daves_not_here

I like the tutor idea! Driving towards a goal like running a standard at a lower time. It would help me answer the question: What should I do with the time I have? It's all too easy to burn through ammo working on things that won't give the most improvement. DNH

What did you learn? DNH

THANK YOU! I've been looking for test for"doubt" to make sure I'm shooing with 100% Confidence Watching for the "Can I?" thoughts will alert me to where I might mentally give up the plan. It's the places where Can I's are that will be affected by any errors or things that don't go exactly as envisioned. I'm sure there's people on this forum that will admit wondering "Can I" has been the source of bad stages, missed shots and also general screw ups in life. At least I CAN hope that others have been tripped up by doubt. DNH

I'd like to make a comment about observation and judgement. We OBSERVE things. That cannot stop since it is a condition of awareness. Our egos JUDGE the input in an attempt PERCEIVE our world. Creating THOUGHTS. Was that a bad shot or is the target in the wrong place? What we DECIDE to do with those thoughts. I'm not shooting well today so I give up (often followed by a good match) We can IGNORE or ACT. We ignore a lot of things in our world. I like to drive this way, oblivious of everything The things we decide to act on and how we act is the key. Ignoring is not the same as deciding not to take action. Deciding to not take that makeup shot is not the same as ignoring the shot that missed. Giving in and following your subconscious training from all your practice is a very deliberate act and takes effort. If one gives in to the technique that has become a part of one's blood there is no marking of time. The brain will be fully immersed in the technique thoughts of time passing will not be created. The trigger is pulled even before the perception of a "bad shot" is made. Ingrained reflex pulls the trigger again. I think most of us have had moments of the immersed condition with the mind and body as one...For me it's where stuff just happens and if I was asked at that moment I would say, What body? What Mind? Getting good shooting ingrained in my subconscious is a different matter. I hope this adds something to this thread, DNH

I would humbly contend that the REAL problem is that our mind latches on to that assessment-- especially when it's "I'm screwing this stage up"-- and fails/refuses to let go and return to the immersion we need. As you call your 3rd Delta in an array, and make it up, it might occur to you that you've shot an awful lot of crappy points and wasted an awful lot of time picking them up... But if you instantly go back to driving the gun to the next target, and calling those two shots, is that such a problem? Mister Ster, I think you've described the REAL problem nicely! Sometimes it takes me weeks to go back to driving the gun, and calling those two shots... Lately it takes me 5 to 6 stages of a practice match before my mind "unlatches" and "it" starts shooting. Then I get immersed into the activity once again. DNH

Ryan, I'll admit my bias on what I'm currently working on since that's where my current attention is focused. I like how you came around that last barricade. Having the gun pointed towards the target even through the barricade has improved my times. You also had the guy up in your vision. I'm trying to stop the habit of lowering the gun. It's wasted motion because you just have to bring it back up again. wasted motion = wasted time. I'm also trying to keep my gun up for reloads. It might be the angle but it looks like you're dropping your gun a bit. I've been trying to keep the gun in my "workspace". The intent is that the gun stays in the line of sight of the target. Re-acquiring the sights would be faster. Also, defensively you haven't taken your eyes off the bad guy. What kind of camera are you using? The images are clear and videos look smooth. Definitely a valuable tool. DNH

ESP SS - Maybe because you rock? Good job. DNH

How are you doing? Decided yet to stay with Glock or go to STI? Did you get to try either one? I think everyone posting here has already formed their bias and it would be nice to hear about how you are forming your orientation. Just remember, if you go over to the other side you won't be able to return...Unless you start shooting the other side's gun again. In the end it's all about what is best for you. That's why choices exist. Otherwise there'd be only one choice. DNH

I think it's interesting... Sometimes doing well is just as distracting as doing poorly... Perhaps how well we're doing should be the first thing we don't let into our minds? DNH

Mr. Bunch, It sounds like you had fun which also helped get out of a slump. Isn't what we take home that has any real value is the enjoyment?...except empty brass? DNH

Oooohhh! Headshots first for tactical sequence. Might try that just to start a discussion... Probably good if you have slower transitions like me! If you think a "better plan" might get you a FTDR tell the SO what you're going to do before you try it. Especially if everyone else has been shooting the stage one way and you do it differently and run into the SO. It wasn't an FTDR but had to start the stage again. Round Dump or Make Up? I pull the trigger one more time to make up a -1 and it just ends up getting me to slide lock faster. I would never shoot an extra round just to get to slide lock. There's usually a target that need the extra attention. If you want to pull the trigger more times you can unless it's limited vickers. Three ~.3 splits is almost a second which eats into the benefit of a slide lock reload instead of a reload with retention. It would be a lot of fun hosing targets and it's not against the rules! I've seen people go through stages with 3 rounds for every target. "Shoot till you're happy" I've been told. You're not the one pasting! There will always be "loopholes" in rules. I'd like to discuss those further but I have a rule. Only talk about rules over beer... There is a rule to always follow and a technique to guarantee you'll do well... BE SAFE AND HAVE FUN! It's never failed me. DNH

