The Leading Edge of Spin

By Jamie Chantiles, AKA Jambo, Chandelierious, Hi Me, or Phone & Frisbee Huckster

Return to March 1998 FPA Forum Home Page

I had the pleasure of staying in the "Frisbee Hotel" while attending the recent ’97 Arizona States. It was encouraging to see silicone spray, golf bags, and Frisbee players in every room I visited! It felt like we had taken over the planet… A beautiful disc golf course across the street, with happy players constantly playing! Up on the hill behind the course is a sports bar with a huge poster welcoming us!!! Wow I thought, "things are really coming together for the sport finally!" It reminded me of a time years ago at the Harvest House in Boulder during an FAC. I was squeezing through the crowd, drinks in hand, when a women noticed my fingernails and said: "Oh, you must be a freestyler!" I was sure that was a sign that our sport had come of age and the whole world was waiting with open arms…

These magic moments happen, but not often enough so 18 years later I’m still waiting, but now I realize: If it’s going to bee it’s up to me! There are 3 types of people: Those that make things happen, those that watch things happen, and those who try and figure out what just happened? Which are you? A doer or a viewer? You are either part of the solution or part of the problem. We need to promote our sport efficiently and professionally. 100 years ago the Greeks started the Olympics. Anyone who has seen the statue called Discobolus (discus thrower in an overhand wrist position) can tell we are rooted in the history of these great games. So much has changed in this time! We now communicate through the Internet or without wires from anywhere on the planet. Alternative sports like snowboarding, rollerblading, windsurfing, and beach volleyball are gaining in popularity.

Non-contact/high skill level individual sporting events are on the rise with the flying disc. So much has changed: We used to throw rocks, now we throw ROCs!  What’s your favorite MAC? Behind the back throw with an elbow MAC… Under the leg sidearm MAC… Personally I can remember a time when Randy Osborne, Dave Marini and myself were playing with a mini and I did a foot MAC as it sailed by! Can you tip that?

After traveling the entire country for tournaments since 1977, it is hard to believe I haven’t met everyone… But in Jacksonville this year I finally had the pleasure of meeting Greg Hosfeld the MINIAC, who went on to win freestyle with Buddy Adams and the overall! We were amazed that in 20 years our paths had never crossed. This is definite proof there are a lot of great players out there in the thick of things, who may stay there or fade away into other interests.

Thank you, Dave Lewis, for that 3 minute video! I can now talk about the sport and when words no longer do the trick… I have a tool to show unsuspecting people whose eyes light up in amazement! People will talk it up and this will create a "pull" marketing strategy effect, increasing the demand for us. We need to increase the demand for flying disc entertainment, don’t you agree? So do your part to promote the Frisbee Family and the next millennium will have friendly skies indeed!

I would like to start a continuing column on Amazing Flying Disc Events. For this you will need to think back on your flying disc life and think of a time that the disc had a mind of it’s own and truly amazed you and others around you… It could be the time you threw straight up in gusty wind and set a "back door" distance record when Laerbs found it in the Himalayas! Or something of a lower magnitude, like the time I was practicing skipping discs under moving cars (don’t try this at home) to disprove one of the 10 disc commandments Carsuck. One of my throws skipped off the windshield, deflected off the antenna, and continued unabashed to the intended receiver! The driver stopped and asked in amazement how I did that, and we are still friends to this day!

While in Phoenix I was lucky enough to spend some time with Joel Rogers… I wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to pick his brain since I have always been impressed with the way he controls the disc in any angle or spin, turning over and then bashing and rolling ad naseum till I am blue in the face and green with envy. So I asked Joel: "How do you know where to touch the disc… especially when you cuff a roll angle headed for the ground spinning fast that hurts my hand just thinking about it… How do you do that Joel? The answer is contained in the phrase, The Leading Edge of Spin. Quite a concept that I feel will benefit anyone trying to improve their game.

During his answer and demonstrations which I will end this article with, a truly amazing mini event happened. We were flicking minis furiously, when we started to test each other’s trick throw capabilities. We both had a myriad of attempts to impress, when the Frisbee God took over… I leaned forward and raised my hand in a blind behind the back scarecrow grip and fired it off… it flew quickly hitting Joel in the chest, continuing on to the rear of the room towards the mirror and sink… It went in the sink and rolled around, like a basketball circling the rim, rolling a total of almost two times and then shot back at us, Joel going for a Gitis! We were both astonished and want to know: Can you top that?

Enough of these tall tales and happy memories. Here is something to sink your teeth into. Because of 90 degree advancement any pressure you place on the disc does not take effect for another quarter turn. For this reason it is advantageous to keep your fingers 90 degrees apart (on the top and bottom) to do turnovers. This is the same reason you MAC a throw on the side and the nose goes up. Therefore since a push down on the near side creates a "taking off" sensation, a lift up on the far side will return a similar result. This lift can be achieved by letting the disc skip off you or by lightly "cuffing" it. Remember Stork used to hit the disc with his hat as it flew by? He also used to let it hit his arm to skip up to himself or his partners. This concept has been taken to the next level by the cutting edge freestylers who always seem to say these things about cuffing: Get sweaty, touch it very lightly, and practice! Joel explained that as the disc is coming at you, depending which way it is spinning, their always exists a "leading edge", and that is the key to your success. If the disc is falling in a roll angle down you must go 90 degrees ahead to that leading edge and lift up under the rim to achieve a flat disc in front of you. Players can be seen with both hands extended, as if they are sleepwalking, cuffing the disc several times, changing the angle slightly. The other extreme may be Larry Imperiale who takes an upsidedowner roll angle and forces it to flat by using his fingers under the rim. Its really very simple if you just remember the top and bottom are spinning in opposite directions, there are gyroscopic forces at hand creating 90 degree advancement, and you must determine where the leading edge of spin is.

Please keeping spinning and winning the hearts of others. We have come a long way and still need to keep our sport RISING…