GunBugBit Posted August 17, 2015 Share Posted August 17, 2015 (edited) There are critics who watch us as we shoot, for certain. At the last USPSA match I attended, there was a fellow standing and waiting for his turn to shoot a stage. I don't recall him helping to reset the stage, RO'ing, or helping in any other way. However, he was very liberal with negative comments about each shooter running the stage. In retrospect, I should have called him out for bad sportsmanship, or simply told him to shut his mouth, or loudly announced to everyone that he was going to show us how to run this stage because apparently everyone so far has been doing it poorly. But I'm pretty new and I err on the side of keeping my mouth shut. It irked me and I don't ever want to be that guy. Edited August 17, 2015 by GunBugBit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GOF Posted August 17, 2015 Share Posted August 17, 2015 Look at his score and see if his comments are worth listening to. If he sucked, tell him to go screw himself. "Playground Bullies" exist well beyond our school playground days. You deal with them now the same way you did (hopefully) then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benos Posted August 17, 2015 Share Posted August 17, 2015 Focus on the task at hand. Yes. No matter what the task, that always yields the best results. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rowdyb Posted August 18, 2015 Share Posted August 18, 2015 I agree with Brian here one million percent. One of the sports psychologists I saw gave me an aptitude test about focus, resiliency, imagery and so on. Common, core skills of the mental side of sports. When we met again to review the results he asked me, "do you have adult add? your measured ability to focus is 30% of an olympic athlete where in other aspects you scored very highly." Which lead to lots of discussion about what I was doing and so forth and then ways to fix it. Note: These visits were for a sport different than shooting I used to care a fair bit about. You have to learn how to focus, how to maintain focus and where that focus should be placed. Most people either don't learn this or try to reinvent the wheel and learn it by trial and error over the years. As charlie said, this field has already been explored. I say turn to a professional for real help if you want real results. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benos Posted August 18, 2015 Share Posted August 18, 2015 You have to learn how to focus, how to maintain focus and where that focus should be placed. In the end, when my skills could not be improved, that's what it came down to. At each moment, knowing the best place to place or keep attention, which allowed the current task to occur thoughtlessly, effortlessly, and without error. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RevoWood123 Posted August 20, 2015 Share Posted August 20, 2015 I like walking up to a course of fire knowing that I can miss every target out there... I know when I first starting shooting competitively I felt immense pressure from those around me. They weren't ribbing me, they weren't derogatory, in fact, they were helpful, polite, and offered me a lot of tips/ pointers. It is definitely a mental aspect to a lot of people, a block of some sort. They can have solid fundamentals, but the pressure of a match and being watched by their peers can do funny things on the human mind. The first match I shot I was squaded with some local guys who happen to shoot a lot of competitive sports and 2 of them have competed at pro/national levels. That didn't help me much the first time out, but like I said, they were polite and helpful. Over the past 4-5 years I have learned a lot from them and they have really become good friends. What I have done to help overcome is to almost go into a sort of meditation, just pause and stop thinking for a brief period of time (to which friends would say is often and lengthy). When its my turn to start a COF I stick to running my predetermined route and shoot everything as though I was just practicing on the range. It took me a while to figure out how to do so and to know how to read myself (whether I am focused or not). Learning how to focus, as rowdyb pointed out, is not easy. At least it was not for me, I had to put forth effort to get there. One of the other things I have learned is that I have to eat a good breakfast and stay away from the coffee on match days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigbadaboom Posted September 15, 2015 Share Posted September 15, 2015 I picture everyone in their underwear. Not because I get stage fright, I don't, but it sure as hell helps my to not think about shooting and I always shoot better when I'm not thinking about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GOF Posted September 16, 2015 Share Posted September 16, 2015 If you focus on the targets... the sights... the trigger press... the movement through the stage... you won't have time to think about whomever might be watching you. Focus on what needs to be done NOW. Don't worry about the rest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunnar Posted September 17, 2015 Share Posted September 17, 2015 I believe that I am not good enough for people to be entertained enough to keep their focus on me. No pressure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benos Posted September 17, 2015 Share Posted September 17, 2015 If you focus on the targets... the sights... the trigger press... the movement through the stage... you won't have time to think about whomever might be watching you. Focus on what needs to be done NOW. Don't worry about the rest. Exactly! In everyday life, notice how you cannot be TOTALLY aware of more than one sensation at the same time. Then apply that to shooting a stage. Before you shoot, decide, with conviction, what you will be totally aware of at each moment. Make sure you get started calm and not rushing, then simply witness awareness moving from each place to the next... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NicVerAZ Posted September 18, 2015 Share Posted September 18, 2015 For me, shooting is all about the rear sight, the front sight, the target and their relationship. From the moment the buzzer goes off and the moment I hear "If you are finished...", that's all that matters. If spectators spectating annoy you, you simply are not focusing enough and are shooting at a level below your potential. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MetropolisLake Posted September 28, 2015 Share Posted September 28, 2015 I thought I was over this but Saturday night there was a night match where we had to shoot a plate rack at a decent distance, in the dark with a flashlight. It was hard enough due to them being painted black and only a small 2" white square in the middle with some thin crosshairs painted on, plus I didn't have a weapon light and was holding a flashlight in my weak hand and could not see anything but a weak silhouette of the sights. I missed a couple of times but then it occurred to me that the entire squad is watching me make a fool of myself. Suddenly got very jittery, and could not hit that thing to save my life, was kind of shaking. I bet I shot 8 times at the same plate. Ended up having to use a 2x4 wall as a brace to steady the gun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benos Posted September 30, 2015 Share Posted September 30, 2015 Wow, that sounds like one loser of a stage! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MMC Posted October 5, 2015 Share Posted October 5, 2015 I don't really care what people think of my shooting ability so it never has bothered me. If I wasn't trying my best then it might matter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bkreutz Posted October 5, 2015 Share Posted October 5, 2015 (edited) I finally realized that no one is interested in my shooting performance so now it never bothers me to be watched. Edited October 5, 2015 by Bkreutz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S&W686 Posted October 9, 2015 Share Posted October 9, 2015 (edited) Back in the 70's when I was younger I was a pretty good golfer. I use to play in a lot of ProAms and mini tour events where a lot of people would be watching us play. Many of my friends would ask me if I got nervous on the first tee with so many people watching me. I told them when I stood up to address the ball I would focus on a spot in the fairway where I wanted my ball to rest. I would block out everything around me and only focus on that spot. It is like in the movie The Greatest Game Ever Played when Harry Vardon was on the tee addressing the ball and when he looked down the fairway all of the people that lined the fairway disappeared. I try to do the same thing when shooting. I know how I am going to shoot the stage, I know which shot I will make a mag change, and focus on one spot I start to shoot. If you watch the top shooters in the sport you will notice how focus they are when at the starting line. Edited October 9, 2015 by S&W686 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thermobollocks Posted October 9, 2015 Share Posted October 9, 2015 Once I take it for granted that I'm going to be stumbling around lookin' like a goober, everything gets much easier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AR Gunner Posted October 31, 2015 Share Posted October 31, 2015 I just do my best. I don't like it when someone else hopes I'll do poorly just so they look better - in shooting and in life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Service Desk Posted November 11, 2015 Share Posted November 11, 2015 The only person I need to compete with is me so the only person I need to outperform is me, I don't need to fill my head up with poisonous fuzz thinking about someone else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imeyers78 Posted December 6, 2015 Share Posted December 6, 2015 my buddy gave me the greatest advise, and I recite it everytime I approach a stage. "plan your shoot and shoot your plan"! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now