Match Mentality

[John Thompson]

I get offended pretty easily and I find the people on Brain's forums to be pretty respectful and restrained %99 of the time.  The Glock page is a nice set up but it has a lot of trivial postings on it and I can't get into it.  Some of those guys are a little too exclusivley into their glocks for my taste.

(Edited by John Thompson at 11:30 pm on Sep. 26, 2001)

[bonedaddy]

OK then!  I suck and I feel good about it!  

[2alpha]

John, I agree with what you said. The "some people" I was refering to are what I call non competing competitors. They show up but they don't really compete, they always have an excuse ready. I think it's important to not let their words and actions have any influence on you.

JJ

[Flexmoney]

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Quote: from bonedaddy on 12:57 am on Sep. 27, 2001

OK then!  I suck and I feel good about it!  

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Wow.  I just had this "its OK to suck" conversation with my girlfriend on the way to a match last Sunday.

[Shooter Grrl]

Um Kyle - this is a family forum - we really did NOT need to hear that :-)

[Detlef]

and neither you nor her should be driving at the same time!  

--Detlef

[Duane Thomas]

"What to say after a stage" is something it took me awhile to figure out. I tend to judge my shooting pretty harshly. It used to be when people would compliment me after a stage, "Wow, you did really well," I'd want to be modest so I'd be honest about how I felt and say, "Well, I didn't really do that well." I noticed that people never seemed to like that. And I think I figured out why: these were invariably people complimenting someone they perceived as being a better shooter. By downgrading your own performance, when you did better than them, by comparison what are you saying about their shooting? It's like you're rejecting their compliment and insulting them at the same time.

Now, the only safe comments I can think of are, "Wow, thanks," or "I got lucky."

[Mike Auger]

Ther is no perfection in shooting IPSC, all we can do is note where we were not as perfect as we would like to be. Knowing where you made an error at least allows you to know what to work on before the next match.

After a big match where I have ( as I often done) screwed up a stage or 2 and been mediocre on 1 or 2 more I am always suprised to find out how well I  did...we tend to be harsh on ourselves without thinking that everyone else may also be making the same errors we made, maybe in a different stage.

Pretty much every match is decided by who makes the least mistakes,not who goes the fastest, assuming everone in your class will have similar skill level.

Worse than that is most of the mistakes come from trying to be faster than you can ( or are) when all you really have to do is be consistant. Don't hold back but just do what you can do.

I think of the start of each match is like having a clean sheet of paper and I am going to do my neatest and best work on it but by the time I'm finished it always has some eraser marks, some colouring  that went over the lines and maybe a coffee stain too boot.

The big question is , if I know this why do I still fall into the same trap ?

[benos]

Mike,

Because we never really know anything - we're either "there," or we're not.

Not to say that training is bad... maybe - don't ever feel "prepared," just respond appropriately to the demands of the moment.

be

be

[Duane Thomas]

Mike,

Thanks. I needed that.

[SiG Lady]

Being a shooter (therefore a performance-based individual) is a lot like being in the entertainment/broadcast business (also performance-based stuff)... you're only as good as your last break (on-air) or your last shot (targets). The personality/ego sensitivity is high and the pressure is higher. But that's what it takes to do the gig and perform--whether on the air or on the range.

I am DOUBTLESSLY my own worst critic when it comes to my range peformance, but without that continual self-critique no progress is made. No RAPID progress, anyway. I'm fortunate to be among a very supportive (to say the least) group of shooters who are cool to be with, cool to share tips with and generous with their knowledge and experiences on the range.

I, too, have come home from the occasional night match at the range with my tail between my legs (like last night) because I screwed up (or THOUGHT I did) even though someone else thought I did OK... It's all relative and depends on who's paying the compliment (are they better shooters than you or lesser...?).  But I've also found that discussing the bummers you DID observe in your own shooting is frequently something the OTHER shooter is also experiencing, so you end up sharing some knowledge about it and maybe even solving the mutual problem. For real.

Don't have IPSC experience (need to have my hip replaced first) so can't vouch for anything going on there, but my current group experiences are good--even though I agonize like hell over my performance. I mean REALLY agonize. The range owner teases me about it sometimes.

[BSeevers]

Something that's worked for me in life and in shooting is not to get too happy or upset at anything. It helps to prevent that rollercoaster of emotions.

There is nothing wrong with being happy or upset. I know that both can trip you up later in the match or year

[SiG Lady]

BSvrs--

That's something I concluded, thankfully, long ago. It works for me. I'm accused of being "cold" sometimes as a result, but it's better than being emotionally scorched one minute and frozen solid the next. And yet I can still experience the full range of what happens to me... just with less pain, if you will.

Another thread on another forum addresses ignoring "mistakes" made in matches and going on to your next shot with all the newness of the moment of your first shot. And so on. Just keep shooting for the TenZone... every time.

[BSeevers]

SiG Lady,

In Brian's book(which I guess you are waiting for) there is one of the most important statements to shooting well.

"The most important shot is the one that you are shooting right now"

Says it all.

[SiG Lady]

BSeevers--

This is precisely what we at the range keep saying to each other... just to keep it fresh and top-of-mind. Of course, it's true. In the heat of a match (which feels like standing atop a large ball bearing wearing ice skates) it's so easy to, well, forget this vital mindset.

