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The pressure of being watched.


kita

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Kita The "Zen state" or what ever you want to call it will help you a lot but this is something that won't come without a lot of experience. The mental side of any game is a lifelong pursuit. It is the only part that you will never completely master. For now when you know others are watching just look at it from their point of view. They don't want to see you fail they want to see you suceed greatly. It is a rare competitor that wishes others do bad. So they are there to help you not see you fail. Even if you do badly they will help and nothinghas really changed in your world. If you loose or win how much has it changed your lot in life? None...So don't sweat the watchers and shoot for yourself and only against yourself.

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What if you are passionate about the observer?

Perhaps you have a different goal then? What is your goal?

My goal is to shoot better.

Shooting better... is that a goal or an outcome? That is probably a bad question (it is likely both). Let me rephrase. What things can you execute to enable you to shoot better? (I'm thinking things like front sight focus, trigger control, etc... but that might vary, depending on your development)

It's good to realize that everything around us...be it the design of the stage, the goofy props, people, weather, etc. ...it is all just a distraction from the shooting.

It isn't a good idea to focus on the distraction (or even to focus on blocking the distraction). Instead, only allow yourself to consciously think of the positive things you can execute that allow you to achieve the goal.

In other words, replace other thoughts with executing the fundamentals.

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My answer is that you need to put yourself into as many competitions as possible be it large or small with the only expectation that you will enjoy yourself. It sounds simple and it is. Mentally rehearse the stage over and over again and you will not be even thinking about those around you.

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I like being filmed. I am the center of my universe. All eyes focus on me. If you take it there just for the fun of it, you probably won't feel quite the same about it. Just think of all the cool slow-mo of yourself you might get off the person with the lens. Being filmed is not where you should be worried about what you cannot do, but rather as a chance to shine and do your best so you can shine.

I really try and stay up-beat when I shoot. Otherwise, cameras or no, it becomes a chore, and no one wants that.

Just my .02

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Take every opportunity to have someone watch you when you are practicing or at your local matches. I get the same thing, much like stage fright for an actor, musician, ..., etc. I find that as I have those that I respect watch and critique more often, the fear and the lack of focus fade. I still get the jitters on the first stage of matches, but that fades almost immediately when rounds start to go down range. Might work for you. Coach.

I was assisting with setting up stages, running errands, etc. for a Mink/Stoeger class this weekend, and had the opportunity to step in and shoot a couple of the drills with the class. Whenever Ben or Matt walked up behind me to critique and offer pointers, I fell apart and couldn't shoot. At all. If I'm going to shoot matches, other people are obviously going to be there while I'm shooting. How can I get over this "stage fright" so to speak? Does anyone else have this issue?

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Take every opportunity to have someone watch you when you are practicing or at your local matches. I get the same thing, much like stage fright for an actor, musician, ..., etc. I find that as I have those that I respect watch and critique more often, the fear and the lack of focus fade. I still get the jitters on the first stage of matches, but that fades almost immediately when rounds start to go down range. Might work for you. Coach.

I was assisting with setting up stages, running errands, etc. for a Mink/Stoeger class this weekend, and had the opportunity to step in and shoot a couple of the drills with the class. Whenever Ben or Matt walked up behind me to critique and offer pointers, I fell apart and couldn't shoot. At all. If I'm going to shoot matches, other people are obviously going to be there while I'm shooting. How can I get over this "stage fright" so to speak? Does anyone else have this issue?

I only get that way when the people watching me are very high level shooters. It's kinda like when you speak another language, you are fine with speaking it in front of other people who speak English, but not with natives to the language. They are aware of every little tweak that needs to be made and it makes you more self-conscious.
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John Updike once said that perfectionism is the enemy of creation. Same is true for progress in general I think. The person trying to learn a new language who never practices it because they're too proud or afraid of looking bad because they can't speak it perfectly will never speak it perfectly. Self-fulfilling prophecy. Gotta have the balls to be horribly wrong for a time in order to make progress.

I don't normally work with shooters, but when I tutor people in math and science I give them all the kindness, understanding and space in the world for them to mess up, then calmly point out their mistake without making them feel too badly about it. I would attribute a vast quantity of lameness to people who don't do that in any context, shooting included.

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I don't normally work with shooters, but when I tutor people in math and science I give them all the kindness, understanding and space in the world for them to mess up, then calmly point out their mistake without making them feel too badly about it. I would attribute a vast quantity of lameness to people who don't do that in any context, shooting included.

Ben's approach is different. He mentally breaks you down.... and then if you aren't wearing girly panties you will learn.

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I don't normally work with shooters, but when I tutor people in math and science I give them all the kindness, understanding and space in the world for them to mess up, then calmly point out their mistake without making them feel too badly about it. I would attribute a vast quantity of lameness to people who don't do that in any context, shooting included.

That's good.

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I don't normally work with shooters, but when I tutor people in math and science I give them all the kindness, understanding and space in the world for them to mess up, then calmly point out their mistake without making them feel too badly about it. I would attribute a vast quantity of lameness to people who don't do that in any context, shooting included.

Ben's approach is different. He mentally breaks you down.... and then if you aren't wearing girly panties you will learn.

