumbled across this post via your youtube video where you demonstrate your forehand grip. My grip is fairly similar to yours with the main difference being that I don't really press down that hard with my thumb. I tried your grip out a bit yesterday, and, like you said, it does keep the disc more parallel to the forearm. However, when I try to actually throw the disc, I find myself 'forced' to release the disc with an outside-in angle and the disc just dives to the ground. With my normal grip, I don't quite have the disc parallel to my forearm which allows me release it flatter. Any suggestions? Thanks for the help and your time.
Ninjax,
I've been meaning to post on this for a while. The short answer is to compensate for your arm's natural tendency to not be flat from the shoulder–tilting your torso so that throwing motion that previously put the elbow below the hand (and the forearm on an OI plane) becomes flat or even IO.
Perhaps more details on that'll be a post for this week…
Nice.
I definitely notice that less inexperienced throwers use a bit too much tension in their wrists, rather than relaxing the wrist muscles and getting power transferred through the wrist tendon/ligament complexes.
~LeslieW
Imagine yourself as a cloth thats just been rung out. Now, imagine it twisting back to normal.
Now imagine it perpendicular to the ground.
If the cloth is YOU it should only be your core.
Youir arm NEVER swings in fact the disc should be relatively close to your ribs as you lead with your elbow and continue the motion with your elbow. Imagine a earth movers arm. A big one. Once I started visualising my core as a cloth my backhands hucks and pulls have been long and accurate to the extent where I take my teams hucks, no questions asked!
My only problem was finding a consistent way to release(and not just a point of release) but that was a few weeks of trial and error much like everything you do in Ultimate.
Remember the cloth.
Anon,
Like the analogy. Thanks!