Food for Thought

[d_striker]

"The yeah, yeah Phenomenon"

Or the yeah I know that one phenomenon. or do you really? This actually should have probably been the first post on this thread, but its close to the top, so who cares right?

the YYP usally applies to fundamental aspects of the game. example grip, stance, sight alinment, trigger control etc etc. Usually when I teach a new student, I will tell them the fundamentals like the ones listed above and I will get this look, like are you serious, I paid for this class and you are going teach me how to hold the gun, without really saying it. Each fundametal aspect in shooting is equally important, and should not be taken with a grain of salt. Everyone knows that when you grip the gun you should apply 60/40 pressure between your weekhand and your stronghand, but have you ever tried pulling the gun up and trying to exert that type of force on the gun. Most of you have not, you "yeah, yeah" your way through it. You know that its what you are supposed to do, but don't really do it, or even try it.

What typically happens with this Phenomenon is that one day you will realize that you are doing something wrong, ie. hits on target are all over the place, the gun is flipping harsh in your hand,etc. and you will attribute it to one of the fundamentals, and say to yourself "duh" I knew that. Once this happens you will consciencely have to put more effort into doing that particular fundamental correctly so that your hits are not everywhere or the gun doesn't flip in your hands so hard. The problem with this is that you are bringing a consciece thought into an instinctual/subconscience action, which makes you slower. This is ok! What you will have to do is do many repitions to burn that fundamental into your subconscience, and once you do this than it will be done instinctually and your speed will come back! Everyone, has heard of the term "Muscle Memory" This is what is happening. "Yeah, Yeah" you know!

The most common place I see the YYP happening is burning the stage in your memory. I will ask someone "how are you going to shoot his stage?" They will tell me I am going to draw, shoot these 4 paper, run to this spot shoot paper, paper steel, then do a reload and then shoot ther rest of the targets at the last spot, ok now I am going to load my mags. And thats it! There are varying degrees of burning in a stage. you can burn in it at the quality of 8 track, tape, cd, dvd, or Blue Ray. The person was burning in the stage like an 8 track. My point is, is that varying degrees of quality per fundamental. In order to master the fundamentals, you must study each and everyone and try to perfect each and everyone. The person thought he was doing that particual fundamental(burning the stage in) correctly in his mind, but actually it could have been done more vividly and to a higher degree than what he was doing, he could have shot the stage 20-30times in his mind before he evens steps up to the line.

One thing you ought to try in your spare time is write down every fundamental you can think of. Once you do this, write a page or two about what you know about each fundamental that you have on your list. Write down, Why is it important, how would it benefit me? what would happen If I didn't use it? This is called Homework.

I remember speaking with Blake Miguez at the LA Gator Classic back in 2007, and I asked him how do you shoot the stages so fast? I guess its a question he gets asked alot. lol, But he replied,"I have strong fundamentals. I don't have to worry about my draw, my reloads, my footwork. All I have to do is shoot good points." I looked at him and thought thats it! I went back to the hotel, and thought about it, and the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. I thought his fundametals are strong. His expectations on lets say the fundamental action of a draw is .80 of a second on a 7rd target. My expectation of draw at the same target is 1 second. His expectations or desired degree of success on a target that close is .2 of a second faster than mine. Do that with all the fundamentals, and it starts adding up to some serious time savings. Albeit he has alot of natural skill, but we all do to some "degree"

The fundamentals are the little things that make us a well rounded shooter, but there are varying degrees of expectation that we have set in our mind, per each fundamental skill set. In order to get better, look at the fundamentals, and do not "yeah, yeah" the importance of each of them. Set your degree of expectation high on each of the fundamentals, and take action on each of them and watch your shooting go to the next level....

Classic case of this was displayed on Top Shot. Jay wouldn't take any advice on his grip and said, "Don't change my grip, show me how to shoot faster."

Huge facepalm there.... The jack wagon guy couldn't correlate that the proper fundamentals ARE what allow you to shoot faster.

