Rhythm and timing

[fretdancer]

This is perhaps the weakest part of my play, especially timing.
I try to follow your rhythm charths, (they are brilliantly laid out by the way) but I cant seem to get the patterns down pat.
I had sort of learnt to play wonderwall before but the way I had learnt it although similar, is slightly different and probably has an effect on the timing.
The way I played it before was using the same chords but strumming as such
DDD/UDUDD/UDUDD/UDUDD

My main question is this - it seem sto me that for each beat your hand should move either up or down - so that it moves up or down 16 times in a bar, however when I play I dont do that - I only move the 5 times I need to ( I mentally say up down up down down, (then change chord) and again say to myself as I strum up down up down down.
Actually as I type this I realise I am wrong...in order to go down down there must be a missed up in between right? what goes down must go up to come down again?
hmmm I am having some doubts about what I think I think now, I was just about to abandon this post but will send anyway and think some more before replying to my own post soon.

[Danny Poole]

It sounds like you're on track, if you strum in 1/16 notes you are stumming 16 times per bar (4 times per beat). You include the missed strum as a strum so for the Em7 in wonderwall it would be...

[DOWN miss miss miss DOWN miss miss UP DOWN UP] then change to the G chord, all the time keeping the down up motion happening with you hand/wrist/arm.

[fretdancer]

I get it, I get - well theoretically anyway - in practice I am all over the shop !!
its weird going up and down without strumming - my arm is going like the piston in a ferrari and then remembering exactly when to apply pick to strums..well I am coming up with some really strange patterns I can tell you.

I am going to slow it all way way down, I am now practicing by saying the words down miss miss miss down miss miss up down up etc and I do get it but I think I am concentrating on the mechanics too much - hopefully it will soon get better soon.

Pete