ErikW Posted May 21, 2003 Share Posted May 21, 2003 To make a long story short... I kicked ass on the first stage of Sunday's match, did well on the next field course, treaded water on the 60-point classifier, tanked the 40-round field course (no penalties besides time), then spazzed out on the final stage. Some friendly wagering bothed helped and hurt things. I had no expectations at the start. At the beep, I went 6 for 6 on the plate rack, and 5 for 5 on the remaining steel. I picked up an extra shot on the hoser paper on the end. I was faster than everybody else with better points, clearly the stage winner without even breaking out the calculator. Like stealing candy from a baby. On the fifth and final stage, I began Trying and it killed me. I knew I had to win the stage to win my money back and have a chance at the match overall (and $$). I tried to draw fast on the close first target and engage the second while moving to the next array. This resulted in a trigger freeze, a make-up shot, and a Miss. I tried to blaze through the next array which resulted in trigger freeze and a make-up. All through the rest of the stage, I froze on the trigger, shot all choppy, and took make-ups. Trying and Rushing are my enemies. I will do everything in my power to avoid them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loves2Shoot Posted May 22, 2003 Share Posted May 22, 2003 Erik, I feel your pain. I am realizing that the more I "try" the slower and worse hits I am getting. If I relax and focus on shooting A's my times decrease and points increase. Staying relaxed is the hardest part for me. Also shooting my sights has virtually eliminated finger freeze. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benos Posted August 27, 2003 Share Posted August 27, 2003 There's an old saying (that goes something like) - Identify the problem and you're halfway toward solving it. Well, for me, that "half way" I think may last a lifetime, because, if there was one thing that continued to help me the most (after identifying the problem), it was to, every single time before every single string or stage, consciously "tell myself" to relax, don't rush, and trust that if everything I do is the result of what I see - I will be "fast enough." "I'm moving quickly, but I'm not in a hurry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiG Lady Posted August 27, 2003 Share Posted August 27, 2003 Neither "trying" nor "rushing" ever seem to work. I've tried (and I've rushed) and regretted it every time. I like that "I'm moving quickly, but I'm not in a hurry." Especially the "...I'm not in a hurry." That sounds like it'd go a long way to getting rid of the "Tryin' and Rushin' Blues." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Larry Cazes Posted August 28, 2003 Share Posted August 28, 2003 As a newcomer to the sport I am fighting this right now.......If there is nothing riding on my performance, I seem to do well but otherwise under pressure I choke! This is almost always self imposed pressure but pressure is pressure regardless of the source. Any sports psychologists out there? Larry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ErikW Posted August 28, 2003 Author Share Posted August 28, 2003 Practicing today I was having a hell of time "trying" to do some fast draws and reloads. Got the draw down to a little over a second but couldn't hit the #%&! Pepper Poppers to save my life. I realized I was overgripping the gun and the weak hand was pushing against the left side of the grip. I just relaxed and held the gun very loosely after getting it out of the holster. I swear I held it like Lamar in the Revenge of the Nerds. Wham, .95 draw with a .19 split on steel. Wham, repeat. Just by relaxing and not trying. I also flubbed a bunch of reloads before settling down and breaking my best time twice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garfield Posted August 28, 2003 Share Posted August 28, 2003 Nice to see the "theory" proven once again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ErikW Posted October 6, 2003 Author Share Posted October 6, 2003 Trying and Rushing are my enemies. I will do everything in my power to avoid them. Today I shot three good-to-great stages without the slightest bit of trying or rushing. I wasn't even conscious of any effort level; I was just there shooting. Then on the fourth and fifth stages, I tried for fast draws to Pepper Poppers, missing them both. But those were the only "trying" mistakes I made in 152 rounds. It's freaking amazing how well I can shoot without trying, just letting the gun go off after the beep. Stayed in the top 2 for three stages, down around 4th for the other two stages, and won the match. The big reason I wasn't trying was I was so sick and tired I didn't have any energy to expend making an effort. I thought it was a lost cause... I just showed up for some practice before the Infinity Open. I didn't think I would be competitive, so I didn't try to be competitive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ong45 Posted October 6, 2003 Share Posted October 6, 2003 You oughta try just a little bit at the infinity Eric. James Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jasonub Posted October 7, 2003 Share Posted October 7, 2003 yeah that happens to me too even on practice. on matches i shoot for a's. in practice i shoot for a's on the first run, after that i push myself to see what happens to the point i get deltas and mikes. then back to getting a's on the third run Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nik Habicht Posted October 7, 2003 Share Posted October 7, 2003 Sunday I shot my first action pistol (read Bianchi Cup Style) match. We started on the Practical --- and while I was joking about needing a rifle for the 50 yard shots, I finished with a 368, largely I think because I had no real idea what to expect and just watched my sights. We moved on to the barricade and it was sort of the same thing --- I shot a 340, not realizing until I was firing my last shots at the farther distances, that I was aiming the gun too high on the last couple of strings. It all fell apart on the plates ---- I've shot plate racks during steel and glock matches before --- and I was both trying and rushing and couldn't stop. Score? A miserable 310. Fortunately things got better on the mover, where I managed a 344, despite being unable to hold a consistent lead. Final score: 1362, 52X. Glock 34, USPSA minor load, 147s at a 133 pf. Can't wait to do this again next month --- must learn to slow down on the plates and accept x sure hits rather than x + ? hopers.