When Did Consistent Match Performance Arrive?

[glock17w]

After reading this topic, I remembered back to when I was in college at West Point. There was a department called Center for Enhanced Performance. Every cadet used this service no matter if their problem area was academic, physical, or military related. I went to the website and looked around. Check out the website and article.

http://www.dean.usma.edu/centers/cep/default.htm

Click on the Performance Enhancement link. Also check out the biofeedback link.

This probably belongs in the mental conditioning forum but I think it will apply here as well.

If I ever become good enough to teach shooting, I would add this type of service to my shooting classes.

RJ_Article___Selective_Perception.doc

Edited December 12, 2005 by glock17w

[boo radley]

Ever consider that maybe you aren't aiming at the correct thing?

Remember what the target is....the center of the A zone.

Well, I *think* I'm aiming in the right place, but I certainly don't have that fine a sight picture that I can say I'm aiming at the center of the A, as opposed to the "middle" of the target -- that's for sure.

I'm 90% positive that the misses I'm having on paper are from the 2nd shot being wild: alpha-mike. That accounts for most of the damage. I think I'm just rushing to get to the next shot....

Then there are misses where I could swear I called the shot on all the poppers, but one is still standing after the stage. Don't know what's up with that.

Finally, there are misses from doing stupid things. Just shot my 4th match in Ltd, and I'm still figuring out the mag change business, and am guilty of trying to avoid reloads. The stage had 15 shots from one postion (steel and paper), and 4 from another position (2 paper), a short dash away. I thought, "20+1, no need to reload, and I'll have 2 extra if the steel proves tough." I was so suprised to find myself at slide-lock at the last target, I took the miss. Guess I took one more shot than I thought on the steel. I don't know if the sin was in missing the steel 3x, or in not throwing a reload in as I moved, or both!

I'm going to try again keeping the mantra of "just aim," or I also like Flex's: "see sight lift", in my head. I'd like to have the first stage set a positive tone.

Glock17W -- nice link and interesting information!!

[Steve Moneypenny]

Damn dialup!

Edited December 13, 2005 by Steve Moneypenny

[Steve Moneypenny]

Boo, How much match eperience do you have? It seems in some ways your mind isn't communicating with it's self. (more than 2 shots missed on steel reload)

Also, this is a points game, no matter HOW fast you miss it doesn't effect your hit factor. The alpha's are sooooo important. Remember the goal for shooters is 95% of available points!

A few tips I've used along the way.... Make a small circle (1 inch in diameter) on your dry fire targets in the dead center of the A (do this with some live fire ones as well) shoot for the CENTER of that circle. use it as your visual cue of where your gun should be.. (aim small miss small)

Change your level of acceptable hits.... charlie hits are NOT acceptable more than 2-4 per stage and you need to be thikning about what u did wrong (condidering open targets if only C is available to shoot then it's all you got can't beat your self up over it) I'm sure some of you have seen Jake and i walk away from a stage going (*&&((^^%*%*& i shot 6 charlies) Challenge a friend (even a better or worse shooter to an Alpha shooting contest .. loser buys lunch)

But most of all keep it fun!

[Flyin40]

A few tips I've used along the way.... Make a small circle (1 inch in diameter) on your dry fire targets in the dead center of the A (do this with some live fire ones as well) shoot for the CENTER of that circle. use it as your visual cue of where your gun should be.. (aim small miss small)

Steve,

I have been thinking of doing that when I start back practicing. I was thinking of visualizing the actual Letter A on the target instead of thinking of the entire A zone. I like that idea of the circle on the target during dryfire and practice. By the time the match comes it will be engrained in your head.

Flyin40

[Steve Moneypenny]

why visualize it, can't you see it at 10 yards? 15 even? with proper lighting conditions I can see the perfs at 20+ .... with my glasses ON! if not visit your optometrist.

I did the circle's even on plates i use to dry fire... but most importantly i did it because IDPA and USPSA targets are different. so i wanted the piont of my aim to be a little above center.

[Flyin40]

why visualize it, can't you see it at 10 yards? 15 even? with proper lighting conditions I can see the perfs at 20+ .... with my glasses ON! if not visit your optometrist.

I did the circle's even on plates i use to dry fire... but most importantly i did it because IDPA and USPSA targets are different. so i wanted the piont of my aim to be a little above center.

When I said visualizing I'm talking more about down time, when you sitting around watching TV, driving to work, doing yard work, basically when you mind can wonder. I believe these times play a big part in mental preparation, not just showing up at the range and saying, Ok now I'm shooting, I need to focus. 95% of my mental preparation is done when I'm not practicing or shooting. When I go to practice or shoot I want my mind already focused at the task at hand, not trying to figure out or say " shoot the little circle".

By the time I hit the range I will have rehearsed it a couple of thousands times in my head, hopefully that will be early next week to try my new guns.

Actually what I was thinking of focusing on was the actual letter A perf but I like your idea of the circle. It gives better visual feedback while practicing. I can see where you really would concentrate on the center A hit. My only worry would be is to make sure that I also practice with no circles so that when I went to a match and my minds trained to find the circle and it doesn't see it that it would go into looking for the whole A zone. I think a combo or the circle and Letter A perf will really get me focused on accuracy.

Flyin40

.

[Flexmoney]

My new terminology is going to be "defining the target spot."

