memory stages, need help

[juan]

Good morning.

I have a problem, Stages with many tgts and many shooting positions. 5 mins is not enough time for me to solidify in my mind my plan.

some tgts dont get shot, some get shot twice,all from different positions.

I try to keep it simple even if it is slower but still mess it up.

Any ideas on what i can do at home to improve ?

[CHA-LEE]

Sure, setup memory stages at home in dry fire. That and you really need more than 5 minutes to break down and program a memory stage at a match. Why do you only have 5 minutes? Get there early and spend as much time as you need figuring it out before hand. Not giving yourself enough time to figure it out is the root of the problem here.

[Graham Smith]

Take a pencil and paper and sketch out your plan, making sure you account for every target.

Get out there and paste targets and check various angles as you go.

Pay attention to what others are doing and refine your plan accordingly.

[eerw]

This is where visualization is really important. you can run the stage in your head as many times as you need.

break the stage into components. look for visual cues to aid you where and what to shoot. burn those into your visualization. kind of like small video edits. then put it all together into one visualization like your final movie.

positive self-talk and strong visualization work well for me to get through these. and sometimes you need to step away from the squad for a couple of minutes, away from the distraction.

also as you tape and set steel. run small parts of the stage to help.

[G-ManBart]

If you can preview the stages the day prior, do so. I now bring a camcorder, figure out my plan, and video it while talking my way through the stage...then I can watch it a few times at the hotel that night.

If that's not an option, come up with your plan and simply go through it as many times in your head as possible....close your eyes, see it unfold, and even take little steps, move your hands for reloads etc. That will really help you burn it into your brain... R,

[juan]

Im not blaming our local match, but for the most part between me and my son we do all the RO,ing . sometimes I got the timer right up till im on deck.

Im sure I can manage that better.

I thought maybe at home I could at home I could take old stage descriptions, give myself a set par time and run it through my brain.

good or bad ?

[juan]

As you can see from my last post I cant remember what i wrote in the same sentence.

[Nik Habicht]

Im not blaming our local match, but for the most part between me and my son we do all the RO,ing . sometimes I got the timer right up till im on deck.

Sometimes that happens -- due to less than ideal squad sizes, a lack of ROs, etc.....

When it does, we usually give ROs an extra minute or two to burn in their plan, so they don't get hosed by working. MDs sometimes have the same problem, if they're called away to deal with an issue on the range, and come back as it's their turn to shoot.....

[mlmiller1]

If you & your son are doing all the R.O. duties, you need to be sure you don't shoot back to back. Put a few shooters between you & him. Then draft someone for score keeping duties at least two shooters before your turn, let your son r.o. through your turn plus one more while you get your gear back together. Then you take over r.o. & make sure he gets at least two shooters to watch before his turn. Draft your scorekeepers(in a friendly way). The folks you enlist can learn to help out, making them more valuable in the long run. Let your squad know the two of you are NOT going to do all the work.

If you don't delegate, you will get burned out, I guarantee it. Your shooting will always suffer when you do most of the r.o. work though. I just consider that part of the game so then when I go to another club & shoot with them, I can enjoy my shooting a little more. There is a little less responsibility.

MLM

[Corey]

If you can preview the stages the day prior, do so. I now bring a camcorder, figure out my plan, and video it while talking my way through the stage...then I can watch it a few times at the hotel that night.

If that's not an option, come up with your plan and simply go through it as many times in your head as possible....close your eyes, see it unfold, and even take little steps, move your hands for reloads etc. That will really help you burn it into your brain... R,

i really like the camera idea if you can check out the stages the day before then break them down in the hotel. I think i may take this idea for a couple majors Im hitting in the next few months.

[Micah]

Until you are comfortable with memory stages, I suggest the following:

1) Ask an M/GM how they are shooing it

2) Walk the stage with that plan in mind

3) Walk the stage until you can walk it in your mind

4) Walk the stage in your mind to every last detail until you shoot it

One clause: Make a plan and STICK WITH IT

Another:

Once you have a plan, do not watch other competitors shoot the stage!

[Classic_jon]

One clause: Make a plan and STICK WITH IT

Very very good advice there.

[G-ManBart]

One clause: Make a plan and STICK WITH IT

Very very good advice there.

