The Slower I Go, the Faster I Shoot

[Mbauer67]

Shot the all steel match at Pala this last weekend, 7 stages all steel 20-25 pieces of steel on each. This was a great training opertunity for me to work on my pistiol skills, shot 4 stages pretty well and had a few small hicups on the other 3. But on the stages where I slowed down, actualy lined up the sights before pulling the trigger, and watched the sights lift; the run's were super smooth and pretty darn fast.

It is hard to keep the feeling of needing to speed up in check and take the time to make the shot happen right, the first time.

[benos]

You've found the eternal bane of the IPSC/Steel shooter. For me it was a never ending battle. Take your time, see the sights, call the shots... you cannot improve on that.

be

[Retread1911]

You've found the eternal bane of the IPSC/Steel shooter. For me it was a never ending battle. Take your time, see the sights, call the shots... you cannot improve on that.

be

Very true words. I am preparing for a large steel match and it seems I have to force myself to go slow and when I do my times are seconds faster..

At least I cannot miss fast enough to win.

[RayFromHouston]

With 2 bad knees and back problems.... slow is the ONLY speed I have... I cleaned a couple of stages last Sunday and the RO needed a sun dial to time me... but I was having FUN... And when the scores come out... I will have had eaged out some FASTER shooters with my better scores... :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

[b2alphaplease]

At least I cannot miss fast enough to win.

I've tried that over the years, it just does not work.

[DoubleL]

Oh man how I learned this the hard way this past weekend.

Shoot!shoot!quick!hurry!!!!

Bah! 18 out of 25. Sad thing is I know in my heart I have the ability to place better than that. It is very strange how the time just seems to stop sometimes while I'm doing what I'm supposed too... and it really winds up fast when I hurry.

[Samuel Adams]

I just shot my first steel match and tried to fly through the stages. The times were horrible. I will be taking the OP's advise from now on.

[MrMuscleBilly]

I know whe I did the Bianchi plate rack trying to go super fast I would get 6 secs with a miss. When I slowed down I would get 5 sec easy with no misses.

[saibot]

PERCEPTION DOES NOT EQUAL REALITY!

It really is the strangest darn thing. My training buddies and I have all discovered this and validated it on the timer. The difference in a screaming out of control run through a stage and a controlled run where you take that extra little bit of time to get your AA's is almost identical on the timer, and most often faster since I didn't have to make up any missed shots. I also score higher with almost always A zone hits vs. C's and D's.

This was one of the biggest epiphanies I've had in shooting. It really just takes discipline not to go into hoser mode.

Try this. At your next match get a competition with you and your shooting buddy(s) and see who can hit the most A's for the match. Losser picks up lunch. I think you'll be surprised by the results!

[benos]

PERCEPTION DOES NOT EQUAL REALITY!

It really is the strangest darn thing. My training buddies and I have all discovered this and validated it on the timer. The difference in a screaming out of control run through a stage and a controlled run where you take that extra little bit of time to get your AA's is almost identical on the timer, and most often faster since I didn't have to make up any missed shots. I also score higher with almost always A zone hits vs. C's and D's.

This was one of the biggest epiphanies I've had in shooting. It really just takes discipline not to go into hoser mode.

Try this. At your next match get a competition with you and your shooting buddy(s) and see who can hit the most A's for the match. Losser picks up lunch. I think you'll be surprised by the results!

All great stuff! Why didn't we think of competing for the most A's? I like it a lot.

[swhiteh3]

You've found the eternal bane of the IPSC/Steel shooter. For me it was a never ending battle. Take your time, see the sights, call the shots... you cannot improve on that.

be

I have 1/1000th the shooting experience as Brian does, but I'm already finding out what he's saying as true. I learned the OP's lesson (going slow is fast) very early on. Then I got better and thought I could speed up. Then I learned the lesson again. Then I got sucked into speeding up again. Then I learned the lesson again..... Rinse and repeat.

I have made up a short two sentence reminder to myself. It's almost a mantra, a reminder. I repeat it to myself (sometimes out loud if I can do it without people starting at me) before EVERY string I shoot. It's a reminder to me to breath, control the trigger, see the front sites, and SLOW DOWN. As soon as I neglect this part of my ritual, my mind wanders, my stress rises, and times go through the roof.

I'm trying to accomplish the impossible - never getting sucked into out-racing myself. I know it's going to happen several hundred more times in my shooting career, but I'll try to avoid it if I can. This is just one step to ground myself.

[benos]

before EVERY string I shoot. It's a reminder to me to breath, control the trigger, see the front sites, and SLOW DOWN.

Even after 20 years, that's what I had to do before EVERY string!

be

[Mbauer67]

PERCEPTION DOES NOT EQUAL REALITY!

