Steve Anderson

Thank! Yes, PoP is currently sold out from me, but Brian probably has it in his store.

Stay in the present Take my time Breathe See my sights Control the trigger Call my shots Conscious mind can only do one of those. That's the problem. Faced with this dilemma, your conscious mind will attempt to give you what you want, but it's guessing because you gave it more than one thing to do. Pick ONE.

Walk Stage Formulate Plan Visualize plan until time to shoot (I have never been a victim of over-visualization) Visualize once more at LAMR Change focus from the plan to execution by saying "Center the dot call the shot" while taking sight picture. Center the dot, call the shot It's still scary to set the plan aside, but I know that it works and I trust it completely.

Why are you going to the match? It's a serious question that many will never ask themselves... You may be having a problem meeting your own expectations because you don't really know why you are going. Until you define success, you'll NEVER have any.

Get to work is the sequel and the prequel of both the first two. All three books are based on identifying and correcting the issues that we all have faced in the high speed shooting sports in the order that I have faced them. Technical and Mental. Get to Work is primarily focused on how to train vs. how to compete. It's the thirdest book I have ever written. The podcast is obessed with all of the above, set to the glorious tones of the mighty Van Halen.

Hello Steve, It has been about a year and a half since you did a review of my 2013 Limited Nationals video. At the time I was not listening to the podcasts with much regularity, so you can imagine my surprise when I discovered some months later the brilliant "Confessional" podcast that went over in detail the folly of my match strategy (or lack thereof). I spent the last year plus doing the same dumb thing as the next hot dog in line (complete with my nascar shirt and race holster). I had to sort through a new job, getting new equipment that works, and had a bout with pretty severe tendinitis in addition to ulnar nerve impingement in my gun hand. My level of participation was basically shooting club matches- dry fire made the elbow worse and I sure didn't practice. I shot Nationals and Area 2 again this last year as a B class shooter and did alright in that class but for some reason I was not satisfied. I shoot with a number of expert sandbaggers who had me convinced I should enjoy my time in B and go for a class win next year before moving on to A- but this did not sit well with me. I realized I was spending close to 30 hours a month (driving to, shooting, and returning from a club match nearly every week) as well as considerable resources on the sport but only saw an improvement of a few percent over the period of a year. Driving back from Area 2 I was discussing how I felt about my shooting with some friends and I came to the realization that I was letting my ego drive my match rather than surrendering to what I could see and calling my shots. I was throwing hopers and using my stage times to shield my ego from the low hit factors. I occasionally would hook up and have a super squad level stage finish at each major I attended- but only 1 per match or so. I realized how bad it was when I told a friend if it weren't for the penalties my times were relatively close to the match winner, and he asked me how many penalties I had- reviewing practiscore I saw I had 22 penalties for the match. I joked with my friends about having D class hits and GM times, but I was seeing a pattern of trying to ignore what the real issue was. "I see a shooter with very good technique who lacks the visual patience to fire and call an accurate shot. You learn to do that and you'll know how good you are and what really needs work. Until you can shoot a cleaner match, you'll never know." This spring I decided to "get to work". I shot less club matches, and started to practice a bit. I hit A within about a month. It felt good so I decided to aim higher. I decided to become a GM and told my closest friends about my goal to keep me accountable. 3 weeks ago I restarted up my dryfire routine (from Refinement and Repetition) that had got me to B so quickly before. I started to record my par times. I have been skipping every other club match in favor of going to the range to practice. I started up Chad Reilly's shooter's elbow routine (thank you so much for sharing that) rather than making excuses for myself. I find myself often exceeding my practice schedule and taking a break from dryfire just long enough to dry the sweat from my hands and arms instead of checking my phone for facebook updates or to see if I have met my minimum time in the dryfire dojo. This has had two main benefits that I can see: 1. My gunhandling skills are improving rapidly. 2. I am beginning to trust instead of try. I know I can draw, reload, and transition like a GM so I don't feel like I need to break the shot before I see what I need to see. This last week I shot a little indoor match with the singular goal of calling every shot. I felt slow as molasses. It did not feel exciting. I was sure that I was going to get served- but I had accepted the process of calling every shot, and allowing the outcome to be dictated by my level of training rather than my level of "effort". I was stunned to see I shot over 90% on the classifier and won the match. I am now just a few percent away from M in Limited and will be switching over to my single stack for the charge to GM. This stuff is very real. Thank you for continuing to hammer on the shot shot calling. Some of us are so deep in our patterns that it might take a year of podcasts, books, and getting beat before it sinks in. Sincerely, a former index shooting sinner who has seen the shot calling light

Telling yourself to go slow will never work, because it's not what you really want. You've earned a run at your current level of skill, there's no way to do any better than that on any match day. Many shooters will shoot below their current level of skill, mostly because of rushing or trying. It will feel very exhilarating, but not score very well. What if you could shoot your current level of skill every time, and then increase that in training?

