...what Marty just said.

regarding starting your hammer winds...do what works for you. We have a masters athlete here in Nor Cal who starts somewhat like you dol, and the current world Champ, Matt Vincent also starts like you do. So no worries.

glide vs. rotational stone.... if you're brutally strong and incredibly fast, the glide will probably work better for you. If you're a "technical" thrower, then the rotational stone will probably go farther. If you're a dork like me, then a shuffle will work better.

The thing about the rotational throw is that when you totally nail it, *Really* learn the technique then the rock will probably go farther than if you do the other styles. However, there's a lot less margin for error in the rotational throw. If you're a little bit off, you're scr3w3d. --> not so much with a glide or shuffle. Also take into account that rotational shotputters have to learn ONE event...rotational shotput, though they do a million standing throws (Braemar) too. You, on the other hand, have to learn shotput (stones) AND hammers AND weights AND wob AND sheaf AND caber.

KISS always seemed like the appropriate principle, here, and this is coming from a many-year discus thrower, which is a rotational throw.