carinab

So Boudreaux and Thibodeaux ended up in Houston looking for work and found themselves jobs at NASA painting the space shuttle. Long about lunch time, Thib says to Boo, "I'm parched, whatcha' think they got round here drink?" Boo answers, "Thar's a fifty gallon drum o' sumtin over here. If'n we drank that thar I bet we'd be tanked." Three days later, Boo wakes up to hear his phone ringing. It's Thib on the line, "How ya' doin'?" Boo answers, "Not good. What wuz that we drank?" Thib answers "Rocket Fuel I reckon." Boo gasps, "Rocket Fuel?! Howcha' know dat?" Thib says, "Well Boo, don't fart - because I'm in Cuba."

Erik - Don't know what industry you are in but the jobs are starting to pick back up here in the sillicon prairie (D/FW - Richardson in particular). I got to Texas from California (all together now) as soon as I could. The bias isn't too bad here against "fur-uh-ners" - read that as non native texans. However, I am grateful for yankees. Texans hate them far more than Californians. In the space of 12 days after moving to the state, I was pulled over SIX times for having out of state plates. I warn you though, you may need a translation book for the first six months. Nothing is ever simply spoken, everything is answered in metaphor or simile. I.E. That dog won't hunt or It's hotter out than two mice making love in a wool sock or That is just off like a prom dress....

A class limited, STI 5" Edge, Bianchi holster 1.51 first shot, 3.38 overall, average split .29 3 A's, 3 C's

I agree that following the conga line isn't the best idea. There was a stage once at one of the nationals and everyone was shooting it a certain way, starting right and running in a semi circle counter clockwise. I had walked it through that way but it felt ackward getting into the last position. I decided to walk it through the opposite way. Coming up to the ackward position in a clockwise motion felt better. However this game plan called for an extra reload because of the way the arrays were laid out. It turned out to be about 1 second faster. Trust your instincts My first walk through is always to find the "path of least resistence." What is my natural inclination for the stage? Do I naturally point to the outside target first or last...that sort of thing. This requires a certain degree of experience and trusting that your subconscious will point out the best method for you. The second is a refinement looking for the "gotcha" targets. Is it the swinger or the combination of two fast, close targets and a distant activator that are "dangerous?" The third does the round counting and reload planning and determination of the "sweet" spots for target engagement (sometimes called footwork). From there I usually have to visualize the whole thing from the back 'cause a fourth walk through doesn't happen until I'm on deck. <grin> Then I just turn on the autopilot.

I always wonder when I take a class, no matter the subject, where the material comes from and whether or not it's original (particularly in the data world). It's not often that a presenter has such a unique method for communicating a point unless they are very talented at teaching. Given the rest of THAT particular course, I can certainly believe that it was your drill Brian. I usually as a rule always give credit where it's due.

Zen and the Art of Archery by Eugene Herrigel. The Warrior Athlete by Dan Millman. Another vote for Gallwey's Inner Game of Tennis.

My lonely little rental car story....One of the few times I flew into Quincy with a group of shooters, we all pitched in and rented a car. One of the guys was having problems with his gun. He had spent the better part of a night fixing it. Of course he wanted to get to the function fire range early. He was in a panic thinking he wouldn't get to test his gun before the first stage. So here we are in a ford taurus rental doing about 120 mph on the freeway towards the range. And guess who we see coming the other direction?? Illinois hiway patrol....I'm certain the poor guy got whiplash turning his head trying to catch a plate number. He couldn't u-turn over the median. He had to go to the next exit and come back after us. We decided we could probably make it to the range before he did so we actually went faster! You can't out run a motorola but we figured the chances of another hiway patrolman being close were slim. So we're in the parking lot at PASA all of three minutes (just long enough to pop the trunk and act busy) when the cop rolls in. Of course parked next to us on the range are the 200 OTHER Ford Taurus' that all the other shooters rented....Can't tell one from another can you???? That patrolman did not look happy!

Plaxco taught a drill in his classes where you took five shots at an ipsc target at 25 yards. On a piece of paper with an ipsc target on it, you would mark with a pen where you thought the hits went. You'd then go down range and see if you called and remembered your hits correctly comparing the target to the paper. A variation was the above but with a par time just under your comfort zone by .2 of a second. The idea being that you could learn to make the calls under pressure and learn what is an acceptable picture for a given shot....Sort of an exercise for BE's point; you'll know where the bullet went and if you hit what you intended (i.e. part of the A zone if that's what you wanted).

