Z-man Posted October 27, 2006 Share Posted October 27, 2006 This evening we had a local match at our indoor range. It's always low key and usually not too competitive as everyone there is out for fun. It usually involves a lot more trash talk than actual shooting but all in good fun. When it was my turn to shoot, the usual trash talk began, and while it didn't make me angry, it certainly pumped me up, putting me in the mind set of "well I'm going to show you all how this is done". I've always tried to shoot relaxed and focused, but for whatever reason I smoked through the run and really pushed my speed while seeing exactly what I needed to see while having this mentality. I was wondering if others have had similar experiences. Was this just a trick of the day or might there be something to getting "pumped up" before a run? Could it have been a matter of confidence rather than just being "pumped up"? I know that in other sports athletes use music to get into this mind set. I guess I always think of shooters trying to be in a serene, relaxed state but other sports that require fast and explosive movement tend towards a fast, explosive, or "pumped" emotional state attained through music or other means. I'm curious to hear what others have to say. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulW Posted October 27, 2006 Share Posted October 27, 2006 I call it "Controlled Rage". Shot my very best when I was totally pissed off. Trick is getting pumped up enough but not loose the control part. I use to picture some of the most vial things to get me going. Now-a-days it just does not work for me. I guess I grew up. LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
want2race Posted October 27, 2006 Share Posted October 27, 2006 In my limited experience, I do better pumped up. I do what I'm supposed to do, not what I think I should be doing. I don't mean 175bpm heart rate, but slightly elevated and adrenaline flowing a bit. My auto pilot kicks in then. If I'm relaxed I don't move as fast and I have time to think. That always equates to poor performance for me. Plus, I have more fun if the juice is flowing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Genghis Posted October 27, 2006 Share Posted October 27, 2006 I have the opposite reaction. If I step up to a stage with the adrenaline pumping, it all goes to hell in a handbasket. I might forget my plan, get Mikes, miss reloads, or even get FTE's. Experience has helped take some of the edge off, but I still have to make a conscious effort to relax. I think every person has an optimal amount of alertness where he performs best. Too excited, and you are jittery and make mistakes. Too relaxed, and you can be sluggish and passive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFD Posted October 27, 2006 Share Posted October 27, 2006 I always shoot better a little pissed off. However I'm rarely pissed off at a match and simply never remember to try to get into "pissed off mode" before shooting a stage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidball Posted October 27, 2006 Share Posted October 27, 2006 I think this is very subjective. For me pumped up equals disaster and relaxed equals smooth and fast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tightloop Posted October 27, 2006 Share Posted October 27, 2006 (edited) It comes down to semantics ...you can be pumped and relaxed physically...mentally acute but not physically tight... Edited October 27, 2006 by tightloop Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidball Posted October 27, 2006 Share Posted October 27, 2006 It comes down to symantics ...you can be pumped and relaxed physically...mentally acute but not physically tight... Good point . . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Micah Posted October 27, 2006 Share Posted October 27, 2006 (edited) It comes down to semantics ...you can be pumped and relaxed physically...mentally acute but not physically tight... +1. Being pissed is negative, and the thoughts behind it may be "I better beat his time by alot or I'm gonna lose." or "I must clean that steel without a miss or else." I certainly believe in getting pumped. For big matches, I'll get up extra early and jog around the town for 30-40 minutes while listening to music. It doesn't matter what style of music, all I am doing is visualizing myself shooting each stage smoothly and accurately. I see myself getting my 1st place trophy, and thanking all of my friends that took me under their wing. Be sharp and loosened up, be focused and ready to win...but don't shoot pissed. Edited October 28, 2006 by Pharaoh Bender Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eric nielsen Posted October 27, 2006 Share Posted October 27, 2006 As long as you see what you need to see in that state, you'll be fine. It works for me too but it's so rare that I get POd at a match that it doesn't happen often. If people's most frequent comment about your match shooting is, "You just need to GO" then your natural state is probably too conservative & you may want to elevate you level of aggression. This is certainly NOT the ticket for everyone but for some people it helps. Again, if it makes