Backhand throw in Frisbee
breakdown
By Tyler Clafton
Exercise Science Class
Mr. Wardle period 4
Table Of Contents
 Brief intro on throwing a frisbee
 Set up/Analysis
 Backswing
 Force producing movement
 Critical instant
 Follow through
 Qualitative/Quantitative analysis
 Logger Pro/Maximum velocity
 Resources
Brief intro on throwing a frisbee
Throwing a frisbee straight and accurately is a
very complex technique that involves your body to move
in certain ways you wouldn’t expect it to, just to throw a
frisbee properly. To throw a frisbee properly you must be:
 In a proper stance
 Have good mobility range with your limbs
 The muscles involved should be in good “shape”
 Requires good torque from rotation of your body and
arms along with leg force
Set Up/Analysis
Setting up to throw a frisbee is actually a very interesting
and fascinating technique most people look past. To start you should
have your body relaxed in anatomical position. From this you will be
using your hip abductors and flexors to take a step out and wide and
planter flexing your leg/foot into the ground. Then following this
movement you will be laterally rotating your torso 90 degrees while
circumducting your shoulder muscles through the sagittal plane and
bringing it to the front of your torso. Doing these three things are
just the beginning of throwing a successful backhand throw.
Backswing
The backswing in frisbee is probably one of the most important
things you can do, besides the release. To get the proper motion involved in
a backswing, you need to have these following things happening:
 The ulna/radius joint to be moving in the motion of a level 3 lever
 Circumduction of your shoulder through the sagittal plane
 Rotation about the vertical axis
As seen in this picture the
ulna/radius joint is bent, the
shoulder is circumducted, and
there is rotation about vertical axis
Force Producing Movement
The force producing movement involved in frisbee is from the
moment when you are circumducting and abducting your arm away
from your torso. This motion is causing there to be inertia. But there is
also the force from when you are forcing your entire leg to be pushed
into the ground, causing an opposite force to be exerted in the other
direction. With these two forces acting with each other, it cause there
to be a lot of inertia for the frisbee and a lot of force from your
shoulder girdle down through to your phalanges. This force is so great,
that when mixed with the weight of the frisbee it causes a movement
that produces enough inertia to cause the frisbee to fly.
Critical Instant
The critical instant in frisbee is right when you release the frisbee.
When you do this it is taking all of the energy and force you have just
created and produced enough inertia to cause the frisbee to fly in a
straight, stabile path. The moment the frisbee leaves your hand, it is
relying on all the inertia that you created for it to fly.
What the picture on the right is
showing, is how the frisbee is
being released with such
inertia that its impossible to
notice when it actually leaves
your hand
Follow Through
Follow through in frisbee is the most important thing to do.
With out that follow through you would most likely break your
arm from the force being produced. During the follow through
you are circumducting your arm again through the sagittal plane
and along the vertical axis, but this time you are going to let
your arm keep swinging around you as far as it can go, causing it
to slow down. This will reduce the inertia being produced to be
very minuscule, making it easier to stop your arm. As seen on
the right
Qualitative/Quantitative Analysis
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Qualitative:
Focusing on my hand, and what it does with the frisbee
Lateral rotation, ulna/radius joint, hip and shoulder abductors,
hip flexors
Sagittal plan, Vertical axis
Level 3 levers (ulna/radius joint) and Level 2 levers (ankle
planter flexion)
Principle 3, 4, and partially 7
Law of Inertia, Force, and Action/Reaction
Making sure you do everything correctly
Qualitative/Quantitative Analysis
Quantitative:
1. The maximum velocity is 14.393 (approximately 52km/h). With
an acceleration from 8.306-14.393, then a decrease from
14.393-9.003.
2. Hand was very blurry at some points, so it made location my
hand extremely difficult at some points. And when recording
video, had mom stick hand out a window, so not the most sturdy
way to record it.
Logger Pro Velocity Graph
In the graph bellow, you can see that I have
highlighted the section that shows the maximum velocity
produced. Which was 14.393m/s
Resources
 From notes taken in class
 Logger Pro graph
 Mr. Wardle