And, yes, I'm still waiting for THE BOOK (sorry about the caps). If it was sent UPS (caps permitted there) then the good folks in Arizona will have to conduct the trace. If it came snail-mail, then I'm not certain who is responsible for the trace.

[Steve Anderson]

A turning point for me was separating a bad day from the idea that I'm not any good.

I got that from "zen and the art of tennis" that I bought for $1 at book blow out sale.

(It's eerily similar to Brian's book, talks about vision being a major component.)

This book just says that you have the right to disagree with what your brain comes up with after a bad day.

SA

[BSeevers]

SL

I sometimes spill gun oil on my ball bearing but that is life

Steve

Golf books are great also.

[SiG Lady]

Detachment is the key.

[vluc]

Once the round leaves the gun, you can't get it back.  Once the final buzzer sounds on the stage, you can't re-run it (re-shoots don't count!).

Let it go and move on.  Dwelling on a burple won't change the fact that it was made.  All you can do is influence how you do in the future.  Failure isn't getting knocked down, it's staying down.

If i did well or felt I did, I have no problem in responding that way if asked.  i don't come off the stage pumping my fists ala Tiger or checking to see how competitive I was in realtion to others.  The run is what it is.

If I get stroked by folks, that's fine and respond with a thanks.  if someone wants to rip on a mike or a no-shoot, i let them and then ignore them.

[TDean]

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Quote: from Shooter Grrl on 9:04 pm on Aug. 25, 2001

Why are shooters so negative?  Ask anyone at anytime during a match how they're doing, and they'll NEVER say they're doing awesome, or it's the best match of their lives, or they kicked ass - all you get in response is "Okay", or " I did a few right" or some other nonsense about their supposed mediocrity.

I just don't get this!  Why is it okay to pump up other people, but not ourselves?

K

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My point of view: There's always something I could've done better, even if I smoked the stage!

A stage 10 at nationals for example. I did well, but not well enough to bring home one of them fancy "stage winner" trophies.  I finished 6th on that stage, losing to the winner by .55 sec and 1 point.

The way I see it, it was a 15.00 sec stage. I lost it by .50 seconds.  There are 30 .50 sec. intervals in 15.00 second stage.  I couldn't find a way to save .50 seconds with 30 attempts? ....Oh plus another Alpha instead of a Charlie on 13 frick'n targets??!!  Man do I suck!

SO DON"T TELL ME I HAD A GOOD STAGE,..WHEN IT'S OBVIOUS I SCREWED UP SO BAD!!

See how that works?...

[Shooter Grrl]

Hmmm - I get it now - y'all are just "Dr Glooms"!!!

Me - I'm all sunshine and happiness

Actually - I'm convinced (by my own observations) that this is one of those "guy thing mysteries" that us lowly females will never quite "get"!!!!

Tom... I watched ya shoot the stage, and my jaw was literally in the dirt...  (of course, I had just you watched shoot those "other" ones as well

[SiG Lady]

When I finish a practice session my rangeowner/manager always asks me how I did. If I had a great practice session I always let him know I did; or if it was only so-so, I might say so but not dwell on it too much. Then he inevitably offers me some pie or cake. Then comes the gourmet coffee.

How much I brag on a given day or how much I complain depends upon who is listening.........

[TDean]

Kath, at the risk of chinking my "guy-armor"....

Thank you, that stage felt GREAT!!

...hey, I guess that wasn't so bad.....

SigLady, the caffeine in that coffee has lots to do with it too!

[SiG Lady]

TDean--

...or who's sitting around the table where we schmooze/eat/drink that day! (Yep, and the coffee helps! Liquid rev-up.)

Well, I gotta go to the range. 'See if I can earn some bragging rights!  

[bonedaddy]

  I find that for me, the ability to "be positive", is all about seeing the good that comes out of the negative.

 So, I believe that evaluating a failure as a failure is a huge mistake.   There is much more motivation for me in falling short of a goal, than in reaching it.  Failure often shines a blinding white light on just exactly the reason the goal wasn't met.  Then, there is a great point of focus!  And so learning becomes easy.  On the surface, this may sound like a cop-out.  But, in reality, it is a simple fact of my life.  

    I set three main goals for the past year in shooting and met them all, in some cases exceeding expectations.   Dang, that's never happened before!  Now my goals are gone and I'm just waiting, as patiently as I can, for some inspiration about new ones for next year.   Honestly, I'm feeling pensive and sort of irritated about it.  It's like when the bully says he is going to beat the crap out of you after school.   I'm thinking, "I can beat this guy".  But, the guy I'm practicing to beat is ME.

     I've been watering the seeds and here I set,  just staring intently at the dirt, waiting for something recognizable to break through to the surface.  (Wow, cool,  right after I wrote that I heard rain drops on the roof.)

  All in all, the past year was pretty sweet.   It's probably fear of not reaching the goals that is keeping me from setting some really outstanding goals for next season.  I need to face that fear and overcome it before the next goals become clear.   Does all of this rambling have anything to to with how to stay positive?   Yeah...... it's in there somewhere.