Practicing Going Faster

[nashvillebill]

I've always heard baseball players can watch the threads roll on a ball pitch to them. It got me to thinking. Here's what I've done to hopefully increase my eye tracking and focus speed. I took a Sharpie and put small symbols evenly spaced around a handball. As I toss it from hand to hand I focus on and identify whether the symbol is a square, circle or triangle. Toss it slow and close with no spin at first and build up. Good for hand eye-coordination also.

ETA: Better yet, hold the ball in cupped hands at arms length below your sight line. Focus on a target, toss the ball straight up into your sight line and snap focus to call the symbol that is showing.

Edited July 2, 2009 by nashvillebill

[Flexmoney]

There are lots of pieces to the pie when we look at ways to "go faster".

* (I was going to try to list a bunch of them...but that is pointless.) *

When I look at the pieces, or the pie, I try to figure out what is essential, basic, fundamental...and a shared "truth".

For our shooting, for me, that usually means awareness.

We can be mentally aware (internally) and physically aware (externally)...or something like that.

To gather input from our environment, we need to use our senses. Mostly, we trust of sense of vision. (But, the other senses can give really good feedback too).

Try this... Close on of your eyes. Now notice your filed of vision. Now close the other eye and notice it's field of vision. Now notice the field of vision with both eyes open. That is physical. It has nothing to do with what you actually saw, however.

Now, do the same drill, but see how many things you can notice (maybe look out a window and actually notice what is outside). Physically, you have a great capability to "see more" with both eyes open. Mentally, there is only so much you are going to notice.

If you live in a neighborhood, then you have looked up and down your street hundreds of times. Can you tell me where TWO fire hydrants are? (no fair if you are Mrs./Mr. Fire Safety...lol)

I guess my point is that you have to decide to allow yourself to take a different mental view of things (open), then you can get a different physical view as well.

[lugnut]

It's not all about just "seeing what you need to see"... it's also about MOVING efficiently. I'm pretty certain that most of the top shooters would still kick everyone's ass even if they were somehow limited to .30 slits! This is the intrigue of the game... how fast can you go while doing thing everything "well enough" to not drop too many points.

Seeing is great and I'm very sure I could see more... and I WANT TO. However I know I need to become more efficient in movement... I know when I see a good sight picture and I'm out of breath or in an awkward stance that I "may" screw it up right before the gun goes bang and not always know it.

Seeing is huge... but it's only a piece of the large equation IMHO.

[Lee King]

It's weird, I actually shoot my best when I have "given up" on a match. I threw a M on the very first stage at a local last month and decided I was out of it and to just to shoot for fun. Some weird mental thing happened with that (which I haven't been able to replicate btw) and I ended up with my first HOA. I can't tell you what specifically changed when I "gave up". I'm sure in the end it was "seeing faster". But I was so unfocused on "winning" it was a complete shock that I did. I see it as all part of the "other stuff".

that's a pretty cool mental state..the thoughts of winning creep trick your mind into trying..which really begins to clutch things up. there are few people that can actually put everything consciously into a higher gear. far more crash when they begin to try.

I actually copied a stage from the Alabama sectional at one of our locals because I had a jam that I'm pretty sure cost me enough points for 1st B. I wanted another crack at it (can you see where this is going). My mental state during the "re-run" was "I can do better". Talk about crash and burn. 2 M and I threw about 6 shots at a piece of steel I should've just let go. Wrong mental state.

It's not all about just "seeing what you need to see"... it's also about MOVING efficiently. I'm pretty certain that most of the top shooters would still kick everyone's ass even if they were somehow limited to .30 slits! This is the intrigue of the game... how fast can you go while doing thing everything "well enough" to not drop too many points.

Seeing is great and I'm very sure I could see more... and I WANT TO. However I know I need to become more efficient in movement... I know when I see a good sight picture and I'm out of breath or in an awkward stance that I "may" screw it up right before the gun goes bang and not always know it.

