mental program question...

[fastarget]

I decided to work on my shooting a bit differently so I ordered BE's book, Larry Bassham's, and Kirsch's.......wow.

I am working on creating a mental program as described in Lanny Bssham's book, I have done well on the initiation, attitude and direction phases but have not been able to relate to control and focus.

I understand what he uses when he shoots a single shot with a rifle, but I would like some input on formulating control and focus phases for shooting a stage in a match.

[CHA-LEE]

fastarget> Unless you have a HUGE amount of time to program a given stage expecting to program every single exact happening during a given stage run is a little unrealistic. Especially at a club level match when your exposure to any given stage is pretty limited. At least this is my experience. I have tried doing this and I end up selling myself short because I try to limit myself only to a specific plan for every shot. Then if that plan gets jacked up I am dead in the water and left flapping in the breeze on figuring out how to recover. Since then I have made my stage plans a lot simpler and just let the shooting happen. I still try to deploy my "Program" of breaking the shots only as fast as I can call them, but that some times is a challenge as well.

My stage plans usually consist of programming my desired body movement through a stage (Go here, move slowly as you are shooting through this position, finish there) along with which targets I want to shoot first or last in as I enter/exit a shooting position (Start shooting this target and start to exit as you are engaging that target). I usually don't make a plan on shooting the other targets for a given string as I know that if I put myself into a specific shooting position the targets in the middle of the string will get shot along with the first and last targets. Using a stage plan without too many specific restraints/instructions allows for my subconscious shooting to simply happen. The vast majority of the time this works out pretty well for me. Its also interesting to see how well your subconscious mind solves the shooting challenges.

If I plan on having a conscious thought during the stage run I try to keep it fairly generic, such as "Keep your arms out further while you shoot", "Stay low after entering a shooting position", or "When you move between shooting position RUN like you mean it". This way you are not thinking about too many different things while you are shooting and it allows for enough mental bandwidth to let everything else happen subconsciously without getting disturbed.

When you practice, that is where you want to fill your mind with all the conscious thoughts as you try to perfect your performance. When you are in a match you need to let go and allow the subconscious auto pilot to take over and execute the skills you have practiced.

It will be interesting to see what others say about your topic.

[CHA-LEE]

The other thing that I wanted to mention is that I think that a very good tool that is probably greatly underused by shooters is leveraging the subconscious mind to help break down the most efficient and effective way to shoot a stage. When I look at a stage for the first time I let myself simply to observe the stage as I wonder through it. This observation pass allows me to figure out what the main options are for shooting the stage. Then I will run through each option letting my subconscious mind dictate my movement, target engagement order, and where to reload as I move through the stage. This to me is what my subconscious mind "Feels" is the best way to tackle the stage. This process is kind of hard to explain as there are always conscious choices and decisions being made on how to break down a given shooting challenge. Maybe it makes more sense to say that I will pick the stage breakdown option which feels the most natural to me and requires me to make the least amount of forced or commanded actions. Once I have chosen and confirmed the best plan for me, then I will go about the process of programing the general sequences of the stage as I described before.

[Dan Burwell]

I was using my focus of shooting all A's most of last year, it worked very well. Just recently, after reading Plaxco's book Shooting from within, I have dropped that and just kind of let my mind go.

I still program everything in my head in great detail on every stage, I do have a program I run at make ready but, now I just let everything go and let my inner self shoot the stage tyring not to get in his way.

Cha-Lee, doing this I have often amazed myself when things do go wrong. I had one particular stage that I reloaded to early which forced another reload and changed the optimal target engagement order, some how my inner self figured it all out on the fly, and I still won the stage.

[CHA-LEE]

Dan Burwell> I have also experienced the strange unintentional actions happening when I "Let go" and have the auto pilot take over. But the really interesting thing is that when something happens which is not intended, if you just roll with it you can recover from it way faster than trying to consciously process what happened and manually recover. For example, I have experienced unintentional reloads in strange places during a COF, but its never been catastrophic to the run and the reload is usually wicked fast. Its almost like I have an internal counter that is counting rounds used and then triggers a reload at the next opportune time while shooting the stage. I have also screwed myself by going against my subconscious "Suggestion" of where to do a reload and end up doing an extra reload. One where I subconsciously felt like it was a good place to do it and another where I forced it into my plan.

So I have taken the approach of letting the loose nut behind the wheel (subconscious) run the show and determine the stage plan most of the time to avoid idiot mistakes

[Jake Di Vita]

Program the stage to the best of your ability. Visualize that stage as many times as needed to eliminate hesitation. Let yourself shoot at the ability you've trained for.

[benos]

Program the stage to the best of your ability. Visualize that stage as many times as needed to eliminate hesitation. Let yourself shoot at the ability you've trained for.

Good stuff! Yes, allow itto happen.

be

[fastarget]

Program the stage to the best of your ability. Visualize that stage as many times as needed to eliminate hesitation. Let yourself shoot at the ability you've trained for.

Jake, thanks for simplifying it for me.....

Cha-Lee, thank you for your insight and time, If I get your schedule I would drive up and shoot with you...

This has turned into a great discussion. When I started reading the books, I realized what I had been missing on many different fronts.

My intended use of the mental program "steps' was to aid in developing consitency in my mind. So Initiation is loading the gun for me, which also tells me to shut out all else. Attitude, is just that, feeling good about doing well or a positive overall self. Direction was the beginning of visualization of the stage, between "load and make ready" me saying "ready". control to me is letting go, relaxing, seeing front sights on target and what the book describes as focus is allowing the subconscious to do its thing.

These were to be my references, that would actually become an automatic after time and experience....I had started accidentally Zoning, and shooting intuitively on idpa stages. I have managed to disregard "freinds and their comments" numerous times, but not all the time. I needed a roadmap lets say to stay in that zone, and allow my subconscious to do it's job. So how is my plan?

