Oh, yes!  Lynn Ballard's article was among the first information about slinging that I ever read (the very first being Samuel's account of David's little tiff with Goliath), along with Jim Burdine's web site which led me HERE.

Now that I know how to do the figure-8, Mr. Ballard's sketches make sense.  But when I was trying to learn how to sling, those three sketches were insufficient.  I never could figure out how he was doing it.  You have already seen the animated version of Johnny Shumate's

figure study of Nwmantou

; the original sketches show the technique in nine steps.  Figures 4, 5 and 6 correspond to Ballard's figure "B" and make it clear that the sling is passing behind one's back.

I have played with variations on the figure-8 as it was portrayed by Nwmanitou and Mark Weaver.  One variation sounds very much like your 1 ¹/₂ counter technique.  I start in something like Hondero's "ready" posture (like the slinger on the old Greek coin, or look at

his avatar

) but with my arms both pulled back as far as I can instead of slightly in front of me.  Then I let go of the pouch and simultaneously  pull back (to my right) with my right arm.  It drops behind my back, then swings up and forward and I release.  If I tossed it a bit to the left, instead of just dropping it, I think I would be closer to your technique.  If I tossed it harder to the left, and moved my body like a baseball pitcher, I would be close to

David Taylor's

Greek overhand or Greek sidearm techniques.

On the other hand, written descriptions of our techniques are sometimes quite misleading.  We need to see videos of each other, or meet and sling together...