Support hand help needed

[kirbinster]

I have a problem with not gripping enough with my support hand and would welcome suggestions on how to over come this. I realize half the problem is recognizing this - which I have, the problem is how to correct it. I have this on my mind while waiting for the buzzer, but find I just don't grip tight enough once the clock starts. Any tips or tricks to help me over come this problem?

[Ben Stoeger]

I find it hard to think about more than one thing at a time. You are probably going to need to devote substantial training time to thinking about having a tighter grip. Keep thinking about it during every rep while you practice and eventually you will not need to devote conscious effort to it.

If you are trying to fix it at the match it is probably too late.

[BeerBaron]

me too. I could only ever correct one thing at a time. it sucked in the beginning as I would go through a stage or practice drill thinking only about grip, or only about watching the sights but as more of those things got corrected and moved from the 'must focus consciously' to the 'doing it with my subconscious' then everything improved. eventually your bank of skills in your 'doing it subconsciously' zone will build up and happen automatically and then you can keep your attention on the more important stuff

hell in the very start it was things like "finger off the trigger when not shooting". needing to focus on that just to make sure I didn't slip up.

[kirbinster]

me too. I could only ever correct one thing at a time. it sucked in the beginning as I would go through a stage or practice drill thinking only about grip, or only about watching the sights but as more of those things got corrected and moved from the 'must focus consciously' to the 'doing it with my subconscious' then everything improved. eventually your bank of skills in your 'doing it subconsciously' zone will build up and happen automatically and then you can keep your attention on the more important stuff

hell in the very start it was things like "finger off the trigger when not shooting". needing to focus on that just to make sure I didn't slip up.

Yup agree 100%. I had that issue at first with the finger, but now it is automatic without thinking. Guess it will just take more practice time.

[mlmiller1]

Try this...i need to relax my strong hand grio. See if that works. You will hold the gun. You will adjust grip if you relax strong hand.

[AJE]

I find it hard to think about more than one thing at a time. You are probably going to need to devote substantial training time to thinking about having a tighter grip. Keep thinking about it during every rep while you practice and eventually you will not need to devote conscious effort to it.

If you are trying to fix it at the match it is probably too late.

+1

This is what I had to do. Concentrate on it while dry firing and it will become habit. Eventually you'll get used to the gun moving less when you're gripping it hard and you know when you are or aren't doing it.

When you get done practicing and your hand hurts, you know it's working.

[Nimitz]

in the beginning if your hand doesn't hurt after 15-20 mins of dryfire you are probably not gripping hard enough. also, time to invest in some serious grip stregth training as a gorilla grip will make it easier to grip hard ...

[alma]

If your weak hand doesn't have enough room on the gun to grip then it can make things a lot harder too. Just in case I will throw this video up here discussing getting your weak hand properly positioned.

[kirbinster]

Thanks Alma, that video was spot on and I think my problem is just what he is showing that my strong hand thumb is too low preventing me from getting the best contact with my support hand. Will have to practice this, thanks.

[dirtypool40]

howdy, long time listener, 1st time caller....

The grip is tough. It's like trying to learn karate out of a book. You can LOOK like you're doing it right and still be screwing it up badly.

After flailing away in the dark by myself for years, it took classes with Jerry, Todd and Manny to turn on the "easy light" for my dumb ass.

After "ice skating uphill" by myself for 6+ years, I took a small group intensive with Jerry Barnhart. He did this thing where he had you fire some rounds and stay on target, then take your left hand off the gun. His left hand grip was so different it made my hair stand up. One of THE big secrets in shooting is that grip. At least for Limited division guys. Not nearly as important for minor or comp guns, IMHO.

For me at least, the big revelation on "the grip" wasn't so much HEAPS of pressure with the support hand, but how you BUILT the grip.

I changed that, in dry fire, quit "punching" the gun into my support hand. That helped me stop that 1970's vintage "Dynamic pressure" push pull sh...stuff, and got me pushing everything TOWARDS the target with greater consistency.

For ME at least, it made a HUGE difference in neutrality, and predictability / sight tracking.

Everyone learns differently, and needs their own trick as to what to think about or how to groove it. For me, I slide the left hand thumb along the track formed by the strong hand, and when the grip is finished it "feels like" I am pushing the fingernails of my right hand back into the nail bed. NOT just crushing them against the grip.

Hope that helps.