I've recently worked out that focusing hard isn't the most important thing in slinging. In fact, focusing too much on the wrong things can mess you up. Where you're focusing and when you focus are just as important.
Earlier today I was in the park with my dog on our usual morning walk. I was slinging tennis balls at different trees and wasn't hitting a single one, despite the fact that I was only 5 or 10 meters away from them (15 or 30 feet).
I was still trying to focus on letting go of the release cord at the perfect time, believing that if I simply perfected my timing, I could be more accurate. But I'd probably slung (slinged?) thousands of times in the last few months. So why wasn't I able to perfect my release timing?
I'd been watching a few youtube videos on slinging techniques recently, and there were a few words that were sitting in the back of my mind. Here's a tip from Wannabe Bushcrafter:
"When aiming, keep both eyes open and look at the target. Try to focus on a small point on the target. If there isn't one, then imagine a point at the point's centre of mass. Now, you need to look into the target. Your eyes must lock onto the point on that target. When the cast happens, every part of your body will be in motion. But that lock between your eyes and the target must never be broken, or you'll miss."
Archaic Arms had also made some excellent points about slinging, and how we're often more accurate on moving targets, because they make us
sustain our focus on the target. He had also mentioned that the release when slinging should be as natural as possible, like throwing.
I had also noticed, especially in the online slinging competition, that my shots from 20 meters were just as accurate as my shots from 13 meters, despite being further away. The closer I got to a target, the worse my accuracy. Could this be an issue caused by my focus?
Instead of focusing on form and the actual mechanics of casting the tennis ball in an effort to improve my accuracy, I instead decided to let muscle memory and instinct take over, and devote my full attention to the target, and the path the ball would take to hit it. It hit the tree dead centre.
Over the rest of the day, I've confirmed that it wasn't just luck. My accuracy has significantly improved because of my mental shift. When I do fire an inaccurate shot, I know it's most likely because I wasn't locked on the target, visually or mentally, when I was releasing the tennis ball. I know that if I give my target a
death stare, and don't let up until my projectile has
hit that target, then I'll hit pretty close. It's a change in mindset, like a hunter mentality or something to that effect.
I'd love to hear your thoughts on this, and hear if this works for other people too. What do you focus on when you're slinging?
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I significantly improved my accuracy with this trick (Read 1167 times)
