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Just got this DVD on ebay...any comments , good or bad, did it really help, or is he (Digweed) just so much better than the average joe that it doesn't matter? Any comments welcome 
George Digweed DVD
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I have the George Digweed Tape from Sunrise Production (Same thing) George uses the "Swing Through Method" of shooting, and uses a more frontal stance. he says He does this to get the line of the target. And looking at his successes, it workes for him. But you need to see the Tape/DVD yourself in order to see if that would work for you. So how do you get to evaluate the DVD for yourself with out viewing it yourself. The Tape/DVD is good in showing his method, and the Eye-Cam helps in seeing what he is talking about better. I bought the tape a few years ago and view it ocasionaly because there are times when I would shoot Swing Through. V/R TonyG
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I agree that Digweed's style is very impractical for most people. On the other hand, the video by Bobby Fowler Jr. is excellent. Just came out this year by Sunrise Productions.
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In my last post on 12/19/2005, I was commenting on the VHS tape made by Sunrise Productions that featured the "Eye-Cam". Since then I purchased the new DVD of him made by Hi-Def Glasses and here are my comments on this.
It does not use the "Eye-Cam to demonstrate his style, he verbaly describes what he is doing.
Most of the other instructional DVDs are broken down into sections for different presentations, but gives you the option of starting it and playing it all the way through from begining to end or select the section you want. The new DVD only allows you to select a subject/presentation then at the end it reverts back to the menu page. Then you have to select the next segment you want to view, even if it is the very next segment to the one you just watched. I was told by the makers of the DVD that "This is what the shooters wanted". I guess it is possible, but I would think that having the option to go either way would be better. The technology exist as shown in the other instructional DVDs that are out there.
But remember the above is my opinion, and I also feel the Sunrise Productions DVD ( I am assuming it was made from the original tapes) is much better. At least with the "Eye-cam" you can see what he is trying to teach you. You know what thery say; "A picture is worth a Thousand Words"
V/R TonyG
It does not use the "Eye-Cam to demonstrate his style, he verbaly describes what he is doing.
Most of the other instructional DVDs are broken down into sections for different presentations, but gives you the option of starting it and playing it all the way through from begining to end or select the section you want. The new DVD only allows you to select a subject/presentation then at the end it reverts back to the menu page. Then you have to select the next segment you want to view, even if it is the very next segment to the one you just watched. I was told by the makers of the DVD that "This is what the shooters wanted". I guess it is possible, but I would think that having the option to go either way would be better. The technology exist as shown in the other instructional DVDs that are out there.
But remember the above is my opinion, and I also feel the Sunrise Productions DVD ( I am assuming it was made from the original tapes) is much better. At least with the "Eye-cam" you can see what he is trying to teach you. You know what thery say; "A picture is worth a Thousand Words"
V/R TonyG
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One of the things that you do not see with the eye-cam is when he actually pulls the trigger. You can sense when the gun goes off but in the way he is presenting it he percieves that he is at the front edge of the target when he pulls the trigger but due to the speed of his swing the gun is gaining forward lead before all the physical and mechanical processes happen which makes it look like pull away.
Anyway, what I gained from his DVD was his stance. On a Right to left crosser he points his right foot at the breakpoint and his left where he follows through. He twists himself awrkwardly to his hold point and uncoils to a comfortable shooting position at the breakpoint. His momentum and his remaining stance carries the gun to follow through. I've been experimenting a bit with it but his girth is much greater than mine.
Anyway, what I gained from his DVD was his stance. On a Right to left crosser he points his right foot at the breakpoint and his left where he follows through. He twists himself awrkwardly to his hold point and uncoils to a comfortable shooting position at the breakpoint. His momentum and his remaining stance carries the gun to follow through. I've been experimenting a bit with it but his girth is much greater than mine.
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Maxx and jwints1100 make an excellent observation and focus on what is, for me, the most interesting part of the video. Mr. Digweed says that in his mind he thinks he is pulling the trigger as the barrels touch the leading edge of the target, but we can see that the actual point where he fires the gun varies according to the lead required. The difference in trigger timing between a crossing target and a quartering one is very small - perhaps as little as 0.03 seconds - but critical. It takes about 0.40 seconds to blink an eye, so we are looking at a very, very short time difference for different target angles.
The key to this precision is a combination of his highly developed instincts for judging speed and distance, honed to the tune of 25,000 to 35,000 targets a year over many years, combined with a confidence in that skill which allows him to pull the trigger at the precise instant required without thinking about it. This is the classic example of "It Shoots" that is the core of the exploration in Eugen Herrigel's book, "Zen in the Art of Archery." So in George's mind, he pulls the trigger when the barrels touch the leading edge - and he doesn't - but he does!
The key to this precision is a combination of his highly developed instincts for judging speed and distance, honed to the tune of 25,000 to 35,000 targets a year over many years, combined with a confidence in that skill which allows him to pull the trigger at the precise instant required without thinking about it. This is the classic example of "It Shoots" that is the core of the exploration in Eugen Herrigel's book, "Zen in the Art of Archery." So in George's mind, he pulls the trigger when the barrels touch the leading edge - and he doesn't - but he does!
