Steve Anderson
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Posts posted by Steve Anderson
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Well, it's more polite to do it internally, but whatever works.
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"I frequently suck at the matches I run"
Hmmmmmmm.
I am getting better at shooting the matches I run?
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What is your current practice schedule?
What is your self-image?
What are thinking about at LAMR?
Plateaus are crushed in training, but only if the self-image gets invited to come along.
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Now that we've decided to call every shot, let's define what that means.
It means to know, as the gun fires, exactly where the bullet is going, and subsequently where it went.
It is seen from the sight picture as the gun fires. It means watching the dot or sights lift in recoil.
Think about it: If the sight picture is acceptable and you watch the front sight lift out of the notch, where could that bullet go except the target?
It's so liberating. Now you don't have to worriedly wonder if you "got all your hits." You don't have to listen for steel, and you certainly don't have to stand there and wait for it to fall.
(Wait a minute, all this sounds like it might improve stage times! Is it possible that Accuracy IS Speed?)
When I'm really shooting my best, I can actually score the stage from "unload and show clear." I can literally tell the RO, "I'm down 3 charlies on T2, T5, and T7."
And you can do it too. Start at 5 feet. Watch the sights lift and KNOW where the bullet went. Move back to 15 feet. Watch the sights lift and KNOW where the bullet went. Back to 30.
A great shooter KNOWS where the bullet goes.
(Uh-oh, that sounds like positive thinking at work!)
Now, as with all serious training techniques, there is a period of acclimation during which overall performance can decline. This is normal and will not last very long. it happens because when we make a change, it takes our brain and body a little time to unlearn the old and learn the new.
Never slow down, Just see more.
Now get to work.
And stay classy.
Thanks for stopping by.
Now get to work.
Tomorrow we'll talk about "level of participation" and goals.
Fake it til you make, stay classy, and thanks for stopping by.
Now get to work.
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Nice! Karen just got 10% off her upcoming Dry fire tuneup!
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I don't know how many Facebookers are on here, but I fired up AndersonShooting on Facebook recently.
There will be daily shooting tips and other wacky stuff. I will still copy the good ones over here, but I'm not gonna flood the awesome Enos forum with all of my ramblings...
Thanks in advance for Clicking and Liking.
If you "like" the page today I'll refund 10% of any book order, or you can take 10% off a dry fire tune up that we schedule in the next 24 hours!
Thanks Again,
SA
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I get asked that question all the time, and I'm still working on an answer.
I'll check with my web guru and see what's involved. I really like the workbook format, and I don't know how to do that in an e-book.
Thanks for asking!
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Yes, Draw and Duck.
Exactly like that.
Did you notice how confident he was?
How relaxed?
The King of the Range has nothing to fear.
SA
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If you tend to shoot better in practice than you do in matches, that is almost always a self image problem. You will only ever shoot as well as you EXPECT to shoot, not how you want to shoot.
Further, do you get extremely nervous before a match, particularly the first stage? Do you calm down and relax after you make a mistake? Again, this is a self image problem.
Now, What is a self-image, why is it important, and how do you improve it?
Your self image is you. It's how you see yourself as a shooter. It's made up of every thought you've ever had about shooting. Are you great on paper and shitty at steel? Hello, self image. Nice to meet ya mister self fulfilling prophecy!
So let's do two things right away. First, anytime you have anxiety about shooting, insert a predetermined affirmation. It can be anything positive, but it must be TRUE. Your mind won't tolerate a lie. It knows you too well.
When I returned to shooting after 5 years of ruining my life over a girl, I was very nervous and afraid. I shot very timidly because that was HOW I EXPECTED TO SHOOT. And then one day I remembered something:
I'm a GM. This is what I do.
So I inserted that into my stupid brain every time I had anxiety and began shooting much better. And guess what happens when you shoot better... Your self image improves.
For a developing shooter, I like this: I'm getting better every day.
That phrase is positive, but it doesn't reek of bullshit. It's something the brain will believe.
The second thing you need to do (You thought I forgot about number 2? I never forget number 2) is CELEBRATE THE POSITIVE.
Anytime you have a great performance, celebrate it inside. Don't project it outward too much, but do a little happy dance in your self-image:
I'm the king of steel, I'm the king of IP SiCk,
Nobody can beat me, but you can... buy me a beer later.
Now get to work.
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Dry firing is the best ecconomical way to train for shooting.
If you could afford afford to shoot for 2 hours a day that would be better than dryfiring.
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The best training for shooting is shooting.
Other activities can be helpful for sure, but there's no reason to start playing raquetball to improve your shooting. Improving your physical fitness is always a good idea, however.
When I began running 5 miles idea a few years ago, I didn't necessarily run any faster at matches, but I did notice I never got tired at matches. That's pretty valuable.
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The key to shooting good groups is to stop aiming so hard and focus on the trigger press.
Thank Benos for that one.
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Left with .7 draws at 7 yards.
One of them got his turn and draw down to .8 within minutes of learning my "step through" method.
