Do you breathe while you're shooting?

[burningsquirrels]

Personally, I'm in horrible physical condition. When I breathe normally, the gun moves around a bit. I usually focus on exhaling, but only very, very slowly. When performing a well-aimed trigger pull, I usually bring everything about me to a stop. Shooting while on the move - if I have to do this for longer than my breath can go, I will do a quick inhale and repeat the slow, slow exhale.

[JasonC]

I used to roadrace motorcycles and was given the following advice from an instructor, "It's easy to hold your breath when your lungs are full, but tough to do when your lungs are empty. Every time you are on the brakes, exhale completely. If you force yourself to exhale, you can't help but inhale." I apply this to a field course by exhaling while I am "on the brakes" decelerating into a shooting position.

[jkrispies]

I used to roadrace motorcycles and was given the following advice from an instructor, "It's easy to hold your breath when your lungs are full, but tough to do when your lungs are empty. Every time you are on the brakes, exhale completely. If you force yourself to exhale, you can't help but inhale." I apply this to a field course by exhaling while I am "on the brakes" decelerating into a shooting position.

I like this advice. Since I originally posted the question, I've made a conscious effort to breathe in either before the buzzer or moving into a new firing position, and breathe out as I'm firing; once those shots are fired, I have no choice but to inhale as I take off for the next firing position. If nothing else, I'm finding that it's helping me to stay relaxed, especially in my shoulders and back.

[Jake Di Vita]

I would stay away from consciously doing anything while firing.

[G-ManBart]

I would stay away from consciously doing anything while firing.

Was thinkin' the same thing...

[jkrispies]

I would stay away from consciously doing anything while firing.

Was thinkin' the same thing...

Clarification: I'm conscious of it when I'm doing dryfire practice. I don't concern myself with it in actual fire... hoping it's sunk in enough during practice that I'm just doing it.

[Hatchet Jack]

Inspired by another thread: http://www.brianenos.com/forums/index.php?...st&p=833129

When actually stopped in a position, and firing a single (or multiple shots from that position), are you holding your breath?

What about the draw?

If you are aware of holding your breath, do you know if you exhaled just before stoping, or inhaled?

For me, I believe my breath is held during any actual shooting, but I take quick breaths while moving, reloading, or even long pivoting between targets. I'm not sure of this, though, as my attention has never gone to my breathing.

Don't know whether I breathe or not, but I do know I CHOKE!

[Gallow]

I would stay away from consciously doing anything while firing.

OK. But I don't get this "your body will take care of it" routine. All of us, when we were kids, ran and stopped and looked at stuff more or less automatically. When we started shooting IPSC (if not before), these activities, and lots of other aspects (aspects here being only an heuristic device) had to be consciously re-evaluated.

I may be holding my breath "automatically" when I shoot, using in effect a technique of breathing that's stood me in good stead in other situations. It may be that breathing in the shooting situation would allow me to attend better to my shooting. I can only find out by trying it, which I can only do by being conscious of it while I'm trying it. Sure, I know at some level "trying" is not something to do, and ultimately shooting consciously isn't either. Granted that when you shoot you "shouldn't" be thinking consciously. Still, concepts like "shouldn't" can be limiting too. I realize the "trying," "consciousness," and "awareness" are potential snarls. But this is "handgun techniques," and new techniques can only be tried consciously--or am I missing something?

[Dan Burwell]

I am pretty certain Jake means during a match.

Practice is the place to try other things, go ahead and try breathing consiously while shooting a few mags in the berm, see if you think it helps. It doesn't much matter if xyz GM says it helps him it only matters if it helps you. So get to the range and give it a go.

I am in the camp of letting my body take care of things like that, I feel my brain is likely better at managing oxygen levels on it's own without my intervention, especially with this sport where we are talking about doing thing like standing, sprinting forwards then turning and going backwards, it is just too much to worry about the breathing.

[DyNo!]

After the buzzer goes off - I don't know...

[RedRyder]

Was trained to take a breath let half out, then fire. I try to do this as a rule as I expect to revert to training in a "tight" situation. Obviously its to each their own but it seams if your body and brain go on auto under stress training would win out. IMHO that is.