I mention that only as a reminder that the target spot may not always be the center of the A-zone or the "A" on the target. Just as soon as you burn something like that in, the guy setting up the targets at the local match will stick a NS or hard-cover over/next to your spot.

(You will certainly see that at the Nationals.)

[shred]

Ted Bonnet used to teach a general aiming point about halfway between the top of the A-zone box and the letter-A just for that reason.. slanty hardcover and half-hardcovers don't typically block that area.

[boo radley]

Boo, How much match eperience do you have? It seems in some ways your mind isn't communicating with it's self.

Hmm...some match experience -- I'm nearing the end of my first year -- maybe 12 sanctioned matches? One major, our state's sectional. Enough to know better.

Actually, I had a major epiphany last night. I've been dry-firing in my office -- standing, drawing, aiming at some dots on the wall, reloading...etc.

I decided for a change, to clear out my garage, and after a solid hour of cleaning and rearranging the crap, had some nice space to set up a couple shooting positions and a "stage." The first time I ran it was horrible, but I was stunned at how I wasn't adequately aiming the shots, even on dry-fire. Then I rehearsed it as perfectly as I could, in slow motion, making sure I was aiming *exactly* in the center of my home-made target, moving precisely exactly as much I needed to, to get to the next position. Etc. Things got better fast. I also managed one run in which my focus level was *perfect* -- no conscious voice.

I think adding movement and a semi-realistic stage for dry-fire practice will provide big big benefits when practicing, especially because my live-fire is limited to either matches, or an indoor range, with some pretty big constraints (no moving, no multiple targets, etc).

Also, this is a points game, no matter HOW fast you miss it doesn't effect your hit factor. The alpha's are sooooo important. Remember the goal for shooters is 95% of available points!

I know this. It's a fact I always seem to battle, however. I think it's temperment to some degree -- I'm *always* conscious of the time I shot in the stage in, but never pay the same kind of attention to the points, except to groan at a mike, no-shoot, but couldn't tell you, until looking at the match results, how many "A"'s vs. "C's" I shot in a stage.

A few tips I've used along the way....

Those are good tips. I will add a small, penciled circle in the A-zone of dry-fire targets.

But most of all keep it fun!

Indeed! So far not a problem -- this sport is so fun, I can't stand it.

But the expenses and time committments in shooting matches aren't trivial, and I want to feel better on the drive home, so I'm going to start a more structured plan:

1) Dry-fire in my garage for 30 min on practice stages 3 x week.

2) Live-fire at least 1 x week at the indoor range. Despite the constraints, I have some good drills, I think -- "Zebra drill" I learned at a Frank Garcia class, Bill drills....Accuracy work....

3) Agility work. At 40, I don't move like I did at 20, and think balance and movement drills will pay off tremendously. Just a hunch.

4) Mental stuff. Visualization, positive thoughts, etc. Need big work here, and I recently picked up Lanny's book, and will look at a few other resources. More immediately, I want to start the next match, to use the golf analogy again, by hitting it safely in the fairway, on the first tee, and accepting nothing worse than a bogey.

This is a long, rambling, pretty self-absorbed post, but I appreciate being able to talk out-loud about shooting, and aborb the excellent advice here.

I've often wondered if someone -- spending a day reading judiciously selected posts on this forum -- wouldn't have 100% of the theoretical *knowledge*, the know-how, to make GM?

[Clay1]

Boo, I read your recent post all the while going "damn, this guy has got the IPSC bug". I'm smiling with you.

This is a good thing.

[Steve Moneypenny]

Flex you make a great point.... as usual. I have found that the technique of aming at something the size of a quarter to be very easy to move the point i'm aiming at when shooting at No shoot/hard cover/obscured targets.

[Flyin40]

My new terminology is going to be "defining the target spot."

I mention that only as a reminder that the target spot may not always be the center of the A-zone or the "A" on the target. Just as soon as you burn something like that in, the guy setting up the targets at the local match will stick a NS or hard-cover over/next to your spot.

(You will certainly see that at the Nationals.)

Great point Flex, my defined target spot will be the perf A or the a little circle on the target. Once I have a good handle on that I'll move onto picking othe spots like the

"upper right Azone" or something like that.

Flyin40

[boo radley]

Boo, I read your recent post all the while going "damn, this guy has got the IPSC bug". I'm smiling with you.

This is a good thing.

Thx man.

I actually got back on the horse, putting 500 miles on my truck this weekend, and squeezed in two more matches this past weekend.

Saturday, I probably had my best overall match, ever -- shot one stage clean, another 2pts down, no D's, no "no-shoots." Was extremely conscious of my front sight, and came in 8 out of 9 Limited shooters.

(I'm actually pretty sanguine about the overall results, since I rarely find myself thinking after the match -- "Gee, I wish had been a bit more aggressive.....).

Yesterday, I *was* more aggressive, after a good stage or two, with predictable results -- mikes, a couple no-shoots....I'm reminded of that old slot-car racing game, where you squeeze the trigger too hard, and the car shoots off the track. Not smoothly enough, and it proceeds in fits down the track. I guess if you stay in that narrow band, you're consistent.

A better finish to 2005, though, and turned in some solid classifiers, I believe. I also escaped the pain of Christmas shopping with my wife!!