How do you maintain confidence?

[Merlin Orr]

Three times a month I shoot IDPA or ICORE at our home club. I usually shoot with an illegal gun (6" Benny Built) so mine, and others with "illegal" guns are scored but in a separate category and not really part of the match. I nearly always do very well and finish close to are at the top of the outlaw crowd - usually about 20-25% ahead of the "real" shooters. We are scored the same way with the same points deductions and etc.

When I shoot a legal match as I did today I invariably crash and burn..shooting slower with crap for accuracy.

IDPA just kicks my ass. I have zero confidence when I try to shoot those damned round -0 spots on the target for a real score. I know it's mental....

2 questions.

1. Why?

2. How do I fix it.

[Coach]

When I was a football and wrestling coach there was a quote that I used for team and individuals when trying to build confidence. It went something like this.

"When in pressure situations winners recall past success and losers recall past failure both are self-fulfilling." I do not remember where I found it or who said it, but I think it is true.

You seem to think that the gun being illegal or legal is not a factor. It certainly does not have to be. But I get the impression that you resent the illegalness of the gun and the rule or rules that make it so. Seems to me that you have built in motivation for going into a match with the legal gun and demonstrating to the "real" shooters that you can do just as well with a legal gun. Go do it. Your focus needs to be on mechanics not the results. The results should take care of themselves.

Just my thoughts. Take it for what it is worth.

[Steve J]

Perhaps that fine 6" is a crutch... maybe a little too easy to shoot?

I have the opposite problem. The IDPA zero ring fits my lateral wobble zone perfectly. When I shoot USPSA I end up with a lot of Charlies that would be zeros in IDPA.

[Chris Keen]

I agree with Steve ....... Perhaps that fine 6" is a crutch.

I will take it off your hands for $200 and your problems will be over. You wont have any excuses for winning or not winning except you.

[Sam]

Merlin, caring about how well we finish may be the root of the problem.

shooting slower with crap for accuracy.

One of the surest indicators that lets me know that my mind is partially clouded by something other than shooting, is being concious of the speed at which I'm shooting. When there are competing thoughts, like " I always do this or that", " how am I doing?", or " that shot sucked...", our attention cannot be fully engaged in fulfilling all the requirements of solid shooting. This is a frustrating state of mind indeed. I think the reason that many of us enjoy shooting so much is that it represents "time out of mind" or a mini vacation from the everyday drudgery of thinking.....about anything.

It's useful to think. But, not while we're shooting.

You'll work it out, my friend. I know you will.

-Sam

[Catfish]

The timing in IDPA is totally different than USPSA. It's just a mindset. Everything in USPSA is geared towards letting you go fast and everything in IDPA is geared towards letting you slow down.... Or so it seems to me.

I find when I shoot IDPA if I'm just a touch more deliberate on the front sight, with just a little more front sight focus than I would have on a similar distanced USPSA target it works out well.

I'm the opposite of Steve - the square USPSA target fits my "wobble" better than the circular IDPA zero zone; so I just focus a bit harder and that's all.

The front sight and the trigger are exactly the same in both sports. Why let it get to you?

Confidence comes one thing at a time it seems. Focus on what you're doing well - I'm sure there are lots of things that you do well in an IDPA match - and don't get distracted by things that don't go 100% according to plan. Focus on how great your draw was, or your reload was or your points - whatever. Just find something you did well and dewll on that.

Next thing you know, you're feeling better about it all and your overall level of confidence increases.

[lugnut]

Great post.

I am usually very confident before every stage. I try not to let a bad stage get to me but I'd be lying if I said some don't. I struggle with somethings like steel but now I welcome chances to shoot steel whenever I can to help me get comfortable with it. Mental images are huge for me. I find I do much better when I really, really see myself shooting the stage before I actually do. Complete concentration on this helps.

That being said when I stoot like crap and feel my confidence waning- I go to practice more. By myself no one can shoot better than me either and my times are always great! LOL

[j1b]

Place the gun in a chalk drawn pentagram on a wood floor.