So I bought a pair of Rudy Graal Fyol's (try saying that three times fast)....The orange frames come with three lenses; the action brown (high contrast, 22% Visible Light Transmission), orange (medium contrast, 70% VLT) and clear. All of that for close to a C note. For another $35 I can pick up a set of yellow lenses (87% VLT). Compared to other brands, it's a good value for the price. They also passed the fog test yesterday. It was high 90's with awful humidity. I wore my ball cap all day and not once did I experience my very own meteoric chamber! They wrap around nicely, good coverage. I though I would notice the lower frame in my peripheral but I don't. They also have a replacement guarantee for lens scratches...How cool is that!

I just finished reading the last two related topic threads from 2003 and thought I would open it again for two reasons.... I noticed that there weren't many opinions from our learned and degreed opthamologists. What do they think? Also, one of the questions that I didn't see addressed is are you at greater risk for macular degeneration later if you have the lasik procedure? I'm not finding too much about it web-wise....Has Lasik not been around long enough for that sort of thing to show yet? Now that there are all laser procedures (no blades involved), it is starting to sound more appealing. Perhaps some of you that have already done some web research have a link or two that you found useful? Also, a question for those that have had it done, how has it impacted your shooting? Thanks!

So does anyone else have a fogging problem with wrap around lenses? If I have my ball cap on (which I always do with my fair skin and 50 sunblock) and I shoot in the humid climate (Barry any time of year <grin>), as soon as I break a sweat - my glasses fog. Thus I have put practicality over fashion (I know - unheard of for a woman) and I wear the fly boy style frames with rose tint. I look like Geekamo Jones but it works. I'm contemplating buying some Rudy Graal Fyol's as I like the idea of changeable lenses. They weren't my first choice though - I would have gone for the kerosene model except they don't have an orange replacement lens....What is up with that! Make a million different models but only certain colors come in certain frames...Argh! Oh that's right, there's more money in Golf than shooting.....(rant mode off).

The coach of our ladies team (long, long ago) shot the SWPL matches and the Big Bear Valley shoots with all the "big" names that started this whole IPSC thing...(his ride along partner was Jack Weaver of the San Diego Sherifs). I was talking to him last night and he was reminiscing about how if you ran an el prez in the early days in under 10 seconds, you were the STUD. I'd love to put TGO in the way back machine and send him to one of those early matches with his current gear and skill set. CalTech would register a 4.5 earthquake from all the jaws hitting the ground!

Okay, true confessions time....It was my first IPSC match. I had been shooting for all of six months and all of it had been at the Police Range in San Diego. In other words, I started life as a sister of the single stack with no gear. I had a Viking holster with a thumb snap and no mag pouch. The stage was setup like a baseball diamond with shooting boxes for bases. A three target array was at each box (1st, 2nd, 3rd base respectively). Since I only had 7 round mags and would need two reloads, I put the extra mags in my jeans pocket. All went well in the first box but on the way to the second, I accidently pushed one of the mags into the hole in my pocket. That probably wouldn't have been a big deal but as I ran, the mag slid further down. At the second box, I realized the mag I needed to reload with was halfway down my pants leg. Hmmmm....what's a girl to do? I sure as heck ain't unbuttoning my jeans to get to the mag. So I run like Quazimoto, stomping my leg as hard as I can while running to the last box trying to coax the mag down my pants leg. I had already dumped the empty mag and as I arrived at the box, I lifted my leg in the air, pull up my pants leg, and retrieved the "lost" mag from my sock. I promptly stuffed it into the gun and finished the course of fire. I thought the RO was going to have heart attack (he thought I was going for a back up gun). When he saw the mag he nearly wet himself he was laughing so hard. I went and bought a mag pouch at the end of the match....

