The Spokane press. [volume] (Spokane, Wash.) 1902-1939, 1909-08-28
NO. 4-THE DISCUS.

Nv. - n
I guess nearly every person who
will read this, remembers dis
tinctly the "scalers" of his boy
hood days, and knows pretty much
all there is to know about throw
those round, flat stones which,
by careful manipulation, could be
made to sail twice or three times
further than the ordinary stone
missile could be hurled.
If any of those persons desire to
learn to throw the discus, about as
valuable first lesson as ! can
suggest, will be gained in a study
of the finer points of the gentle
art of scaling. l would advise a
beginner with the discus to go
back to his knee-breeches days
and observe carefully just what he
does with his "scaler" to give it
the uplift, the soaring quality that
carries it to such a surprising dis
lance. This is about what he will
find:
In throwing the "scaler," he will
guard first, against "wabbling,"
for he has learned that any "wob-
BILE" decreases the length Of the
throw.
He will discover that he guards
against webbing" by giving to
his "scaler" a rapid, rotating mo-
ton, produced by sharp twist of
the wrist as the stone leaves his
hand.
He will find too, that he launches
the stone with the outer edge of
the disc elevated, for he knows 1t
will not soar if it lies horizontal
or if the edge away from the
thrower is lower than the edge
nearest to his.
Finally, he will find himself in.
creasing the power of the throw
up to a point just short of where
he loses some of his control OF
the stone.
There you are. Those elements
of stone throwing that every
school boy knows are the points
that every discus-thrower should
know and pay the closest attention
to.
For discus throwing in its essen
tials is nothing more or less than
Sealing" stones. A round, flat, OBJ
ject, too large and heavy to be
thrown from the fingers, the discus
must be thrown from the palm OF
the hand without webbing, with a
swift rotating motion and with the
outer edge elevated. The strength
or power of the throw, while OF
great importance, must be ignored
by the beginner until the form OF
the throw is perfectly mastered
In a previous article defined
the discus throw as a powerful
whip" That term, / think de
scribes it best. 1t is not the drive
of the shot putter nor the pull Of
the hammer-thrower.
Correct form in making the throw
will come only throw practice and
experiment. The first and, think
the greatest obstacle to overcome
is the tendency of the discus to
"wobble." Patient practice will
demonstrate the necessity of rotat
Ing LUC ulSC anu Will II GRADUALLY uc
velop the knack Of securing the
whip of arm and wrist that will
give this rotation with greatest
ease and speed. When you have
learned to scale the discus, with
the front edge elevated at an angle
of about As degrees, then you are
ready to develop speed and the
power of your throw. This devel
opment should be gradual, and
never for one instant should you
neglect the form you have &C
quired.
have found that, with my
strength normal, the greatest
power in the throw is secured by
making only one turn in the circle
There may be some use to begin
ners in the following suggestions
Stand with the toes touching the
back of the circle and the discus
lying in the right hand, palm up
ward. Swing the arms a couple
of times to be sure of your bal
ance and then at a moderate speed
make one full turn In the middle
of the circle. The turn will bring
you to the front of the circle. A,
the very end of the turn comes the
whip. 1t is full am swing In