Consistency is paying off.  After vacation and a few things got in the way of my routine.  I practiced Saturday and today.  I’m feeling the consistency of the throw.  Most of my throws are barely missing the target with a few hitting and fewer still randomly flying anywhere but near the target.  I’m hoping soon, I’ll be placing my shots in the frisbee golf basket at thirty feet without much thought.  Then I can start increasing power!   

Breakthrough today. 

I figure out my figure 8 throw.  Mentally, I separated the windup from the throwing release process.  I thought about what bandit said about throwing a baseball, and I focused on my release like I was throwing a ball.  It worked.  I seemed to have increased my hits to 40%.  The misses were respectably close to the target.  My duff throws were about 20% at most.  It took me 17 months to get here. 

So now I feel confident that I can throw at my target at any time, versus a random coin toss that my attempts will go near my target.  Now I can work on accuracy.

Bandit,

I want to increase my accuracy.  Throwing with a sling feels like a superpower.  I might start exploring using other slings as I get better.

One thing I will recommend after nearly 20 years of slinging... change it up. Change up your throwing technique, change up the distance, change your ammo.  You need to train your brain to be able to handle lots of different scenarios. When it can interpolate what it needs to do from all of those different scenarios you've exposed it to, it is better at getting closer to the exact motions that it needs to do.  This is what I've found in the last 5 years or so. For about 12 years prior, I only did 1 method, one type of ammo. I figured enough reps and time would train my brain. But that's not how the brain works. Repetition is good, but exposing your brain to more situations will make you learn so much faster. Studies have been done about how randomizing training can help your brain adapt faster and with more precision than from structured, unchanging practice. There was a post and a conversation about it here a few years ago but I can't find the post.

When you do switch things up, I wouldn't suggest doing it every throw, but do it in sets. Use one sling for a while, then change lengths. Switch from baseballs to tennis balls, light stones to heavy stones, etc. I really feel this has helped me improve more than all the repetition of a single technique I did for over a decade.

Bandit,Iron, Snow,

Great ideas.  I’ll define try switching up the distance and accuracy.  The record keeping is definitely something important for tracking progress.

Thank you, guys for your ideas.  You have my wheels turning.

Joe, this is a great video, thanks!! I noticed that those guys who regularly played with us in the Ancient battle "ASB" mastered the sling faster. Unlike those who boiled in their own juice. That is, static monotonous throwing develops an intuitive feeling more slowly. In ASB, we are constantly moving, throwing at each other and simultaneously dodging balls flying at us.
All the guys who play ASB with us quickly learn different throwing styles and use them intuitively, depending on the situation on the field of play.

When they come to static target tournaments, they also confidently show good throwing.

I think anyone who doesn't have the opportunity to get together and play ASB can just practice throwing in different styles and in motion. This will greatly help you learn different throwing styles faster and your body will begin to work intuitively, much like an experienced driver driving a car without thinking.

This is what our ASB training looks like. In the video, half of the guys are throwing from a sling quite recently.

https://youtu.be/6L8vZlEnZX0