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Roll/Brush Fundamentals

  1. Play by yourself often, practicing rolls and brushes where you have room to run and hopefully some, but not necessarily nice, wind. Visit San Diego, Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz, and other good wind-spots on nice wind-days as often as possible.
  2. Face the wind. Know where you are in relation to the wind at all times. Learn to feel it like a sailor.
  3. As Skippy says. remember that the object of a roll is not to get it from one hand to the other (bounce, bounce), but to roll it along the body as if maintaining contact the entire time, pulling it along your arms by moving your body in the opposite direction of the roll.
  4. Step into and follow-through on all brushes and kicks, as you would in tennis, volleyball or baseball.
  5. Play the spontaneous wind game with your friends, but also learn when to give space to your partner for individual moves. Go on "brush runs" with your partners . . . Be like Magic Johnson and make the players around you better. . . Set up your partners with good, easy brush/roll/kick sets and watch great, difficult things happen that you won't remember after you do them... this is a good sign. Communicate frequently before and after you jam to enhance these opportunities. Also talk during spontaneous times (e.g. all-mine, all-yours, coming, etc...).


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Advanced Catches


Foot Work Learn to let the disc do all the work. What I mean by that is to use your feet in order to get to the disc. If the disc is coming right at you after a couple of spins you know that you've got to get out of the way in order to complete the catch.

Catching Window Every catch has a window. By simply jumping to one side you've know opened up the catching window. An under the leg catch has a big window. An Oliver has a very small window. Learn how big those windows are and practice getting your body in position to open them up. A great drill is to stand by your self and work on every basic catch.

Quadrants There are 4 catching Quadrants; behind or around the head, behind or around the Back, behind or around either Leg and behind or around the Ankles. Toss up the disc and perform the catches with both hands until you've done them all. Next practice doing them all with one spin.


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Turn-Overs

There are many different types of turnovers, from two-handed with-the-spin turn-overs, to one-handed against-the-spin turnovers, and many in-between. The counter, one-handed with-the-spin turnover is done from the right hand to the left hand. Facing directly into the wind, rim the disc on a vertical angle, keeping the disc to the right side of your body.
Using your arm like a pendulum, proceed to swing the disc down, then quickly up, (the effect is somewhat like a rebounding yo-yo), pushing the upper edge of the rim over with your right rim finger. Take the disc in with a left hand delay, bringing your hand down with the disc as it descends. For clock spin, follow the same process using the opposite hands. The movement from turnover to re-delay happens quickly, so be on your toes. A handy tip for beginners: shift your body to the right a bit, away from the face of the wind, then turn the disc over into the wind. This will allow more time to re-delay the disc.


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"Standing Gitis"

(For a right-handed catch) Follow the same steps for the Flamingo catch when executing the Gitis catch (pronounced guy-tis), but this time you will catch with your right hand.

  1. As the disc descends towards the ground, plant your left foot on the ground
  2. As you bend at the waist to catch the disc, rotate your body around to the left as you extend your right leg as high and straight as you can
  3. Reach your right hand around your left ankle and catch the disc with your palm up
Note: Ideally, the disc should be caught as low to the ground as possible.


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"Flying Gitis"

The Flying Gitis is technically the same catch as the standing gitis, except that the catch is made airborne. The catch can be made off a bodyroll, kickbrush, etc. or by setting the disc up at an angle, away from your body and slightly towards the left.

  1. Take about two steps and push off your right leg, while lifting and extending your left leg as high as you can
  2. As the disc descends under your left leg, twist your body to the left, reach around your left leg with your right hand, and catch the disc with your palm up
  3. Once the catch is made, land on your feet, left foot first. To make the catch easier and the landing smoother, jump up and out to the left as opposed to jumping straight up and down.
Note: The Gitis entail severe bending and twisting. It is highly recommended to stretch and warm up before attempting either catch.


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Single Spin

(Counter or clockwise turns) The key to learning a spin is to keep your eyes on the disc at all times. This is called spotting. This technique is also used in dance for pirouettes. Look at the disc, as the turn is made away from the spot, the head is the last to leave and the first to arrive as the body completes the turn. On a single spin, set the disc staight up in the air at eye-level and about 1/2 arms length away from you.

  1. Tuck your arms into your body and turn a full revolution either clockwise or counterclockwise while spotting the disc
  2. Avoid slouching. It is important to keep your body upright and straight for optimal balance.
  3. As you complete the spin, try pulling the disc out from under the leg.
For a double spin, use the same technique as a single spin but this time set the disc up slightly above your head. The snapping of the head and shoulders during spotting is what will give you momentum for the second spin. Keep your feet close together and take small steps on the balls of your feet.


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"Flamingo Catch"

If you are executing a Flamingo catch off a throw, the incoming disc should be flying low to your body. Plant your left foot on the ground. As you bend at the waist to catch the disc, extend your right leg as high and straight as you can, while at the same time extending your right arm up into the air for balance. As the disc descends towards your left ankle, reach down with your left hand and catch the disc with your palm up. Ideally, the disc should be caught as low to the ground as possible. If you are ending a combination with a Flamingo catch, set the disc up in front of your body, about waist high, either flat or at a slight angle towards you and continue the move as described.

Note: The Flamingo entail severe bending and twisting. It is highly recommended to stretch and warm up before attempting either catch.


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Under-The-Leg-Set

The under-the-leg set is commonly used to connect other freestyle moves in co-ops or individual combinations.

  1. To begin, nail delay the center of the disc with your right hand
  2. Keeping the disc in the same spot, lift the left leg over the disc
  3. The right leg should be slightly bent to keep your balance. When the left leg has cleared the disc
  4. Set the disc up by pushing it staight up into the air
    From this set you can add another move, or your partner can pull the set to start his/her move.

You'll also find more information on Learning Freestyle at Heinsville.com.

Quick Links

heinsville.com
a great way to learn new freestyle moves, take a trip to heinsville! (by Jake Gauthier in Oregon, US)


www.bookofcool.com
New Book & DVD with an instructional chapter on Freestyle
(by Ocelot Productions, London, England)
prodiscfreestyle.com
The Secrets of Pro Disc Freestyle, Volume I (by Dave Lewis and John 'Z' Weyland, Los Angeles, CA)
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