Chant

DARKSOME NIGHT AND SHINNING MOON

EAST THEN SOUTH THEN WEST THEN NORTH

HARKEN TO THE WITCHES RUNE

HERE I COME TO CALL YE FORTH

EARTH AND WATER AIR AND FIRE

WAND AND PENTACLE, FEATHER AND SWORD

WORK YE UNTO MY DESIRE

HARKEN YE UNTO MY WORDS

CORDS AND CENSER, SCOURGE AND KNIFE

POWER OF THE WITCHES BLADE

WAKEN ALL YE INTO LIFE

COME YE AS THE CHARM IS MADE

QUEEN OF ASGARD, VANAHEiM & ALFHEiM

HORNED HUNTER OF THE NIGHT

LEND YOUR POWER UNTO MY SPELL

AND WORK MY WILL MY MAGIC RITE

BY ALL THE POWER OF LAND AND SEA

BY ALL THE MIGHT OF MOON AND SUN

AS I DO WILL....SO MOTE IT BE

CHANT THE SPELL AND BE IT ...DONE...

BEGONE all evil spirts and forces within this gun!

Simple as that....

Do the above!!!!!!

Sorry Merlin, this just felt right. Back to your regularly scheduled program.

Jack

[Paul Burtchell]

Merlin I feel your pain, I too struggle with IDPA when I consciously TRY to slow down and TRY to get all zeros.

You are TRYING. Stop TRYING and just perform. Shoot in the present with no expectations. (Shameless plagiarizing of our forum host)

Edited December 8, 2008 by baerburtchell

[Merlin Orr]

Lots to think on.... A lot I already realize and just have yet to get past.

Both the "real" and the humorous answers are appreciated.

They all help to put things into a better perspective.....

That "Magnificent Bastard" hit me between the eyes with the observation that I might somehow be "resentful" of some of the rules. As a lifelong hard head I can't help but see the truth in that.

I tell a lot of people just to "let it go" but can't myself.

Always "trying" and wanting to finish well. Counterproductive.

It's so damned frustrating to know but still follow the same path over and over.

[j1b]

Can I provide a more bold answer?

Do what you are supposed to do. Period. Quit screwing around with the stuff that you KNOW doesn't matter. Execute.

There are some this works with, some that it doesn't. But occasionally this becomes an issue of simply forcing the issue. Don't over complicate, don't allow yourself to overcomplicate. You know what you are supposed to do. So Bleepin' do it.

Shoot the points. In IDPA they matter more. Accept nothing less than perfection. This isn't a blend thing, nor should it be. Shoot A's. Efficiently. And call it a day.

You don't need to tolerate what you don't want to happen. You know the right path, you just don't know you know the right path. So force the issue.

There are many, many, many times when being pissed off is the wrong answer when shooting. This isn't meant to be emotional. But sometimes a little pissed off "git er done" attitude is all it takes.

Because here is the truth my friend. The equipment doesn't matter. It never has. You know it, I know it. I believe it. You have to believe it to. Whatever it takes to get you there is all it'll take for you to get home. But you can't have a "I do well with this stuff and poor with this other stuff" type thought process. Cause it doesn't matter.

J

I remember posting concerns early on when I first started shooting my XD about the safety. There wasn't a safety for me to rest my thumb on. I dry fired, and dry fired, and dry fired and couldn't figure out a way around it. THen I shot my first match, and forgot about it (cause I was focused on the shooting) and like that it's never entered my mind again. I remember fretting about it, but once that match was out of the way and I realized it was a non-issue I stopped noticing the difference. Pick up a 1911 like I did a few weeks ago and it's like going home. Pick up the XD and it's what I've been shooting recently. I'd feel pretty good about shooting either or in the match tomorrow night.

[ChuckS]

See the second line of my signature...

[Singlestack]

It's so damned frustrating to know but still follow the same path over and over.

woooooweee!!

I feel that!

[Merlin Orr]

It's so damned frustrating to know but still follow the same path over and over.

woooooweee!!

I feel that!

and over again....

OK. This is my pledge to myself.

Never another IDPA match with anything but an IDPA gun. I'll quit my bobbing and weaving - no cop out because of wtf ever.

Gonna work on my shitty attitude...about myself (the mistakes I make will be put behind instead of in front).

A re read of Lanny B's book starts tonight. This time I will actually follow his suggested plan.

There is a much better shooter hiding in here somewhere.

[Duane Thomas]

Focus on what you're doing well....Just find something you did well and dewll on that.