Edited June 23, 2011 by d_striker

[Sean Gaines]

"The yeah, yeah Phenomenon"

Or the yeah I know that one phenomenon. or do you really? This actually should have probably been the first post on this thread, but its close to the top, so who cares right?

the YYP usally applies to fundamental aspects of the game. example grip, stance, sight alinment, trigger control etc etc. Usually when I teach a new student, I will tell them the fundamentals like the ones listed above and I will get this look, like are you serious, I paid for this class and you are going teach me how to hold the gun, without really saying it. Each fundametal aspect in shooting is equally important, and should not be taken with a grain of salt. Everyone knows that when you grip the gun you should apply 60/40 pressure between your weekhand and your stronghand, but have you ever tried pulling the gun up and trying to exert that type of force on the gun. Most of you have not, you "yeah, yeah" your way through it. You know that its what you are supposed to do, but don't really do it, or even try it.

What typically happens with this Phenomenon is that one day you will realize that you are doing something wrong, ie. hits on target are all over the place, the gun is flipping harsh in your hand,etc. and you will attribute it to one of the fundamentals, and say to yourself "duh" I knew that. Once this happens you will consciencely have to put more effort into doing that particular fundamental correctly so that your hits are not everywhere or the gun doesn't flip in your hands so hard. The problem with this is that you are bringing a consciece thought into an instinctual/subconscience action, which makes you slower. This is ok! What you will have to do is do many repitions to burn that fundamental into your subconscience, and once you do this than it will be done instinctually and your speed will come back! Everyone, has heard of the term "Muscle Memory" This is what is happening. "Yeah, Yeah" you know!

The most common place I see the YYP happening is burning the stage in your memory. I will ask someone "how are you going to shoot his stage?" They will tell me I am going to draw, shoot these 4 paper, run to this spot shoot paper, paper steel, then do a reload and then shoot ther rest of the targets at the last spot, ok now I am going to load my mags. And thats it! There are varying degrees of burning in a stage. you can burn in it at the quality of 8 track, tape, cd, dvd, or Blue Ray. The person was burning in the stage like an 8 track. My point is, is that varying degrees of quality per fundamental. In order to master the fundamentals, you must study each and everyone and try to perfect each and everyone. The person thought he was doing that particual fundamental(burning the stage in) correctly in his mind, but actually it could have been done more vividly and to a higher degree than what he was doing, he could have shot the stage 20-30times in his mind before he evens steps up to the line.

One thing you ought to try in your spare time is write down every fundamental you can think of. Once you do this, write a page or two about what you know about each fundamental that you have on your list. Write down, Why is it important, how would it benefit me? what would happen If I didn't use it? This is called Homework.

I remember speaking with Blake Miguez at the LA Gator Classic back in 2007, and I asked him how do you shoot the stages so fast? I guess its a question he gets asked alot. lol, But he replied,"I have strong fundamentals. I don't have to worry about my draw, my reloads, my footwork. All I have to do is shoot good points." I looked at him and thought thats it! I went back to the hotel, and thought about it, and the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. I thought his fundametals are strong. His expectations on lets say the fundamental action of a draw is .80 of a second on a 7rd target. My expectation of draw at the same target is 1 second. His expectations or desired degree of success on a target that close is .2 of a second faster than mine. Do that with all the fundamentals, and it starts adding up to some serious time savings. Albeit he has alot of natural skill, but we all do to some "degree"

The fundamentals are the little things that make us a well rounded shooter, but there are varying degrees of expectation that we have set in our mind, per each fundamental skill set. In order to get better, look at the fundamentals, and do not "yeah, yeah" the importance of each of them. Set your degree of expectation high on each of the fundamentals, and take action on each of them and watch your shooting go to the next level....

Classic case of this was displayed on Top Shot. Jay wouldn't take any advice on his grip and said, "Don't change my grip, show me how to shoot faster."

Huge facepalm there.... The jack wagon guy couldn't correlate that the proper fundamentals ARE what allow you to shoot faster.

yes, exactly!

[Sean Gaines]

Movement continued...

The "Bunny Hop", here is Eric Gruaffel, doing what I call the "Bunny Hop". I think its the fastest way to move short distances quickly. In this video he does the bunny hop going from the first postion to the second, also he does it going into the last position. This move is very similiar to Jousting, and should be used as often as possible. Its extremly fast!

The "crossover step" here is Blake doing this pretty much every time he leaves a position.

