very interesting! his sling is at least twice as long as mine, probably nearer 3 times, plus the slinger looks to be a big strong chap too. nice post, it gives a good clear demo of the throw.

SV

[quote]plus the slinger looks to be a big strong chap too[/quote]
lol well that's the interesting thing, larry's about my height 5'6 - 5'8 and a good 4 stone lighter (lol - most people are)
So basically physique wise fairly short and fit, without being built up. It really is all about the technique.
Yep it's a fairly long sling, but it's how he manages to get the speed into the throw that's the interesting part. I've tried with a sling that long and just can't get the thing to perform.

On the positive side (for the rest of us) - he can't hit a target worth a darn ;-)
lol

Cool video C_A and Larry. It's funny, for some reason I always pictured Larry's throw more along the lines of a "Crazy Jurek"... I don't know if this was from description, or just wild imagination. Altay's observation about the similarity to a figure eight is close.

It looks like a perfect example of the force vs speed tradeoff that's been talked about. Using a long sling and heavy body english makes it all go... I'll have to try using more of my own mass in a throw - it makes perfect sense. I've always worked on staying balanced and relatively graceful

Matthias

Thanks for the video . . .that's a real big throw.  Reminds me of a baseball pitcher for the Cubs back in the 90's, Mitch Williams.  He built up so much momentum he would fall down on every pitch. 
On another note, on nearly all the videos I've seen I'm noticing several similarities between most of the slingers, as far as arm position, the plane of rotation in relation to the angle of the shoulders, etc.  Anybody else noticed this?

It's this method. It's also known as the weaver, tennis overhand, or nwantu (sp?) style. There are some videos at the bottom of the page in the link. It's tricky to get the hang of, but once you do it feels very natural.

Okay - let's get one thing clear It is NOT figure 8.

This whole forum seems to have recently adopted the 'taste's like chicken mentality'.

ie: whenever anyone with no imagination or tastebuds is asked what something unusual they've eaten tastes like they invariably say:- 'taste's like chicken.'
The only thing that tastes like chicken is chicken :-) 

The same attitude seems to happen with increasing frequency in this forum with regards to throws that aren't easily categorised - 'looks like a fig 8 throw to me'.

THIS is a fig 8 throw:
[img]http://members.aol.com/curiousaardvark/fig8.gif[/img]

Quite clearly larry is not doing this. He is not starting with a held pouch. He is not facing the direction of throw, he is not even describing a fig 8 with his hand.
The style it closest resembles is a sidearm throw - where you start with a hanging pouch and frequently face away from th direction of throw - to allow the waist and shoulders turning to add impetus to the throw.
However there are sufficient differences for this to be it's own beast. He was taught it by his dad, who I think was taught by his dad. It's more a traditional bray family style than anything else. Though I;m sure larry's baseball pitching added a fair bit to his style. One thing it quite categorically is not is fig8.
In the same way that classic over hand is not fig8 and sidearm is not fig8 and underarm is not fig8.   

So can we apply a little thought in future before saying: 'hmm, tastes like chicken' :-)

[quote]Also, the plane of the "circle" circumscribed by the wind-up is more horizontal than a pure fig8. [/quote]

And the reason for this is ? Come on anyone ? Anyone at all ?
It's NOT FIGURE 8
In any way shape or form.

Look at the fig8 diagram, watch the vid. 2 very different throws.

It's like saying that there duck is a turkey. After all they both have beaks and wings - have to be the same bird.
But turkey goes better with cranberry and duck is best with orange sauce and neither of them taste remotely like chicken.
NOT THE SAME THING people !