Tag: nail delay

Paul says, “turn it over”

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The turnover is probably as technical a move as possible in disc
manipulation. It entails both spins, a myriad of angles and potentially the
whole surface of the disc. To do a turnover requires the ability to delay
both spins, to push the disc flat from an angled orientation and an
understanding of the wind’s (which can be self created) influence on the
disc. A basic clock turnover (a “the” turnover if there is such a thing) to
upside down counter would start with a clock delay in the left hand. One
must precess the disc. The nail will go from the center of the disc towards
the rim until the dome side is angled to a point where the disc can be
pushed with such force so the dome side is pushed into the wind and turned
over to a degree (and somewhat flattened). The finger would be inside by
the rim close to the body with the bulk of the disc away from the body (hand
on inside portion). This requires you to find the position which gets the
dome to be in a position to be pushed into the wind. This push is
essentially a skid as you push against the prevailing spin while pushing
into the wind while elevating it somewhat. To complete the turnover the
right hand needs to pick up the (now upside down) disc (somewhat, not
completely as it is at an angle) and flatten it. This is where right hand
needs to push into the dome upwards, making contact near the lowest point on
the disc, on the other side from the body. This push up will force air into
the “cup” of the disc, equalizing the pressure in it and flattening it. As
this is happening, the finger should precess back towards the center of the
upside down disc. It is kind of like digging out the disc.

The underlying key to a turnover will be the push. This is a
muscle-memory/feel thing and is different for everyone. The stronger the
push, the flatter the disc can become but the higher the risk of a
“blowout”. The push has a few components. The less the push the more the
upside down take will be angled becomes more difficult as the incoming angle
is increased towards near vertical. When pushing the disc over you will
push forward towards the wind (or somewhat across the wind) as well as
manipulating it in an upwards direction.

The ability to find the right body positioning cannot be understated.
However done, it results in the dome of the disc pushing into the wind like
an Apollo spacecraft re-entering the atmosphere and a “pull” which is also a
push to flatten the incoming turned-over disc. All funky turnovers will
have the same pressure point relationships. They will manifest themselves
in many ways, but if you could just focus on the disc contact point, they
will be remarkably similar.

Paul Kenny

Paul Kenny expounds on the Center Delay

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Beyond throwing and catching, which are the most fundamental
tools required, initial tooling in my mind has a couple paths.
The outer rim and the center. With the center, you will want
to learn to spin the disc keeping your finger, specifically the
nail, under the center of the disc and in contact with it as
best as you can. This is called a delay. With the outer rim
you want to learn to keep the disc in the air as best you can.
This might include brushing, rolling or kicking and can involve
alot of running around. I will leave the outer rim skills to
one more proficient than I.

When I first learned to delay a disc, I had trouble. I already
knew how to spin a basketball, but had trouble figuring out how
to spin a disc. A spinning basketball, because it has so much
weight away from the center, has a stable center. When you spin
it correctly, the finger “locks” in the center. In fact, I could
spin a basketball on a pencil and hand it to just about anyone
and they could hold it spinning. With a spinning disc, the center
is not stable and the finger wants to drift off center on it’s
own. It takes very small, very quick corrections to maintain
center. It can take some time and repetition to get there.
Further complicating the development of this feel is the gyroscopic
effect intrinsic to spinning objects. When you touch a spinning
disc off center, the disc will “precess”, or turn 90 degrees
from where you touched it. Thus the small corrections discussed
above need to be in the direction of the spin. It will seem
you are always trying to catch up to the correction which wants
to stay 90 degrees ahead of your finger! This results in the
finger seeming to be doing really small circles near the center
of the disc. As you get more proficient, these “circles” and
the corrections get so small that it appears the finger is staying
still in the center of the disc!

Higher level functions such as skids and turnovers will use this
precessive property of discs in a complicated way to achieve
the moves. Skids, or “against the spin” moves work against the
prevailing precession while turnovers are done with the spin
in one direction until the turnover and then with the spin in
the other direction. What complicates it is the need to work
at non-flat angles and switching your brain from one spin’s thinking
to the other.

Paul Kenny

Wipers

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You know people say if you get lemons…make lemonade. Such is the way I started doing wipers (vertical upside-down rings). On a very windy day I was trying to bash flat counter, and was getting frustrated because when the nose got up at all it would blow up above my head and travel behind me really far. This technique is great to practice when waiting for a fellow jammer who is late or chronically on “Frisbee time”;-).