Here is Manny Brag shooting, Notice that when he comes to a low position from the next position, he gets his body going low before he gets there. Also his knees are bent to aid in springing to the next position.

http://youtu.be/MgSILzfO0iE

Of course the best for last, Chris Tilley shooting on the move. Notice the RO is having to run to catch up. I have RO'd Chris when he shoots on the move its more like a sprint. Also notice how is body is low, and his upper body is like a tank. Meaning his feet are independent of his upper body like a tank. A tank can move forward, and the gun can swing any direction. but if you want to learn to shoot on the move Chris is definately a guy to watch.

Edited June 24, 2011 by Sean Gaines

[Chris iliff]

Those are three great examples, thanks.

[benos]

Of course the best for last, Chris Tilley shooting on the move. Notice the RO is having to run to catch up. I have RO'd Chris when he shoots on the move its more like a sprint. Also notice how is body is low, and his upper body is like a tank. Meaning his feet are independent of his upper body like a tank. A tank can move forward, and the gun can swing any direction. but if you want to learn to shoot on the move Chris is definately a guy to watch.

That was killer.

be

[LINC]

Yeah that last one is impressive.

[bigbear_98]

Tilley looks like a Freakin robot!

Great info here. I check this thread daily!

[9mmalpha]

Thanks Sean for sharing what you know , this really helps us... extremely informative.

[Sean Gaines]

"How is that guy beating me by a second or two on every stage?"

The short answer is everywhere... I see this alot and it should be something you should always be examining in your shooting. There are always little things that you can do to cut your time down. When you progress to a higer class, you start examining things that will cut fractions of a second, and you cannot ever stop doing this. Since we are always faced with new props, different scenarios etc. You must always be watching and learning. Learning and or acknowledging your weakest aspects of your shooting, is a good first step. Then you must evaluate a course of action to trim that time, then you must go to the range or practice it in dryfire/live fire.

When you look at time savings there are alot of things that you can do to work on this, but the most common problems that we loose time are:

-Transitions-Huge! we like to shoot in a rhythm, try to make your splits and transitions the same, or close to the same on every target. In order to do this, you must drive the gun to the next target, you must also snap your eyes over also. Since you can only shoot as fast as you can see, to shoot accurately. work on your eyes! I am a big proponent of using your dead time, example driving to work, waiting on an appointment etc. to do things that will help your game. next time you are at an appointment, pick up a magazine article, and snap your eyes to all the "a's" in the article. If you are waiting to shoot, snap your eyes, or do wide transitions, get your eyes warmed up before you shoot.

alot of people try to speed up their splits to achieve a faster time. you should never do this. How many times have you seen a guy, or maybe you have done it. Where you tell yourself. I am going to shoot this stage fast. What happens? You wind up shooting faster splits, and trashing the stage... WRONG.. You must always be in control.

-Movement- Being effecient with your movement will be where you see the biggest time savings. Shoot accurately and do everything else faster. Study movement to the left/right, forward/backwards, Angles etc. Have your gun up comming into a position. fire when you see the target, even if you are not in the proper position, your feet will get you there. Remember its not how fast you shoot, it how quick you start shooting.

-Programing the stage in your mind- If I were to take you to a stage, sight unseen, and then I told you to run the stage. What would happen? You would have to think your way through the stage and your time would be extremly slow. Program the stage into your mind, and go over it and over it. you should be able to know how fast you are going to shoot each target, what target is at each array. Its all about "knowing". When you program the stage vividly in your mind, you actions become deliberate!!! There is no thinking involved, you are just hitting play, when the buzzer goes off.

-Stage plan- if you have the wrong plan then you are going to be slower than doing it the right way. This comes with experience.

-Doing things where there is a lull-Example you have .8-1+sec on the draw, if you can do something in that time, do it. If you can take a step to get closer to the finish line, do it. you will be suprised how far you can move in 1 second

-Eliminate shooting Positions-Sometime this is good, and sometimes bad, you maybe able to eliminate one position by shooting a target from another postion, but the problem is that maybe you are in an awkward position, or maybe its a long shot, and your split times will be .5sec, so you maybe faster just going to that position and just shooting the targets. Thats a decision you must make. Try to shoot on the move when possible, but if you are going to shoot on the move and slow your splits down, you mine as well shoot it stationary and then run. When shooting on the move you want to keep your same splits as if you were shooting stationary, while gaining real estate. If you can't do this, than shoot stationary then haul ass. You will get better hits, you won't be as fast, but you can only do what you can do. and this is something to take to the practice range.

