Marty<br>From the Forum<br>Sat Oct 28 09:36:34
2000<br><br>I agree that minor elbow bend before the plant is
not crippling. However at the plant the arm should
have achieved as near a full extension as possible. If
the elbow is bent before the plant, as the hips and
shoulders square to the field the bent elbow takes the arm
out along a path to the right. The tip will generally
point right of center where the throw will tend to
land. The height of release is diminished, the power is
less when the throw moves away from the base of
support as the contribution of large central muscles is
diminished (lats, abs), and the elbow is placed at risk as
it snaps the forearm down and back at the plant. In
contrast, a long extended relaxed arm is easier to delay
while the hips and shoulders square to the throw the
arm takes a higher path with the elbow passing closer
to the ear. This allows a higher release, more power
pulling over the base of support and minimizes risk of
injury. Practicing to short arm throws is bad whether it
is from 3 steps, 5 steps or full approach. The more
bend you practice at the elbow, the more you cause a
separation in effort between the hip/shoulder action and the
arm. In the end you are left with mainly what the arm
can still contribute-an arm throw. When I do
technical workouts I do not add to my approach until I can
perform properly from shorter approaches. There should be
attention to the near vertical alignment of the
contributions of hip shoulder and arm to maximize efficiency
and prevent injury. The end point of throwing hand
over plant foot is a useful tool to image.