In some ways I agree about the importance of positive self-talk. But if we're talking about how to improve the shooting, and the match performance, I must disagree with the "focus on what you do well" advice. Sorry. My advice would be to focus on what you know you don't do well. Identify your weak areas, then focus your practice sessions on those areas. This is not fun. We don't want to do things that make us feel clumsy and incompetent. We would much rather focus on the things we already know we do well, because that's fun, and it strokes our ego. Unfortunately, it does zip for our improvement.

This is one of the great differences between good shooters and less-good shooters. Less-good shooters focus on their strong points. Good shooters focus on their weak points until they no longer have any weak points. I seem to recall in The Book that Brian says something to the effect, "When you look at stage and, before ever shooting it, you know there's nothing there you can't do well....you've already won."

[SiG Lady]

What j1b and Duane said.

I found that facing my demons (target arrays that gave me fits) and practicing them repeatedly really DID follow quickly with noticeable improvement--which seemed to be permanent improvement! In a nutshell, it worked.

On the other hand, I had a little confidence-booster I piled on moments before the buzzer went off: I'd say (to myself) "This target is MINE!!!" and that established some personal energy cone between me and the target and focused me on the target of the moment without distraction. That little exercise often aided the execution of better scores.

I had a boss at a radio station that coached us like a sports team and often used the word "Execute." I never forgot that word and how uncluttered a meaning it really had and what great results it brought. Be precise, be confident, be decisive and stick to it. Execute. Yes.

Besides, if you ACT confident, most people will think you ARE confident. Truly we often create our own reality.

[6-shot]

Can I provide a more bold answer?

Do what you are supposed to do. Period. Quit screwing around with the stuff that you KNOW doesn't matter. Execute.

There are some this works with, some that it doesn't. But occasionally this becomes an issue of simply forcing the issue. Don't over complicate, don't allow yourself to overcomplicate. You know what you are supposed to do. So Bleepin' do it.

Shoot the points. In IDPA they matter more. Accept nothing less than perfection. This isn't a blend thing, nor should it be. Shoot A's. Efficiently. And call it a day.

You don't need to tolerate what you don't want to happen. You know the right path, you just don't know you know the right path. So force the issue.

There are many, many, many times when being pissed off is the wrong answer when shooting. This isn't meant to be emotional. But sometimes a little pissed off "git er done" attitude is all it takes.

Because here is the truth my friend. The equipment doesn't matter. It never has. You know it, I know it. I believe it. You have to believe it to. Whatever it takes to get you there is all it'll take for you to get home. But you can't have a "I do well with this stuff and poor with this other stuff" type thought process. Cause it doesn't matter.

J

I remember posting concerns early on when I first started shooting my XD about the safety. There wasn't a safety for me to rest my thumb on. I dry fired, and dry fired, and dry fired and couldn't figure out a way around it. THen I shot my first match, and forgot about it (cause I was focused on the shooting) and like that it's never entered my mind again. I remember fretting about it, but once that match was out of the way and I realized it was a non-issue I stopped noticing the difference. Pick up a 1911 like I did a few weeks ago and it's like going home. Pick up the XD and it's what I've been shooting recently. I'd feel pretty good about shooting either or in the match tomorrow night.

That is a great post, Jack.

Scott

[benos]

Never another IDPA match with anything but an IDPA gun.

That's what I was going to say. Get serious with the right tool for the job.

be

[CSEMARTIN]

at the top of the outlaw crowd

I like that phrase. It has a nice ring to it!!!

I doubt the 6" gun is a crutch. I've always believed that it is the shooter, not the gun. When you see a single stack shooter beat an open shooter, that's the only solid explanation I can come up with.

I suspect you are placing too much pressure on yourself when you are shooting for "real". When you're shooting with the outlaw crowd, you are just there to have fun. You're probably more focused and more relaxed.

When you can figure out how to shoot like an outlaw all of the time, your equipment won't matter.

[Chris Keen]

Gonna work on my shitty attitude...about myself (the mistakes I make will be put behind instead of in front).

A re read of Lanny B's book starts tonight. This time I will actually follow his suggested plan.

There is a much better shooter hiding in here somewhere.

Merlin, I recently read something about a shooter simply changing his attitude 180 degrees ......... improved his shooting scores dramatically.

Definitely can't hurt anything.

[j1b]

Can I provide a more bold answer?

Do what you are supposed to do. Period. Quit screwing around with the stuff that you KNOW doesn't matter. Execute.