To get good at vertical upside down “drags” you face the wind. Keep in mind that the topside of the disc is directly perpendicular to the wind. The beauty of this technique in heavy wind is that the topside has no rim and therefore no “sail” for the wind to grab and move drastically. Also picture a person whom you have seen pass rings to another: the disc can only move forward once you contact and “hook” it. What this means is that if the throws or self-sets are set in front of you, you must have great wheels and sprint past the disc and pull it forward with you since it is both vertical and upside-down and therefore falling rapidly.

Simply put once you hook the disc you cannot move it backwards to go forwards, so it is best to start with the disc behind or to your side. If the disc is behind you, when you hook it, and it is spinning rapidly 2 miraculous things happen. First of all the wind pushing against the top “glues” it to your nail allowing a slight pulling movement and a feeling of power unlike any other in the disc world. For now you are defying gravity and doing a unique ring technique which looks mind-blowing, and leads into upside down rolls and kicks that will absorb the energy you transfer well, without moving too far away or blowing above your head! The second thing that happens is that you DISCover against the spin and with the spin moves do not hit your body parts because the disc is hanging off behind you like a ribbon!

To get started all you need to do is hold an overhand grip in front of you so you can see your thumb at 12 o’clock. You are looking at a the bottom of the disc and the nose is pointed at the wind 5-15 degrees depending on wind speed and rate of spin. Really cock the wrist and BAMM: snap it up above head slightly and look for the wind to move it back slightly- your only task is to find the top of the rim and HOOK it- but the disc must be slightly behind you at either side or behind you within arms length. The further behind you start- the more dramatic it looks when you hook it and let the ZZZs glue the disc to your nail- and play, experiment with it. It will hang as you move into the wind or as you spin around dragging it and I can turn 3 times sometimes if the spin and my technique is flawless….with the disc just hanging there the whole time!!! AWESOME!!!! Try it you’ll like it….

When you pass the disc back and forth behind your back and/or through your legs…it looks like your hands are windshield wipers…hence the name-coined by Diego Gamboa who informed me I had not invented this technique…and had been doing what he called drags for years. Left hand overhand grip is actually clock right side up-so you will doing counter UD drags-but after a while the direction of spin will become meaningless to you unless you do combos with rolls and kicks and under the leg brushes. When the disc is dragging against it will stick at really slow rates of spin allowing you to pull it in front of you to a beautiful UD roll… With high spinning discs it is easy to pull in front to a UD flat delay…and do whatever from there. For the opposite spin-grip the disc as if you were going to throw an overhand upside down throw to your partner and hold the disc at your side with your hand extended straight away from you… keep the disc perpendicular to the wind and snap… As you get good at this you will find yourself longing for your partners to throw you something you can hook right out of the air. It is especially gratifying to have it vertical, behind you close to the ground, falling away from you so can pull off the most heinest move: “Back from the Grave”. This occurs when there is no possible way you can reach the disc to even pancake save it much less do anything with it. Then PRESTO all of a sudden you are in control Back from the Grave…and you have made super duper lemonade out of a testy lemon of a throw…and the judges pencils snap off in disbelief…

Jamie

The With the Spin Crank

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There are really only 2 basic cranks. Due to the magic of both spins and going against the spin (see Skippy’s Article) there end up being 8 different combinations. Doing the basic with the spin cranks are easy to learn.

Here’s one: delay counter on your left hand palm up. Now lift your hand up and twist at the wrist so you are delaying palm down. Continue the twisting motion until your elbow it pointing up and you are delaying palm up again (only now your hand is inverted). Now bring the disc back under your arm armpit, twisting your wrist so that it returns to the original delay position (palm up). Basically you pull the disc under your arm.

The other one is to reverse the order. This one is easiest counter right. Just rock the disc towards you and swing it under your arm. Once your hand is inverted lift up and untangle your wrist.

So taking the examples above and doing them clock makes 4. But it gets tricky when you do them against the spin. IE Doing the counter motions/hands with a disc spinning clock. Thus there are 8, 4 with and 4 against.

Here’s a tip to make it easier to get the motion. Delay a counter left. Set it up about eye level. Quickly invert your hand and let the disc land on your nail. Let it fall to the rim. It will naturally circle under your arm (hence with the spin). This will teach you how the motion works. Just remember a true crank is center all the way.

