sandman_sy Posted July 24, 2007 Share Posted July 24, 2007 I shot last weekend at a level at our neighboring city. and it was real fun, pretty unique stages. at the first 2 stages, i just calmly shot it. did pretty ok i guess, for my level, mostly alphas and a bit of charlies. Then i told myself, i still sucked at the time, so lets try improving it... in other words, time to rev up the kpm Next stage, i could feel the fire in my hair, hehehe, **VRRROOOMM!!!**... when the dust settled... awesome time.... but 1 miss, and 3 re.engage. i noticed that as i wasn't too sure where the sight was pointing, but it was a 3 yards target, i did a point shooting... but my nutty brain kicked, still not sure, so i needed to re.engage( equals time lost ). Was i pushing too hard? not seeing where the sight really is when the target was really close. the hits were a bit bad... had a bunch of deltas and more than the usual charlie. farther targets got good hits, near was ugly.... but i noticed i was running so much faster than i usually do maybe that saved me time. I'm curious to how do you guys do it... do you push yourself?? or just let it be? read somewhere that you just let your subconcious do the shooting. does it mean you just let it be... no "push" factor? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Stoeger Posted July 24, 2007 Share Posted July 24, 2007 I'm curious to how do you guys do it... do you push yourself?? or just let it be? read somewhere that you just let your subconcious do the shooting. does it mean you just let it be... no "push" factor? I generally shoot my best when I am really amped up and push myself to preform better. You just need to understand how you need to "feel" to give your best preformace. Some guys need to be calm... other guys need to be riled up a little bit. Just know what you need to do and achieve that state of mind before the stage. At least.. thats how I do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisStock Posted July 24, 2007 Share Posted July 24, 2007 I shot my best this past Sunday by trying a new strategy: the empty mind. I turned off conscious thought nearly completely, and let my natural reflexes/reactions/training take over. I feel that if I get too pumped prior to a stage, I have a very hard time finding the switch to shut off the adrenaline and tenseness. Deltas and mikes all over the place. On one 32 round very close range, very fast stage this past weekend, I didn't even know which of the 4 targets I would engage after entering the first shooting array via a door which activated a swinger. I was that relaxed. I heard the beep, ran through the door, and after that it was just a matter of accquiring the target visually, bringing the pistol into position, and letting the shot depart the barrel where I wanted it to, all completely subconsciously....near dreamlike. As with anything you read here or anywhere, YMMV, but the hyper relaxed state works best for me personally. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirtypool40 Posted July 24, 2007 Share Posted July 24, 2007 think of it like a race car. Fastest way around is smooth and juuuuuuuust this side of out of control. Either you are on the gas or on the brake, no coasting. Tires squealing juuust before they lose traction, spinning your wheels or sliding out of control is not fast. See the bare minimum of what you need to and haul azz to the next position. Everything else is a waste of time or motion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt P. Posted July 24, 2007 Share Posted July 24, 2007 Dirtypool said it best. Smooth and this side of out of control. That is a great description. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandman_sy Posted July 25, 2007 Author Share Posted July 25, 2007 Most excellent reply dirtypool, that really made sense. Got a level 2 in 2 weeks time. will report back, gotta practice and dry fire:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XRe Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 Saying it is one thing, though.... And DP knows that Doing it can be quite another.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFD Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 I do all my trying and pushing in practice. At a match, I just "perform" without thinking about the mechanics of it. I've found that for me, any attempt to do anything "special" (typically translates to shooting outside of my ability) in a match results in crashing and burning. What I do in practice directly translates to what happens at a match. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supermoto Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 I use to try to do everything fast. now I try to do everything smooth. I wasted more time trying to save time in the wrong places. shoot slow, do everything else fast Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandman_sy Posted July 26, 2007 Author Share Posted July 26, 2007 "shoot slow, do everthing else fast" hehehe, that should get my hits better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rising Sight Posted July 26, 2007 Share Posted July 26, 2007 I shot my first nationals this year. I tried pushing during that match and ended up shooting more mikes in that match than I had shot in all the matches this year up until the nationals. There was one stage where I just decided that I would just relax and shoot the rest of the match without pushing.I shot that one stage very well. Thats when I decided that I might do alright at the match and started pushing again. The whole pushing thing