-Shooting steel one for one- This will kill your time, if you don't think so go to the practice range and setup 5 steel and shoot them as fast as you can see the sights. write down your best time and then write down what your time is with one miss. You can almost figure depending on the difficulty of the shot, anywhere from .4 to 1sec+ per miss on steel. Sometimes its better to be deliberate and go one for one.

-Find out the key to the stage- When I say this, what is it thats going to make you do good on this stage, and seperate you from the rest. Lets say you have 4, 30 yard steel at the start of the stage then you have a bunch of up close targets. Whats the key? The key is hitting those 30yd steel one for one, because the up close stuff eveyone can shoot, even D class shooters can shoot that without really trying, also your footwork while shooting all the easy target, flowing through the easy target is also going to be key. Define what the key to the stage is, and then execut it!

-Standard exercises- Standing in a box, shooting 3 targets, doing a reload and shooting the 3 again (El Presedent) What is key to the stage and whats going to seperate you? The draw, reload, splits and transitions, hits. Thats all there is to the stage, so you must do everything a little quicker and a little better.

-Should I go for speed or accuracy- As a rule of thumb, 100pts or less, lean towards accuracy, anything greater go for speed. This is just a rule of thumb. this is just gaming the hit factor. Remember that matches are a marathon, not a sprint. Low point stages can kill you in a match, but if you just shoot them clean, you may just loose a couple of points. But the "disaster factor" is high, if you throw a copule of misses on a 30 point stage you just lost alot of points, you pretty much zeroed the stage. If you have a couple of misses on a 150pt stage, but you shot it 4 seconds faster, it may equal out. Something to think about.

Alot of this sounds redundant, and it is. Eventually one of these ideas or some of these ideas that I talk about will eventually hit home and hit you like a ton of bricks, and you will go thats what Sean was talking about. But thats ok, because I have been told a bunch of times about simple things when it comes to shooting, and sometimes it took me a while to go, thats what such and such was talking about. don't be afraid, it will happen to you also, just always be learning.

See you on the range!

Sean

Edited June 28, 2011 by Sean Gaines

[rishii]

Thanks Sean

great thread, you posted quite eloquently how all the little thing add up to real time on a stage

[Paul Burtchell]

Really great thread, Sean.

[Sean Gaines]

"Pushing yourself beyond your limits"

This is huge! When you goto the practice range you should always be pushing yourself to go faster and faster, then pull back. You should almost have an alter ego. You should have a "SuperSean" and you should have Sean that is about 80-85% of "SuperSean". SuperSean will shoot and push things to its limits, like try to rip .10 splits, tries to do transitions with blazing speed. "SuperSean" is your alter who is pushing Sean in practice. Sean is the person who doesn't push, but shoots in a certain comfort zone. What "SuperSean" does is push the limits and takes Sean's comfort zone much higher every practice. Which translates over to your matches.

When I was playing baseball in High School, Most of the pitchers in our division could throw the ball at least 80mph. In practice I would always set the pitching machine at 90mph, and take batting practice. On some days, where I was feeling stronger, I would push it up to 95mph. When the pitchers in our divsion would try to throw an 80mph fastball by me, I would smack the ball into left field. What I was doing in practice was pushing myself beyond what it was taking to be successful. So my comfort zone on an 80mph fastball, wasn't hard to hit, in fact I was relaxed and able to execute it with ease. If I practiced with the pitching machine set at 80mph, I probably would have problems hitting the picthers 80mph fastball. At least my success rate would be less.

When you are "SuperSean" at practice you are doing things beyond what sean can do. And, what you are doing is learning at a higher level. You are seeing things at a faster pace. You are having to react at a diferent level then what Sean is used to. this is a perfect example, If all you did was shoot at targets 30yrds an out, what would happen at a match if all the targets were 7yrd in? You would probably wail through them, with ease. What you just did there was push your comfort zone on far targets, which made the upclose stuff much easier.

The objective of having an alter, is to increase your comfort threshold. When we shoot matches, we shoot them in a certain degree of comfort/control, so that we don't make mistakes. Sometimes we pull out "SuperSean" at the matches, and thats were we crash and burn. Because "SuperSean" wasn't meant to play at matches. "SuperSean" is a person who shoots beyond control or comfort zone and is only unleashed at practice. So when you shoot a stage, who is shooting?