I'm 38 (shhhh, don't tell anyone)... So if I understood your post correctly, if I got corrected to 20/20 my front site would get slightly fuzzy....Bummer. I suppose you could correct just shy of 20/20.... Or I can do what I do now and wear a slightly weaker than full strength lense. I doubt I could do the mono vision thing. I have to use a piece of tape on my left eye side shooting glasses or the round count on the stage doubles (more targets). BTW, you should have seen the look on my optometrist's face when I asked if I could bring my gun in during the appointment....Verrrrrry Funny.....

The duality of hoping to do well but not caring how it comes out is such a complex area. The best summation for me (hence easieast since blonde is my natural hair color) is that attachment feels fine, it's detachment that can be painful, so learn to say a good farewell. In other words, care and hope all you want but learn to let go when it's time.

Since a number of you have had lasik, I'd like to ask a question. My distance correction has gotten to the point where things at arm's length (like my front site) are starting to fuzz ever so slightly (-3.00 correction left eye, -4.50 on right). I don't think it's that middle age, reading glass thing going on because if I use one of my old -4.00 lenses in the right eye, the front site is sharp again. The question I have is if you have lasik, would only the distance focus be corrected? In other words, would I have the front site fuzzy at arm's length like I do while wearing the full strength lenses or does it correct your focus at all distances? Thanks!

Accuracy versus speed....My accuracy is the same, my speed has changed for the worse so I need to ask for help. After reading "the book" I believe that I mostly shoot with a type 4 focus. I see the where the front site is when the shot breaks (and a small amount of lift) and my peripheral is already picking up the next target. I'm not following the front site in an arc as it goes to the next target and I don't bring the next target into focus. For lack of a better term, I have global awareness - nothing sharply in focus, the next target still fuzzy - until the sites move onto the next target. Then I focus on the front site again. This is with three targets four feet apart at 15 yards. After reading about type 3 focus and hearing from the free universe that to improve speed, you have to shift your eyes to the next target then focus back on the front site, I decided to work on it. Five weeks later, on wide transitions the type 3 focus does deliver a faster split by .05, mostly because I'm not overswinging anymore. However on the three targets (four foot spread) my splits are .07 slower from target to target. I seem to take a long time to look at the target and then return my focus back to the front site. I believe I'm having a learning curve. So here is a question, do you have type 3 focus no matter what the target spread? In other words, even if the targets are side by side, are you focusing on the next target and shifting back to the site? On average, how long did it take to learn to type 3 focus? Did you experience an initial slow down in your times? I know long term, I'll be better off learning the type 3 focus but I'm tempted to wait until after the season...the "don't change something right before a big match" rule.

There hasn't been a post here for a bit but given my weakness, I'm going to use this opportunity to re-inforce something I once learned. I have de-railed myself so many times by not be able to let go of a bad stage. Problem one of course was having a judgement to start with. But given my nature I know I will make a judgement about a bad stage. To decide I won't have a judement is like trying to NOT think about a large pink elephant. So how then to let go? Of all things, someone once recommended to me a book called "On death and Dying" by Kubler-Ross. In this book the author groups reaction to stress into the following categories: denial (I couldn't have missed), anger (!#X$@>*!, I missed!), bargaining (maybe I shot a double?), depression (I WAS doing so well), and acceptance (oh well, next stage please). I can sometimes see people looping through the first four a bunch of times before finally hitting that acceptance part. For me the first thing is I have to recognize that my thinking is in one of the above categories. Once I recognize that, it makes it easier to dismiss. "Oh, that's that depression thing again." I then find a rational statement. "Reality is that I don't suck as a shooter just because I drilled the hell out of the no shoot." Usually after that point, the negative thinking will run its course and disappear soon enough. For those days when I really have the hair coat on and can't accept the mistake, I decide to accept that I am in a category. "Yes I'm tipped over about that stage but let's see how well I can do anyway." In other words, IPSC is an on demand sport so sometimes you just have to suck it up and get on with it. So long as I don't think while I shoot, it doesn't matter what sound track is playing in my head.

I came across a really great site. If you look under kinesiology there are full skeletal muscle diagrams and links to animated exercises (showing correct form - very important) for that particular muscle (or muscle group). I recently screwed up my left rotator cup and learned what muscles needed strengthening to help cure it, found the exercises on this site. Good links/info on sports psychology, quickness drills too. Though I'd throw this out there just for reference. http://www.exrx.net/