Seeing is huge... but it's only a piece of the large equation IMHO.

I see "moving" as tied in to "seeing what you need to see". You practice those skills so you don't have to think about them. When you approach a port you don't want to think "don't go in too deep.. gun up... eye's to target.. stay low". It's 2nd nature and you're now focusing on the target and the front sight. Same thing with shooting on the move. First time you try it you're focusing on how weird and goofy it feels and probably not even seeing the sights at all. But as you practice you get to where you don't have to think about your feet or timing the sight so it doesn't bounce and now you can focus on the A zone.. or the paster you're aiming at.

What I find weird is the "what you need to see" part changes (for me). If I practice a drill I may hit "the zone" where everything is clicking and I'm flowing through it nice and relaxed and can pick out imperfections in the fiber and have a personal best time and score. Then the next pass I barely remember seeing the sights at all but I'm very close to the same time and score. Something in my perception changed.

[SuperAWE]

A good example of pushing yourself to get to the next level is a recent snowboarding trip I took. There were four of us with 2 being completely new to snowboarding. The first 2-3days both guys stuck to the green slopes and progressed quite well. On the afternoon of the 3rd day one of the new guys comes with us to some blue runs and gets beat up pretty good, though he stuck with it all afternoon and by the end of the day he could make it down this blue slope without any falls or stopping The other guy would not for the life of him leave the green slopes. On days 4-7, the first guy who came with us to the blue slopes, is now able to go down most all blue slopes and even went down a black diamond. The other guy never left the green slopes for the entire trip.

At the end of our trip, it was extremely apparent the skill difference between the two new guys, and this was only after 7 days. Unless you push yourself to new levels, you will never experience the new things that happen at those levels, if you don't experience them you never learn how to master them. Thus you will be stuck on that 'green slope' forever.

my 2c's.

[shred]

It's all about learning what you have to see and nothing else. You can call it 'pushing', or "learning what you can and can't get away with", but it's all the same thing. Go to the range with a steel plate and learn what it takes to get consistent hits from standing, moving any direction, kneeling, strong-hand, weak-hand, entering a box, leaving a box, etc, etc at a whole lot of distances.

Most people that need to work on their movement need to work on taking out the excess movement. Draws, transitions, recoil control, actual movement, indexing. You can see people diss classifiers for not having any 'movement' on them, but then proceed to waste two seconds on a couple box transitions.

[Seth]

I went to the range last night with this in mind specifically. We ran a number of drills, culminating with 4 targets spaced about a yard apart, two on each from a draw. I ran it a bunch of times, sometimes for hits, sometimes for speed. When I was REALLY on the gas I was keenly interested in how much information was being processed, but mechanically, I couldn't DO anything with it. I could SEE where the shots were going, but I was moving faster than I could correct.

I am still puzzled by this a little. I was able to observe the sights, see the lousy hit or miss, but be going so fast that I couldn't aim more accurately.

On the other hand, a BLAZING run was totally out of control points wise and truly only about .5 to .1 faster than a controlled accurate run where I could aim each shot intentionally.

Interesting stuff. I noticed last night that I was actually distracted by all the other motion of the gun outside the sights for a while. I saw the hammer fall, the slide reciprocate and the sparks and flash out the barrel... but for a while, I wasn't all that aware of the sights, til I turned my attention to them.

[Holshot]

Speed is bad. Fast is speed. Slow is speed. Never think speed. Do things right. Drive the gun, call the shots, stay neutral, prep the trigger, etc, etc, etc. If you can't do all the things right that you need to do and you push for speed, you'll crash and burn. The conscious mind cannot think about 2 things at once. The subconscious mind delivers what the conscious asks for. If you want speed, you'll get speed. If you want to be a real shooter, you'll get real shooting. There's a term tossed around "Faster and more accurate". Until you understand that you need to practice more. Every match I win has one thing in common - my conscous mind was telling me to Hammer A's.