Jake Gauthier

Going from a Rim Delay to a Center Delay

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For most learning to go from a high Z rim delay to a center delay marks a whole new level of understanding in disc control. It means being able to bring most any angle throw back to the center, increased center control, and leads to understanding angle changes and off center tips. For me this skill took some practice.

To accomplish this task it helps to be able to throw a high Z steep angle to your self. To learn clock right hand throw a right handed backhand throw with tons of spin. It should come off on a steep angle, nearly perpendicular to the ground such that the bottom is pointing more downward than the top and the nose is pointing to the right. It should also be perpendicular to your chest plane. Now that the disc is in the air use your right hand and take it on a rim delay. Your palm will be facing to your left and your finger(s) should be curled under the rim. Let the disc hang in this position long enough to get it under control but not so long that it tilts around so the nose is pointing to your body. From here there are two common methods of getting to the center.

1: Give the disc an upward tug. As it lifts up hold your hand still so that the bottom of the disc rides along your finger nail(s). Once your nail is near center push hard to the left. The ideal location is it about 6 o’clock halfway between the rim and the center. As you push to the left the disc will flatten out. Once it is flat get the center delay under control.

2: Gently swing the disc forward. As the disc swings forward the rim will pull against your nail forcing the disc to level off. Once it is halfway flat move your nail to the center and gain delay control.

To learn counter left reverse the right/left directions as if looking in the mirror.

Once you become proficient at this maneuver try it on a different angle or the opposite hand. Example, once the disc is on a rim delay let it drift around on your nail until the nose is pointing upwards to the left perpendicular to your chest plane. The motions are the same. Give it a tug so it rides up your nail. Now push right at 12 o’clock between the rim and the center. It will flatten out as before. Note: you may have to duck your forearm below it to keep from knocking it off your finger.

The biggest thing to learn is that the location to press in with changes based on the direction of the nose. It’s always 90 degrees ahead of the spin from the nose. So, with clock spin, if the nose is pointing away from you (12 o’clock) push it out so the disc rides up your nail, then push towards you at 3 o’clock. With counter spin you’d push at 9 o’clock.

Once this becomes second nature try flattening the disc directly from the throw with a tip. The physics are the same. Just tip it up 90 degrees ahead of the spin from the nose. You can also try to flatten it out from a rim delay to a flat set. This set it the beginning to many moves and catches such as a scarecrow and a one and a half btb.

Jake Gauthier

Learn to Center Delay

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Practice, practice, practice. 🙂

Well, beyond that, here’s what helped me in the beginning. You can do
this by yourself.

1) Develop a two handed throw to your self that is flat (parallel to the
ground) and floats down gently. Start by placing each hand on the outside
of the rim, one hand close to you, the other on the far side of the rim.
Throw your hands and arms out to the sides, popping the disc gently up in
air, about a foot or two in height above you head. Practice this skill
alone, without attempting the delay, until you get the disc to float very
horizontal and with as much spin as possible. Like a spinning top, the
more RPMs the disc starts with, the more stable and easy to control it
will be. The flatter it is, the easier it will be to balance and delay.
Once your self throws are stable, you are ready to proceed. Side note: If
your right hand is the one close to you, your spin will be
counter-clockwise. If you left hand is the one close to you, the spin
will be clockwise. One spin may be easier for you to throw and one spin
will be easier to delay at first. Make observations about your tendencies
and what works best for you.

2) Make sure the contact with the disc is with your fingernail, however
small it is (artificial nails are not necessary in the beginning). Hold
you finger, slightly bent, so that the nail itself is close to parallel
to the surface of the disc. This way the spinning disc will slide on your
nail. Apply a silicon spray lubricant to the disc to further reduce
friction between the disc and your nail. As soon as the disc contacts
flesh, there’s major friction involved, usually leading to loss of spin
and control.

3) Next, connect the above two skills. After you release the disc into
the air, reach up to the disc with your delaying hand and try to make
contact with the disc as close to the time when it is transitioning from
popping up to floating down. The disc is traveling slow at this time.
Spot the center of the disc as it’s above eye level. Keep your finger
kind of springy to absorb the contact of the disc with your finger at
this time and follow the disc’s descent with your arm to slow its further
descent. If you can keep the disc above eye level at this time, you can
continue to spot your finger on the bottom of the disc and track your
centering attempt. Eventually your eye-hand coordination will develop,
allowing you to stabilize the disc below eye level, without seeing your
finger on the bottom of the disc. A clear or translucent disc can also be
helpful at this stage.

