ErikW Posted December 10, 2004 Share Posted December 10, 2004 I'm watching myself shoot some nationals stages in shred's Squad 30 DVD, and my arms are tensing up. Here on the couch in front of the TV. You know that means I'm shooting tense. The worst one is the stage with the two push-open windows and all the close targets. I get all stressed out just thinking about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flexmoney Posted December 10, 2004 Share Posted December 10, 2004 What...that SPEED stage??? I was hoping that my run on that stage would have made the DVD. I wanted to watch a rare sight...my glock jamming (wondering if I could see me causing the problem). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turtle Posted December 10, 2004 Share Posted December 10, 2004 I was really disapointed with myself on that stage. I did the same thing Eric, tensed up, and I blew it. I wanted to end the match with a stage win and was soooo tense. had trigger freeze on the first split and made up a D. I ended up a second slow on the stage because of it.... Thanks for bringing up that old chestnut! Flex, My Glock malfunctioned on the stage next to it, the prone stage. It didn't go into battery on the first split after I drove it into the dirt. When I started to pull it back to clear it, it fixed itself. First malfunction in about a gazillion rounds... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flexmoney Posted December 15, 2004 Share Posted December 15, 2004 Yeah...having a malfunction with the glock can be weird. I did a nice little tap-rack-bang and I was back in the running. But, there was a most certain reaction/realization time before I got going. Seemed like forever. Erik, I wanted to watch your run on the DVD again, but I lent my copy out. I know that having you a couple of shooter ahead of me got in my head on another stage (the one where there was two stages in one bay...the other stage being a car/tire start). I got sucked in and didn't shoot my game on that stage. That doesn't happen to me very often nowdays. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhino Posted December 15, 2004 Share Posted December 15, 2004 You guys all looked pretty smooth on that DVD, but then I've never seen any of you shoot otherwise. I suppose it would be impossible to detect "tension" from my end unless it was really obvious, but I didn't see much of it. I was surprised to see no one in the squad (at least on the DVD) get all of the steel on the stage with three strings with the minimum number of shots. Was it more difficult than it looked on video, or is it just one of those s** happens deals? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flexmoney Posted December 15, 2004 Share Posted December 15, 2004 That was actually 3 stages, the way they had it...even though you hot-gunned it from one to the next. Yeah, that steel is a mind game. I think everybody on the squad had the skills to go one-for-one on the steel. It wasn't majically tough or anything. I'd gladly take Erik's running on the third stage of steel...even though he took each steel above the circle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shred Posted December 15, 2004 Share Posted December 15, 2004 I went 1-for-1 on.. well.. one of those 3 stages. Got to hassle (in a friendly way) Don Bednorz about it.. The 3rd stage was the hardest since it was all US poppers, from kneeling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ErikW Posted December 16, 2004 Author Share Posted December 16, 2004 I shot like crap on the unobscured Pepper Poppers because I thought they were so close and so BIG I couldn't miss at any speed. Dumb. Then I got ticked off and decided to pay careful attention to sights and trigger, and went 6-for-6 and a 6th place on the next stage. I know that having you a couple of shooter ahead of me got in my head on another stage (the one where there was two stages in one bay...the other stage being a car/tire start). Yeah that was the one burning up the targets through the diamond, over the table. Them were some fast splits and transitions! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benos Posted December 16, 2004 Share Posted December 16, 2004 Man I can relate to that - up close targets preceeded by doing something silly tightened me up like nothing else. If I kept telling myself, over and over, before I shot, things like - No matter how much you attempt to relax you're still going to be too tense, so relax, relax, relax, then relax some more. If you just relax and shoot as you see, there's no way you will not be fast enough. You willl shoot the fastest if you feel the loosest. Then, at the buzzer, as the gun is coming out, make a powerful effort to exhale all excess tension from your shoulders, neck, chest, and arms down and out through your belly. On that exhale, feel your arms just float out there, effortless and hurry-free. be Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigDave Posted December 16, 2004 Share Posted December 16, 2004 One thing I noticed on the 2003 Open Nats Super Squad video was one perticular stage where Eric G. appeared to be chewing gum at the start of a stage. And, if you watch him through the rest of that same stage, he never stops chewing. Jojo is another one in that video who looked loose at the start, and you could see him make a big exhale on the before the buzzer. I read (maybe here?) where it is pretty difficult to be tense if you jaw is unhinged, like when chewing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhino Posted December 17, 2004 Share Posted December 17, 2004 After loading and making ready, I try to do the big exhale and relax my arms, shoulders, and neck as much as possible. If the RO says, "Are you ready?" before then, I say, "No!" Usually I keep my hand on the gun until after I've done it to let them know I'm not ready yet, but sometimes they don't notice it. I'm not sure how much it helps me, but I'm going to keep doing it. It certainly can't hurt. I think it helps me more when I am tired. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Moneypenny Posted December 18, 2004 Share Posted December 18, 2004 the exhale i have noticed in my shooting makes a marked improvement in my reaction speed to teh buzzer and my level of relaxation when i hear the beep. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattBurkett Posted December 21, 2004 Share Posted December 21, 2004 Tension is a killer, probably the killer, of smooth shooting. One of the hardest stages I have ever shot was 3 targets at 1 yard from the end of the box. I "felt" that I had to go fast. Guess what? A miss on a target that should have a powder burn on it. This is also the cause of 90% of the trigger freezes. FYI - wiggle your toes before the beep. Hard to be tense doing that. Know it sounds stupid, but, it also gives your brain something to do instead of focusing on a forced performance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dead Buff Posted December 21, 2004 Share Posted December 21, 2004 FYI - wiggle your toes before the beep. Hard to be tense doing that. Know it sounds stupid, but, it also gives your brain something to do instead of focusing on a forced performance. Since I've been doing that life in IPSC just got easier. Can't remember where I heard it (must be here... ), but it really works.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D.carden Posted December 22, 2004 Share Posted December 22, 2004 i close my eyes, take a deep breath, let it out slow, open my eyes ( its like waking up after surgery). your relaxed and calm. buzzer goes off. the rest is history!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ErikW Posted February 11, 2005 Author Share Posted February 11, 2005 I was watching BBQ's video CD of the December Limited match at Richmond and noticed something about my breathing. It was a cold day and exhales were visible. At the classifier, I shot, reloaded, shot, lowered the gun, and a big exhalation was visible. Held my breath for the whole string. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benos Posted April 4, 2005 Share Posted April 4, 2005 The bigger the target, the smaller the spot on it you should pick to shoot. Try it sometime. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevin c Posted April 13, 2005 Share Posted April 13, 2005 That one's definitely going into my little (green) book. Thanks, BE! Kevin C. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ErikW Posted April 13, 2005 Author Share Posted April 13, 2005 I just realized I shot a tension-free match Sunday. Not a bit. A little anxiety about the swingers, but zero tension. Hmmm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevin c Posted April 13, 2005 Share Posted April 13, 2005 (edited) antihistamines? antiarrhythymics? two fingers of two finger's two X's? Just kidding, Erik. Congrats! (Did you shoot to your satisfaction?) Kevin Edited April 14, 2005 by kevin c Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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