In practice, figure out what you're doing wrong. Push yourself hard, really hard, but not at the expense of doing it right. Yeah you'll drop 1 or 2 shots out of a 300 round session but don't accept it. Let it tick you off and do it faster and more accurate the next time.

Good Luck

[Pezco]

Flex,

It sounds like you are talking "Zen or being aware", I like the analogy. I am in the developmental process of moving from the second (accuracy centric focused shooter) to the Zen (Aware) shooter as I'm trying to speed up the whole target acquisition & shoot process.

I do understand the car analogy, but I have crashed and burned too many cars to keep that in my head.

Fortunately for me, I get to watch PB and Chris K. implement the Zen thing often enough to understand how it should flow. Now "free you mind Neo!"

[G-ManBart]

I may be totally wrong (happens with some frequency ) but I think I know what people are saying here about trying to go faster and it seems they're just saying it in such a way that makes it confusing.

Instead of thinking about trying to go "faster", shouldn't we really be talking about shooting in such a fashion (rather than use the word "speed") that it pushes your ability to call your shots? We all know, or should know, the visual input we need to be sure of an A at a certain distance and do it comfortably...i.e. you're 100% sure of that A. Now shoot with only 95% confidence, then 90%, etc and find the point at which you're no longer getting consistent A's. This goes back to Brian's visual patience concept...you're just allowing less and less of it as you go to find the breaking point.

We all have seen "see what you need to see"...okay, that makes sense, but it's not the end of the story (if there is one). Where the work needs to be done is in learning how much you really need to see versus what you think you need to see. As you learn to get closer to the breaking point your brain is going to adjust and that new level of visual input/confidence will seem normal and suddenly you're shooting A's faster than you were previously. Your mechanics haven't changed, your visual ability (physically) didn't change, but your brain has figured out it didn't need as much reassurance as it thought it needed for that A.

If you're working along those lines and pushing the limits in practice I don't see how you won't get better/faster over time....to a point. Steve Anderson's books have you do drills based off a baseline time. You start slower than baseline, work up to baseline and then go below your baseline. After a while you'll pick up a tenth or two and you'll have to readjust your baseline to continue improving.

Maybe I'm totally wrong, but hey, it made sense to me

Edited July 5, 2009 by G-ManBart

[Flexmoney]

I may be totally wrong (happens with some frequency ) but I think I know what people are saying here about trying to go faster and it seems they're just saying it in such a way that makes it confusing.

Instead of thinking about trying to go "faster", shouldn't we really be talking about shooting in such a fashion (rather than use the word "speed") that it pushes your ability to call your shots? We all know, or should know, the visual input we need to be sure of an A at a certain distance and do it comfortably...i.e. you're 100% sure of that A. Now shoot with only 95% confidence, then 90%, etc and find the point at which you're no longer getting consistent A's. This goes back to Brian's visual patience concept...you're just allowing less and less of it as you go to find the breaking point.

Good stuff.

------------------

If I go back to my racecar analogy... If a driver wants to go 'fast' around the track, how do they do that? If it was as simple as stepping on the gas, then any lugnut could be a great driver, right?

Sure, we can learn to stay on the gas and hang on better...but, that can only take us so far. To be a great driver, there must be something else to it.

Faster can't just be about staying on the gas, right?

I think so many are caught up in thinking that going faster is about the *thumb rest [generic]*. That requires a change in mindset, in my opinion.

[Pittbug]

I'm not a professional or even highly proficient racer, but I used to do autocross (in my vw). It's really similar to USPSA, the mindset and "course management" aspect. Cars are placed in divisions according to drivetrain, engine size, modifications etc. You do course walk throughs before actually racing. You drive the entire course in your head multiple times before you even get into the car and fire it up.