Yep, a B (school grading) quality plan done perfectly is normally better than an A+ plan done just okay.

[Jimdoe]

If you can preview the stages the day prior, do so. I now bring a camcorder, figure out my plan, and video it while talking my way through the stage...then I can watch it a few times at the hotel that night.

If that's not an option, come up with your plan and simply go through it as many times in your head as possible....close your eyes, see it unfold, and even take little steps, move your hands for reloads etc. That will really help you burn it into your brain... R,

i really like the camera idea if you can check out the stages the day before then break them down in the hotel. I think i may take this idea for a couple majors Im hitting in the next few months.

+1 on the video taping the day before. Well, now I know . Just recently shot space city challenge over the weekend and my squadmates recorded the stages the day before and emailed it to the rest of the squads. Long story short, drove 6 hours from home to space but didn't get there till late, went to sleep late, shot the match, went home, checked email the day after and boom, watched the video lol, a day late. It would have definitely helped. Lesson learned.

Edited April 22, 2010 by Jimdoe

[juan]

update

I went and bought myself a voice recoder

walked a stage with it, a 36 rndr. plugged it into my ear pro.

reapeated it many times,4 days later I can still tell you the target order witch ports they were shot from

and where every reload was.

[JThompson]

http://www.brianenos.com/forums/index.php?app=core&module=attach&section=attach&attach_id=32772

[Doodle]

If you can preview the stages the day prior, do so. I now bring a camcorder, figure out my plan, and video it while talking my way through the stage...then I can watch it a few times at the hotel that night.

I love this idea!! Thanks!

Lindsey

[Corey]

Until you are comfortable with memory stages, I suggest the following:

1) Ask an M/GM how they are shooing it

2) Walk the stage with that plan in mind

3) Walk the stage until you can walk it in your mind

4) Walk the stage in your mind to every last detail until you shoot it

One clause: Make a plan and STICK WITH IT

Another:

Once you have a plan, do not watch other competitors shoot the stage!

I do agree with not watching others shoot it, to a point. Ex: stage last week. I had a pretty decent plan that I could pull off fairly well. I then watched a local M shooter shoot the stage and he finished it a different way. I had a few shooters until i was up, so we talked about it and I could actually shoot it the same way he did if I plan my last reload and target transitions differently at the end. I had time to reprogram the new finish of the stage and it saved me about 2 seconds of time and gave me a couple of easier shots to boot.

[Coach]

Sometimes when forming a plan and I get bogged down in the middle of it. I stop and go to the last position and work back ward. I have found that this helps on complex stages. I can usually get the begining, and the end. Then all I have to do is make them meet in the middle.

[Flyin40]

Sure, setup memory stages at home in dry fire. That and you really need more than 5 minutes to break down and program a memory stage at a match. Why do you only have 5 minutes? Get there early and spend as much time as you need figuring it out before hand. Not giving yourself enough time to figure it out is the root of the problem here.

+1 I put up a bunch of reduced sized targets for dryfire. I would put 8-10 and practice memorizing the order. I would go through it a couple times dryingfiring say 1-8 I then would come up with a different order, say 2-4-6-8-7-5-3-1. I would switch up the order and visualize it each time. It took me some time but I got very good and being able to visualize the order and then be able to dryfire it then switch it up and do another order.

If your trying to breakdown a hard memory stage in 5mins along with the rest of your squad it can be tough espcially if you have 10 guys on your squad. You might only get 3 or 4 times through the stage. It does help checking out the stage the day before and watch how other shooters attack the stage. Then stick around a take a look at it after the match.

Flyin

[lugnut]

Great advice so far. I like the comments about finding creative ways to get more than just 5 minutes. If you are the RO- ABSOLUTELY take extra time! Shooters, at least myself, REALLY understand the need for ROs to clear their head and take their time before shooting. It's a must IMO.

On recording stages... I'm not so sure. I don't think video captures things accurately. Depth perception isn't there, you aren't where you will be as a shooter and everything appears to be much farther away. Just my opinion. I've seen videos before and got a little concerned at what appeared to be very tight and distant targets. When I got the match my perspective changed tremendously. Seeing a stage real life is MUCH more preferable to me if possible. Reading WSB can help with planning reloads- that's about it for me.