USPSA shooting requires you to do a few things, and rewards you for for doing them quickly and accurately. At the risk of over-simplification, this is what's required: Handle the gun safely and quickly Fire an accurate shot under any condition, including while moving Move to a new area or new position quickly and fire an accurate shot These things can be practiced extensively in dry fire with very limited space with a little creativity. After you get really good at a standing draw (under a second par time at 10 yards) you could start a few feet from a doorway and practice drawing while moving to that doorway. Make that drill repeatable so you can put a par time on it to track your progress, of course... You could also set your par time at 20 seconds and require yourself to call every shot of your entire dry fire array while moving, with mandated make-up shots for anything worse than a charlie... One thing I've always done is to design a drill around my trouble spots after each match. If I miss a far shot on steel after an aggressive run, guess what I'll be doing at the next practice session. That's a one round drill for a VERY specific action. It's always best to repeat specific skills as isolated as possible. The smaller the skill, the bigger the improvement. Have you ever shot a big field course over and over in practice? That's not a great way to get better, unless you're practicing match mode shooting very specifically... You'd be better off to set up your field course, run it once to record your hit factor, then break it down and run each position as a drill. Do that until improvements are maxxed out or plateaued, then return to match mode and run the whole thing to gauge improvement. What went wrong at the last match? Design a very specific dry fire drill around it, and pretty soon it'll be a strength. There are, of course, some books that help you with that.

J-ro, I'm glad you asked. If you memorize the stage and visualize your plan in the first person perspective, there'e really nothing left to do but shoot the targets. You don't need to choose between speed and accuracy, you'll get both at your current level of skill by watching the sights or calling the shot, whichever you're more comfortable with. So, after you memorize and visualize the stage (repeatedly until you shoot) the only job for the conscious mind is to shoot the targets by watching the sights, seeing what you need to see, or calling the shot. (whichever of those verbal ideas works for you) This forces everything else into the subconscious, putting you squarely "in the zone" reliably and predictably. It'll also provide consistency and calm your nerves. You can read more about it in the new book, as well as the interview with Max Michel on that very topic.

My favorite zen question is: What is the sound of one hand clapping? My answer: The mind understanding itself. Our attitude toward the question is a big part of finding the answer. "Why can't I" becomes "What do I need to do?" If we recognize our attitude we get so much closer to understanding ourselves. Many people externalize their limitations, some go so far as to blame others, as if someone could prevent them from excellence. That doesn't seem possible to me. If it is, a change must be necessary. Learn to hit the target Learn to do everything else Hit the target

That's a classic example of level of participation. If we don't recognize the limitations of our resources, a lofty goal can cause major frustration. Bottom line is, you can't give what you don't have. I used to think it was a cop out, but it's simply the truth.

This is one of my favorite topics. You're panicking about the match because you don't know (or haven't decided) what you're supposed to do when you get there, which means you're afraid you'll make the wrong choice, do the wrong thing and realize the shooter's ultimate fear: Looking bad in front of your peers. The irony is, all this mental chatter is guaranteed to result in poor performance. Inconsistent thought can only produce inconsistent shooting. The solution: a job for your conscious mind that is always achievable. This guarantees success and is very calming.

Visualization is a skill like any other... the more you do it the better. It's one of the two most important things a newer shooter needs to learn how to do. The better you are at visualization, the more able you are to make a minor change. I was at a local match recently where a fellow "competitor" allowed me to over look a target during a shared walk-through. I didn't realize it until right before I shot. I had to re-do the whole movie in about 90 seconds. Worked out OK because I have a visualization system that works.