didn't work out for me at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boo radley Posted July 27, 2007 Share Posted July 27, 2007 [....]There was one stage where I just decided that I would just relax and shoot the rest of the match without pushing.I shot that one stage very well. Thats when I decided that I might do alright at the match and started pushing again. The whole pushing thing didn't work out for me at all. What a great thread. I've been bitterly disappointed in my performance at all but one of the handful of "big" matches I've shot this year. It's no fun when you don't even give a damn about the remaining stages, and start counting the minutes until you can hop into your car. In every case, it's from pushing. The good, or at least interesting, lesson I've learned, is that pushing too hard after you've shot a great stage produces the IDENTICAL result as pushing after a trashed stage (when I usually do so). I'm still on a search for the proper slot to stick my psyche at matches. One thing I know for a fact, is that if you cruise along at the perfect space within your ability, yet focusing solidly....sooner or later you'll hit a stage in the "zone." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northern Xtreme Posted July 27, 2007 Share Posted July 27, 2007 Very interesting thread and one of my favorite subjects because your mindset really does determine your results. I will throw my 2 cents in. The thing that I have learned personally is you have to shoot your own game. ( You gotta dance with who you brung! ) You cant go to a match and expect to all of a sudden shoot like Rob Leatham if you do not have GM level skills. That is why we have a classification system. If you are a classifed correctly and you go to a match and do what you are capable of then you should finish well in your class. The time to get better and push to grow is in practice. To me a match is like the exam, it proves what you can do under pressure and against others. The more you practice the faster and more accurate you will be. Try this drill, set up a small stage that requires a little movement and a blend of a little speed and accuracy. Say a 7 hit factor stage. Then shoot it with the mindset " I have to go fast" Score yourself and then shoot it again and say to yourself " Get good hits" and score that. What I find is when I push my hits suffer, but when I focus on my accuracy, my time is usually just as good if not better and the hits are good resulting in a much better hit factor. In the last practice session before a major match I use the timer for the start beep, but I do not look at the time. I want my focus to be on seeing what is going on. At a match when I step into the box to take my sight picture I hold the sight on target for a few extra seconds and really focus on the front sight and burn the image of the sights into my brain and tell myself this is what I need to see. Then my last thought before I let my mind relax and concentrate on the beep is " See the sights". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gunsablazin Posted July 27, 2007 Share Posted July 27, 2007 I always have fun! I shoot my best when I am relaxed and intent on focusing on each shot as an individual event. If it 'feels' slow, things are good. The little mistakes only tell what you need to practice.When one happens at a match try to recover as smoothly as possible and never start cussing until after you unload and show clear, it will save precious time for more shooting.Let your sights be your speedometer, see faster to shoot faster. Robin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flexmoney Posted July 28, 2007 Share Posted July 28, 2007 I'm still on a search for the proper slot to stick my psyche at matches. One thing I know for a fact, is that if you cruise along at the perfect space within your ability, yet focusing solidly....sooner or later you'll hit a stage in the "zone." Replace the 'expectations'...with execution...of the basics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Griffin Posted July 28, 2007 Share Posted July 28, 2007 If I had to quantify my best stages, I'd say the main features were relaxation and awareness. Relaxation leads to awareness, and the feeling of everything being slow. When I'm relaxed, even if I mess something up like a reload or have a bad grip off the draw, I can watch myself throw a bad shot, fix the problem, make up the shot, and continue on. Now, often when this happens, my brain goes out the window for the rest of the stage, because I've lost my relaxed state of mind. Fundamentals pull you through in these cases. When you're in the relaxed, aware state, the fundamentals are automatic, and you can burn brain cycles on doing extraordinary things, like difficult shots, fast reloads, etc. H. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
