# Tempo



## Hulla Baloo (Nov 25, 2017)

Do you use a metered rhythm as you load and shoot your balls?

Is there a cadence to your slinging as your smallest target falls?

Do you subscribe to a percussion, a borrowed minstrel's beat?

Is there a song within your shooting you can summon in the heat?

Why not?


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## Ordo (Feb 11, 2018)

I could use Over the Rainbow, specially the last words:

Somewhere over the rainbow, bluebirds fly
And the dream that you dare to
*Why, oh why can't I aim?*


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## treefork (Feb 1, 2010)

Simplicity

A metered rhythm is not needed much .

Develop a sense of instinct to reach out and touch .

Focusing on the target is what matters .

The end result is a ball that shatters .


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## Hulla Baloo (Nov 25, 2017)

I've been trying to eliminate the static moments in my stroke. Hays once said he likes to feel as if he's still pulling back when he releases, so the bands never get to sit still. It helps me to do that if I try to shoot to a tempo and release on a count. Less time for doubt to creep in, and the bands stay lively. Nobody else does that?

I knew ya had it in ya Marty! :bouncy:


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## Jolly Roger (Aug 14, 2017)

Every shooter has to figure out what works for them. Makes sense to follow the advice of the pros then adjust to suit yourself.


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## Alfred E.M. (Jul 5, 2014)

*While I appreciate wordsmithery (especially you Baloo), for me, it's a wordless endeavor - white noise and inner conversations are a distraction. TF nailed it.*


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## MakoPat (Mar 12, 2018)

Hulla Baloo said:


> I've been trying to eliminate the static moments in my stroke. Hays once said he likes to feel as if he's still pulling back when he releases, so the bands never get to sit still. It helps me to do that if I try to shoot to a tempo and release on a count. Less time for doubt to creep in, and the bands stay lively. Nobody else does that?
> 
> I knew ya had it in ya Marty! :bouncy:


I do this...when I am in the zone. Matched to my breathi g... and I like it when I am loading if I can do it without looking away from my target. 
And after I snap out of it... I feel like I am want to get it back. Missing or hitting is not so import to me if I can keep the rhythm going... BUT when I start hitting I get a few in a row.


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## Hulla Baloo (Nov 25, 2017)

I remember coaches in several different sports telling me that rhythm and tempo were the glue that holds all the other, individual movements together. I tend to compare slingshooting to shooting free throws because I feel like I "aim" the same way during both activities. A nice, fluid rhythm certainly helps at the free throw line. Why should slingshooting be any different?


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## MakoPat (Mar 12, 2018)

I train Sjotokan Karate for my health mostly... I have had to step down my intensity to low... but the timing is so similar when I shoot. I like every thing to work in steps til the steps are gone. 
Slowly, but steadily my shooting style is coming back. 
I am a bit happy someone else has this experience, too. Watching Rufus Hussey or any of the speed shooters and sniper types... you can see the little "stretch" or "pull" just at the release. And the eyes out head up focus. A lot like drawing a pistol or sword... everything clicking together. Posture and release are likely 90% of my issue when missing. I am a bit like the Tin Man after a rain. Haha...


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## MakoPat (Mar 12, 2018)

PS- I really feel this when throw knives or tomahawks. If anyone throws try knife... 'hawk... knife combos... it is strange how much the switching throws one off. 
Also see fishing... casting and fly fishing ( I do not fly fish ).


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## MOJAVE MO (Apr 11, 2018)

I was a baseball pitcher for way too long. Every movement is dedicated to tempo and superstition and keeping the mind quiet. If I a not prepared I can turn a 9.5mm dirty steel ball into a 19.5mm dirty steel ball. If there was music or drums or a metronome within hearing distance I'd shoot it fersure.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk


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## Hulla Baloo (Nov 25, 2017)

Agreed Mo. I too toed the rubber for way too long. For pitchers, good tempo isn't just important for delivery, it's critical for deception. A repeatable rhythm makes it a lot tougher for the hitter to know what's coming. I had a coach in college who was big on that; we'd spend a session a week trying to make our deliveries exactly the same for all the pitches- no more telegraphing off-speed pitches...

Treefork, without intending to blow smoke, I consider you to be one of the finest shooters in the world, so does Hays I believe. I am surprised that tempo or rhythm is not a tangible component of your skillset. Do you often vary the times of your hold at full draw, before release?


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## treefork (Feb 1, 2010)

Hulla Baloo said:


> Agreed Mo. I too toed the rubber for way too long. For pitchers, good tempo isn't just important for delivery, it's critical for deception. A repeatable rhythm makes it a lot tougher for the hitter to know what's coming. I had a coach in college who was big on that; we'd spend a session a week trying to make our deliveries exactly the same for all the pitches- no more telegraphing off-speed pitches...
> 
> Treefork, without intending to blow smoke, I consider you to be one of the finest shooters in the world, so does Hays I believe. I am surprised that tempo or rhythm is not a tangible component of your skillset. Do you often vary the times of your hold at full draw, before release?


Thank you . The tempo and rhythm component hasn't been a big factor for me but I'm not saying it doesn't have a place in competition where a number of shots are to be consistent on a single target with the pressure of an audience. I shoot for fun and the pure love and joy of it . I like to shoot from different foot stances to different times of release and varying target distances . Shooting for me comes from an intuitive aspect more than a systematic list of constant mechanical movements ect . I may do the tempo rhythm thing for awhile to fully experience it . I like to keep an open mind when it comes to learning .

This is just my opinion and experience .


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## Tag (Jun 11, 2014)

TreeFork is just one super gifted gentleman


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## BushpotChef (Oct 7, 2017)

I tend to try to keep my habits loose,
So when it comes slings, I try to grab and shoot - keep it fast & loose. The problems arise when youre forced to decide, whether to shoot it vertically or hold the forks to the side. In the end in my opinion, the force is inside, which will ultimately become a real source of your pride. Shoot straight, an may the forces align to send your target to the sky this 4th of July. 

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