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevin c Posted October 7, 2003 Share Posted October 7, 2003 The big reason I wasn't trying was I was so sick and tired I didn't have any energy to expend making an effort. I thought it was a lost cause... I just showed up for some practice before the Infinity Open. Okay, Erik. I'm gonna go to the office tomorrow, and have some feverish three year old kid cough and vomit all over me, just so I'll be ready for the Infinity on Friday. Wish me luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ErikW Posted October 7, 2003 Author Share Posted October 7, 2003 Kevin, just prescribe yourself a megadose of prednisone for the next couple days. Nik, I can totally see myself doing what you did. The tombstone targets and distance and all that would be unfamiliar enough to keep me honest, then when I saw the plates, I'd try to mow them down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rufus The Bum Posted October 7, 2003 Share Posted October 7, 2003 Trying and Rushing are my enemies. I will do everything in my power to avoid them. It think it was TGO who said "It's not a matter of how fast you move, it's how ready you are when you get there" Or something like that, I keep that thought in my mind every match. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ErikW Posted October 13, 2003 Author Share Posted October 13, 2003 I came this close to shooting the whole Infinity Open without trying or rushing. I shot an Alpha-Mike on one of the closest targets of the match, probably rushing the 180-degree transition to the next target. Then on the last stage, knowing I was in contention for a class win and a high overall finish, the butterflies got to me. I missed a bunch of steel, forgot to reload to compensate, ran dry on the last target, and ate the Miss. Eight other stages of good to great emotionless shooting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TBF Posted October 13, 2003 Share Posted October 13, 2003 This forum rocks! Trying is the thing that assures that the results you desire will not appear. But trying to not try... I'm still working on the unfaltering mental state that allows me to just shoot like I don't care what the results are. When I just lose myself in the shooting I actually achieve so much more. Travis F. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Anderson Posted October 13, 2003 Share Posted October 13, 2003 It's tough, because we WANT to win... However, shooting to our true potential is so much more satisfying, and mentally less disturbing to performance. I like to shoot as if I'm in my own division, kinda like the one revolver guy at a local match. He doesn't care what an open master does, it's almost like a different sport to him he's so detached. When watching those in your division shoot before you, remember that you have no idea what they are seeing behind the gun. The worst thing you can do is hear his time and try to beat it. It's a vision contest... We now return to original program, the sound of one hand clapping. SA BTW, I told Flex recently that I think all this zen stuff was thought up to get your mind wrapped around anything besides what you are doing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jake Di Vita Posted October 13, 2003 Share Posted October 13, 2003 "The worst thing you can do is hear his time and try to beat it." That is the main reason why I always like to go first. If I do, I'm sure to shoot it to my ability and not try and rush things from what someone did before me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tightloop Posted October 13, 2003 Share Posted October 13, 2003 Stalion That is good if you get to go first, but that isn't always possible. Still need to have the ability to dissociate your self from the external pressure and the internal response to the pressure, ie, trying/rushing. When you can see the run, hear the time and still remain calm and shoot matter of factly, to the best of your ability, you are on the road toward shooting to your potential. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duane Thomas Posted October 14, 2003 Share Posted October 14, 2003 It's funny, every time I've gone to an IDPA match in recent memory, I guess a rumor has gotten around I'm pretty good at this stuff, if the first stage is at all intimidating, members of my squad will say, "Okay, Duane's doing this first." Same thing throughout the match. I always say, "Okay, I don't give a damn, I'll go first." Truth is, I like going first. I can only see positives there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tightloop Posted October 14, 2003 Share Posted October 14, 2003 Duane Going first has its ups and downs. If you are on your game, it allows you to throw down a smokin' run to put the pressure on the others. If you are undecided about how to work the stage it could be the opposite. Not necessarily in IDPA, but in USPSA some of the stages are complex enough that it pays dividends to see a few people go thru it before you . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duane Thomas Posted October 15, 2003 Share Posted October 15, 2003 There's that. Also, there are the times you get to watch other shooters run a stage first and it's obvious to you - especially in IDPA - that everyone so far, even guys who might have a technically higher level of shooting skill than you, have overlooked the most efficient way to shoot the stage. So you're just standing off to the side, wiggling your toes in your little fuzzy bunny slippers (metaphorically, of course), waiting for your turn to shoot, knowing that when you do you're going to run the stage about five seconds faster than anyone else, not because of blazing skill, just because you're going to shoot it in a more efficient fashion. Doesn't happen often, but when it does, it's sweet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tightloop Posted October 18, 2003 Share Posted October 18, 2003 Duane It is sweet when it happens. At the Alabama state IDPA match a few yrs ago, my bud and I saw an opportunity to do just that and waited to be in the last group to shoot that scenario, so no one else could benefit (he he he). More than 8 seconds difference, and as you know, an eternity in IDPA. We each won our division. Still chuckle when I think about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duane Thomas Posted October 18, 2003 Share Posted October 18, 2003 You're EVIL. Not that I wouldn't do the same thing.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merlin Orr Posted October 25, 2003 Share Posted October 25, 2003 I have reread this thread 4 or 5 times - so I was READY - really prepared to relax and shoot within myself when I drove down to Jacksonville NC for the match this morning. Had a GM in the squad I was with - another guy I think was a GM. Followed both these guys on about all 5 stages. After I watched the big boys shoot the first stage I was wound up tighter than a two dollar watch. Blew completely up and shot worse than I have in a year.. GEEZ - this relaxing and not caring stuff is TUFF... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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