On the practical side of things, one of the last thing you think about is stepping on the *thumb rest [generic]*. You're highly focussed on the entrance, exit and setting up for the next corner. Some people may think about hitting the breaks or the *thumb rest [generic]* at certain points, but for me I never really did think about that. I just let that stuff happen when I was in the car. Your brain just tells your feet what to do automatically, but you tend to pay close attention to where the car is and where the next 2 or 3 corners are.

To go faster you go smooth. All the newbies end up putting their cars sideways, lots of smoke, locking up, wheel spins etc. It all looks fun and exciting but all that stuff scrubs off speed and is very slow. The fast cars glide around the course with minimal fuss. I found I needed to be aggressive but smooth to get the best times. I'm sure there are parallels to shooting because the mindset is almost exactly the same, it's just the game that's different.

Edited July 5, 2009 by Pittbug

[Jadeslade]

I'm not a professional or even highly proficient racer, but I used to do autocross (in my vw). It's really similar to USPSA, the mindset and "course management" aspect. Cars are placed in divisions according to drivetrain, engine size, modifications etc. You do course walk throughs before actually racing. You drive the entire course in your head multiple times before you even get into the car and fire it up.

On the practical side of things, one of the last thing you think about is stepping on the *thumb rest [generic]*. You're highly focussed on the entrance, exit and setting up for the next corner. Some people may think about hitting the breaks or the *thumb rest [generic]* at certain points, but for me I never really did think about that. I just let that stuff happen when I was in the car. Your brain just tells your feet what to do automatically, but you tend to pay close attention to where the car is and where the next 2 or 3 corners are.

To go faster you go smooth. All the newbies end up putting their cars sideways, lots of smoke, locking up, wheel spins etc. It all looks fun and exciting but all that stuff scrubs off speed and is very slow. The fast cars glide around the course with minimal fuss. I found I needed to be aggressive but smooth to get the best times. I'm sure there are parallels to shooting because the mindset is almost exactly the same, it's just the game that's different.

I think this is a very good analogy. I have learned a lot from this thread.

[SA Friday]

Speed is bad. Fast is speed. Slow is speed. Never think speed. Do things right. Drive the gun, call the shots, stay neutral, prep the trigger, etc, etc, etc. If you can't do all the things right that you need to do and you push for speed, you'll crash and burn. The conscious mind cannot think about 2 things at once. The subconscious mind delivers what the conscious asks for. If you want speed, you'll get speed. If you want to be a real shooter, you'll get real shooting. There's a term tossed around "Faster and more accurate". Until you understand that you need to practice more. Every match I win has one thing in common - my conscous mind was telling me to Hammer A's.

In practice, figure out what you're doing wrong. Push yourself hard, really hard, but not at the expense of doing it right. Yeah you'll drop 1 or 2 shots out of a 300 round session but don't accept it. Let it tick you off and do it faster and more accurate the next time.

Good Luck

What? Slow is speed? If you want speed, you'll get speed? What is this, Faith? If the subconscious mind delivered what I consciously asked for, wow, just wow. Wouldn't everyone be a GM? There is more than this, and everyone knows it.

This is what I'm getting at when it when I'm talking about regurgitated mantra. There is more to it than memorizing a book. I understand the theological portion of this. I've read (and comprehended) BE's book twice and 'With Winning in Mind'. What I'm getting at is there is more; that actual physical aspect of learning/training your body to accelerate it's capability. I've called it "going faster" "being more efficient" "smoother", pick one but the meaning is still the same behind the mantra as long as the concept is mentally rooted in a healthy manner. The more this concept is explained in different manners, the easier it will be for people to grasp. Everyone learns differently, there is no set path to learning. Unfortunately, most of what I get is the above.

Many have addressed the mental state to progress through this concept. Very few have addressed the physical aspects to assist progression through this concept. Both are extremely helpful, but there is more to this than regurgitating memorized words. That's what I'm digging for here. I've found much of it.

[Jay870]

This thread is interesting.