4) Finally, make small circular motions with your arm and finger, in the
same direction that the disc is spinning. This motion will help correct
any non-horizontalness of the disc and helps you track to the center of
the disc to maintain the delay. Over time, these motions become so
refined that you will not even realize that you are making them.

Eventually you will replace step 1, with that of a throw from a partner.
Make sure your throwing partner is throwing you the same spin that you
practice with or everything will seem awry. If your partner can make a
hovering throw, again try to make contact with the disc at a point in its
flight where it is transitioning from flight to fall. Let your finger and
arm give with the disc as you receive it, acting as a shock absorber to
slow its momentum to a standstill.

The whole process is learning this eye-hand coordination. Players have
reported different lengths of time to learn the skill from less than a
week to maybe six weeks. A youthful age and athletic tendencies will tend
towards the shorter time. Practice every day for at least fifteen minutes
and you will see results of increasing delay times.

Once you’re comfortable in maintaining a delay, ask questions about the
next level you want to attain.

And most of all, have fun.

Doug Korns
#beginner

Why fake nails – or – Is it So Wrong to Wanna Jam Better?

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If you are a new jammer you may have wondered why so many advanced players all tend to wear some sort of extension or fake fingernail while playing. This article will explore the reasons for wearing fake nails in the first place, the materials that can be used, and how to make/apply them properly. Hopefully, by the end of all this babbling, you will be able to make a reasonably informed decision as to whether using fake nails is right for you as a jammer.

“A fake nail will be much more durable than your natural nail.”

Why Fake Nails?
If you’ve seen jammers wearing fake nails, you may have asked yourself why anyone would glue such hideous chunks of plastic to the ends of their nails. Well, this is for a few reasons. The first is durability. As the “nail delay” is on the fingernail, your own natural nails will take a beating from the abuse that jamming can cause. A fake nail will typically be much more durable and have less friction than your natural nails. Wearing fake nails will reduce the risk of chipped, bent, or torn nails. The latter can be most painful if it occurs below the fingertip and will take weeks to properly heal.

Another reason to wear fake nails is to reduce gouging. A natural nail is thinner than most fake nails and tends to self-sharpen during play. It becomes a small gouge that will rip chunks out of a disc while tipping, pulling, or even just delaying. This self-sharpening of natural nails requires more maintenance: not only day-to-day, but throughout the course of a normal jam day. Fake nails, especially acrylic, need little to no edge attention and won’t sharpen during play.

“They will give you more extension and better penetration.”

Fake nails will give you extension beyond what a natural nail can. Depending on genetics and the amount of calcium in your diet, a natural nail gets pretty flimsy once it’s about 3/16” past your fingertip. A fake nail gives you extension beyond what a natural nail can before it starts to bend or tear (ouch!). The extension of the nail gives the wearer a couple advantages: it keeps the disc a little higher off your forearm/body while delaying and allows better penetration into the rim for rimming, sets, and pulls.

Fake nails, as mentioned above, have less friction than naturals—especially acrylic. This gives you the obvious advantage of a disc that spins faster and longer.

“You don’t wear a claw-hammer on your belt when you go dancing, do you?”

Another reason for wearing fake nails (which is a matter of personal preference) is that you can take them off at the end of the day. Although there are plenty of jammers who keep nails on 24/7, it’s not for everyone. Fake nails are necessary tools for jamming, just as a claw hammer is for effective carpentry. But you don’t want to wear your hammer on your belt when you’re out for a night of dinner and dancing with your sweetie, do you?

What are fake nails made of, and how do I get them?

Materials
There have been many types of materials and apparatus used over the years from thimbles to guitar finger picks, and from Lee Press-On nails to dental acrylic—even small seashells. Finding a product or material that you prefer can be a matter of availability and personal preference. Acrylic is perhaps the most effective material being used today, but they aren’t always easy to come by. The same goes for Swedish plastic. Still today, one of the most convenient and effective materials is the protective outer tube from Krazy Glue. Not only is this a relatively fast plastic, but it is also included in the purchase of a tube of Krazy Glue. Don’t be shy about trying new stuff to stick on the end of your nails—you could discover the next best thing to happen to freestyle since judging!

