I Lose 50 IQ Points When I Hear an IPSC Buzzer

[GrumpyOne]

A wise old gentleman once told me, when I thought I was going too slow, that "Speed comes with repetition". Trying to go too fast is worse than just trying to finish. Break down the stages into just that, stages. Don't think about the next stage when you are shooting this one. I think you are trying to get ahead of yourself, planning what you are going to on stage "X", when you are shooting stage "M". Slow down, make good hits, and stop worrying! It's a game, remember?

[DyNo!]

That is your conscious mind stepping in and squashing the plan in your subconscious. Our subconscious mind is pretty smart- it can handle multiple tasks all at once, versus our conscious mind, which can really only do one thing at a time. Thus, you need to come up with something to keep the conscious mind from stepping in and yelling "NOW, jerk the trigger, jerk the trigger!!!" or "OOH look! Targets! Lets shoot 'em up!" all the time.

Thanks for the advice.

I manage it better by shooting more and thinking less however, I can't do it on more complex memory stages (Primarily ones made by the infamous LT45 that involve disappearing and reappearing targets) and I simply accept those as my "thrown" stages for the time being.

Sometimes when I'm shooting these stages, I really feel like I'm Bruce Lee trapped in the mirror room at the end of Enter the Dragon - except I can't solve the puzzle by destroying all of the hardcover. (And I'd really love to kick down a few walls to make my targets appear a bit more clearly )

They aren't disasters anymore but when I'm consistently shooting slower than I should be.

On the other hand, it plays out a little more like this when it does happen though:

What the heck, I can't see that target from here. Does this mean I went too far? OOH look! Targets! BANG, BANG, BANG! I don't have enough ammo in my magazine to shoot like this anymore... Did I just FTE or shoot a target 4 times?

**** IT - WE'LL DO IT LIVE!!!

A look into DyNo's conscious mind (NSFW - Language):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2tJjNVVwRCY

Edited February 28, 2010 by DyNo!

[Jadeslade]

I once knocked over a pyramid of barrel 3 barrels high that was supposed to be a barricade-like 9 10 barrels. After I knocked them over the targets were just there in front of me about 3yds away and I was laughing really hard and so was the RO and I just shot them bang bang bang. After holster he says-way to maintain your focus. Then we just busted up.

[SN13]

I thought this was just me. I seem to lose 80 IQ points though.

[Pinky]

OK, memory stages. They make everybody crazy but there is a way to master them.

First -- take your time in preparation. Don't try to rush through this part. You've already figured out that you need time to make a plan, so take that time.

Second (and trust me, this helps) -- map out the stage and your approach to it. See http://andersonshooting.com/analysistool.htm. Run off a few of these and take them to your next match. DRAW the stage -- you don't have to be daVinci, a rough sketch is fine. MARK the shooting positions and where you're going to engage each specific target.

If targets are available from several positions, see where they're easiest to hit or where they flow with your movement best (eg: right <-> left, through a port or around a barricade). You may not be able to eliminate every over-and-back movement, but good planning can keep that to a minimum.

Count the rounds in the stage and make sure that number is equal to what's in the WSB. That way, you know that you've seen everything and you know where it is.

Walk it as many times as your prep time permits, make sure it feels comfortable. Change the drawing if you see an easier or more efficient way to do something. Then ... go someplace quiet and run it in your head ... a lot. Help reset the stage until it's your turn 'on deck'. Then look at the drawing, run it in your head, physically walk/run the stage if possible while you're pasting/resetting targets. If you can do a virtual run with your eyes closed, you're about ready.

Deep breath and do it.

With Production, admit that the best plan may use all the mags on your belt because reload points won't happen at the 10-round mark. I've shot memory stages at Sectional matches where 6-reload-8-reload-4, etc, was the most efficient way to work around the ports and barricades.

Also don't feel like you need to use ALL the ports in a stage. If you can engage everything but still skip a port or two, that's OK. I've seen Sectional stages like that, too.

If your head believes that these stages have you beat, they will. Take your time, make a plan, rehearse it, run it as rehearsed (don't try to make clever modifications on the fly). If you see a better way to do something when somebody else runs it, see if that can fit in your plan and make sure you do adequate mental rehearsal before it's your turn. This is conquerable.

[Pinky]

I use the "mapping" technique and have been impressed by the amount of improvement. You may be the only one at that particular match doing it; but don't let that stop you, it works. DVC

[nsginc]

Been doing the same thing, I think even more everyday I go play.

[Field]

i love the calm, focused state of mind i get when i am shooting well on a stage and everything is automatic and going to plan.

you get this feeling like you are just watching yourself... and you almost have a smile on your face... but not quite. It is a neutral face.

Edited July 24, 2010 by Field

[Dwain C. Baer]

i love the calm, focused state of mind i get when i am shooting well on a stage and everything is automatic and going to plan.

you get this feeling like you are just watching yourself... and you almost have a smile on your face... but not quite. It is a neutral face.

Nice video...and great music

[FN fan]

Good info, just have to apply it.

[cletus9mm]

gotta give you an "at a boy" for the funniest title for a post i've seen in a long time. it just speaks to me.

[joecichlid]

I have been working on it lately, now I only drop about 45 IQ points when the buzzer goes off. LOL

Joe W.

[pjb45]

For the most part I am not losing any IQ points anymore. I have had a lot of help in building a strategy and tactics for stages. My confidence level has gone way up. Whether you use Steve Anderson's approach or Mike Seeklander's breakdown program, it is all the same premise.