I do agree with IDPA being more about execution than imagination. But having a better plan, e.g. putting an extra round into a target to get a reload in a goo place, going wide to shoot more targets from one position you can own a stage. In my area stage design is pretty subtle and the Master shooters are the ones that figure out the most efficient way of executing a stage. I guess the subtlety is the reason why I like it. If you can see the "better plan" a stage becomes easy. To me it's like chess where brute force can be beaten by the better plan. Imagination I apply to Zombie shoots! Freestyl'n on Zombie heads! DNH Zombie Shooter's Association #029NC

Braxton, Thanks for making my number 2 approach easier to remember! So now all I've got is Shoot for the head - No Brainer Shoot for the center of the available target A lot less number two! DNH

I see a pattern on the "amount" and "type" of thinking being described here and at the range. I think it's a matter of how much "aligning the gun with the target and making it go bang" is in the subconscious. The goal is clear but; there are different types of thoughts that we need in our head as we progress. We're dealing with transferring non-instinctual, non-natural behavior to the subconscious. For me in the beginning it was, "sight picture, trigger press". Very fundamental and mechanical thoughts. Now, I'm somewhere between "find target and put holes in it" and "reload...reload". More thoughts on mechanics of shooting. Every once in a while "pick up a gallon of milk on the way home" sneaks in. B.S. thoughts. Thoughts I'm trying to get into my head. Stay wide on the corner, popper-static-swinger, extra round in that target. Thoughts on the plan and and reducing time. Thoughts I wish I had in my head. Nothingness, the oneness of the universe, non-self, mu. Enlightened state of flow. "Pushing out thoughts doesn't work, FOCUSING on the task and only on the task works." Is the thought that is working for me right now... DNH

Criteria to "handle it" on a stage I'm using now: One or more of the following, in order of priority: Go for the head. It's a no brainer If it's really a narrow for the down zero or A, for the distance, split the difference between the outer edge of the -1 or B/C and the edge of non-threat. Slow waaaay down and ONLY LOOK AT WHERE I'M GOING TO HIT. Going for the head automatically makes me slow down. Take the down one or B/C and risk the -0 or C/D. This approach takes into account how accurate I am this week and helps fundamentals to take over. Having this criteria also gives me more confidence because I have a plan on what to hit, not what I'm trying not to hit. Hoping that you don't kill Kenny, DNH

Taller guys have some advantages from the extra couple of ways to shoot a stage. We don't have to: Charlie Chaplin around barricades (better accuracy and speed). Take the extra step to get to a target (~.5) seconds (speed and accuracy). Shoot over stuff rather than around (speed and accuracy). Reach that extra target through the a portal or window (~1 second). YMMV It doesn't really matter how fast your can mechanically draw a gun if you aren't accurate. A faster reaction time and faster target acquisition can also make up for slower mechanics. BBC put something out so you could compare yourself to Olympians. Link to BBC Olympian comparison DNH

Good Vibrations = Good Shootin' Vibrations towards good will result in good results. Taking what happens in the world as it is when we apply ourselves and flowing with what happens. Slowing vibrations to ego fabrications, trying to repeat past moments or trying keep things the same, will result in poor results. It's obvious sometimes. Other times we get wrapped up and don't realize if we work to ENJOY the things around us we get even more ENJOYMENT out of the results. Egos are near-sighted when they try to control or compare things. I guess that's where the balance between expectations, actions and the inevitable judgement is important. Now, get out of bed. Brian Wilson did... DNH

Ben, I think eBooks should take advantage of multi-media not just be page turners. I think embedded videos would reduce padding and make it more useful... This is a lot like your website already. There are sections that are easily navigated and the file structure is pretty horizontal. I like it a lot. I'd buy your eBook if it was structured like your website! What I would like to see: Lots of applied technique examples with video would be nice. Examples of how to diagnose and measure improvement. DNH

I'm wondering if Mike is monitoring this thread? I bet there would be huge demand for an "upper" that fits on any 1911 style pistol and operates like the SIRT AR bolt. The way the trigger works there could be a mechanical contact in the mag well. It would be easier to do a DA gun and go off the hammer but the 1911 market would be worth the R&D! Mr. Pythons, I like the post-it idea. Have you seen Mike's video on putting a post it on a floodlight bulb? It illuminates the whole bulb if you miss the post-it. DNH

