How to throw a frisbee forehand

In ultimate frisbee (or just ultimate, as frisbee is a trademark held by Whammo), one of the two fundamental throws is the forehand.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• frisbee

1. The first step in throwing a forehand is holding the disc correctly. In the forehand grip, the middle finger and the index finger are on the inside of the disc, and the thumb is on the outside. While the middle finger and index finger usually both run along the inside of the rim, beginners may find it easier to hold the disc if they point their index finger towards the center of the disc. This will give better accuracy, but at the cost of speed, distance, and power.
2. The second step in throwing a forehand is proper stance. Since you're required to establish a pivot foot in ultimate, it's good practice to keep that same pivot foot -- the foot opposite the throwing arm -- when learning new throws. From a normal standing position, step out a little with your nonpivot foot in the direction of your throwing arm, keeping your pivot foot in place. Keep your weight over your nonpivot foot as it will help you rotate your body during the throw. Lean slightly toward your throwing arm. Let your elbow hang straight down, and raise your forearm to be roughly parallel with the ground, and rotate it so that your hand is pointing roughly 45 degrees between your front and the direction of your throwing shoulder.
3. The third step in throwing a forehand is the windup. The force enacted on the frisbee comes from the whole body, not just the arm. To build this force, twist your body, with your throwing shoulder going toward your back, away from your target. This twisting should extend all the way from your ankles up to your shoulders; it is not just something that comes out of the waist. Additionally, you should cock your arm back: your throwing elbow should come back a little, and you should rotate your arm until your forearm is close to parallel with your hips. Because the twist goes through your whole body, it does not require a lot of rotation at any given point; you should not have to twist in a manner that you find uncomfortable.
4. The final step in throwing a forehand is the release. Having coiled up, you're ready to unleash the frisbee with a whiplike motion. Your body should accelerate into a reverse of the windup, starting in the ankles and going all the way back out to the arm. As everything is now moving in reverse but in the same order as during the windup, you should be leading into the throw a little with your elbow so that you can end the throw by whipping your forearm around your elbow.
5. The final final step? Practice! For some people, a forehand is second nature. For others, it takes plenty of time to learn much less master. But when you do finally get control of your forehand, you'll find that you've added an invaluable weapon to your ultimate arsenal.

Tips & Warnings

• When going through the release motion, it's tempting to bring your forearm up, but you'll find that this causes the disc to turn over, curve in odd directions, and ultimately go rolling off into the sunset. If you find this happening, exaggerate the lean in your stance and let your forearm hang down closer to vertical. In other words, concentrate on keeping the outside edge of the frisbee down. While it seems like an odd way to throw, the spin of the disc will usually cause it to level out. Even if you overcompensate and end up throwing the frisbee inside out (such that it curves back toward your throwing shoulder), it's usually an easier problem to correct than turning the disc over.
• Sometimes you'll want extra spin so that you can either make a disc float a little longer or keep it stable in windy conditions. To get extra spin in your forehand, rotate more from the elbow. In the throwing motion, it will almost seem like you're rotating your elbow around the disc instead of the other way around.
• To get more power in your throw, twist more in your body, much more in your shoulder, and a little less in your elbow. But don't worry about really cranking it until your shorter throws are stable. Trying to throw too hard before you have your basic forehand down can mean that you end up practicing bad form, making it hard to ever throw a level forehand.
• When you have the basic throw down, practice the above techniques to have a range of forehand throws that you can use in varying situations. Additionally, you can start learning how to throw an inside-out forehand, an outside-in, and a low release. The hammer throw is also closely related.