I approach things with a very analytical/objective/quantitative methodology and have always struggled with the seemingly more abstract and subjective concepts frequently discussed here... "awareness", "flow", "knowing" etc. That is likely a part of why my shooting skill has not advance appreciably in spite of spending a non-trivial amount of time improving or at least attempting to improve my mechanics. Something is lost on me in the translation of "awareness", "flow", "knowing",etc... to the physical manipulations required to shoot accurately faster.

Along those same lines I also struggle greatly with the concept of "if you are thinking, you are not experiencing". Even if the fundamentals can become so ingrained through practice as to be executed subconsciously, that only occurs within the domain of the execution that fundamental, and doesn't account for the course of fire as a whole. The motions to perform a reload may be executed subconsciously, but what about the stage plan that dictates where the reload the should occur, the target engagement sequence, the shooting positions, etc. Are people claiming that given a 5 minute walk-through, they can mentally program the stage so completely as to be execute it without a single conscious thought?

[XD Niner]

Instead of thinking about trying to go "faster", shouldn't we really be talking about shooting in such a fashion (rather than use the word "speed") that it pushes your ability to call your shots? We all know, or should know, the visual input we need to be sure of an A at a certain distance and do it comfortably...i.e. you're 100% sure of that A. Now shoot with only 95% confidence, then 90%, etc and find the point at which you're no longer getting consistent A's. This goes back to Brian's visual patience concept...you're just allowing less and less of it as you go to find the breaking point.

We all have seen "see what you need to see"...okay, that makes sense, but it's not the end of the story (if there is one). Where the work needs to be done is in learning how much you really need to see versus what you think you need to see. As you learn to get closer to the breaking point your brain is going to adjust and that new level of visual input/confidence will seem normal and suddenly you're shooting A's faster than you were previously. Your mechanics haven't changed, your visual ability (physically) didn't change, but your brain has figured out it didn't need as much reassurance as it thought it needed for that A.

That's a great perspective and explanation G-Man. I really like it. Thanks!

[Flexmoney]

People certainly do learn in different ways. Brian has spoke of that a number of times. People have different temperaments.

I try to stay open to learning in a variety of ways. Not just the way that may be most natural (easy) for me.

When I hearing you saying things like..."regurgitated mantra"..." What is this, Faith(?)"..."Unfortunately, most of what I get is the above"..."I'm a blunt man, so I'll just lay it out there: Number 2 is crap"...

When I hear those things, it tells me you have shut yourself off to one way of learning. That will, of course, limit your options. Plus, it will continue to provide frustration for you when others try to help you out...and, you don't like the advice you are getting.

[SA Friday]

People certainly do learn in different ways. Brian has spoke of that a number of times. People have different temperaments.

I try to stay open to learning in a variety of ways. Not just the way that may be most natural (easy) for me.

When I hearing you saying things like..."regurgitated mantra"..." What is this, Faith(?)"..."Unfortunately, most of what I get is the above"..."I'm a blunt man, so I'll just lay it out there: Number 2 is crap"...

When I hear those things, it tells me you have shut yourself off to one way of learning. That will, of course, limit your options. Plus, it will continue to provide frustration for you when others try to help you out...and, you don't like the advice you are getting.

I disagree. What I'm saying is it isn't enough for me, very different from being shut off. What I cannot accept in some of the explination is the oxymoron's, and in many cases the complete lack of information. In the above you focused on what I said concerning much repeated words. What you missed why I've said them. When you tell a shooter that slow is fast, what are they supposed to make that out to mean? Some of these sayings are completely without substance unless there is further dialog concerning the precise meanings behind them and the physical and mental ramifications.

Example: "let it happen" OK, let what happen? If I cay this to my daughter, she understands what I'm getting at because we have discussed it in detail. It's a quick reminder. If I said this to some guy walking down the street, who knows what they will think it means. There is detail lacking.