There are some this works with, some that it doesn't. But occasionally this becomes an issue of simply forcing the issue. Don't over complicate, don't allow yourself to overcomplicate. You know what you are supposed to do. So Bleepin' do it.

Shoot the points. In IDPA they matter more. Accept nothing less than perfection. This isn't a blend thing, nor should it be. Shoot A's. Efficiently. And call it a day.

You don't need to tolerate what you don't want to happen. You know the right path, you just don't know you know the right path. So force the issue.

There are many, many, many times when being pissed off is the wrong answer when shooting. This isn't meant to be emotional. But sometimes a little pissed off "git er done" attitude is all it takes.

Because here is the truth my friend. The equipment doesn't matter. It never has. You know it, I know it. I believe it. You have to believe it to. Whatever it takes to get you there is all it'll take for you to get home. But you can't have a "I do well with this stuff and poor with this other stuff" type thought process. Cause it doesn't matter.

J

I remember posting concerns early on when I first started shooting my XD about the safety. There wasn't a safety for me to rest my thumb on. I dry fired, and dry fired, and dry fired and couldn't figure out a way around it. THen I shot my first match, and forgot about it (cause I was focused on the shooting) and like that it's never entered my mind again. I remember fretting about it, but once that match was out of the way and I realized it was a non-issue I stopped noticing the difference. Pick up a 1911 like I did a few weeks ago and it's like going home. Pick up the XD and it's what I've been shooting recently. I'd feel pretty good about shooting either or in the match tomorrow night.

That is a great post, Jack.

Scott

Thanks!

It's a tough game. I shot a match tonight and despite knowing I needed points, and pre-determining that I was going to smoke points tonight, I still dropped a few too many.

This gig is tough. Partial targets, floppers, no-shoots, and harcover all present themselves as excuses to have a few C's. Which in minor kill.

The only choice is to recognize that there are things to get better at, and there are highlights. For me, no misses. No no-shoots. No penalties. All good things. Have work to do on points, being smooth, transitions, and reloads. There was good and bad. And it was important to me to recognize both.

Jack

[Merlin Orr]

Without seeming like I am gushing like a teenage girl.....

It is a wonderful thing to ask a question and get a direct and to the point answer. When you need to know...you need to hear. Not some watered down wimpy PC bullshit but a real answer.

Even a smart ass like my self is on this forum because I love shooting. It is a hard thing to know that you are falling short of what you could accomplish for any reason. It is really a tough pill to swallow when you know it is because you just can't get your act working because of a lack of mental toughness and proper mental preparation.

Like I said earlier on this thread.

Thanks for the humor - it helps. I like it!

Thanks for the more serious answers - "Don't need no sugar pill.." I really got something I can use from every response.....

I am listening and Will act upon the advise I am given.

[Religious Shooter]

I get confident by practice. If I don't practice... I'm not confident.

[Catfish]

Focus on what you're doing well....Just find something you did well and dewll on that.

In some ways I agree about the importance of positive self-talk. But if we're talking about how to improve the shooting, and the match performance, I must disagree with the "focus on what you do well" advice. Sorry. My advice would be to focus on what you know you don't do well. Identify your weak areas, then focus your practice sessions on those areas. This is not fun. We don't want to do things that make us feel clumsy and incompetent. We would much rather focus on the things we already know we do well, because that's fun, and it strokes our ego. Unfortunately, it does zip for our improvement.

This is one of the great differences between good shooters and less-good shooters. Less-good shooters focus on their strong points. Good shooters focus on their weak points until they no longer have any weak points. I seem to recall in The Book that Brian says something to the effect, "When you look at stage and, before ever shooting it, you know there's nothing there you can't do well....you've already won."

I think we agree, Duane. During a match, focus on what you do well. If say, I'm having a hard time on steel, and show up to a stage with a lot of tight, difficult steel shots, I'm definately not going to sit there and dwell on how sucky my steel game is. Rather, I'll focus on my opportunities to pick up time on movement or the reload, or whatever.

At practice, then by all means, yes - find those weaknesses and make them your strengths.

[Duane Thomas]

It is a wonderful thing to ask a question and get a direct and to the point answer. When you need to know...you need to hear. Not some watered down wimpy PC bullshit but a real answer.

Hey, tough love is still love.