The movement serves the shooting

[Steve Anderson]

More on this later, but I had a nice little epiphany today, practicing in the Ohio spring rain...

SA

[Steve Anderson]

I had a drill set up like this:

T1...............T2.................T3

.......I........I........I..........I....

....................X......................

X is the start position, the I's in the middle are posts of the shelter house I was shooting from.

Start at the X, engage T1 from the left side of the left post, shoot T2 on the move, shoot T3 from the right of the right post. Nice little three point drill that tests drawing while moving to a position, SOTM, and setting up in a final position.

I worked out the steps and did a walk thru, focusing on foot placement.

As I did the drill, I remembered something Max told me about presenting the pistol earlier...I also had the Leatham "it's not how fast you get there, it's how fast you get there ready to shoot" line looping in my noodle.

At first, I drew the gun after beginning my steps, owing to Flex's and mine obsession with getting outta the damn start box ASAP. This got me going, but there was more settling of the dot on the target as the draw stroke was now elongated and moving in two directions.

I switched to a faster draw as I was stepping as opposed to just after and this turned the action into a draw/move instead of a moving draw. Much better.

Then, I decided to move in such a way as to keep the gun in my peripheral vision the whole time. Much better. This was a minor change, and I don't know if I changed where I carried the gun or just made a point to look at it. I think I was holding it up a little higher. Again, much better.

End result: I went from a 5.3 to a 4.6 on the drill in about 20 minutes.

Conclusion: the movement serves the shooting, not the other way around.

I love this stuff.

SA

[Garfield]

I love this stuff.

Me too, so keep on posting !

[j1b]

Steve

Great drill. I've always enjoyed the little drills that emphasize one or two components of a stage. So you're not just drilling one thing, you're hitting a couple in one drill.

I've always wondered but never tested the time savings components of how you draw while moving. In my mind I've always made it a kind of "mute" point. It didn't matter - Clearly in your drill you felt like it made a difference which is so very interesting to me.

I've noticed burner does a lot of the holding the gun high so its in his vision as he moves into position. I don't know that I've even conciously done this, but having spent a ton of time shooting with TGO I can assure you the "be ready to shoot" thought was never more clear. Particularly frustrating when at the time I knew I could move quicker than him, yet he was still beating me on runs. I'm a slow learner . . .

I don't believe this is a thought unique to me - in fact I think it is written in BE's book - but I believe it falls in line with what you are saying. Basically every component of a stage is an attempt to distract you from the shooting. Barricades, tunnels, shooting on the move, swingers, left hand, right hand, prone, coopers tunnels and the whole lot are all little tricks to distract you from doing the one thing you must do - execute the shot. I've always tried to keep that as a constant in the back of my mind, so that when I've walked into a scenario my general thought process is - what can get me to the shooting quicker?

Anyhow - cool thoughts. I'll have to experiment now!

JB

[TDean]

Basically every component of a stage is an attempt to distract you from the shooting

Interesting...

[Ron Ankeny]

Steve:

Not long ago Sam and I were talking about the importance of constantly being on the move, even if it's just enough to keep inertia defeated. I believe the whole idea of absolute economy of motion, being ready to shoot when you get there, shooting while leaving, and shooting on the move are the places where I need to maximize my performance. Not necessarily because those are weak spots, but because those are things I can learn to do without having a lot of athletic ability in terms of explosiveness of motion or being able to run.

I would rather shoot around those posts, even with the ground littered with trip obstacles like tire rims, than shoot from a port, box, or sweet spot, then run to the next position. If I can get the video posted of "Proof" you will see why I feel the way I feel.

[Sam]

Ron, I was thinking about our conversation while I was on vacation last week. And I was struck with this stunning example of inertia in play.

You drive down the interstate highway at 75 mph. You make great time.

You drive through the mall parking lot at 3 mph, slower, with better accuracy, but you're still moving through the stage.

But Dude! Come to a complete stop for just a fraction of a second, and your wife, daughter, and Mother-in-law all bail on you and get inside the mall. No amount of accuracy is going to make up for that.