Focus?

[imechura]

Alot of time when I shoot a stage I prepare my self to focus on the things I would like to focus on during the stage.

However the timer goes off and I just shoot the stage not really focused on anything in particular. It feels like commuting to work, sometimes you are just driving and then you get to your destination and don't remember putting any mental effort or focus into the commute. But you arrived, safely and on time.

Sometimes this works out great sometimes it does not come out as well as I would like it to.

I know one thing though, it is not what I want to do and I cannot figure out how to stop it. Does anyone else have this problem? Is it from adrenaline? It never happens during practice.

Any advice?

[Crusher]

What do you remember after shooting a stage (the more complex ones)?

Did you follow the plan you had during your prep for the stage (visualization) of what you remember actually doing?

Edited April 13, 2007 by Crusher

[Duane Thomas]

Matt Burkett has said, "Good shooting is boring." The reason is that, as your skill level improves, more and more of the shooting is taken over by the subconscious mind. Thus your conscious mind remembers less and less of the shooting. Matt says he's run 35-round field courses and when he was done didn't remember a thing about it.

To answer your question, I don't believe this is something you should be trying to stop. Rather this is a state of consciousness that many people strive to achieve. The reason things sometimes go great, sometimes not, I think, is that in order for the subconscious mind to operate at its best, the conscious mind needs something to do to occupy itself. What we do, to occupy the conscious mind so it can get out of the way of the subconscious mind, is give it the job of watching the front sight.

The conscious mind is like an overbearing boss who loves to micro-manage, who has an extremely talented subordinate who's capable of doing the job better than he ever dreamed of, as long as the boss will get out of the way. By occupying the conscious mind watching the front sight, we allow it to feel good and say, "Look at what I'm doing. Look at the indispensible contribution I'm making to proceedings." When the truth is the major advantage we get from watching the front sight is it gets the conscious mind out of the way so the infinitely more competent subconscious mind can work unimpeded.

Program in what you're going to do during the stage. Clear your mind. Watch the front sight. Then just let it flow.

[Steve Anderson]

1. Program the stage until you can see it in the first person with your eyes closed. Until you can, you're not ready to shoot.

2. make your conscious thought (mental program) that of two alphas on every target.

If you do this properly, you won't have to do anything else. ever.

If you are unhappy with you natural speed in this state...you will need to train for it in practice while continuing to do #1 and #2 in matches.

I came to believe in the power of visualization after watching Max walk the stage and airgun two A's in every target, even making the "boom" sounds himself in slow motion.

The reason visualizing works is that your brain cannot tell the difference between something that is imagined and something that is real. That's why dreams and movies are scary.

In the case of IPSC shooting, if you visualize the stage properly, your brain thinks you've already shot it. Bingo, fear is gone.

All you gotta do now is give the conscious something to do. (alphas)

For this to work you must believe it. Your brain knows what you REALLY want, so chanting alpha won't work if you are thinking about speed.

SA

[Paladin]

..deep stuff, Steve...real deep stuff... i would encourage all shooters to heed 1 and 2 ..always.. "if u dont know where ya going, anywhere will take you 'there'..

I put 1 and 2 another way.. 'where? how? eyes open! go!'

[buddy_fuentes]

However the timer goes off and I just shoot the stage not really focused on anything in particular. It feels like commuting to work, sometimes you are just driving and then you get to your destination and don't remember putting any mental effort or focus into the commute. But you arrived, safely and on time.

Yep, I feel your pain, the same applies to me: beep...and I start shooting and forget my plan. I plan to stop at a certain spot and shoot available targets, no way. I make most of the "A" zone hits, but give up too much time with other mistakes. I have even passed up a few targets.

I guess I need USPSA 101 remedial.

Buddy

[shadetree]

Man I have to print this thread.

[mjbine]

+1 For Steve with 1 and 2. Visualize everything in order to get ready for the stage.

[fryeg7]

this is an interesting thread. i think a lot of my inconsistent (read: poor) performances are solely based on my mental state while shooting.

i'm unclassified (although USPSA has at least 10 classifiers ), but i'm sure i'm going to be a C production shooter once they get around to giving me a letter. i've been playing gun games for a little more than a year now. some days i do really well: smooth, relatively fast and accurate. my scores compare with the A and B shooters. other days, though, i'm not real sure what happens. my accuracy goes to hell, it's not smooth nor fast, and i make mental mistakes, like skipping targets, getting procedurals for dumb stuff, making poor decisions on how to shoot the course, etc.

so far, it's seems if i prepare myself mentally before a stage/match to just see my sights and 'get my hits' without being in a big hurry or doing to much 'planning', i do well and all my movements and reloads fall into place smoothly. after these good stages, i remember a series of sight pictures, the sights in recoil and seeing my magwell on reloads. i really don't remember clearly exactly how i moved, etc.

when i begin a stage that turns out poorly, i seem to be unfocused or too focused on the stage, and afterwards remember seeing a lot of my gun/hands and the course itself, not the targets or sights (or targets with no sights on them ).

i've been a competitive athlete all my life and i still play lots soccer even in my old age (32). gun games are no different than any other sport in terms of focus and mental state relating to performance. it's acheiving that relaxed state where your subconscious can do most of the work consistently that is the tough part. how often and how long you can 'stay in the zone' almost solely determines how good a competitor you are. sure, the physical skillsets are necessary, but attitude and focus are the keys. it's very rare for someone to use 100% of their ability 100% of the time. the trick is using as much of your ability as much of the time as possible, and that's 100% mental.

i have the skills already to become at least a B, if not an A shooter, i just have to get my head in the same spot every stage. easier said than done.

frye

[bountyhunter]

Alot of time when I shoot a stage I prepare my self to focus on the things I would like to focus on during the stage.

However the timer goes off and I just shoot the stage not really focused on anything in particular.

Sounds like me at league last Monday.....

[benos]

Alot of time when I shoot a stage I prepare my self to focus on the things I would like to focus on during the stage.

However the timer goes off and I just shoot the stage not really focused on anything in particular. It feels like commuting to work, sometimes you are just driving and then you get to your destination and don't remember putting any mental effort or focus into the commute. But you arrived, safely and on time.

Sometimes this works out great sometimes it does not come out as well as I would like it to.

I know one thing though, it is not what I want to do and I cannot figure out how to stop it. Does anyone else have this problem? Is it from adrenaline? It never happens during practice.

Any advice?

I found this from another thread:

http://www.brianenos.com/forums/index.php?...st&p=504006

be