you more determined to see what you need to see then the result is likely a better hit factor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BSeevers Posted October 27, 2006 Share Posted October 27, 2006 (edited) I think I have shot so long in competition that I have learned to "relax" too much. Although it is usually better and leads to more wins to be relaxed. I think this is because most people error to the "Losing it" side of the equation. That said I have shot some "outstanding" stages right after getting pissed off. I mean burners. I am currently investigating ways to "heighten my level of stimulation" Perverts we don't need a comment. Edited October 27, 2006 by BSeevers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFD Posted October 27, 2006 Share Posted October 27, 2006 "heighten my level of stimulation" probably accurately describes the situation for me. It also happens in practice a lot. I've also been making the mistake of not shooting with the top shooters since my wife hasn't been that comfortable around them. I'm lucky if there are 2 shooters who can kick my ass in a squad, and most of the time there may be 3 of us who are around the same skill level, with the rest being not much competition. It gets to be a little too comfortable. Starting tomorrow I'll correct that squad situation. I'm just going to try and be aware of my "stimulation" level, and see what I can do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tightloop Posted October 27, 2006 Share Posted October 27, 2006 Just tell your wife that she cannot come with you the next time you go shoot...that should increase the nervous tension for you a good bit.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFD Posted October 27, 2006 Share Posted October 27, 2006 That might only help raise tension on the drive home In the last 2 weeks my wife has had a breakthrough where she's reached a new comfort level with the sport. I don't think there will be a problem. I want to note that our local "super squad" has never done anything to cause her to feel uncomfortable with them. She's just been nervous shooting with people who are at that level and figures a low "D" class shooter is just getting in their way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Cheely Posted October 27, 2006 Share Posted October 27, 2006 It comes down to semantics ...you can be pumped and relaxed physically...mentally acute but not physically tight... I shoot the best when I'm hopped up on adrenaline yet I can calm my mind. Everything happens in slow motion and it's just a smokin' run. Love that feeling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Z-man Posted October 27, 2006 Author Share Posted October 27, 2006 (edited) Interesting. Like I said I've never thought about it, but the experience was a nice mix of having prepped the stage well enough that it was down and being very visually focused with a good dose of adrenaline that pushed me to move faster than I normally do. At times I think the "fast is slow, smooth is fast" motto can acually hurt (me at least) because smooth sometimes isn't pushing it as much as I could. Maybe I'm just (wrongly) equating smooth movement with slower movement. I can see how being too pumped would cause problems as well. Keep the info coming, I'm looking forward to testing all this! Edited October 27, 2006 by Z-man Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BSeevers Posted October 27, 2006 Share Posted October 27, 2006 We do have lots of required fast explosive movement but that must be tempered with the extra fine motor control of trigger control. Smooth is fast. Pissed off means the adrenaline is flowing and doesn't mean allowing emotional and/or gross uncontroled movement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrawandDuck Posted October 27, 2006 Share Posted October 27, 2006 Never thought about it that much but at the NC State a couple weeks ago I was kind muddling along (no pun intended, as to the mud) until the 3rd stage of the match(stage 1)...you know the one where we were supposed to put 3 rounds on each target......I realized this on the last target and had to go back and put 1 round on each of the 10 targets finished 80th!!!!....to say I was PISSED OFF was an understatement........Then on the very next stage I finished 4th overall behind C. Tilley, J. Brown, D. Sevigny.... then went on to pull off a 9th, 9th, 3rd, 7th, 3rd, 8th on the remaining 6 stages....so I dont know if I was shooting pissed off or JUST REALLY FOCUSED. Then on the other hand I shot the match in a "catch up" mode with nothing to loose attitude.....But then again it could have been the HALLOWEEN SUCKERS I acquired on stage 4 that I ate on every stage after that...I have since went and purchased 2 bags of the tootsie roll pops...So here is the winning combination...Pissed off, "controlled" reckless abandonment and Tootsie Roll Pops!