It really is the strangest darn thing. My training buddies and I have all discovered this and validated it on the timer. The difference in a screaming out of control run through a stage and a controlled run where you take that extra little bit of time to get your AA's is almost identical on the timer, and most often faster since I didn't have to make up any missed shots. I also score higher with almost always A zone hits vs. C's and D's.

This was one of the biggest epiphanies I've had in shooting. It really just takes discipline not to go into hoser mode.

Try this. At your next match get a competition with you and your shooting buddy(s) and see who can hit the most A's for the match. Losser picks up lunch. I think you'll be surprised by the results!

I agree with you, what I have found is that when I shoot a lot of three gun matches where all you have to is put 2 on the brown anywhere. This is the most difficult area keep the going into hoser mode in check. There are a lot of times where really accurate shots are required in a 2 gun stage many shooters get miss or really bad hits. I am getting pretty good at seeing these speed traps in a stage and using it to my advantage.

[Stuck in C]

One of the problems of course, is that a lot of shooters can shoot all A's much faster than i can, and its a constant mental battle for me to accept that shooting badly fast is not the road to success. I zeroed the classifier at our last local match by trying to go fast: 5 mikes and a no shoot. Oddly enough, my times were only a few tenths faster than when I've shot this classifier before without the "trying to go fast" attempt, even though it felt much faster.

[a matt]

That's the two dollar question. How can I go faster and hit ALL A's ? It's always, go slower and SEE. I WANT MY TWO DOLLARS, :roflol:

[Cavy]

A wise friend of mine told me "Slow is smooth and smooth is fast" You can't shoot fast enough to make up for mistakes.

[saibot]

I've started writing a series surrounding the "mental" aspects of competitive shooting called "Shaving Seconds" and I addressed this topic in the first post on the series. I have a couple of them up so far and will be adding to them as time goes on. If you guys are interested you can read it here:

http://www.recoilsports.com/category/shaving-seconds/

I hope you all find it useful!

[MC1]

Good info. Any ideals on how to beat it into my thick skull. It's kinda like golf. The drive really doesn't need to be crushed, it needs to be accurate. Yet we all swing like hell. I really hope wisdom comes with age

[benos]

Good info. Any ideals on how to beat it into my thick skull. It's kinda like golf. The drive really doesn't need to be crushed, it needs to be accurate. Yet we all swing like hell. I really hope wisdom comes with age

Unfortunately, I don't think it does, at all.

It never did with me anyway. Even after 20 years of training and competing, before every stage, if I didn't talk myself down to a calm, "don't rush" mindset, I'd come out rushing at the buzzer.

[Koppi]

This first and third person stuff is intriguing. After some reflection I believe I've always thought in the first person. Maybe.

That is if I'm understanding the conversation?

Unlike BE I feel as though I need to talk myself into going as fast as can still seeing the sights. I have learned that I don't need to win every stage and on the other hand, I need to not blow up.

I feel as though I have a good relaxed focus-- it is really really hard to keep that up on each and every stage. Any suggestions?

[benos]

Work on coming up with a short mantra - that works for you, that will put you in the mental place you need to be - that you can repeat over and over before you shoot EVERY stage.

[daves_not_here]

"maintain"

This is general enough that it gets me to the right place, in the moment and engaged in the task.

• The intention of maintain is outward so I don't end up analyzing.
  
• Focusing on any one thing screws me up and maintain gets my attention moving and things flow.
  
• The sense of "urgency" does not turn into rushing when I maintain because I continue to call shots and stay in the moment.
  
• When things get a little off plan the maintain mantra gets my conscious back on task rather than beating myself up for a less-than-graceful transition or botched reload.
  

I also use this elsewhere in my life with great success. One of the benefits of the shooting sports.

DNH

Edited December 12, 2012 by daves_not_here

[johnhhuber]

My favorite quote when it comes to slow and smooth. I repeat it every time I am ready to start a stage or faster paced training set up.

"Fast is fine but accuracy is final. You must learn to be slow in a hurry." - Wyatt Earp

[ktm300]

I am starting to notice a pattern to my good stages. I get my mind very quiet and see one thing very well while at the same time seeing everything around it. For example on an uprange start I was looking at the RO's shoe laces thinking of absolutly nothing. I could see his shoe and the grass but what I was looking at was the laces. Buzzer goes off, I turn and see the whole stage find the targets quickly and have a very good run.

Sometimes its a grain of sand on the table, a dark spot in the A zone of a target, whatever it is as long as I can turn off my internal dialog and make myself just see before the buzzer goes off it seems to go very well.

[saibot]

Ktm300-

You should really check out "With Winning In Mind":

http://www.amazon.com/Winning-Mind-3rd-Ed/dp/1934324264/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1358868462&sr=1-1&keywords=with+winning+in+mind

I picked up the Kindle edition and it address exactly that problem. Great book on sports and bonus he's a competitive shooter so he knows how to apply it to our sport.

Hope it helps!