[Jadeslade]

Yes before I start. Yes while running. While I am shooting-I don't know, except sometimes. Like a really long field courses with 30-32 shots, I have noticed myself breathing during the last few targets. I hope I am breathing while shooting in short courses-oxygen is good.

[jkrispies]

Wow... since this seems to be a popular topic here's my personal analysis over the past few months since I asked the question (it was then merged into an existing poll), and how I've changed and my perception of its effect on my performance:

OLD WAY: Since I never received any real instruction when I started shooting guns at about the age of sperm, I'd taught myself the habit of holding my breath, then aiming, then firing, and then breathing again. Bad habit!

THE PROBLEM WITH THE OLD WAY: When I started doing competitions, this habit somehow meanedered its way into me holding my breath when I heard the call "Standby!" so that I wasn't breathing while waiting as long as 4 seconds, then the buzzer goes off, I aim, and I fire once, twice, three times, etc., etc., until I could run to the next firing position. So how the heck long was I holding my breath without even realizing I was holding my breath? That all depended on the course design and guy running the buzzer-- I would think typically 3-5 seconds at most (inconsequential) or possibly as long as 10 seconds (leading to deteriated vision???). For certain, it was causing undue tension on my part.

THE NEW WAY: Now, when I hear "Standby!" I begin a deep breath intake, and then breathe out at the buzzer. No, I'm not "thinking about breathing" while I shoot, but I have made it part of my draw. Generally, I'm either still breathing out by the time I finish firing at that batch of targets, or (as JasonC pointed out) my body is unconsciously breathing in.

MY ANALYSIS OF THE NEW WAY: It's all peaches. I've consciously done this enough in dryfire now that it's pretty much "muscle memory" to do the deep breath at "Standby!" and I don't think about it at all during actual fire. Have my times improved over the past few months? Yes. Is it due to this or any of the other dozen things I've been working on at the same time? A bit of everything, methinks.

[rdero]

I have been to a few courses in the Army and we were always taught that no one actively breathes while squeezing the trigger. When we cleared rooms, hallways, etc., you fire, breathe and scan for threats. You will know if you are holding your breath too much, you get the heartbeat in the ears. For me, I have always concentrated on controlling my breathing through the whole process. I don't worry about holding at 1/2 breath, 3/4 or whatever. When I'm ready to fire that is where I hold, so to speak. I think breath control matters most when firing rifles and at distance, then yes we would concentrate on breath control. This is what we taught our soldiers when we got back to the unit. I hope I don't sound too confusing.

[benos]

My .02 - For all types of shooting and all courses of fire, at "Standby," I'd exhale about half a breath, and was never conscious of breathing again until the stage was over.

As I finished that I remembered one highly specialized exception. Way back in the ol' days, at the SOF match, they'd often have you running all over the universe for a single course of fire. The first time I experienced one of those, I about passed out before I could finish. So for those in the future, I made it a part of game plan to consciously tell myself to breathe while running. It really helped.

be

[Duane Thomas]

I have always had a bit of a problem with the common advice, "Think about what you're doing in practice, then at the match let all conscious thought go and just shoot." Come again? We're telling ourselves to practice one thing....then do something completely different in the match? Under stress we tend to default to what we've practiced, right? So if we've practiced thinking, even if, at the match, we can briefly clear our mind and shoot from the subconscious - which will be difficult because we haven't practiced it - the instant anything goes wrong, or we hit something we perceive as particularly difficult, we're going to be back in our conscious mind, doing what we've trained ourselves to do while shooting, thinking ourselves through the problem....and we'll fall apart. Better, I think, to clear our mind during practice, get in the reps for shooting from the subconscious mind then, so we're in the habit when the match rolls around.

Sorry, bit of thread drift there, inspired by what Jake and Gallow were saying.

[ChristianHE]

I have always had a bit of a problem with the common advice, "Think about what you're doing in practice, then at the match let all conscious thought go and just shoot." Come again? We're telling ourselves to practice one thing....then do something completely different in the match? Under stress we tend to default to what we've practiced, right? So if we've practiced thinking, even if, at the match, we can briefly clear our mind shoot from the subconscious - which will be difficult because we haven't practiced it - the instant anything goes wrong, or we hit something we perceive as particularly difficult, we're going to be back in our conscious mind, doing what we've trained ourselves to do while shooting, thinking ourselves through the problem....and we'll fall apart. Better, I think, to clear our mind during practice, get in the reps for shooting from the subconscious mind then, so we're in the habit when the match rolls around.

