Attacking a course

[Flexmoney]

OK...sorry about that...couldn't resist.

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Be less "sticky".

- Or, said positively, always be looking to get to your final position (shot).

- Minimize the number of places you have to stop.

- Stop for as little as possible.

- Smoothly roll through shooting positions if you can.

- Enter on an easy target.

- Exit on the second easiest target.

- Get moving out of the start position...immediately.

- Enter a position with an exit in mind.

- Your power is in your legs. Keep your center-of-gravity inside your power.

- In other words, be in position to drive off your outside leg.

- Keep your center of gravity low. Especially when entering and leaving a position (don't be a pogo-stick...stay low)

- Avoid shuffling while in a position. Hit the position such that you don't have to dance around there to see all the targets.

Come back and read what Brian said about the eyes in 6 months...then again in a year.

[Jesse Tischauser]

Great thread!

[Cold Absolute Zero]

Great thread, I agree w/ agility drills, fartliks and general fitness (to reduce the weight you have to carry around). To add to that, when I played football in high school we did the dot drill every work out session and it was great. Its quick, easy, and promotes staying on your toes and being quick on your feet. Here is a link to the general concept and format, http://www.active.com/football/Articles/Improve_Quickness_With_the_Dot_Drill.htm

CAZ

[Jay870]

Be less "sticky".

- Or, said positively, always be looking to get to your final position (shot).

- Minimize the number of places you have to stop.

- Stop for as little as possible.

- Smoothly roll through shooting positions if you can.

- Enter on an easy target.

- Exit on the second easiest target.

- Get moving out of the start position...immediately.

- Enter a position with an exit in mind.

- Your power is in your legs. Keep your center-of-gravity inside your power.

- In other words, be in position to drive off your outside leg.

- Keep your center of gravity low. Especially when entering and leaving a position (don't be a pogo-stick...stay low)

- Avoid shuffling while in a position. Hit the position such that you don't have to dance around there to see all the targets.

Awesome post.

I've been working on getting into and out of positions, especially awkward positions, and the bolded items are especially helpful.

[XRe]

To add to that, when I played football in high school we did the dot drill every work out session and it was great.

The agility ladder is that same concept taken up a level!

[beltjones]

I recently got to watch Gordon Carrell of team Smith & Wesson go through a few IDPA stages, and I was struck by how athletically he moves through courses. Whereas I've been trying to do pretty much everything at once (reload while moving, et al), he looks like he very clearly takes care of tasks in the first step or two, and then HAULS to the next shooting position. It was eye opening to say the least.

[boz1911]

Being overweight and within a month of being a "senior" shooting I was hard pressed to even open this thread. I will, however, pass along a few things I've been working on for the Nationals. One, of course has been losing weight and in that area my goal was 30 pounds and since I'm within a pound of that one so I've bumped the goal 5 more to 35. The second is one you "yutes" don't have to deal with too much and that is old creaky knees. For that I have been doing deep knee bends every morning starting slowly and gradually working to as low as possible with increasing reps daily.

I wasn't so sure if either of these was going to make a significant change but after last weekend I'm convinced it has. I noticed my acceleration seemed quicker and smoother as a result of the weight loss. The knee thing showed up when having to go low and shoot through ports or under a wall. The thing I noticed most was that when I went low my shooting platform was rock solid with no wobble or waiting for the dot to settle.

[Jman]

Good boz,

Keeping it simple. Controlling weight and gaining flexibility.

[foilhat]

Good job on the 30 pounds. I have been trying the same thing, but have shed around 20. I feel better, but don't know if I'm any faster.

[GTOSHootr]

In terms of programs, there are plenty of them out there. Catalyst Athletics puts out a daily Oly lifting oriented workout.

The Catalyst site Jake mentions is www.performancemenu.com. It's awesome. The forum is really good.

[9mmalpha]

this is a great thread ..

I would contribute a maybe basic stuff that works for me.. Im a dad of 2 children . spending time alot in dryfire and practice sometimes is a guilty feeling that is almost a reason for me to give up shooting competitively . to be competitive you really need to find way to improve . heres what I found so far . I teach my daughters to play tennis . their skill is enough for me to chase the ball and hit back sofly without compromising my shooting arms.. Im intentionally trying to chase the ball like I was performing the exiting and entering drills . its actually more fun than spending time in dry fire routine . I think it helps me horn my eye coordination too + grip.