TLG often said, “Smooth is not fast, fast is fast.” He was referring to a specific aspect of training – that you have to push your speed to get faster. You won’t simply get faster over time from being smooth, you have to work at it.
On the other hand, smooth really is fast and I hope to make that clear with some examples. Driving may be the best and easiest way to understand this. There are zero great drivers, guys who really understand technical driving at high speeds, who are not unbelievably smooth. Jerky movements do not win races or pursuits. The best drivers make it seem like their hands are moving in slow motion because every move on the wheel is done so perfectly. If you haven’t been to a high-end driving course, stop going to shooting classes for a bit and go get some driver training. The driving schools I’ve been to have saved me many more times than my gun skills. You will then get to see first-hand just how smooth (and fast) a top driver can be.
Getting back to guns, there are also no jerky top-end shooters. A fast draw is predicated on correctly performing some fairly subtle movements with your fingers. This is accomplished by learning the draw slowly and correctly, gradually building up your speed. When this is done, the end result is a smooth draw with no wasted motions. That smooth draw can now be pushed faster and faster to refine it at speed.
This may seem like a minor point, but the “fast is fast” line has been repeated so often at this point, that many people don’t understand the context. They then wonder why their performance is not improving. Go slow, become smooth, push speed, refine technique. Shooting well is not complicated but it does take dedicated work. Put in the work and you will forever appreciate it.
I guess I learned this principal in sharpening knives on bench stones, you work very slowly and smoothly to maintain the proper edge geometry, then with practice it becomes second nature and your speed develops naturally
Definitely true there too!
I heard Clint Smith give his explanation of this at Thunder Ranch quite a while ago. It’s interesting how many folks loudly proclaim “SLOW IS SLOW!” and poo-poo the saying, and refuse to consider that there may be more than the literal translation in the saying.
Good to see you here. Lots of people seem to be very literal these days. I can be guilty of that from time to time as well, but I try to keep things in context as much as possible. No surpise to me that Clint feels the same way.