Sorry, bit of thread drift there, inspired by what Jake and Gallow were saying.

Don't say sorry, I identified with this post big time! From my experiences I've found that I shoot the most Alphas when not thinking, but make stage mistakes like procedurals, badly timed or missed reloads etc. Then I run another stage flawlessly but slower and with less Alphas, because I had an inner dialog like counting shots, reminding myself of where I planned to reload, warning myself of stage procedures and fault lines etc. I've found it difficult to complete stages where I "merge" those two techniques. I guess like the rest of life and the universe that ideal balance is what is needed for real success.

[cold]

Some great thoughts in here!

[Sam]

No, I'm like Chuck Norris. I simply stare into the air and it obeys my lungs.

[G-ManBart]

I have always had a bit of a problem with the common advice, "Think about what you're doing in practice, then at the match let all conscious thought go and just shoot." Come again? We're telling ourselves to practice one thing....then do something completely different in the match? Under stress we tend to default to what we've practiced, right? So if we've practiced thinking, even if, at the match, we can briefly clear our mind shoot from the subconscious - which will be difficult because we haven't practiced it - the instant anything goes wrong, or we hit something we perceive as particularly difficult, we're going to be back in our conscious mind, doing what we've trained ourselves to do while shooting, thinking ourselves through the problem....and we'll fall apart. Better, I think, to clear our mind during practice, get in the reps for shooting from the subconscious mind then, so we're in the habit when the match rolls around.

Sorry, bit of thread drift there, inspired by what Jake and Gallow were saying.

Don't say sorry, I identified with this post big time! From my experiences I've found that I shoot the most Alphas when not thinking, but make stage mistakes like procedurals, badly timed or missed reloads etc. Then I run another stage flawlessly but slower and with less Alphas, because I had an inner dialog like counting shots, reminding myself of where I planned to reload, warning myself of stage procedures and fault lines etc. I've found it difficult to complete stages where I "merge" those two techniques. I guess like the rest of life and the universe that ideal balance is what is needed for real success.

That whole topic (it's a good one) probably ought to be it's own thread. The longer you play this game the better you'll get at being able to burn the stage into memory. At that point it's really just going to happen. You'll have burned in the accurate sight process, have the stage burned in and it'll just go on autopilot! When you're really smoking a stage, and it's all clicking you'll be be shooting good/great points, be faster and work through the stage just like you planned. That's combining a lot of different elements, but it'll come.

I don't see how thinking about breathing can fit anywhere in there if you're doing things properly. I build large, cleansing breaths into my LMR routine so I don't even have to think about it then

[Sam]

Duane, think I understand your point. "If we are practicing, we should practice everything, including what we will be thinking."

The reason that can go awry is that the thinking mind has many faults. Once it gets involved in a situation, it tries to take over. Picture yourself making a high speed run down a mountain road on a motorcycle, blasting along feeling every nuance of the road and bike and instantly reacting. Beautiful! Now picture that same run with a scared passenger on back trying to help you control things by leaning and shouting instructions. The "thinking mind" is that scared passenger.

I like to shoot L-10 because of the reloads. I plan the reloads in the walk through, but I rarely remember executing them. I haven't blown a match reload all year. But, I still wreck a few in practice because I'm thinking about them.

Of course, none of this may make any sense, because I ain't normal.

[Sam]

Oh yeah, and I don't remember where I took breaths in the stage either.

[Duane Thomas]

"If we are practicing, we should practice everything, including what we will be thinking."

Yes. So practice not thinking.

[Justsomeguy]

We shoot s#!tty on CO2 and our best on O2.

Everyones exchange rate is different. Leaning to optimize our breathing technique

in any athletic endeavor can't be overestimated. If the first half of a stage (long or short)

is solid and the last not so much. Include breathing technique in your evaluation.

Jim

++1! I'm surprised that only static shooting coaches include this element. Bullseye types, bench rest shooters, metallic silhouette shooters, are very conscious of their breathing techniques.

[Justsomeguy]

"If we are practicing, we should practice everything, including what we will be thinking."

Yes. So practice not thinking.

Hmm... isn't the practice of "not thinking" a form of meditation?