Sidearm Driving Tips

What are your keys to throwing a successful sidearm drive?
Stance? Grip?, Disc?, Hyzer?

[J-TRU]

for me it's as easy as 1,2,3.... 1. You have to have the right grip, i use one finger on the rim of the disc some people use two. just use whats good for you. 2. You have to have the right approach, what i mean by that is the steps you take before your relese to get yourself in position. 3. IT'S ALL ABOUT THE RELESE, when you relese the disc your arm should be parrelle to the ground and about at waist level. Then just let er rip. You will know you did it right when you here your finger flick off the disc.

Jtru

[Smokey]

I will second J-Tru on the #3. I would say a flat level release to slight anhyzer between your knee and waist. The lower your release the easier it is to keep the disc flying straight. If you release too high you end up releasing nose up.

[Hootie]

I use a two finger grip and keep the disc nice and flat through the throw, slight anhyzer so you get it to S curve. I throw a DGA Rogue, just discovered how good this disc is. Threw a sidearm during a tournament on the weekend which went 100m+, it was awesome!

[Matt Sink]

Lots of good advise, is there a good disc to learn with. My side arm shots "flutter" and go nowhere. I have a good side arm upshot with a stratus but only good at 80 to 50ft. Please help.

[Lotto]

Matt Sink said:

Lots of good advise, is there a good disc to learn with. My side arm shots "flutter" and go nowhere. I have a good side arm upshot with a stratus but only good at 80 to 50ft. Please help.

you side arm with a stratus? jesus, i can barley throw that forehand and when i do, i BARELY throw it and it is to goes straight left(RHFH). as for it fluttering, you probably just need a tighter grip on the disc and try flicking it alittle harder. when you get a good snap, move up to a flash or crush.

[Matt Sink]

The stratus is used mainly for escape situations. In the left rough trying to anhyser out and as far as I can while still staying in the fairway. Usually all wrist with my arm outstreched.

[Hice]

I do a one finger flick to get the most snap.

[Hice]

One finger. monster (my ace disc), wraith, destroyer, Excalibur, firebird

[windsurf17]

Matt, Josh is right, the Stratus isn't stable enough for the arm/wrist speed of a sidearm. I got one when I signed up for the PDGA and it's not very useful to me (though I'm trying to get a backhand game again, so I've broken it out to practice with). The ESP Stratus I have looks awesome (black with gold stamped PDGA logo) and FEELS FREAKIN' AWESOME (ESP and FLX are pretty kickin), but I can't even come close to throwing it sidearm without a lot of major adjustments (the Stratus I got was a 167g one, too, and that hurts my cause). I think you're better off getting something that's a little more side-armable then try it. I have a Discraft Force that works pretty well, but you wouldn't need to go that overstable necessarily.

[Hootie]

PS ive moved on from the Rogue, now I throw an Xcaliber... love it!

[Matt Sink]

Sorry if my comments are confusing, when I try to flick a drive or long fairway shot I don't use the stratus. I usually try an EXP or Teebird sometimes the Wraith. Flutter and die no distance.

[Brandon Swanson]

Matt Sink said:

Sorry if my comments are confusing, when I try to flick a drive or long fairway shot I don't use the stratus. I usually try an EXP or Teebird sometimes the Wraith. Flutter and die no distance.

Here are my two guesses as to the source of your issues.

1. You are throwing with too much arm speed for the amount of spin you generate (with your wrist flick). Slow down the arm and keep your elbow close to the body

2. Your grip is not tight enough. When you grip the disc, make sure you stick the disc into the v between your index finger and thumb as firmly as you can. Again, this is facillitating strong smooth flicks.

I'm going through the learning curve for forehand myself at the moment. I've found the best results slowing things down. Actually the way I learned to throw a flick for ultimate was by placing my elbow on my side and not allowing myself to move it when I threw. This forces you to use only your forearm and wrist flick to throw and locks into your muscle memory a clean release. When you get that down solid throwing a roc, move up to a driver and put the shoulder in, but always keep it smooth and finish with a hard flick of the wrist.

I think the reason people can't sidearm consistently for a while is because they (myself included) don't have the muscles developed for flicking their wrist harm enough. That takes time to develop, not just a change in technique. The way I became a good 3-point shooter in basketball was by laying in bed shooting a ball straight up in the air. It gave me the strength to control the ball effortlessly. When that last part of your throw is smooth and strong...the wrist flick...then you can work on the walk up...until then it's probably just exacerbating the flutter issues.