If you are always letting "SuperSean" play in practice, Sean is only going to get better and better. This applies to any sport that you play, that requires, hand and eye coordination. This is some good food for thought! Take your weakest aspects of shooting and get your alter to do some work!

[jarozzy]

Wow this thread is probably the most valuable I have found

[Sean Gaines]

Wow this thread is probably the most valuable I have found

Thank you! I hope it helps

[theycallmeingot]

Wow this thread is probably the most valuable I have found

i'll have to go back and find out who recommended this thread to me. single best piece of information for beginners that i have seen. thank you so much.

[bobmysterious]

This definitely needs to get tacked.

[Sean Gaines]

"Sight like a Shark Fin"

One of the places alot of people loose time is in target to target transitions. One thing that I noticed early on was watching Saul Kirch 2005 limited super squad Nationals, On one of stages I was watching everyone shoot targets and was watching their transitions to be specific. I put the video on slow motion and noticed something kinda interesting. Out of all the Super Squad shooters their were 2 shooters that did something that none of the others were doing. Ok here goes, this is easier to draw out then it is to explain, but I will give it a try.

Your first shot goes off, the front sight lifts and comes back into the rear notch. The second shot fires the front sight lifts But instead of the sight comming back into the rear notch its starts moving over to the next target. If you were to draw it out on paper, it would look like a "Shark Fin", or an EKG. What this essentially called is driving the gun over to the next target, before the sight settles back into the rear sight. Out of the whole supersquad, I saw Rob Leatham and Michael Voight doing it, on that one stage. This is a little nuiance that you probably will never hear about from a $600 class from someone, or maybe you will. This is an advanced skill, but something you should be thinking about when you are trying to cut fractions of a second off of your transiton times. You must be able to apply "Shot Calling" to this skill, to make it effective.

Alot of people actually do this, and don't realize it, but to see it being implemented on paper targets is where it can be useful for you. Where most people use this skill and don't actually know it, is when they shoot plate racks or a row of steel. When you shoot a plate rack, you go boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boooom and if you were to video yourself doing so you would see that you are "shark finning" that plate rack. Why not do it on paper target? It makes sense doesn't it? Somehow our minds are not trained to treat a paper target in the same manner as we do a peice of steel.

Knowing what to do is half the battle, the other half is implementing it into your shooting program. Now that you know something new, take it to the practice range and use it! Think sight up, sight down, sight up and over, and watch your transition times speed up!

See you at the Range!

[Sean Gaines]

Wow this thread is probably the most valuable I have found

i'll have to go back and find out who recommended this thread to me. single best piece of information for beginners that i have seen. thank you so much.

Well I would like to think that its good for beginners, but it can also be good for a seasoned shooter also. There are some ideas that are advanced and some ideas that are simple but sometimes I use analogies to expand on a certain idea, which makes people look at a basic idea in a different light.

This definitely needs to get tacked.

Well people have said that, but If it gets pinned, I believe I wouldn't be able to add to this thread. I really like the thread idea as opposed to a book format. I can add videos, pictures, links, things that you can not do with a paper back book. I could probably write a book, but I have no desire to do so. This thread is for everyone to see, and if people can get one peice of information, to help their shooting, than its all worth it! This thread actually benefits me as well as others, because it makes me think of little nuiances that are in the toolbox colleting rust that need to come out and be cleaned and polished. To get better your must have all the tools in the tool box polished and ready to go when you need them! This is kinda like my shooting diary, but not!

Edited July 1, 2011 by Sean Gaines

[theycallmeingot]

Wow this thread is probably the most valuable I have found

i'll have to go back and find out who recommended this thread to me. single best piece of information for beginners that i have seen. thank you so much.

Well I would like to think that its good for beginners, but it can also be good for a seasoned shooter also. There are some ideas that are advanced and some ideas that are simple but sometimes I use analogies to expand on a certain idea, which makes people look at a basic idea in a different light.

This definitely needs to get tacked.