It's been a couple of days working with a metronome, some live-fire and digesting this thread. My current goal is to improve my transitions by getting my EYES to snap faster to the next target. I don't think constraining myself to an arbitrary and constant beat is going to help my shooting except with a rack of steel plates. I will get all jazzy with you on the topic of rhythm because like dravz man says "the targets are your sheet music". Some swing, some pop and other's don't threaten. Transition time equal to splits I consider the theoretical maximum speed of a transition. This would be the time of how fast you can recover and fire the next shot regardless of whether it required a transition or is the same target. Perhaps thinking that a transition is "recovering to the next target" might help me. I've begun to notice how my eyes move: Things are smooth and fast or slow and choppy. When my eyes move first and get a good focus on the next target the sights smoothly "appear" and it's fast. If I don't get focused clearly on the next target, the gun arrives and the sights swim around before I clamp down a sight picture. I end up "behind" the movement of the gun, jerking it to a stop and it's slow. My basic premise: You can't hit faster than you can see... My background references: Refer to Brian's book p. 65 for shooting types. There are different things going on and vision plays a HUGE ROLE! Brian's book starting on p. 79 talks about Visual Awareness. "You need to start to see things that you wouldn't normally see... At home or in your office, pick out a couple different spots at different distances and practice shifting your focus from one to the other...see how quickly you can go back and forth." (Enos 1990 p.79-80) So from this and a little Steve Anderson got me thinking of using a metronome. So, this exercise it to: NOTICE how to have one sight picture then snap the eyes to the next target and then establish the next sight picture. I have narrowed drills down to: 2-2-2 and 1-1-2-1-1 sequences on three targets X drills head-body-head-body on two targets I do a "run" trying to make the tempo but most importantly getting the EYES to lead the gun to the target and getting a good SIGHT PICTURE. Anyone else find stuff out about what they're doing? I highly recommend getting both Brian's and Steve's books. They put a lot of support into this forum so buy their books even if you don't read them. DNH

We tend to be more sensitive to people with guns that misbehave because it reflects badly on all gun owners. All of us end up dealing with the fallout. They might be clueless: The guy who posted about calling BS on someone may have done a favor to that person and to others. Sometimes a little hint is all that's needed. I've been guilty of being inconsiderate of others and received some some "hints" in the past. I'm a better person for it. Other people getting on my nerves: I get people to stop agitating me by focusing on out-shooting them. I like the competition and it gets my mind off of their BS. I figure if I can't shoot well because of someone's yammering how can I do well in a major at a foreign range? Good Luck DNH

When you've practiced something and know it cold you can play it way fast! I think that is just like blazing through a stage feeling like it's slow. The time wasn't slow it just seemed like it because you kept ahead of what was happening. Also the notes or the shooting technique was in your subconscious. You didn't need to say to yourself B-C#-D or press trigger with the right index finger. So, using a metronome you know the speed you can shoot and the technique is in your subconscious at that tempo. I believe with live-fire this will help you keep ahead of what is happening and change your tempo smoothly. DNH

Sam, That's a good link and highlights something that we always question but like to deny it exists...The unknown. Science doesn't know everything. A good scientist is one will welcome and encourage questions. I think a good teacher is someone who also teaches beyond the subject at hand and how much we don't know. The way to treat the unknown, like what's about to happen just after the beep, is with acceptance and observation not fear and denial. VIBRATING FASTER = acceptance and observation = ability to anticipate and keep ahead of the gun = good shootin' that flows VIBRATING SLOWER = fear and denial = resistance, jerkiness and inefficiency = mikesville Shoulda put that in the first post. DNH If you're Schrodinger's Cat you never left while you were away...

Flight of the Bumblebee comes to mind! (Green Hornet Theme). Move a trigger as fast and accurately as your valves you'll be GM in no time! I think it can be argued there are a lot of similarities between music and shooting (Just don't tell my hippie music teacher). When playing sheet music you've got to look a couple notes ahead of where you're playing. This would be like looking for sight picture. When you actually play the notes to a rhythm it is done in a controlled and precise fashion. Just like trigger press. When playing with others you have to sync up with their cadence. Like shooting at a swinger. Try to play the song faster than you can you'll hit wrong notes. Like missing targets or poor accuracy. Ultimately, one looks at a whole measure or phrase and it's just played. This is where musicality comes in. That would be subtleties in approaching groups of targets in a stage. I'm sure there are people on this forum that find the sound of gunfire musical. That of course depends on who is doing the shooting and the direction of fire. DNH

...It is a way to force you into having a shot ready on the beat to improve your transition times... Really good points about aim and sight picture to emphasize: Not breaking a shot before you're ready. - This means sights must be aligned first. Trigger press based on what you see not a specific time. - If you aimed faster than an arbitrary cadence then take the shot. Why wait? Many times I've fallen into the "Shoot NOW!" mistake before I had the sights on the target. I'm adding two additional training points to my notes: Faster transitions - Get the sights on target before the beat. Visual Patience - Proper sight alignment as a visual cue for trigger press. The goal is to not pressing the trigger before the sights are on target Thanks, DNH