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Genghis Posted October 27, 2006 Share Posted October 27, 2006 A very high level of excitement/aggression/even anger should work well for activities that require a high amount of strength and a lower amount of precision motor control and analysis, but at least for me it's counterproductive in shooting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BSeevers Posted October 28, 2006 Share Posted October 28, 2006 Never thought about it that much but at the NC State a couple weeks ago I was kind muddling along (no pun intended, as to the mud) until the 3rd stage of the match(stage 1)...you know the one where we were supposed to put 3 rounds on each target......I realized this on the last target and had to go back and put 1 round on each of the 10 targets finished 80th!!!!....to say I was PISSED OFF was an understatement........Then on the very next stage I finished 4th overall behind C. Tilley, J. Brown, D. Sevigny.... then went on to pull off a 9th, 9th, 3rd, 7th, 3rd, 8th on the remaining 6 stages....so I dont know if I was shooting pissed off or JUST REALLY FOCUSED. Then on the other hand I shot the match in a "catch up" mode with nothing to loose attitude.....But then again it could have been the HALLOWEEN SUCKERS I acquired on stage 4 that I ate on every stage after that...I have since went and purchased 2 bags of the tootsie roll pops...So here is the winning combination...Pissed off, "controlled" reckless abandonment and Tootsie Roll Pops!!!! PLease it was 100% Tootsie Roll Pops. Wait til you try crunching them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A-shot Posted October 28, 2006 Share Posted October 28, 2006 Shooting with emotion of any kind MAY be counter-productive, and negativity of any kind has certainly gotten me nowhere. If I had a really good experience, I would choose not to recognize emotion, good or bad, as the reason for an acceptable performance. I have "come-down" from stages tho, in hindsight I realize that some stuff gets me really juiced... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pierruiggi Posted October 28, 2006 Share Posted October 28, 2006 (edited) "pumped up", "aggresive", "pissed off", "mad", etc. are all terms that have very different meaning, some of those implied characteristics could be very detrimental for shooting clean and fast. However, I think they all share a common point, that is vigor. I think that shooting vigorously is a good thing. On the other hand, I think we must not put those terms (mad, pissed off, pumped up, etc.) in opposition to shooting "relaxed", "focused", "smooth", etc.; all terminologies that illustrate characteristics we tend to consider desirable for shooting. So, summing up: Shooting "pumped up" (or any other of the terms in the first paragraph) DOES NOT equal "out of control". Shooting "relaxed" (or any other term in the second paragraph) DOES NOT equal "lazy". Just my humble opinion, of course. Edited October 28, 2006 by Pierruiggi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Z-man Posted October 28, 2006 Author Share Posted October 28, 2006 After thinking about this more I think Pierruiggi has something here. I can't imagine that being mad would be a good way to shoot, since negativity of any sort can be detrimental. However, I think being "pumped up" in the sense of being intense may definitely be a good thing. I would also say that smooth need not mean lazy or slow, and that alot of this discussion is about the semantics we are using. However, at the most basic level I guess I'm interested in the difference between being intense or "vigourous" while shooting and being relaxed and calm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Moneypenny Posted October 29, 2006 Share Posted October 29, 2006 I've shot with a lot of people over the years. some just get to another level when they are pissed off ( don't argue rules with flexmoney when he's up or he'll smoke hyou ) Others fall totally appart when they are upset. I think it lends it's self to what type of person you are. I know one guy who shoots great after drinking about 6 redbulls... i can't maintain focus. Kepa this is YOUR game. experoment at matches. the more matches the better.. and keep a record of how you felt on EVERY stage good or bad. That's the only way you know what really works exactly for you. I am still struggling with this myself. If you look at my nationals stages some i'm right at the top.. with seemingly to me no changes in my prep, mental issues. sothers i'd be way down. I've shot matches and thought.. i did really good.. and get totally stomped. then shooot others that i thought i shot very "blah" and come out at the top. perception is not reality. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Z-man Posted October 31, 2006 Author Share Posted October 31, 2006 Good advice Steve. I've noticed the same as you. There have been stages that I have won and others I've been way down the list on and I'm trying to figure out what makes the difference between each. This game is an interesting one because, as you said, what we "feel" or perceive is often very different from the actual outcome. That's why I'm trying to evaluate those times when both the perception of what is occuring matches the outcome. Also, how do I replicate that feeling or state I am in on a run that is successful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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