Well people have said that, but If it gets pinned, I believe I wouldn't be able to add to this thread. I really like the thread idea as opposed to a book format. I can add videos, pictures, links, things that you can not do with a paper back book. I could probably write a book, but I have no desire to do so. This thread is for everyone to see, and if people can get one peice of information, to help their shooting, than its all worth it! This thread actually benefits me as well as others, because it makes me think of little nuiances that are in the toolbox colleting rust that need to come out and be cleaned and polished. To get better your must have all the tools in the tool box polished and ready to go when you need them! This is kinda like my shooting diary, but not!

i wasn't intending to short change the value of the thread to ALL shooters. I am a very new shooter. (have shot only one match so far) So from the perspective of a new shooter, this is the best information I have found so far. I am sure it is also very important to seasoned shooters as well.

[Chris iliff]

Sean you are right, this is full of info for all levels. I've been at it for 6-7 years and I'm an A open shooter, in no way is some of your advice below my level. I'm thankful you are doing this, it's pertinent to all levels, U-GM.

Thanks.

[Sean Gaines]

"Protective Gear"

Always remember we shoot to have fun, and the last thing we want to do is hurt ourselves or others. Always remember to have all the appropriate gear to protect yourself from bullet frags, and the elements. We are required to wear ear protection and eye protection. One thing that get overlooked is head protection. Wearing a hat will not only keep the sun out of your eyes, and keep you from squinting, but will act as a buffer between a bullet frag and your scalp. We have all seen people get hit with a bullet frag, and seen people who have bled from it. It doesn't take much to draw blood, especially with jacket bullets, where the jacket peels off and leaves a sharp fragment.

Wear Hearing protection, that will allow you to shoot and not hear the gun. Alot of us don't hear the gun when we shoot, because we are to busy shooting. But if you come home, and you are your wife asks you a question, and you are like huh! Your ear protection may need to be evaluated. Double pluging will also help, especially with those loud open guns. If you find yourself asking the person you are talking to, to repeat themselves, your gun may be causing damage to your ears, and not know it!

Eye protection, is extremely important. Buy good glasses that wrap around your eyes so their is no gap. Also buy sunglass that make lenses that are impact resistant to protect your eyes. When someone is shooting steel, or shooting at targets, always face downrange, so that if a frag does come at your face you will have your eyewear there to protect you. losing an eye is a life changer! Think about going to a job interview with one eye. Try going out on a date with one eye. Think about it!

Keep your mouth shut, while someone is shooting. All you need is a frag going into your mouth or hitting your teeth. I have seen people hit in the face, and have been hit personally in the face. Probably everyone on this forum who has shot for a while has been hit by a fragment. I remember being hit by a snowflake frag, that gave a good tug on my shirt. I can only imagine what a good size piece would feel like.

Knee pads and elbow pads. If a stage dictates that you go prone or on a knee, always have a pair of knee pads or elbow pads in your range bag. When you go prone, there will be brass right where you will be laying, and since murphy was an optimist. There will probably be a piece of brass cookie cut your knee open when you go prone or on a knee, or tear up your elbow. Thats all you need when you have 8 more stages to go. Knee pads are cheap, $6 is worth every penny!

Shoes with ankle support. Since we are bending, moving, running, getting into contorted positions while we shoot. Its good to have a set of cleats that will support your ankle area. I have seen people pull their achillies tendon during a stage. I see alot of people wear reagular running shoes. If you goto your local shoe place, their are a variety of cleats out there in the market that will support your ankle. Not only will cleats support your ankle it will give you a better grip on various shooting surfaces. I have seen many shooters slip, wearing just regular running shoes. Thats all we need is a shooter who is skidding with a loaded gun. Thats a quick way to go home, and plus its just not safe to your shooting buddies. Try them you might like it. We spend thousands of dollars on our guns and equipment, whats another $50 for peace of mind.

If you have an injury, but can still shoot. Always be sure to wear the appropriate support gear. For example alot of people in this sport get tennis elbow, from shooting, and or reloading. If this is an issue that flares up regularly wear an elbow brace while you shoot. don't be ashamed of this. Look at Robbie leatham, he wears knee braces. so if he can do it, you can do it to. Doing this will add more years to your shooting.

Respect the danger of our shooting sports. Wear the appropriate gear to keep you safe and keep you competitive all day....