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I know folks like the eye-cam and I understand why, but what it doesn't show is timing and timing is everything in a shot. "Now we'll show you that in slow motion on the eye cam." Put it in slow mo and you don't see what the shooter sees but you can see a sight picture of sorts. Run it at regular speed and you can't see what the shooter sees because it happens too fast. Show a video of a 100 mph fastball in slow motion and a lot of us think we can hit it. Stand in the batters box and a lot of us wouldn't even see it go by. Timing. Leads are nothing but daylight and even then, the eye-cam has always been on a bit of an angle with everything I've seen, so you aren't really seeing what the shooter sees. The area that gets glossed over often is the body. Getting the muzzle to do whatever you want it to do is relatively simple if the body set up is correct and relatively impossible to be consistent if the set up isn't correct. The issue for most shooters isn't seeing the lead picture, it is moving the gun efficiently. When I work with shooters, seldom do we concentrate on the sight picture. We work on getting the body moving the gun efficiently so the right lead can be efficiently obtained. Once efficient movement is there, any lead picture can be obtained and the right one dialed in in just a few shots. The eye-cam shows where the muzzle goes, but far more important for most shooters is how to get it there and that seems to be glossed over in many videos.
Dave
Dave
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I only shoot recreational skeet, but I know you are dead-on about the baseball. The difference between an 85 mph and a 95 mph fastball, in the box or even for the catcher or ump, is out of proportion to the actual 10 mph. I don't even want to imagine what the heater at 100 looks like.Dave Holmes said:
I hit against and caught some guys who could throw in the 80s. For me, just doable. As a hitter, I faced one guy who reportedly brought it it in the middle 90s, and I'd never seen anything like it. I got two hits off him, and it was still pretty much the day I knew I'd never get paid even meal money to play ball, and I doubt I'd turned 17.
The two hits? One smart, one dumb luck. I was hitting in the 3-hole and stayed on deck just watching him. I knew I could not do anything with his hard stuff. He had control, but I did notice he got the first two guys 0-2 or 1-2, then threw off-speed stuff for a quick K. He got me 0-2, and I put his change-up back between his legs. The second time, I knew I wouldn't see anything but the gas. Before I even stepped in, I committed to just hoping he'd leave a fastball over the middle of the white. I got a very lucky, first-pitch hit. I started a dead-center swing before he released the ball ... and managed to draw some chalk in the opposite field on a flair. That's how late I was. The other times, big ol' K. Went down hacking. Looking back, I'm just glad he didn't take aim at an earhole.
Gas in the 90s is nasty. Even if you can pick it up visually, physically catching up to it takes extraordinary fast-twitch muscle ability...something I didn't and will never have.
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The eye is an amazing thing and the bio-dynamics of sight is also apparently much more complex than many imagine. Given enough exposure, the eye can learn to see things that were at first perceived as a mere blurr.
The first time I experienced this was between jobs in San Francisco. For over six weeks, more than five hours every day were spent practicing at the casting pools in Golden Gate Park, and at the Leona Casting Pools in McCrea Park across the bay in Oakland. It might have taken 50,000 or perhaps even 100,000 casts before I suddenly became aware of really being able to see what was happening to the fly line during a cast. With the new visual skills came new insights into the mechanics of flycasting, and both distance and accuracy went beyond my wildest expectations. This is not to suggest that anyone can see a fastball with the acuity of the legendary Ted Williams, but if one spends enough time in practice, vision will often be one of the skills which develops to a new level.
The same thing happened much later when I volunteered to become a shotgun instructor, looking over the shoulders of others at thousands of targets over a period of three years, not to mention the many hours of practice on my own. When Ken Davies learned of my volunteer work, he gave me some lessons on how to teach, and we worked specifically on the visual skill of being able to see the shot string - similar to a mirage in appearance as distinct from the wad (more diffuse and ephemeral than the disturbance a bullet makes on the way to a benchrest target).
Bottom line, watch enough clays, and given enough time they will appear to slow way down for you - and you may even become able to see the shot string. The Adventure continues. Shoot Safe, SidelockSxS
The first time I experienced this was between jobs in San Francisco. For over six weeks, more than five hours every day were spent practicing at the casting pools in Golden Gate Park, and at the Leona Casting Pools in McCrea Park across the bay in Oakland. It might have taken 50,000 or perhaps even 100,000 casts before I suddenly became aware of really being able to see what was happening to the fly line during a cast. With the new visual skills came new insights into the mechanics of flycasting, and both distance and accuracy went beyond my wildest expectations. This is not to suggest that anyone can see a fastball with the acuity of the legendary Ted Williams, but if one spends enough time in practice, vision will often be one of the skills which develops to a new level.
The same thing happened much later when I volunteered to become a shotgun instructor, looking over the shoulders of others at thousands of targets over a period of three years, not to mention the many hours of practice on my own. When Ken Davies learned of my volunteer work, he gave me some lessons on how to teach, and we worked specifically on the visual skill of being able to see the shot string - similar to a mirage in appearance as distinct from the wad (more diffuse and ephemeral than the disturbance a bullet makes on the way to a benchrest target).
Bottom line, watch enough clays, and given enough time they will appear to slow way down for you - and you may even become able to see the shot string. The Adventure continues. Shoot Safe, SidelockSxS
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