If you don't define success, you'll never have any. So, make sure you know what constitutes success on a regular basis and make sure you have some. Burnout occurs when the effort required exceeds the pay value of the reward. My new book has a full chapter on this topic called "Goals and Level of Participation." Suffice to say I've experienced this several times, as well as the very real issue of goal depression, which is related but slightly different. Bottom line: Choose a level of participation based on available resources and set an achievable training schedule that can be exceeded but never shortchanged. This will keep your life in balance, and be very good for your self-image.

The Zone: Total Subconscious Performance The best way to get there and stay there at the match is to give your conscious mind a singular job to do. That forces everything else into the subconscious. The funny thing is, a lot of shooters claim to want it but resist it because it "feels" slow. that "slow feeling" cause them to be afraid that they will be slow, so they go back to rushing and trying and hurrying and wonder why they can't get in the zone. An athlete can always over-try An athlete can never over-trust - Lanny Bassham

J-ro, I am working with someone right now on a class in the Columbus, Ga area, if you'll shoot (pun intended) me an email I'll get you in contact with him. Steve@andersonshooting.com KOB, More live fire is always better than less for those very reasons!

"Yeah, I was wondering if another dinosaur would bring that up. The constant tension on the tendons for gripping and pulling is rough on old joints and bodies like I have. Young guys should be able to do it all you want, old guys be careful." Chad Reilly, absolutept.com cure my shooter's elbow in 10 days. Don't wait until you get it, be pro-active and start his three exercises immediately if not sooner. They make a great cool down after an intense DF session.

"I went from "B" class to Master class in a year following Steve Anderson's dry fire recommendations from his first book. I had his book for a few years, but until I took a class from him, it didn't come together. I wish I had at least taken his Facetime Tuneup as soon as I bought his book." The new book has a written version of the full dry fire tune-up that goes into great detail about the first 12 drills in R and R. Those are the core gunhandling skills/drills that produce GM gunhandling. I've gotten better at explaining it.

"It appears to me that everyone's ultimate problem is trigger control (defined as not disrupting the sight picture when firing). Maybe just because that certainly is my major failure point. I can dry fire holding the gun on target until h freezes over and then go the range and flinch ever so slightly just as the explosion occurs. I'm beginning to think I'll never conquer it because it doesn't occur every time, just when it counts most. Good thread. I really agree with everyone. That's a new experience. Maybe I'll also have a miracle and hold the gun steady!" It's not possible for a human being to hold a handgun completely still. It is possible to achieve an acceptable sight picture and fire the gun without causing it to become unacceptable. It's even cooler to stay with the sight picture AS the gun fires to make everything went OK. You can actually score the target from the sight picture that way.

"In Steve's book he says (paraphrasing) that you need to be honest with yourself when obtaining a site picture: did you really see a clear alpha when you released the shot?" I've come to learn that it doesn't so much matter if you throw a mike in dry fire... it only matters if you throw a mike and don't know it. I have no issue whatsoever with dry fire in speed mode, where all I care about is what is required of my body to perform X in X amount of time. Again, if I do that for 5 minutes and can then do it on demand, I can then devote my attention away from my body and back into calling the shots. The key is defining success. What are you trying to accomplish? If you're seeking to dry fire perfect alphas, then make sure you do that. If you're seeking to improve speed, make sure you do that. Attempting (I almost typed "trying", a big no-no here) to do both at the same time will be counter productive.

"Last thing was that a 'rush rush rush before the darn timer beeps again' attitude was 100% not what I needed to enable me to attempt to run a smooth stage with good accuracy." This demonstrates what I call "taking training to the match." The rushing, trying and hurrying that yields speed gains is not the correct mentality for the match. It doesn't so much reveal a problem with training as it shows a need to differentiate between speed mode training and match mode shooting. If we do something (anything) in training to find a speed gain, that something needs to be repeated until it is normal. Then that level of speed for that activity is available to us in match mode, where we simply shoot at the speed of sight. No choice is necessary between speed and accuracy if we shoot what we see. In fact, you'll find yourself shooting faster that you thought you could at a match in that environment. But you won't realize it until later, either from your score or from someone else pointing it out to you. It's easy to do, but it's difficult to trust.