This is hard to phrase without it sounding like an attack on a particular training technique. It isn't. I and many other intermediate level shooters would and do benefit greatly from this kind of approach. But I think one of the definitions of a solid intermediate level shooter is someone who can take advantage of his or her fundamentals on a fairly consistent and repeatable basis. Being able to shoot roughly as good as they are capable of almost no matter what distractions are going on around them. For most people, I think this takes a cool head and a bunch of experience to accomplish, it did for me at least.

But this approach is unnecessary and counterproductive for most beginners and even for certain intermediate or expert level shooters. It just depends too heavily on the temperament of the student, and is a fairly specific tool to use. As a tutor I try to read where my students are and how they would best learn to see if they could benefit from the added challenge. Having "girly panties," or even taking things personally at all, has absolutely nothing to do with it. To some people, introducing more variables to the learning process just gets in the way. There is also a time and a place for "immersion therapy", as it were, but usually the best course of action I think is just to calmly and rationally teach people in a detached manner. Unless of course you just like to mess with them because you can and it's funny. *shrug*

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Agree Donovan. Each student is different and the good teacher/coach/instructor will understand how to reach each student at their level based on their learning style.

The "break-down" approach works at some level and for rudimentary skills for most, but is generally not a good approach, especially for refinement of skillsets.

It is possible lugnut had to be treated this way by Ben for him to learn but that Ben approaches other students with a different style.

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It is possible lugnut had to be treated this way by Ben for him to learn but that Ben approaches other students with a different style.

Guys that have been in it a few years and are stuck in a certain level (like Lugnut) usually need me to push them. Newer shooters don't get treated this way, not by me at least. I give people the medicine I think they need. People that have actually taken a class with me tend to like it.

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We found that to be true. On day one Ben was all proper until he repeatedly watched us bash and make fun of each other and generally run around like little unbehaved kids punching one another. After that it got more relaxed. Then again we weren't beginners and had several years of match experience under our belts. You have to tailor training to the class/student instead of taking the same approach to everyone. To date one of the best classes we've every had and I've taken quite a lot of classes from all over.

Edited by EmanP
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It is possible lugnut had to be treated this way by Ben for him to learn but that Ben approaches other students with a different style.

Guys that have been in it a few years and are stuck in a certain level (like Lugnut) usually need me to push them. Newer shooters don't get treated this way, not by me at least. I give people the medicine I think they need. People that have actually taken a class with me tend to like it.

I got the impression from the original and subsequent posts that this isn't always the case. When you don't apply the best teaching techniques you usually start to become an obstacle to the learning process instead of a guide.

We found that to be true. On day one Ben was all proper until he repeatedly watched us bash and make fun of each other and generally run around like little unbehaved kids punching one another. After that it got more relaxed. Then again we weren't beginners and had several years of match experience under our belts. You have to tailor training to the class/student instead of taking the same approach to everyone. To date one of the best classes we've every had and I've taken quite a lot of classes from all over.

Nice! Since some instructors are generally too "politically correct", as you have also made mention of in other class reviews, this was definitely an effective application of the method, but as you say it needs to be one of many in the toolbox.

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Anyway, whenever I get nervous for what ever the reason (big match, someone watching or whatever) is I just tell myself the same thing. Just do your thing. You already know what to do and how to go it, don't try to do it. Sit back, don't think about it and just do what you already know. I can't do anything more than I'm capable of, it's too late for that and it'll be fine no matter what. I tell me to back off myself and do what comes natural. I take the pressure off myself letting me do whatever it is that I'll do. Sounds silly but it works for me. At that point it's all about your mental game and YOU are interfering with YOU.

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It is possible lugnut had to be treated this way by Ben for him to learn but that Ben approaches other students with a different style.

Guys that have been in it a few years and are stuck in a certain level (like Lugnut) usually need me to push them. Newer shooters don't get treated this way, not by me at least. I give people the medicine I think they need. People that have actually taken a class with me tend to like it.

I got the impression from the original and subsequent posts that this isn't always the case. When you don't apply the best teaching techniques you usually start to become an obstacle to the learning process instead of a guide.

How do you mean?

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This:

My goal is to shoot better. Perhaps I have turned the people who can help me most into obstacles as opposed to being auxiliary.

Sounds silly but it works for me.

Then it isn't silly. :)

Very good post on the mental game... I think it's true for everyone.

Edited by DonovanM
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This:

My goal is to shoot better. Perhaps I have turned the people who can help me most into obstacles as opposed to being auxiliary.

What does that have to do with my teaching style?

When you don't apply the best teaching techniques you usually start to become an obstacle to the learning process instead of a guide.

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For what it's worth I have taken around 15 varies classes from many instructors over just the past 4 years.

Ben's ability to break down a shooters perception of their abilities that they are good enough just because they may win a local club match has worked well for me and some of my fellow classmates. Like many shooters here I got complacent because I was good enough to win on a local level and didn't work that hard if I was being honest with myself.

Ben showed us what our expectations should be and made it apparent that the only may to make that happen was to work our asses off and push it. I'm not saying I did not take things away from the other classes I have taken but Ben's def has stuck with me longer and has motivated me more than the others.

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