Interesting article in the latest G&A about Taran Butler, and he has progressed beyond USPSA Grandmaster to Combat Master, a title shared by only 18 others.

Anyway, one of the most interesting things in the article was a comment made by Rob Leatham, arguably one of the best shooters in the World.

It was a class and Rob overheard a shooter say "slow is smooth, smooth is fast."

At this Leatham bellowed, "Bullshit, fast is fast."

Since I've heard the slow is smooth...so many times and said bullshit myself I found it interesting that Rob shares my opinion of the phrase.

I've met Rob on the Rio Salado Sporting Clays course and shot the shit with him briefly and he's a very humble, down to earth guy.

Well nothing about the GRIP ZONE Rob??

I think the point of "slow is smooth...." is that you practice slowly and smoothly to get your "muscle memory" to the point where your body instinctively does the things that it needs to do at that point you start speeding up because you are no longer focusing on the draw stroke, gun position, trigger pull etc. etc. you are only focusing on the shooting. You are basically building up to FAST IS FAST. so to speak. You cannot just hand somebody a gun who has never held one and expect them to be fast and on target. Walk before run thing.

That is the way I have always understood it.

Posted by your friendly neighborhood low speed, high drag, slow is slow SIG Forum contributor.

My favorite is “slow is smooth but slow is also slow.”

Like so many things relating to shooting, the original expression contains a grain of truth despite being completely inane as stated (and like so many other things relating to firearms and shooting). It is desirable to be smooth, or more correctly to do things in the most efficient manner, but smoothness or even efficiency doesn’t equal fast by itself any more than slowness equals smoothness or efficiency.

I call bullshit on Rob Leathem. Like cslinger says above-complex actions need smooth, correct and accurate repetions to become “fast is fast.”

Has Rob never heard of football players doing “walkthroughs?”

The problem with any mantra is when it becomes dogmatic. "Slow is smooth, smooth is fast" was likely intended to encourage deliberate practice and the development of speed through repetition. The problem is that so many people don't ever make it there. Then, the internet fights about it for eternity.

Speed is efficiency. There are guys out there nailing one second draws that look slower than people that are twice as slow because they have the movement down to a science. Frenetic, wasted motion is not fast, but a lot of people that want to be fast try to be fast by moving fast and not moving efficient.

So, at the end of the day, Rob Leatham is as right as the "slow is smooth" crowd, given proper context.

Smooth becomes fast

quote:

Originally posted by bcereuss:
I call bullshit on Rob Leathem. Like cslinger says above-complex actions need smooth, correct and accurate repetions to become “fast is fast.”

Has Rob never heard of football players doing “walkthroughs?”

So you know more about drawing and shooting than a guy who might be the best and fastest in the world?

Somehow I doubt it.

Much said by personalities is taken out of context and often held on a pedestal to support our own personal beliefs. And then there’s hero worship.

My favorite is the whole “You can do anything you want to the trigger as long as you don’t disturb the sights”. Which has become the rally cry for people that slap the trigger. Whenever you challenge them on it, you get the “But, but Robbie said......” And that’s the end of the debate. Robbie said so. What it does not take Into consideration is that Robbie doesn’t always slap the trigger. When shooting Bianchi, he preps and rolls through the trigger. He also is forced to shoot a trigger weight above 3.5 pounds which he can’t win with by slappping.

I’ve actually had the opportunity to speak with him and got some pointers from him on his views on trigger control. But, his philosophy is far more that the sound bite blurb that many have attempted to make it out to be.

When a combat master utters advice, should he espouse a method which will contribute to poor skill development and which may result in someone being unsafe to themselves and others around them?

Or promote a practice which will result in long term skill development, safety, and longer term success?

Which does your spouse prefer, speed or expertise?