[TWHaz]

Thanks Sean

[Sean Gaines]

"Taking a Break from Shooting"

Sometimes it is neccessary to do this, to keep your sanity, and to keep you from getting too discouraged. Shooting is as hard as you want to make it, but alot of times we expect things to happen right now! Well, its not going to happen. You mine as well get used to the fact that you will not be an overnight GM. Knowing this will relieve some stress and pressure from you, and allow you to move up at your own pace. If you get to a point in your shooting were going to the match feels like work. Or if you are starting to get frustrated about certain things in your game. Take a Break!

Take a Break, and go out and have some fun! Take some of those "safe Queens" out and go shoot them. For USPSA/IDPA shooters go shoot some skeet! Shoot a Bow, shoot some long distance rifle shooting. Keep your competition gun within sight, and keep it where you can pick it up, but don't shoot it. Just do sight pictures and transitions, and thats it. Don't draw or do dryfire drills. take a good break of about a month or so, sometimes maybe longer. The key is, you want to build up that urge to go and want to shoot a uspsa/idpa match, but don't do it, wait another week then go shoot a match.

You must have "desire" this is what is going to keep you going. Don't get discouraged when you come back, and your shooting is not up to par. There is a reason, you took a break! Some of the best matches that I have shot, have been after a long layoff. Reasoning: When I came back it was very difficult for me to get back into the rhythym of things. I had to actually work hard at getting myself back on track, and doing the things neccessary to shoot the stage correctly, and my mental game, had suffered a little from the layoff, so I had to put more emphasis on this. But when the buzzer went off, it came right back to me, like riding a bike. But the initial stage planning was the most difficult part. But what happend after the long layoff is I defaulted to the fundamentals, which I should have been doing when I was getting frustrated. the fundamentals of shooting the stage correctly became paramount to me after the layoff, not the actual shooting part, just all the little stuff. I started seeing things that I should have been doing a while back, and what happend is it gave me a better perspective of how valuable certain fundamental were, that I was taking for granted and stopped doing. And it actually helped my game, because I know longer where taking those small important fundamentals for granted.

In conclusion, Breaks from competition shooting can be good for your overall game. If you are getting frustrated, you are not having fun, so take a break, and go shoot something that is fun. Keep your competition gun within reach, but don't shoot it. I want you to build up a desire to want to go and shoot a match. When you decide to goto the match, you should be little rusty, which is good. From this I want you to be conctientous of your fundamental actions, that you may have been taking for granted and do them correctly shooting that first match back. But when you come back, be a sponge, and learn...You may find out some things about yourself that you never knew, and that is one of the main ideas of this post. Not to mention that you will be fresh, and your mind will be more receptive after a layoff, and everyone will welcome you with open arms, and you will have fun again.

see you at the range

Sean

[calvary45]

Sean first off thank you for this all if this priceless information.

+1 on taking a break, that is what i recently did. Istead of shooting i was working on my golf game, I can tell you that working on my golf mental game has now transitioned over to my shooting game. When i picked up my gun again i felt like i had improved alot just from the mental aspect. Thanks again sean

[bullwind]

Well i'm not sure even how to start to mention the gratitude that I and many people like me have on this forum, for the fortitude and disire to give back such a weathly amount of information. Sean, what you given here in this forum is undeniably the best wealth of gold, and something that is priceless!! This life journal of experience "Sean" has given not only forum members, but the thousands whom never log in, have an account or even reply that will read, learn and benifit from it...

Sean I'm sorry I dont know who you are, but what you have given with your time, experiences and willingness to help others is beyond a "Thank You"..Reading your posts have not only enlighten me, energised me, but also helped me to understand so many areas and questions, I have always wanted to ask or know..

like you, when you started, I never had a mentor either..I would go to matches, have fun, but mostly alone..An hour drive one way..After a year or so of spending all i could afford on this sport, learn what I could on my own, i felt i was in a "rut" needing guidance, wisdom, desire and knowledge of the game and how to accel!! I wasn't able to find that comraddarie as a quiet guy and qickly left the sport the last 2 years..

Reading through all your posts, ideas, exeperinces, and knowledge you have kindly provided has now given me a new confidence and desire to start again..I cant Thank You enough...

I Thank You for being patriotic and freely given your time, knowledge, desire and love of the sport, so others can benifit and pass it on.. !!!

I will be giving back to you as you have given for me..

Thanks,

bullwind...

Edited August 25, 2011 by bullwind