If you can spare 2 hours and 75 bucks, we can get you all dialed in.
The only shooter to leave without a .7 draw at 7 yards was a 9 year old boy. His dad and I decided .9 was good enough for now.
Come see me.
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You need 'em both of course.
The first one, Refinement, is geared to rapidly improving your classification and really getting serious.
The second one has more "content" and the drills are more about match performance than classifiers.
They have both left a trail of GMs in their wake.
SA
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Pick one and practice.
Ha, I win.
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Absolutely.
Level of Participation is very important.
I'm actually jealous of guys who can go out once a month and just shoot for fun. That's hard for me to do...
I'll never chide someone for not practicing (or taking it seriously) if they just want to have fun.
Excellent point.
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I was thinking more about building confidence and therefore reducing nervousness.
It will bolster your self image, and that is very important.
You will also get better at analyzing stages because you will have to work harder to do so.
It won't yield an immediate benefit, but it will FORCE you to become a better shooter over time.
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If you're serious about improvement, squad with the best shooter in your club.
To really gain a (long term) edge, volunteer to go first on every stage.
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Hi Steve,
Just a quick note on how much your book (Refinement and Repetition) has helped me. I got the book in February after a dismal performance at the IDPA Ironman (http://www.idpa.com/matchresults/2012/2012-02-11-NC_Ironman.pdf). Since then, I have worked with your book and my timer almost daily. The results speak for themselves:
1) 1st Place CDP SS at the Commonwealth Cup (http://www.idpa.com/matchresults/2012/2012-05-27-CW_Cupcakes.pdf)
2) 1st Place CDP SS at The Carolina Cup (http://www.idpa.com/matchresults/2012/2012-06-16-Carolina_Cup.pdf). I was promoted to CDP Expert at this match.
3) 1st Place CDP Expert at the North Carolina State Championship (http://www.idpa.com/matchresults/2012/2012-08-11-NC_State.pdf)
Next up is the IDPA Nationals in a few weeks. My goal is to win CDP Expert and be promoted to Master. Several of my shooting friends have asked me how I got so good so fast and I pointed them to your book. Thanks again.
Peter
Congrats Peter!
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That's commonly called "prepping" the trigger and is a good thing.
Having your finger on the trigger and waiting to press it is the essence of gun control.
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Oh, and a neat little by product is that you will have faster times without shooting any faster.
Chew on that.
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I don't have much to add, but that's not going to stop me from trying.
The best matches I have ever shot were the ones where my ONLY goal was to call every shot.
You see, that goal become my only responsibility. (in between stages, I can think about anything or nothing)
And what's cool is that there's nothing any other shooter can do to affect that goal.
I know going in that my place in the scores will be determined by my preparation.
It's very relaxing and calming.
It also helps to avoid hearing other shooters' times.
It's not easy to spend the whole day in that mind set, but it will reveal how good you really are.
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I wouldn't say we have two sports, but I will agree that a classifier and a field course don't have a lot in common except this:
The guy that gets the most points per second gets all the stage points.
I spent 18 months of my life obsessed with becoming a GM. I had a DVD of Blake Miguez and wanted to do "that."
As I shot classifiers, I observed that most of them were 6 shots, a reload, and 6 more shots.
I got really good at "that."
And you know what sucks? Being a GM that can't shoot field courses very well. I spent a couple years treating field courses as a group of classifiers with a sprint in bewtween. That wins locally, sucks nationally.
And then just this year I finally figured it out.
The guy that gets the most points per second get all the stage points.
I think the best way to train for "both" sports is to dry fire the crap out of your draws and reloads (measured in hours per day, not minutes)and then practice shooting while moving in live fire.
In a field course, if you're not shooting, you're not getting ANY points per second. NONE.
Always be shooting, always be moving.
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There's not enough info here, but I'll render a guess anyway.
Movement needs to be the subconscious execution of a memorized route through the stage.
Conscious thought needs to be devoted to calling every shot.
It's VERY common for accuracy to worsen as movement improves. I tell shooters before every session to EXPECT to get worse in the short term, and celebrate that phase of development because they know it's all meshing together bit by bit.
So if you are thinking about your movement, it's very natural and normal for accuracy to suffer. You only have one brain, and you can only think about one thing at a time.
Your subconscious brain can do anything it's been programmed to do just fine on its own.
So we need to take conscious processes and move them to the subconcious mind. At the very upper level you can even move shot calling to the subconscious to the extent that you're just watching yourself shoot. It's a neat feeling. Very calm, insanely devoid of trying and wicked fast.
It takes, uh, Refinement and Repetition.
Help me get to the next level..............(open division)
in Tips for Improvement
Posted
Once every two weeks?
Are you kidding?
That's not a practice schedule, that's a vacation.
If you really want to get better, you need to be dry firing every day and get to the range for live fire AT LEAST once a week.
Check out andersonshooting on facebook for a recent article on self-image...
Once every two weeks? That might actually ruin my day.