Also written by Sean Langford of Alberta, Canada.

WFD Techniques

Putting these here so I don't lose them:

HWFD
"How did it go that far? You look so SLOW."

Mike Staal said that to me in Calgary this year after my first throw with the 56. This event has become something of my pet throw this year, so I figured I'd actually try to pass on some of the stuff I've been working on for it.

Some quick notes: 12:00 is the trig, 6:00 the back line. I'm also assuming right handed throwing.

1. Be aggressive. This thing isn't like the 28. It can't be physically manhandled at the last minute, so you've got to get it moving. Right from the first cast, get it moving.

2. Stay low. Right from go. Stay low the whole way. It's your legs that will drive this thing, not your upper body.

3. On the initial cast, pull up and around until your arm is at about 2:00 before you spin yourself. If you pull it around enough, you should pretty much turn in place.

4. Staying low, WAIT WAIT WAIT for the implement to hit 6:00, then go past it to about 5:00 or so before pulling up and around again to move into your second turn. This is your second cast. Again, it should be aggressive.

5. When you land for the release, resist the temptation to pull immediately. You have nothing but time on your side with this. WAIT for it to hit 6:00 (and I am assuming you are facing 3:00 now) or basically wait for the implement to line up with both of your feet.

6. Now explode upward with the legs and THEN pull with the arm, keeping your head high. You want to end with your body tall and trying to pull UP, not crouched and trying to pull the weight forward. Your last drive to the trig should take care of the forward momentum.

That's pretty much all I do for it. In short:

1. Stay low.
2. Be aggressive on all three casts (initial, second, final pull)
3. WAIT WAIT WAIT. I can't emphasize this enough. As long as there is tension on the chain and your arm, you're fine.
4. Drive UP with the legs on the last pull and then pull hard with the arm AFTER the weight hits 6:00.

For drills, try to go through the footwork as casually as possible and get it out as far as you can with minimum effort. Out of 10 or so throws, only 1 or maybe 2 need to be all out and even then, only the last pull should be any harder. Adding power to a throw is easy. Teaching your feet where to go is hard.

LWFD:

Some quick notes, like the 56: 12:00 is the trig, 6:00 the back line. I'm also assuming right handed throwing.

1. On the first turn, be casual. 28# really isn't that hard to force to go somewhere. Think about casting the weight AROUND your body rather than forward. Also, give it a bit of an upward angle. That will be needed later.

2. Just like the 56, you should stay low. Right from go. Stay low the whole way. It's your legs that will drive this thing, not your upper body.

3. On the initial cast, pull up and around until your arm is at about 2:00 before you spin yourself. If you pull it around enough, you should pretty much turn in place. Again, this part is just like the HWFD but you need to pull it a whole lot less.

4. Staying low, WAIT WAIT WAIT for the implement to hit 6:00, then move into your second turn. This is your second cast. And now it's time to give it a little more force. You want to start to sprint toward the front left corner of the trig. This will open your hips up more.

5. When you land for the release, resist the temptation to pull immediately. You have nothing but time on your side with this. WAIT for it to hit 6:00 (and I am assuming you are facing 3:00 now) or basically wait for the implement to line up with both of your feet.

6. Now explode upward with the legs and THEN pull with the arm, keeping your head high. You want to end with your body tall and trying to pull UP, not crouched and trying to pull the weight forward. Your last drive to the trig should take care of the forward momentum.

That's pretty much all I do for it. In short:

1. Stay low.
2. If you can't speed up your second spin, SLOW DOWN YOUR FIRST ONE. That way when you go up to normal speed, you're still adding force to the implement.
3. Wait just enough for the feet and implement to line up before either recasting or before giving that last pull.
4. Drive UP with the legs on the last pull and then pull hard with the arm WHEN the weight hits 6:00.

For drills, try to go through the footwork as casually as possible and get it out as far as you can with minimum effort. Out of 10 or so throws, only 1 or maybe 2 need to be all out and even then, only the last pull should be any harder. Adding power to a throw is easy. Teaching your feet where to go is hard.

It really is a different throw from the 56 in that you don't have quite as much wait time, but you still have it. Again, it's better to go painfully slow on your first spin and add force by getting up to your one spin max speed on turn two.