| This
method of throwing is used by my family members and
I. My dad taught me, and he learned from his brother
about 30 years ago. These instructions are for a right-handed
slinger.
Stance
Stand with your left foot in front of your right, with
your body turned about 45 degrees right of your target,
like you’re going to throw a ball at it. The pouch
is held in your left hand, with your left arm held out
in the direction of the target. The right hand is held
down in front of the right hip.
Grip
There are various ways to hold the ends of the sling.
I prefer a bowline that loops around my middle finger.
The cord looped to my finger passes between my pinky
and ring finger, while the other is pinched between
my thumb and index finger.
Throw
With this method, the sling will complete approximately
1-3/4 revolutions, with one of the revolutions completely
behind you and perpendicular to the ground. The left
hand releases the pouch and projectile. The right arm,
staying straight, swings directly away from the target.
Once the right arm is parallel with the ground, pointing
directly opposite the target, the right arm bends at
the elbow, and the pouch and projectile are rotated
behind you. Once the pouch has rotated behind you and
passes your feet, the real throwing motion begins. The
hips turn the torso and shoulders towards the target,
and the right arm completes the revolution and the throw
with a motion similar to throwing a baseball. See the
following video clips for the throw from beginning to
end.
Key
Points / Variations
In teaching people this method of throwing, there are
several key points to remember:
(1) You don’t have to rotate the sling very fast
at the beginning, the speed comes at the end of the
throw, once the pouch is behind you and down by your
feet. The entire motion should be smooth so no slack
is created in the sling.
(2) After releasing the sling from your left hand, make
sure it swings directly back. This is done with the
right arm. The plane the sling is rotating on should
be completely parallel with the intended direction of
the projectile. If it is, you’ll get a great backspin
on your projectile for loft and distance. If the rotational
plane is tilted, you’ll end up with slices and
hooks as in golf.
(3) Avoid bringing your right hand up over your head,
this can cause slack in the string. Just bend your arm
at the elbow, and the sling will stay taught.|
(4) Practice, practice, practice. These method may seem
unnatural at first, but with practice, you’ll
find a good rhythm and the motion will seem very natural.
You’ll find you can get a low of power from the
hips, shoulders, and stomach with this throw.
Variation
Once the basic throw method is learned, you can add
a skip and a step to increase the distance and power
of the throw. You step onto your right as you drop the
pouch, and hop and land on your right again as the sling
rotates behind you, then step onto your left as you
complete the throw. Watch the video to see this variation
in action.
Videos
Basic
Throw
(AVI format, 1.7mb)
Power Throw (AVI
format, 1.2mb)
Head Shot (AVI format,
1.1Mb)
- Mark Weaver
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