[Jake Di Vita]

Don't over think it bud.

In the end, all you have to do is hit the target at the earliest moment you can.

There is a lot of good information in those books, use and apply what helps...don't use them as a step by step guide (and don't think you need a step by step guide).

Let your body do what you've taught it to do. Then teach it better for next time.

[fastarget]

Don't over think it bud.

In the end, all you have to do is hit the target at the earliest moment you can.

There is a lot of good information in those books, use and apply what helps...don't use them as a step by step guide (and don't think you need a step by step guide).

Let your body do what you've taught it to do. Then teach it better for next time.

Good, this is what I needed to hear condensed and simple.....I was just telling my wife that it was alot of info, and it seems overwhelming at times. I still want to read and learn, but I have realized in the last minute that I also need to find top shooters to shoot with, and learn from as well. Thanks, for this input, I actually took a deep breath.

[coframer]

I also have been reading BE's book, listening to Basshams CD's and Kirch's as well. It all has greatly improved my subconsious shooting. The focus factor was coming to me. I've shot IDPA for a couple of years now and went to my first IPSC match last month, I was amazed/proud of my shooting. My confidence level was at an all time high. My focus and stage preperation were at an all time high. That was the one thing I got from shooting the match, my mental conditioning before each stage. The subconcsious took over. I did as CHA LEE said, I let my subconsious mind shoot the match that day and had a great performance.

[XRe]

Program the stage to the best of your ability.

Agree. It's basically that simple. A side note to this, though, is - understand how your mind works (ie, your temperament), and program the stage to best suit your own ways of working. A personal story might make it clearer...

I spent a long time working on visualizing every possible detail about every stage I shot, because that's what I was told I needed to be able to do in order to successfully visualize in a way that would provide maximum benefit. I was attempting to go so far as to visualize every blade of grass on the range, every nuance of every movement of my sights, every sound I'd hear, so on and so forth. As I'd have poor performances, I'd attribute it in part to my seeming lack of ability to fully visualize everything, so I poured more and more energy into visualizing at that level of detail - and my performances continued to trend downwards. When I'd hook one up, it'd be good, but when I didn't - I'd have either a lot of tension, or I'd be unfocused, and it would fall apart spectacularly either way.

It turns out, I do a lot better visualizing just the "highlights" - I memorize each target's location and setup (hardcover or no-shoot orientation, etc), and I visualize each target as I'll see it in the stage with my dot superimposed on the target where I want to aim. I visualize each entry and exit from position. I visualize each element of the stage that's unusual or technical. I don't see those things in all their glorious detail - I just see what I need to in order to insure that I perform each step of the plan optimally. I may also visualize a word or short phrase that goes with one or more elements (things like "smooth", "sharp", "GO!", stuff like that - things a coach might say mid-performance to encourage their athlete). And, for some elements, I visualize "feel", as well. For me, it turns into a string of discrete pictures - all I do is tie the pictures together in my performance. Relative to visualizing each step, it's a lighter weight process, and because it fits my temperament better, I spend far less mental energy on that sort of visualization.

So, the net result of that story is - know thyself, and honor that... But make sure you know yourself, and aren't just being lazy...

[fastarget]

XRe,

Great input, thank you. I can related to your story. I seem to have done better when I am relaxed when I step up to shoot, aware but not distracted. Running through my head is usually the sequence of the stage. I load, and repeat the sequence aloud almost for the SO to hear, then say ready......This has worked for me quite well, but not 100% of the time. I would like to refine it to become automatic and to hold up under pressure. There is an idpa match sat. So I will try to work on these points dry firing the next couple of nights. There will be pressure, since some top shooters will be there, but my new attitude says, "great I like that".

coframer, I'm in Junction, let me know where you will be shooting.

[XRe]

FWIW... I have a little test that I run against myself to determine if I have a plan together and visualized enough to execute. If I can run my visualization at double speed (or faster), without any mistakes or hesitations, I'm good to go in terms of knowing my plan and being solid with what I need to see and feel. If I don't get to that point, I tend to not have a sharp performance. After that, any further work is just refinement, and keeping my mind off of other, unproductive things... That might help with getting closer to that 100% mark

[fastarget]

Great, that is great, I am going to try that . So if you have commited it to memory or subconsciously learned you technically should be able to run it at any speed? Great way to make sure.

So, if you are on the line, and dont feel that you have it down, I assume you can ask for a few seconds from the SO to get yourself together? or how do you deal with that.....most every match I am SOing and get rushed from one stage to another so I can get back to mine.

Kind of like, go there and get to the front of the line and shoot it

[XRe]

Great, that is great, I am going to try that . So if you have commited it to memory or subconsciously learned you technically should be able to run it at any speed? Great way to make sure.

Pretty much, at least for me...

So, if you are on the line, and dont feel that you have it down, I assume you can ask for a few seconds from the SO to get yourself together? or how do you deal with that.....most every match I am SOing and get rushed from one stage to another so I can get back to mine.

Kind of like, go there and get to the front of the line and shoot it

Well, I can't speak for IDPA... for USPSA, I usually run through the stage once in between loading and assuming the start position, so I have an extra run at it there - and I've got time to walk through the stage and get things cemented right before I shoot, too...

One way to deal with your situation would be to simply volunteer to shoot first all the time at your local matches. That accomplishes a few things - it'll start getting you to settle on your plan and visualize it pretty quickly, it'll help you get past the "shoot first jitters", and it'll allow you to focus on the stage, visualize, and then shoot without having to SO in between those things...

[fastarget]

Perfect, thank you so much for your insight, I will pursue the new plan saturday, I know it will need refinement over time, but at least I have a direction. Best.C.