Steve, I told myself I would wait til I got into your first two books before I got the third. Wish I had done it earlier. The third book is a culmination of the three in my minds eye. It ties them all together. It can even be seen as, perhaps, a match preparation book. Where the other two show you what dry-fire does and how to make it applicable with the prier mindset. Me, I have over a decade of global security work. Performing or teaching security functions in high threat arenas. It has been a pursuit of mine to hone my weapons handling skills and work schedules did not allow me to be consistent. I couldnt measure it - so I couldnt improve it. So to say. Your book Get to Work showed me how to develop and apply the skills of accuracy and speed in turbo mode. So much information was contained that I tried to eat it all in one sitting. That did, what you said it would, gave me a temporary slump. The new information excited me to want to run to the range and I look forward to dry fire each evening. What I mean is that I can see the progress immediately and if I dont, I know why and can fix it.. almost immediately. Coming from a tactical background I thought it would be a shift. It wasnt. Your info instills personal growth and skill development to run your gear optimally and under stress. In the tactical realm I can apply this as it makes me a stronger asset to a team in support of an operation. And, at matches most Tact guys dont do super well as we have so ingrained other points of combative shooting. But, it is not in conflict with your writings on training to run your pistol better and better. Calling your shots Acceptable sight pictures What speed is These are not just a new way that you write about, but THE way to use it in training so it can come out when needed. And its all tactically applicable. Everyone who wants to get better on a budget or just a person needing a breath of fresh air- Buy This Book.

Get this book! I wish I had this available years ago when I started. Needless to say, I'd be much further along than am I now. Steve has broken down every aspect of the sport and has created a training strategy for each piece. Not only does he show you how to master all of the technical pieces you'll need to be competitive at the highest levels, but he addresses the most overlooked (and probably most important) skill needed to master the game; the mental game. I've probably read every USPSA resource available, but nothing has resonated or had the dramatic effect that I've gotten from Steve's books. My advice for any shooter, no matter at what skill level, is to get this book immediately, and as the name suggests...Get To Work! By Tobias on September 3, 2014

Review of Steve Anderson, 2014. Get to work: the practice of more points per second. This book is about the integration of the mental and physical. It’s a heady book in many ways, like an updated Enos, but it’s also a very practical training book that yields results. This is NOT just another book full of drills. I have a bunch of those on my shelf, and this book is different. In fact, Get to Work has helped me use my library of drill books in a different and much more effective way. This is the one practical shooting book to rule them all. Get to Work teaches us how to train efficiently. The time I had been putting in during live and dry fire hadn’t been yielding the results I wanted. Anderson’s new book explained why, and gave me a new approach to training. I’m making significant progress after only a couple of months, and my performance at matches has been increasing and becoming much more consistent. A big part of the book is mental management. It’s no secret that Steve Anderson is a disciple of Lanny Bassham, and his latest book shows this very clearly. I read Bassham’s With Winning in Mind, and I think it should be on everyone’s shelf. However, Anderson’s Get to Work is much more focused on USPSA and IDPA shooting, and I’ve been able to apply mental management to all aspects of the game. Maybe the biggest change in my attitude at matches is that luck doesn’t play a role in my strategy or performance anymore. I go to matches relaxed and ready to complete at the best of my current abilities. I don’t want to give too many spoilers in this review, but here’s one: I learned why practice had often been frustrating for me. I had been trying to increase my speed and accuracy at the same time. Anderson explains that this is counterproductive, and damaging to the self-image. I now train for increased speed (“speed mode”), increased accuracy (“accuracy mode”), or shot calling (“match mode”) but never more than one at the same time. This way I can focus on the progress I’ve made in each. If you want to improve your shooting performance, buy Get to Work. Every serious competitive action pistol shooter should own and use it. -Kelly, Portland Oregon Now available at Andersonshooting.com and Amazon.com

The practice modes are about defining success and focusing the conscious mind on what's important. On a transition drill, the definition of success is improved transitions. So we start with a current time that it takes to shoot two targets that have a wide transition. You have identified snapping the eyes to the next target as a good technique and most shooters would agree with you. So yes, make sure you're using the desired technique correctly. Run it a few times to get used to the feeling, without worrying about misses. Keep an eye on the times to make sure they're dropping. Once the time has plateaued, enter shot calling or match mode and just shoot. You should get a much better time than your original time with the glorious by product of acceptable accuracy. This may take more than one session, depending on the drill. Hope that helps.