How to Throw with Spin – Backhand

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Jake Gauthier demonstrates how to throw a frisbee with lots of spin.

In Freestyle Frisbee, one of the main tricks is to spin the frisbee on your fingernail. So, you want to throw with as much spin as you can so you or your partner can do as many tricks as possible.

This particular throw is a backhand, which is one of the most common frisbee throws. So, starting with a regular back hand, you would grip the disc extra tight, then wind your arm behind your leg. Finally, unwind to throw. As you release, pull back your arm towards your leg. It’s a little like snapping a towel.

Then Rim Shoot, by Ryan Young

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Ryan Young explains how he does a rim shoot. A rim shoot is a nail delay trick where the disc is set from your nail up into the wind on an angle. One use for the rim shoot is to move into a trick catch. This is because the rim shoot place the disc on an ideal catch angle. A rim shoot can also lead to other nail delay or air brush tricks or can be a pass to a partner.

To perform a rim shoot, first get the disc on a center nail delay. Then, bring your nail towards your body so the disc will tip with the nose towards you. You are now on a rim delay. Now, push gently around the rim so the nose is away from you. As you push, slowly accelerate your speed and nail pressure. When the nose is away from you, push the disc off your nail, propelling it up and into the wind.

At this point the disc will float up and away. As the wind blows and as gravity pulls the disc down, it will float back towards you. Now, make a trick catch or other freestyle frisbee trick.

Jake discusses the intricacies of the under the leg airbrush

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In this video I talk about some of the possibilities of doing an under the leg airbrush.

Airbrushing is when you hit the outside rim of the disc to keep it in flight. By performing this trick under your leg, you are adding a restriction which increases the difficulty of the trick.

Since the disc, you leg, and your hand are all moving, an under the leg airbrush can be performed at least three different ways…extra credit for listing another way in the comments.

First is where your arm reaches under your leg. The disc never actually traverses under your leg but your arm movement is restricted by your leg.

Second, the disc traverses under your leg before you airbrush it. The restriction here is the timing of the leg and hand movements so the disc does not contact your leg and so you do not air brush your leg instead of the disc.

Third, you brush the disc so it travels under your leg after the airbrush. The restriction is that the airbrush must be accurate enough and/or your leg must move accurately enough so the disc does not hit your leg.

Can you see the differences in the video? Which one do you think is the most difficult? Can you think of another way to do an under the leg airbrush with the same leg/hand combination?

Lori Daniels Demonstrates the Invert Delay

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Lori Daniels demonstrates the Invert Delay and two sets that can be performed from the Invert Delay position.

The Invert Delay is a flat nail delay where the wrist and hand are rotated inwards until the palm is up. In Freestyle Frisbee this is the Invert position since the hand is inverted from a normal palm up position. This is considered a restricted position since the mobility of the arm, elbow and shoulder are greatly limited.

Once the nail delay is established in this position, Lori demonstrates setting the disc under the inside of the same leg or outside of the opposite leg. Setting under the outside of the opposite leg in the invert position is also known as the Digatronic set. This is one of the most restricted tricks in Freestyle Frisbee.

Freestyle Frisbee How To Do a Chest Roll

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A chest roll is where the frisbee rolls from one hand, down your arm, across your chest and then out onto the other arm and hand. Ideally, the disc will touch your body the entire way across. However, that level on control is hard to master, even after 20 years of playing.

To practice, face the wind. Toss the disc on a steep angle so the wind will blow it back to you. Consider which direction the disc is spinning and toss it so it is close to the hand that will propel it across your chest. That is, left hand for clockwise spin and right hand for counter clockwise spin.

Next, hit (brush) the disc to give it momentum to traverse your arm, chest, arm and other hand. This initial contact is very important because, if the disc makes it at least across your chest, it is easy to save by pulling in your far hand and doing an airbrush. However, if it doesn’t make it to your chest or hits your chest and falls, it’s nearly impossible to get the disc back in flight.

As you practice, you’ll find that you can put the disc back into the air with the far hand. This can lead you to multiple chest rolls, air brushes, or trick catches.

Learn the Hal Delay

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Matt Gauthier explains how to perform a sequence he calls the Hal Delay. This starts as a kneeling delay hold. Then the disc is set up flat and you switch hands and legs and return to a delay hold. This is a challenging trick because it involves both hands in restricted positions. It is also consecutive in that each delay hold is performed with out any unrestricted disc control.

Matt calls this the Hal Delay as a tribute to Hal Erickson, the first person Matt and I saw perform this sequence. Perhaps Hal or someone else has a different name for it.

Nuances of Spinning a Frisbee on Your Finger Nail

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In this video I talk about the basics of a flat nail delay and a rim delay.

In Freestyle Frisbee, a Delay is when the Frisbee is kept spinning on one’s finger nail. This can be done either in the center of the Frisbee on in the rim of the Frisbee.

Most people want to learn the Center Delay immediately. However, it can take many hours of practice to get it down.

The way I learned was by starting with the Rim Delay. This kept me from getting frustrated by not mastering the Center Delay right away. I learned to pass the disc under my legs and behind my back, all with a rim delay.

Over time, I began to understand how the disc progressed naturally in a circle and how to control it better. And then, one day I could keep it in the center.

So, don’t overlook the rim delay as you’re learning new tricks.

How Perform a Figure Four Set by Lisa Hunrichs

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Lisa Hunrichs, multiple time world champion teaches us how to perform a Figure Four set.

In Freestyle Frisbee a set is when the Frisbee is under control and then set up into the air to lead into another trick. A Figure Four position is when an arm goes under the inside of the same side leg. I.E. the right arm goes under the inside right leg or the left are goes under the inside of the left leg. The arm and leg together cross a little like a 4.

A Figure Four set can be done either from a rim delay or a flat nail delay but the body mechanics change slightly for each. A Figure Four set is a great visually and leads well into other tricks.

Portland team wins at the American Freestyle Open Frisbee Championships

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Matt and Lisa at AFO 2014The American Freestyle Open (AFO) Frisbee Championships took place in Austin, Tx on the weekend of November 14 – 16. The competition attracted some of the world’s best mixed pairs Freestyle Frisbee teams. Among them was the team of Lisa Hunrichs and Matt Gauthier from Portland, Oregon. Lisa and Matt are the current mixed pairs world champions, having won in Medellin Colombia back in July. Also on the roster were the wife and husband team of Amy and Dave Schiller.

A Freestyle Frisbee competition is similar to doubles figure skating. Teams choose music and then perform their best acrobatic tricks with a Frisbee for four minutes. Judges will award a score in three categories: Execution, Difficulty, and Artistic Impression with a perfect score being 73.

Amy and Dave have been performing in Freestyle competitions for over 20 years together and it shows. They know each other so well that they know when to stay close, when to back off, and they do it all with extreme grace and poise. They took the stage at AFO, ready the dethrone the current champs, and performed a beautiful routine. Their final score was 51.4. Video Replay is here.

Lisa and Matt were not deterred. They have been competing together for for 10 years and have multiple world championship titles as a team. While they may not have the grace of Amy and Dave, they certainly make up for it in the complexity of their tricks and in choreography. They combine technical disc work with humor and perfect musical timing that always grabs the crowds attention. After a near repeat performance from their world championship win the judges awarded them the win with a score of 53.1. Video Replay is here.

Tell us if you think the judges got it right in the comments below.