Shooting related to racing

[bkeeler]

Dont know if this should posted here or not.

I was just thinking about when I used to race go karts what I would do before the start of the race.While sitting in the kart with my helmet on waiting to fire the engine I didnt really think about any one thing at all. If I started in the middle of the pack I didnt worry about how I am going to enter this corner or come out of that corner. I just was aware what the other drivers where doing and acted on my awarness or what I saw. Now my point is that it is no different in IDPA/IPSC shooting. After the coarse of fire walk through you already no how your going to shoot it. So stay open to all inputs and let the sites tell you how(when) to hit the targets (visual patince). Dont think about how you are going to do it while your doing it. Hope this makes sense.

bkeeler

[Flexmoney]

Right on!

[pimp]

It's kind of like life.......you will feel alive the most when you live in the present....shooting is a great way to practice living in the present !!!!!!

[BSeevers]

Yep great shooting is like great anything.

[Navy Joe]

Yes, I've noticed that, like shooting you have to have a pre-plan as to how you want to shoot but the plan becomes adaptable when the buzzer goes. Same with racing, you might have talked yourself into driving to a certain percentage of your ability level, or who you want to watch out for or where you want to run on the track, but it's all open to interpretation once the green is out.

Other common things for me:

Slow is smooth is fast. Between skiing, racing, and shooting you'd think I'd learn this. Easiest way to go fast in a race car is to slow down.

Total awareness, I don't get the adrenaline zip that I do from racing, but shooting is very similar. For however long the motor is making noise nothing else exists.

The time to work on your junk is at home. At the race track I want to si around and eat track burgers, not mount tires. At the match I want to BS with other shooters, not fix my gun. Bring stuff that works, bring spare stuff that works.

What works for the world champ means diddly squat to you. You should study their techniques and equipment, but if you can't relate it to what you are trying to do and your skills/ability level then you are just wasting money.

Success builds confidence and leads to greater ability.

Do it the same way every time. I do things the same when I load and make ready, same with the race car. Belts get latched and tightened the same every time. The ritual helps tune out distractions.

It's all in your head. I try not to think about much waiting to get pushed off, since it's usually hot I will focus my thoughts on my one ungloved hand and visualize its coolness as the rest of me sits strapped into three layers of nomex, helmet, etc. If you can make yourself cold on a 95 deg. day you must be doing something right.

Me taking the car out for it's last spin before I build a new one. Won the heat, rain came. Good way to close the year as far as I'm concerned. http://www.dirt-trackin.com/vss/action_pho...ages/035vss.htm

[Carlos]

Road raced bikes for about 8 years (www.wera.com) & I remember that all the top road racers agreed that they had the ability to mentally "slow things down"; that is, when they needed to do several things simultaneously, they could actually speed up by perceiving things as if they actually slowed down. As an example, take the sought-after sub-one second mag change. A top racer would actaully speed up his perception so that it seemed to him/her liek slow motion, but it would actually be very quick. Why would this help? The top racer would be able to pay attention to the seperate actions and get every one of them right; the mag release, the right grip on the new mag, seating the new mag, re-acquiring the grip & re-acquiring the sight picture.

As to how to actually slow things down while going fast; well, I would guese its a matter of intense concentration but I can't speak from experience as I never made it to the top (racing bikes or guns).

[Nolan]

As to how to actually slow things down while going fast; well, I would guese its a matter of intense concentration but I can't speak from experience as I never made it to the top (racing bikes or guns).

If you want each second to seem like minutes, each minute to seem like hours drink lots and lots of water before the match and then don't go to the bathroom! It's amazing how time drags when you've got to pee.

Of course this only works on straight up hoser stages, it's not a good idea for prone, low ports or cooper tunnels unless you're wearing Depends.

[George]

I too raced some bikes in my youth (AFM). Not as a frontrunner, but not as a backmarker either. Never got lapped, and always finished in the top half (sometimes barely). I remember one great saying from those days that applies just as well in gunracing. "If you have to think about it, your already out in the haybales"

I think of IPSC as being a lot like motorcycle racing is (or any kind of powered racing for that matter). The technology and the noise it makes are interesting & fun, the tweaking of technique & hardware allow for a lot of competitive diversity, and the existence of a risk factor seals the deal (Btw, I don't ride motorcycles nowadays because of the greater risk factor involved in it compared to the rest of modern life. Shooting is actually safer than a lot of everyday activities when you come right down to it).

Regards

[mpolans]

I had a short stint in motorcycle racing (WERA), some autocrossing, and eventually when I start making money again I plan to get into karting. IIRC, TGO used to race motorcycles or something. It would be interesting to see how many IPSC shooters are interested in racing stuff. I bet there's a lot who do race something or did in the past.

[ErikW]

benos told me he and TGO both got first-generation GSXR750s when they first came out

[TMC]

I had motorcycles in the 80's and went to Keith Code's Superbike shcool but just before I started racing motorcycles I bought jet ski's. I year later I was racing them and two years later I had 5, different classes you know, a huge trailer and was gone most weekends.

Shooting isn't cheaper but it takes up less space around the house and its not as bad in the cold weather.

I stated shooting just for fun, only one gun, cheap holster (who needs a race holster), now I have how many guns for how many games?! It kinda gets out of hand.

I'm still a car nut and motorsports fan. I'm building a cobra kit car right now, I might autocross it when its done.....just for fun...kinda like my first jet ski race or first match.

[tightloop]

Yep, lots of correlations in shooting and auto racing. Lots of forum members have been/are involved in the auto sports.

[benos]

It's a Temperament thing...

[ErikW]

I was just thinking about this on the way to the riding area with my bike in the back of my truck...

I used to ride/race because it was an adrenalin rush. Then I got into practical shooting and the bikes collected dust because the shooting was the adrenalin rush. Then I got good at shooting, to the point where it became meditative and relaxing, not exciting. Then I started jonesing to go riding again.

I had a hoot last week, scared myself good a few times. (Side hill single track, rear wheel only, leaned over, crossed up, yee-ha!) Wore myself out again today.

I have a riding jones but I don't have much of a racing jones anymore; I think the shooting is providing the competition fix.