This is how to play a simple man d in Ultimate frisbee.

One person covers the man with the disc. That person (the "marker") stands with his body to one side of the thrower, the point being to not allow the offensive player to throw on one side of his body.

The rest of the defensive players cover one offensive player each. Due to the fact that the disc is being marked, the defensive player can "cheat" to one side of the player he is covering. When the disc is thrown, the defensive players are already in a good position to block or intercept.

Other considerations:

  • The defensive player closest to his own endzone is "last back"- he has the additional responsibility of watching out for offensive players cutting to the endzone.
  • one of the main things that a good man defense will do is to recognize when to switch covering. If an offensive player has beaten his defender on a cut and another defender can cover him, the defenders should switch. Also in general on man d it is a good idea to cover someone of your own abilities.