When it comes to catching a frisbee with one hand, there are many factors to consider, and most of us haven’t thought about them deeply.
The Hand You Choose Matters
The common assumption is that you should use the nearest hand to catch the disc, but this isn’t always the case.
If you have time to turn your body, neither hand is obviously much nearer to the disc.
The spin of the disc also plays a role, and you might think that it makes sense to catch with the hand that allows the spin to flow into the palm rather than spinning out.
However, if there are options about where on the rim you grab the disc, then there is little excuse for not going two-handed.
The Shape of Your Hand is Crucial
The shape of your hand is far more relevant than you might have thought.
Reach your right hand out to the right, with the pad of your thumb pointing directly downwards, and then close your fingers to your thumb.
You’ll see it’s not some robotic clamp where the pads of the fingers are exactly opposite the pad of your thumb – rather, with your thumb facing directly down your fingers are pointing significantly forwards.
This is a much more natural and comfortable position for catching a disc.
The Fingers on Top Catch
If the disc is flying quickly at waist height to your right, and you go to grab the nearest point of the disc with your right hand as it goes past, your fingers will be pointing slightly forwards.
Or, if the pad of your thumb tries to catch the top of the disc, the pads of your fingers will be facing forward – and will catch on the rim.
Unless the disc is traveling very slowly and spinning very fast, the forward motion of it will make the direction of spin irrelevant – all you have to do is snag the rim, on the side nearest to you, as the disc goes past.
High Catches are Different
But now imagine that the disc is up over shoulder height, still out to your right, such that you go with the fingers on top.
Reach out for an imaginary grab now, and more than likely you’ll have the pads of your fingers pointing basically down.
Just like before, the only way to generate stopping power on the top of the disc is with the flat – and grippy – pad of the digit making maximum contact, so the fingers must point down.
The Importance of Thumb Position
But now, for a high, right-handed catch of a disc to your right, your thumb is pointing away from where the disc is coming – and now it’s your thumb that is under the disc where the rim is.
You won’t usefully snag anything – the disc will just run over the knuckles of the thumb and disappear, unless you happen to time the catch exceptionally well.
The Left Hand Loses Out
The left hand loses out in this situation because the thumb is pointing away from the disc, and it’s hard to snag the rim.
This is why those high, fast discs can be so hard to catch, and why you often see players reach out and miss them.
Experimenting with Different Catches
It’s always good to experiment with these ideas by switching the side to see if you would, for example, go right-handed for a disc high and to your left.
This helps counter the natural and extreme bias we all have for catching with our favored hand (and then justifying why we did it afterwards!)
The Benefits of Non-Dominant Hand Catches
Going off topic, but speaking of non-dominant hands, do you have any thoughts on non-dominant hand throws?
Lefty-backhand pop passes for handler resets seem to be becoming a thing.
Yet for most people, any amount of practicing will not make a lefty a better option than throwing with their right.
Practice is Key
Tou need to practice left-handed catching.
But all things being equal, the left hand is better for some grabs.
Even if the left hand is less reliable in general, there will still be situations where it is the better option, just because the right-handed catch is so very hard.
In conclusion, the way you catch a frisbee with one hand is more complex than you might think, and it’s worth thinking about the factors that affect your catch.
With practice, you can develop a reliable one-handed catch that will help you make some amazing plays on the field.
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