konkapot Posted July 29, 2007 Share Posted July 29, 2007 Dirtypool put it perfectly. A very important part is to remember that you must be practicing right; not just firing x number of rounds, but work on specific skills/drills so that you can actually "accelerate" and "brake" in a knowledgable fashion. It would be like getting in a racecar and being told "go fast when you can....slow down when you can't." Without a base of knowledge/experience, your questions would be What's "fast." What's "slow" What does "can" mean? What does "can't" mean? And, depending how new you are to shooting, "what's a racecar?" This forum talks a lot about mental stuff, which has it's place. If you lack the physical ability to perform the basic marksmanship part of this....if you aren't practicing right, we can talk karma and visualization and puppy love all day long and still not knock that 10 yard popper down. FY42385 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EZ Bagger Posted July 29, 2007 Share Posted July 29, 2007 Without a base of knowledge/experience, your questions would be What's "fast." What's "slow" What does "can" mean? What does "can't" mean? And, depending how new you are to shooting, "what's a racecar?" This forum talks a lot about mental stuff, which has it's place. If you lack the physical ability to perform the basic marksmanship part of this....if you aren't practicing right, we can talk karma and visualization and puppy love all day long and still not knock that 10 yard popper down. FY42385 Excellent! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gunsablazin Posted July 30, 2007 Share Posted July 30, 2007 I do all my trying and pushing in practice. At a match, I just "perform" without thinking about the mechanics of it. I've found that for me, any attempt to do anything "special" (typically translates to shooting outside of my ability) in a match results in crashing and burning. What I do in practice directly translates to what happens at a match. Amen to that, when I relax and shoot 0's as fast as I can see them I do pretty well, if I try to "burn" a stage it's me that gets burned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catfish Posted July 30, 2007 Share Posted July 30, 2007 For me, I shoot my best when I just shoot and don't try to mentally or physically control the pace of the shooting. Whenever I try to push, I tank. Whenever I try to go slower and 'get better hits', I tank. However, when I let the sights dictate the speed at which I am shooting and don't try to force anything one way or the other, life is all good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benos Posted July 31, 2007 Share Posted July 31, 2007 I think most shooters shoot IPSC-type shooting because they are attracted to the speed aspect of the sport. Otherwise they'd shoot Bullseye or Benchrest or something else. It was a pretty big revelation for me when I realized that in life in general, I'm always rushing to finish whatever I'm doing so I can get on to the next thing. No wonder I liked IPSC shooting; rushing is in my blood. And what comes natural to us is the hardest thing to change. That's why it can take a long time for an aspiring IPSC shooter to stop rushing, stop trying to not rush, and just let what he sees dictate what he shoots. be Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flyin40 Posted July 31, 2007 Share Posted July 31, 2007 I think most shooters shoot IPSC-type shooting because they are attracted to the speed aspect of the sport. Otherwise they'd shoot Bullseye or Benchrest or something else. It was a pretty big revelation for me when I realized that in life in general, I'm always rushing to finish whatever I'm doing so I can get on to the next thing. No wonder I liked IPSC shooting; rushing is in my blood. And what comes natural to us is the hardest thing to change. That's why it can take a long time for an aspiring IPSC shooter to stop rushing, stop trying to not rush, and just let what he sees dictate what he shoots.be This is 100% me. I realized this last yr and knew I was in for a hard fight. It seems just about everything is speed based so even when we try to tell ourselves to let our vision decide when we pull the trigger you have 100 other reinforcers in everyday life that put to back on a speed focus. Flyin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flexmoney Posted July 31, 2007 Share Posted July 31, 2007 And that is why half this game is 90% mental. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scoterbeast Posted July 31, 2007 Share Posted July 31, 2007 And that is why half this game is 90% mental. Amen to shooting "your"game and the mental aspect of shooting a stage to the best of your ability. It seems my best stages are always shot the way I had planned before the buzzer went off. As I am a new shooter my skills are pretty limited at this point. When a stage "just feels good" and I shoot within myself - things go good for me. Good accuracy, no penalties, as fast as my skills will allow me is my goal. IF I COULD ONLY QUIT BLOWING A COUPLE STAGES AT EACH SHOOT !!!!!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benos Posted July 31, 2007 Share Posted July 31, 2007 And that is why half this game is 90% mental. Amen to shooting "your"game and the mental aspect of shooting a stage to the best of your ability. It seems my best stages are always shot the way I had planned before the buzzer went off. As I am a new shooter my skills are pretty limited at this point. When a stage "just feels good" and I shoot within myself - things go good for me. Good accuracy, no penalties, as fast as my skills will allow me is my goal. IF I COULD ONLY QUIT BLOWING A COUPLE STAGES AT EACH SHOOT !!!!!!!!!! For your next match, make it your only goal to begin every single stage with mindset that you know works for you. We called that "staying tough." Not only for every stage, but for every single shot of ever stage. Especially if you do that for the first couple stages and get a couple good stages in the bag... it's sooo easy to relax and get a little sloppy. At first thought it may not sound as "fun," but when you grind out a good match it feels really good. be Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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