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Using a Cell Phone to Get in the Zone


AusPPC

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We've all had times when on a stage we 'shoot blind', where we aren't really present to the shooting. We're pulling the trigger and pointing the pistol, but we're not really in the present tense and focused on what we need to see. Instead we might be thinking of the next target, or the next reload, or the last D hit, with the shooting 'right now' being secondary. A string of misses is the result, and your memory of the string tells you that you really were just "going through the motions" and hoping that hits resulted.

I've found a way to simulate (and counter) this very thing - sending a text message on your cell phone.

The screen / buttons are small and your fingers are big, so a phone isn't ideal for typing. If you have in your mind a sentence to send to a friend, and you get your fingers to briskly type out the letters and numbers that make up that message while thinking about what you want to say, but not being present to the buttons, the result is a garbled message. You then have to backspace and delete the errors to arrive at the correct result. You clearly know how to spell and press buttons, but you still screwed it up.

Sounds like shooting blind, doesn't it?

I noticed that when I typed a text that was full of errors, it was because my mind was thinking of the message and how quickly I wanted to get it out. I really wasn't focused on and present to the buttons, the characters, the numbers or the feel of my fingers running across them in sequence, nor was I calm and relaxed. So I stopped, waited for my heightened state of arousal (anxiety) to subside a little, and then focused on consciously and deliberately hitting each letter one at a time and in sequence. The result was the message being right without needing to fix errors, which on net, gave a faster result.

So this is now one of my tricks before a match. Once I can type out a text on my phone without errors, but do so briskly, I'm set to be 'calm and present'.

And no downloads required ^_^

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We've all had times when on a stage we 'shoot blind', where we aren't really present to the shooting. We're pulling the trigger and pointing the pistol, but we're not really in the present tense and focused on what we need to see. Instead we might be thinking of the next target, or the next reload, or the last D hit, with the shooting 'right now' being secondary. A string of misses is the result, and your memory of the string tells you that you really were just "going through the motions" and hoping that hits resulted.

I've found a way to simulate (and counter) this very thing - sending a text message on your cell phone.

The screen / buttons are small and your fingers are big, so a phone isn't ideal for typing. If you have in your mind a sentence to send to a friend, and you get your fingers to briskly type out the letters and numbers that make up that message while thinking about what you want to say, but not being present to the buttons, the result is a garbled message. You then have to backspace and delete the errors to arrive at the correct result. You clearly know how to spell and press buttons, but you still screwed it up.

Sounds like shooting blind, doesn't it?

I noticed that when I typed a text that was full of errors, it was because my mind was thinking of the message and how quickly I wanted to get it out. I really wasn't focused on and present to the buttons, the characters, the numbers or the feel of my fingers running across them in sequence, nor was I calm and relaxed. So I stopped, waited for my heightened state of arousal (anxiety) to subside a little, and then focused on consciously and deliberately hitting each letter one at a time and in sequence. The result was the message being right without needing to fix errors, which on net, gave a faster result.

So this is now one of my tricks before a match. Once I can type out a text on my phone without errors, but do so briskly, I'm set to be 'calm and present'.

And no downloads required ^_^

+1 Also when texting on my iphone I compare the reading of the popping up letters while I type as reading or calling shots in shooting. Sounds crazy but maybe I am ? Edited by BoyGlock
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interesting thread. BoyGlock: when you say that you "compare the reading of the popping up letters while I type as reading or calling shots" are you talking about the little letters that pop up above the keys on the smartphone keypad (as opposed to seeing the letters appear in the actual message)? I think I've been trying to do the same thing for a couple weeks -- I hit a key and I don't let my finger move to the next key until I see the popup letter. Sort of like keeping the gun on target until you see the sights lift.

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interesting thread. BoyGlock: when you say that you "compare the reading of the popping up letters while I type as reading or calling shots" are you talking about the little letters that pop up above the keys on the smartphone keypad (as opposed to seeing the letters appear in the actual message)? I think I've been trying to do the same thing for a couple weeks -- I hit a key and I don't let my finger move to the next key until I see the popup letter. Sort of like keeping the gun on target until you see the sights lift.

Yes and its more effecient than seeing the letters in the actual message w/c I compare to looking for my hits on the target. But its counter intuitive I think that I sometimes have to exert some effort doing it.

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 4 weeks later...

Great stuff AusPPC.

I am finally beginning to get what Brian refers to about shooting "in the present". It has taken me a long time and a long journey to finally understand it.

Bottom line is = if you are not calling each shot, then you are not shooting in the present. Because to call a shot, one must SEE the shot while it is being released. And that IS the present, to a millisecond.

So as a single pre-shooting thought, or even one to occupy your conscious mind with while shooting, (Steve Anderson said this) = think only about calling each shot during match performance.

Thanks!

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I found that running the stage over in my head like replaying a movie works as well. But I still find myself deleting that movie with the sound of the buzzer. :goof:

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