Movement: Undefined Positions

[Steve Anderson]

I have been working at hard at movement between boxes, i.e. a defined position, and have become fairly proficient at getting the proper foot in first to set up for instant shooting.

However, on undefined positions, I feel like I'm wasting some time getting comfy by not using the same feet placement strategy.

I see two ways to look at this:

1. Imagine a shooting box where I want to shoot the array and tackle it the same way I would a box.

2. Get better at shooting however I'm placed when I see the target(s) I want to shoot.

After watching the gms on Matt's v.4 and the Eric G. vid, it looks like #2 is the ticket. I did discover during last nights dry fire session that if I keep the elbows in more and slow down a little earlier, I can be much smoother. It's easier to shoot out of a fast walk than a dead run...

The problem with #1 is that if I get out of step between feet and vision, I'll be out of sorts in my plan, and will feel tension. It also requires me to act on what I thought I'd see, not what I actually see in the present tense.

Especially during the shoting portion of Matt's dvd, I see a lot of fast walking and not as much outright running.

Any thoughts?

(I just thought of a possible #3 where I could train myself to shoot on the outside foot subconsciously...i.e. make it automatic to eliminate the need for getting to the perfect spot on the perfect foot.)

SA

[h4444]

Something I've recently changed that has helped me a little is how I shoot arrays of targets, for the longest time I always wanted to shoot them left to right,,,,well, I've taken the "shoot them as you see them" to heart, now I let the stage dictate what order I shoot targets in an array. This helps me because it forces me to start shooting on an array faster,,,,,as soon as I see the first target rather than trying to find the "sweet spot". If If start shooting when I see the first target in an array that is obstructed by a barricade or something, I can use that to visually guide me across an array. I don't do this absolutely everytime,,,if there is lots of space between the targets in the array for instance, I'll take the extra time to setup in a sweet spot, otherwise depending on how my line of fire is obstructed, that tends to induce more movement than I'm currently comfortable with (But I'm working on that. )

H4444

[Flexmoney]

The problem with #1 is that if I get out of step between feet and vision, I'll be out of sorts in my plan,

Ok...that is the same whether you are moving to a boxed shooting position or whether you are moving to a "step on this spot" index point, right?

I guess am am asking...where do you look when you move to a box? What is your reference point?

Why is that different when moving to a "position"?

There are a couple differnet ways to look at this, but I think I like Travis T's "waypoints" as the best way to describe it.

...You mental index from one thing to the next (like snapping the eyes to the next target), then the next point, then the next...

A waypoint could be a clump of grass...a knot in the wood on a barricade.

Anyway...I feel I have to progress through #1 before I can be comfortable with #2.

Another thing that I do (not sure if this is best, but feels right for me) is to come into a shooting position/box from a step or so behind. This let me come in with my head up (looking for the target) better...less lateral (gun) momentum to fight...etc.

[Nik Habicht]

I've also noticed that often when I'm moving into a position, I'll see one target (or maybe two) several steps before the others. Usually I'll shoot what I can see on the move, and let seeing the remaining targets dictate where (and often how) I'll end up. Since there's often just one or two targets left, it matters less to me if my body is positioned slightly awkwardly. Of course I'm still looking for a close to perfect set if there's a large group of shots or even a few that are far 20 yards and up.

This approach favors my movement style --- I'm not that fast and I still take to long to get set up when I arrive ---- so I find that I shave significant time if I have targets to shoot when I'm still five steps out or so. Are you working on shooting on the move as well? Going toward or away from targets is pretty easy --- even at distances out to 15 yards, traversing them horizontally is much harder. In New Jersey there's a strong emphasis on freestyle course design (and a distinct aversion to ports and shooting boxes) and I think that shooting on the move is as or maybe slightly more important than movement between boxes....

[Steve Anderson]

Flex,

You're right about the problems being the same, BUT with box to box you HAVE to be in the box, and you KNOW you can shoot the targets when you get there, so the feet are more important than the eyes in that instance.

In other words, as your body is executing tasks, you must get a foot in the box before you can move to the task of finding a target.

In an undefined position, I may be able to see a target before I find my magic spot. If that's the case, I'm wasting time with my "feet" plan. when I should be shooting.

I noticed today that I'm pretty comfy shooting at anytime during the deceleration process, so I think I'm on the right track.

Another thing is that what looks a certain way in walk thru can look a lot different behind the gun, again making it better to have the feet follow the eyes. Maybe?

I just keep going back to Brian's line that we need to react to what we see, not what we planned to see...

SA

[Nik Habicht]

When Todd talked about shooting on the move he said to ignore all strategies about breaking the shot when a foot hits the ground or when a foot is in the air. His take was --- ignore the feet and break the shot when the sights are aligned on the target.

[Steve Anderson]

Now THAT sounds like a plan....

That also parallels my discoveries this morning, shoot when the shot is available.

SA

[PaulW]

To me there is a slight pause when you reach a box. Once the entry foot lands and the other foot comes off the ground there is a slight pause to setup. What I focus on is sprinting from box a to b, focusing on box b, keeping the gun high and dismounted, about 2.5 steps before getting to box b i'll start my decel, start to remount the gun, and start to locate the first target I have programmed to shoot from that box. Once that second foot comes off the ground you should be just about ready to shoot. The trick here is smoothness. If you don't start to decel fast enough and can really get herky jerky.

[Flexmoney]

Steve,

You might have more than one question worked into this topic.

I think that if you are going to shoot from a "position" then it doesn't matter much whether there is a box there or not. Just execute getting into that position.

What it sounds like you are really talking about is whether you should be "setting up" in the position in the first place?

That likely depends. Of course, it will vary with ability, but you have to decide if giving up the stability of the "position" is worth the speed. Some shots will require the patience to "set up", others shots will be better served by using a bit of the rolling thunder approach.