Today a teammate asked me for some tips on how to pull. I wrote up such an extensive response that I felt like I wanted to post it here. Obviously different techniques work for everyone, as I personally have gotten incredibly varying, sometimes even completely opposite, advice over the years. Here's my personal compilation of tips and tricks that work for me.
Message from teammate: "i was wondering if you had any tips on pulling. i tried it out today but my throws were mostly too high and not far enough.
also, i'm a lefty but i had trouble pulling so that the disc would be a OI going from left outside to right inside, sometimes it would even be a OI going from the right outside to left inside, so i think my throwing must be wrong. if you have any tips, that would be great!"
My response: "Okay well first, it's a preference. If you like pulling OI, go for it! I personally pull IO. If you're pulling OI, it means your disc isn't angled enough. To start changing that to IO, throw short, extremely bladey throws. I start very close to vertical (pointing down) when I pull. So grab a partner, get 10 yds away, and just throw blades to get your hand used to holding a disc that way.
Second, don't try to add footwork before you get the throw down. In fact, a lot of people lose momentum when they try to add footwork incorrectly. The idea is to get your weight behind your throw, and all that momentum moving in the direction of the pull. Start by standing stationary facing away from the field, but twisting from the hips. Most shorter throws don't require so much force, but this can help with hucks too. Remember, if you feel off balance, that's okay. On a pull there's no such thing as a "travel." In fact, you ideally want to be falling forward as you pull, as this will get your body traveling down the field and indicates you put so much momentum behind your throw that you launched your body forward.
Once you've got that down and are happy with some increased distance, feel free to try some footwork. The footwork that I was taught (flipped for left-handers) is one step with your left, then the step with your right should turn you should be almost with your back to the field, then the next left step will be your step out and the start of twisting your body. 3 steps. Left, right, left. You can jog up a little before that to get momentum, but build slowly. A lot of pullers find that adding the steps actually takes away from their form. I would get a pull with good form down first, so come game time if you haven't mastered the steps yet, at least you have a pull you can rely on.
As far as throwing the disc itself, you want to think of your arm as like a whip. This is why pulling over and over again (like I had to do last season) really fucks with your elbow. You should be throwing in practically three steps: elbow, hand, wrist flick. Practice doing those steps slowly. Again, the angle of the disc is all about how you release it, so practicing shorter throws will train your wrist to throw how you want. To help with the height, I try to focus on an object across the field. For example, a light post or a tree or something. By eyeing where you want to throw, instead of the sky, that might help. Think out, not up!
But honestly, at the end of the day the pull is just a really hard throw. Get in the gym and do some lifting, or at least do some pushups every day at home to gain muscle."
I'm always looking for more advice, so if you agree, disagree, just want to comment, definitely let me know!
As a total side note, Going Primal day 2 has been a success. It's not that hard cutting out breads and sweets when you realize how delicious meat tastes (to be fair, we'll see how long that sentiment lasts in the coming days). Also, I have rediscovered a great workout in kickboxing. Totally primal, right? Our ancestors totally would have hand-to-hand combat! Today I had 55 g of carbs, and still felt completely energized throughout my whole workout - exciting! Since I know that soon I will be jonesin' for the sweets again, my goal is to put together some primal snacks in the next coming days. First, some trail mix. Next, pie!
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