“Don’t be shy about sticking stuff to the end of your nails.”

As mentioned above, you can cut nails from the outer tube of Krazy Glue. It is soft and easy to shape, but this is also a disadvantage as it wears down over time. It also has a natural curve to it already that helps fit the curve of your finger.

Acrylic nails are not only hard and fast, but for the fashion-conscious they can come in virtually any color you desire. But getting them is a little tricky. Some are made of dental acrylic such as Yar-nails and others come from nail salons. If you know someone who is a dental technician, they can make you an exact fit. Otherwise, you will have to rely on fine- tuning the fit after they have been made. The advantage of getting acrylic nails from a salon is that they will fit perfectly to your existing nails. Some players have them made in a natural color and leave them on until they break off or grow out. Salons nails will cost more, but are quite effective.

“Hobby plastic is pretty cheap, but you’ll have to go to Europe for the Swedish Stuff”

Hobby plastic is plastic that can be purchased at most hobby/craft stores. It is basically the same material (a dense polystyrene) that plastic models are made of and can be bought in sheets of various thicknesses from .005” up to .080”. The most common thickness for fake nails is .050” (50 gauge). Hobby plastic is also quite affordable and, if a couple jammers go in on buying a package, the cost goes down even more. It does require some special handling to get a curve to fit your own nails: This technique will be covered later in this article.

As for Swedish plastic, go to more tournaments in Europe and make lots of friends—especially with the Swedish players. See if they can hook you up.

Now I’ve picked a material, how do I get them to stick?

Adhesives
The two most common methods of adhesion of fake nails are Krazy Glue (or other cyanoacrylates) and contact cement. They each have their advantages and disadvantages. Krazy Glue adheres fast, is strong, and applies in a very thin layer. For some, nails applied with Krazy Glue have a more “intimate” connection with their natural nail and feel more like a part of their body. It also comes in a very compact container so it’s easy to tote around and can be used in emergencies like when you knock over that family heirloom vase while jamming at Grandma’s house. But these adhesives have drawbacks such as: instantly gluing your fingers or other body parts to each other, the fumes will burn your eyes and nose, nails can be exceptionally difficult to remove—sometimes taking a layer of natural nail with it, and nails can just POP OFF without warning.

“Crazy Glue has a more ‘intimate’ connection”

Contact cement is much less aggressive than Krazy Glue. It is easier to remove the fake nails and won’t take a layer of nail or skin with it. The fumes are nowhere near as nasty either. And if a nail is starting to lose adhesion, you can typically tell in advance and fix the problem. But re-application will take you out of the jam for as long as 20 minutes while the glue dries. You also need to count on that 15-20 minute dry time when the nails are first applied before jamming. Contact cement is a much messier process. Even in tubes, contact cement takes up a lot of space in your nail kit and has less of a MacGiver factor than Krazy Glue. And for some, there is a sort of “mushy” feel to the nail that feels like the nail could pop off any minute, thus losing that “intimacy” gained with Krazy Glue.

The next installment of this article will be on the making, applying and maintenance of your own fake nails.

Magman
#beginner

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Cove Pull

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Cove Pull: With Clock spin, set the disc on the right side of your body. Now, reach behind your back with you left hand and pull the disc so it traverses behind your back from right to left, and then in between your body and your left arm. This is one of the prettiest against the spin pulls, in my opinion. Of course, unlike mine, an ideal cove would not touch the rim.

What’s a reverse pull?

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The reverse pulls originated from the osis concepts. To understand the reverse
pulls you must also understand the osis. There is a true osis and a false osis.
The true osis must have a leg or body part clear the disc completely to execute
the move properly. Lets take a simple one. Reverse gitis pull! I set the disc
from my right hand spinning clock under my left leg flat set placing the disc to
my left shoulder. The left leg continues to rotate 180 degrees then planting
firmly then the right leg continues the rotation in the air while your right hand
slides cross body to the gitis position while the right leg MUST go over the
disc and then the pull is achieved.

Hint> keep your chin on your right collar bone while you look down your right
elbow and your right knee for the disc and set the disc where you want it! Stick
your finger in and pull. If you can keep your right leg up and swoop into a
grapevine set to a left handed scarecrow!!! That should wooo em!

Chip Bell
#advanced