Break each stage down into parts and each part into individual components. Memorize each component within a part. Then memorize the each part. Have visual cues that start each part; a piece of brass on the ground, a shadow, a mark on the fault line that setups the first shot of a stage part. Know the shooting order of each target when you get to the part. Shoot em as you see em does not do it for me. I plan each target in the sequence that is best; sometimes it is right to left, front to back but mostly I plan my exit target and shoot the hardest farthest target first and easy target last.

After you have the above nailed down, start looking at improving the efficiency of movement. I was watching some Open shooters on a stage the other day. Start in a box shooting targets on the left, then move right to targets on the right, proceed downrange to see a target on the left, then more down range to see a target on the right. They were doing more zig zags than a running back. They had the stage break down right but they failed to look for efficient movement.

I believe for me, the key was stage breakdown committed to memory and visually shot before the buzzer went off, then focus on efficient movement.

[DyNo!]

Yup, this is an old post for me too. I've overcome this hurdle and now there's only 7% between me and master.

All of the advice helped and this thread continues to be a good resource for people still having problems.

[joecichlid]

DyNo, I just wish I could regularly shoot up to my classification level.

Joe W.

[Graham Smith]

On a related note...

There is some kind of Einstein-Matrix-IPSC-Time-Dilation thing going on as well. After shooting a COF I look at my time and it's almost always a lot shorter than I thought it would be. There are also a lot fewer A's than I want there to be. I know that the two things are connected but it's really hard to tell the brain that the clock is not ticking as fast as I think it is.

Maybe I need to try sedatives...

[benos]

On a related note...

There is some kind of Einstein-Matrix-IPSC-Time-Dilation thing going on as well. After shooting a COF I look at my time and it's almost always a lot shorter than I thought it would be. There are also a lot fewer A's than I want there to be. I know that the two things are connected but it's really hard to tell the brain that the clock is not ticking as fast as I think it is.

Maybe I need to try sedatives...

When you are doing it right, there will be no concept of time, as in fast or slow. That's a wonderful place to operate from.

be

[joecichlid]

When you are doing it right, there will be no concept of time, as in fast or slow. That's a wonderful place to operate from.

be

Brian you have hit the nail on the head for sure! I just wish I could control that better. Every so often I visit that wonderful place, not nearly often enough though.

Joe W.

[BCrane]

Great post.. I know the feeling well... The buzzer sounds, and I go from the image I have in my head of a relaxed, upright stance... into the tactical stance (bent slightly at the waist, head down between shoulders, shoulders forward) that's been beaten into me... I hear the buzzer, and immediately go into 'the targets have turned, now shoot your qual' mode..

I'm shooting dead center of 'B' right now, and am anxious to see how I improve once I drop the bad habits.

[benos]

When you are doing it right, there will be no concept of time, as in fast or slow. That's a wonderful place to operate from.

be

Brian you have hit the nail on the head for sure! I just wish I could control that better. Every so often I visit that wonderful place, not nearly often enough though.

Joe W.

It only happens when you have created the favorable conditions for "it" to occur. Meaning, you are doubt free at the buzzer.

be

[joecichlid]

When you are doing it right, there will be no concept of time, as in fast or slow. That's a wonderful place to operate from.

be

Brian you have hit the nail on the head for sure! I just wish I could control that better. Every so often I visit that wonderful place, not nearly often enough though.

Joe W.

It only happens when you have created the favorable conditions for "it" to occur. Meaning, you are doubt free at the buzzer.

be

I am working on getting there. The last two weeks we have had stages with swinger targets and I have easily been able to see them as if in slow motion and call my shots, not a make up shot on four swingers and only dropped four points. I still struggle with the stationary targets though, I see them and KNOW I can hit them but try and do so too quickly. I just need to slow my mind down and let things happen, THEN time will really slow down for me.

Joe W.

[benos]

Joe,

When time stops, you will be shooting as fast as you can.

be

[joecichlid]

Joe,

When time stops, you will be shooting as fast as you can.

be

Very well stated Brian. Over the years I have had it happen to me a few times. I just wish it would happen more often.

Joe W.

[jeffsoward]

I read through these and saw myself flailing through stages in exactly the same way.

Saturday, I shot part of a match (3 of 7 stages) that I was not supposed to shoot (Dr's orders).

I decided that I would give it a go and just pace myself and get some trigger time.

On our first stage, I walked through the stage and formed a plan; this array, mag change, that array, etc.

I don't run (can't really; MS, it's a b!tch), but I usually try to hobble through as fast as I can.

On this stage, since I wasn't doing anything more than putting in some time, I decided to walk through the stage and do what I could and follow the plan in my head. Worked perfectly. A lot more A's than normal, time wasn't even THAT bad. I felt really good, got myself pumped about it and how I felt, then I fell apart.

The buzzer bug hit me on the next two stages and I just tanked. Plan? What plan? The next stage was comical. Didn't pay attention to my shots well enough (or my plan at all) and slide-locked before the last shot.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_yJ0BB-8Bk

I'm going to another match this Sunday and I'm going to try the "plan" again. Hopefully I'll be able to follow it, use some of the advice from you guys and get my hits. As I put it to one of my buddies, maybe I'll be able to make hits instead of just pull the trigger.

[benos]

Joe,

When time stops, you will be shooting as fast as you can.

be

Very well stated Brian. Over the years I have had it happen to me a few times. I just wish it would happen more often.

Joe W.

Wanting "it" to happen is one thing that will prevent it from occurring. For that timeless, magical zone state to occur, all forums of wanting, caring, and trying must cease. The optimum mindset is a state of total doubt-free certainty. In that state the conditions are favorable for the zone-state to occur.

Do an Advanced, Title only search for "the zone" (in quotes) and you'll find quite a few good threads on this.

be