yep agree 100%
Just because someone teaches someone else a particular slinging technique - does not mean that it's a historical or cultural style.
In this case, one old indian taught someone else fig 8.
Had this old indian also taught that person how to fry an egg - would we now be calling fried eggs: huevos commanchero's ?
or commanche eggs.
(Just looks better in spanish )Find me 100 commanches all using fig8, who can take you to a cave and show you historical paintings of their ancestors obviously using fig 8 - and you might have something.
If the cave also has a painting of someone frying eggs - then I'll be totally convinced
Take the balearic islands, longest traceable and persistent slinging culture we know of, as it goes back - unbroken - before roman times.
almost every modern balearic slinger has his or her own particular style.
There is no solidly consistent style.
pepi from malaga mostly uses a no windup sidearm, others use multi-rotation helicopter, others use a style where the sling pouch is spun behind their back and the pouch passes about a hair's breadth from the back of their heads - how hector has never knocked hilself out, I'll never know.
In short there are almost as many styles as there are slingers.
There is a lot more evidence that any slinger will develop a style that suits them, than slavishly follow a rigid set of rules and a particular style.
We call a no rotation semi-helicopter style 'greek' simply because when an ancient greek artist told his model to pose as a slinger - they all struck the same pose.
However it is a starting point that can go into a whole bunch of different styles - including fig 8 and a full on multi-rotation helicopter.
But as a pose, it looks good and it's obvious what is happening - which is why they all strike the same pose.
IT's a practical thing, not a culturally accurate thing.
Take a sideways picture of jorn from germany and you've got the spitting image of the catal hyuk slinger.
An argument that perhaps helicopter should be called turkish style maybe ?
But jorn was taught by jaegoor - who, last time I checked, wasn't a turk
Brian grubbs has probably taught more people fig8, through his videos, than anyone else on the forum - although nwmanitou's little gif, probably comes close.
So should we change it to grubby stylee ?
Obviously not.
Different sling styles have existed from the very first day the second slinger in history picked up a sling and told his mate:
'this works too ' Until someone finds a detailed description of mass slinging in an obvious and distinctive style, we're just making stuff up based on what it looks like.