Stage Preparation: Mental Mistakes And Lack Of Discipline

[D_4_Ever]

At the last club match I shot:

1st Stage/ 1st 4 Shots: 4 USP's @ about 15yrds through a port. I'm 6'3" and somehow the ports always mean that I'm having to crouch for a good sight picture. I know that this is going to be required, but somehow I don't set up for that mentally before L&MR. Then the buzzer goes off and already there's doubt, unsteadiness as I start to align the sights on the steel.

Turns out that I accidentally put a few Major (+) rounds in that first mag. Had been doing some chrono work the day before and must have accidentally placed the test rounds back in w. my match ammo. The change in recoil pulse on those first few (Type 3, I'd say) shots was enough to make me realize what I had done, I lost my plan after missing the steel w. 2 shots and then I fumbled a mag change while moving to the next array.

I know that there are IPSC 'basics' that must be right before you can successfully shoot a stage, but it never ceases to amaze me how I can get some dumb thing wrong, time and time again, and then things just unravel.

Part of the thing that keeps me coming back though, is the idea that someday, I'll recover without loosing all that stage time, or maybe I'll get it right on all 5 stages, & not just one or two.

[JakeMartens]

I started this past year of visualizing the stage in my head before I nod ready.

I will do the walk thru, get my plan together, review it a couple of times and then while waiting for my turn think it through in my head.

But after I load and holster, the last thing I do is visualize what my plan is in my head, where I am going first, second, etc, where the reload is and then nod....

I started doing better once I did this, there was alot less of just taking off when the buzzer sounded and blowing what I had thought I had planned out. The stages I do the best at are the ones that seem like I was on auto pilot and almost are like I was watching me doing it instead of thinking my way through at the last moment.

[pskys2]

D4 I used to have the same feelings. Then in the late '80's I had a bad malfunction on a real short, quick stage. As I cleared the jam and proceeded to finish the stage I had an epiphany. I felt like I was outside of my body watching myself clear the jam and finish the stage. Everything went flawless, and this little voice was inside of my head talking about how you just focus. Yet, it took nothing away from my concentration.

I cleaned the rest of the targets in a good time. The jam cost, but I lost nothing else after the jam.

I realized it was a byproduct of training, leading to confidence and the knowledge going into the match that I had done all I could to get ready.

From that point on, I practiced hard until a week before a big match. Then relaxed, figuring that if I wasn't ready by then it wouldn't help to stress. While I'm not a contender for the big match win, I got to the point of enjoying the stress of the match.

Keep at it, concentrate on the fundamentals and enjoy the ride. Don't swell up when you do well and don't beat yourself up when you foul up.

[boo radley]

D4, your post touches a nerve like a first-year dental hygienist.

Who's hungover.

I'm working to get better in different areas, but lack of mental preparedness going into an IPSC stage is an area that's still killing me, and I'd give myself a "D-", or maybe a "D" at best.

What makes me want to tear my range bag into strips, is that it's a "free" skill -- ok, maybe not the finer nuances of stage planning that take years of experience to master -- but how hard are the basics? Knowing where *EVERY* target is? Having a concrete plan before LAMR??

It just takes a little concentration and focus, yet I find it so easy to get distracted, and end up BS'ing with another squad member about equipment, or leering at someone else's girlfriend, or, or, whatever. And that's time that could be spent in memorization and visualization.

The last four matches, I've had a hell of time with my gun running -- misfeeds on 50% of the stages -- yet that didn't and doesn't begin to shake my psyche as much as not seeing a target during a stage, or making a stupid stage-planning error.

Bah. To that end, I recently made a small laminated check-list, and I'm going to keep it in my range bag. I will see how it goes. I WILL go into each stage knowing where every target is, and how I'm going to proceed; it's just too damn punishing, getting slack on this.

On another note, interesting observation on the low ports. This is a shot I don't much like myself; I'm about an inch shorter than you. I recently started stapling a paper plate or two below my main target, when doing a 'bill drill.' I'll shoot six, then squat down and shoot the two paper-plates, as if through a port. It's interesting how often I'll miss the first plate.

[JFD]

My mental preparation for a stage could be better as well.

I have noticed that on stages where I'm having trouble getting a solid mental picture of target locations, grabbing the clipboard and taking over scoring duties can really help. The stage design has a lot to do with the effectiveness of this technique.

My main problem is trying to balance having fun with max performance. I've gone the route of sweating blood to defeat all opponents and make them cry (At outlaw matches anyway - I'm a big fish in a small pond there), but I'm trying to balance that with having a good time. At this time I haven't figured out the best balance.