for sure......trust me.....it works......i can go like 9" high.....if i keep stretching it eventually it will be near vertical......hehe..make sure to stop at any sign of pain though

if, and whne i use traditional grip, i use what is used in Rudimental Logic, and it has worked for me, better than most i've tried

and what exactly is that technique?? can u describe it for s since not all of us own that book.

i hold my left stick in my elbow like Ivan Pacheo.

"Same lick, with the elbow..."

ive forgotten about pacheco...

I have gotten it vertical now.....There was a 2 week period though where i had a weird feeling in my wrist and i thought i was getting like tendonitis/carpal tunnel or something similar. But, now it's gone and I'm enjoying playing exercises really high.

I dont know about the stretch thing mentioned by skyhawkdrummer but I found that letting the elbow rock back and forth allows the stick to reach a greater angle and to answer an earlier q, 2-3 inches is good distance between body and elbow because itll give your elbow room to move, if your elbow is jammed into your body it restricts your rotation and causes an inward slice and keeping it too far away also restricts the rotation.