The mental detail of the concept of becoming a more efficient shooter, faster, smoother is discussed on the forum all the time. So, what about the physical aspect? It gets overlooked a lot, and not discussed to understanding by many. Shooting faster, becoming more efficient is about seeing. OK, think about this, think about that, think about everything. So, what can I do physically to become faster, more efficient?

This has NOTHING to do with me being shut off from learning or providing frustration. For the record, I have not been at any time ever talking about my shooting in this thread. This conversation is based on multiple conversations with shooters, many looking for a way to find speed in their shooting, and they say they don't get anything from answers like 'slow is fast' 'don't think about it, you just get faster'... Sorry, I have to agree with a lot of it. For many, you might as well be telling them to use the force. The mantra's just don't work for me either sometimes.

So, there has to be a way to describe the physical attributes to shooting faster/more efficient based on seeing what you need to see. Then, exercise this skill to a faster/more efficient manner. I understand what Holshot is saying. I also understand the frustration with mantra. I'm looking for a different path to the same answer. How is this being shut off?

Flex: What do you see, and how did your seeing these things get faster? No mantra.

[rvb]

So, what can I do physically to become faster, more efficient?

Well, the obvious answers are to pull the trigger faster or run faster, but I know that's not what you're asking.

So if a shooter is stuck doing a 1.8s reload and they want to do a 1.0s reload, the jedi force mantra says "see what you need to see." The engineer in me for years said "wtf!" I want a diagram and a plan and data.

But then that engineer in me started asking, ok, how do I go faster? As with the reload example, physically I feel like I can't move my arms or fingers faster, so why do I continue to be so slow. Then I started wondering where I could improve? What is holding me back? Am I taking too long to hit the button? Too long to grip the new mag? How do I know? So I started doing reloads just paying attention to one minute detail at a time. After a while my reloads started really improving as I realized things I could make more efficient. And strangely [or not] after a while of focusing on each individual detail, I began to develop the skill to "observe" or "be aware" or "see" so many of the details at once, and I began to get an understanding of what I had been reading in BE's book and here on the forum. So I read certain sections about 3 more times while doing these exercises.

I'm far, far, far from guys like BE or FLEX or XRe or shred or Jake or countless others here who have been great helps. I'm a "paper master" at this point (ink's still drying on the card). But this is how I went from B to M in a year and greatly improved my match shooting. And I did it with very, very little true practice time as life has been hectic lately. But I got there by taking a break from the front sight focus and just trying to see what all I could see. And I would push myself and try to understand where it fell apart if I was "too fast"

Now BE and Flex may come along and poke holes in my understanding. And I hope they do. But it's how I'm making the transition from by-the-numbers engineer to "being aware."

-rvb

[benos]

We really improve when we become aware of what is going on.

That's how it is with everything.

But I got there by taking a break from the front sight focus and just trying to see what all I could see.

-rvb

No problemo there. Keep experimenting. It doesn't matter what you do or don't see... As long as you see enough to know where the shot went before it gets there.

And I would push myself and try to understand where it fell apart if I was "too fast"

-rvb

When you crash, ask yourself - what didn't you see?

Yea, yea I know... the seeing thing again. But trust me, when the TGO drops a shot and didn't know it until the targets were scored... Well he, at that moment, made the same mistake a D class shooter did that dropped a shot. He didn't see what he need to see. He was hopin' instead of seein'!

be

[BritinUSA]

Ok, here's my two cents without the mantra... Everyone's eyes see the same way, our vision works at the speed of light because that is what we see. The image from the retina goes to the brain where it is processed. The processing is the interesting bit. Our brain reacts to what it sees. If it sees something for the first time it has to do more processing to figure out what to do with it.

If it sees the same thing over and over again then it can recognise it quicker and process it quicker. The brain cannot differentiate real vision from imagined vision. Picture an IPSC target, your brain deals with that image the same way it would if there was a real target right in front of your face.

When you walk-through a stage you need to remember what you have seen. The position of the targets, the layout of hardcover, the placement of no-shoots, where your feet step etc. If you remember it correctly then you can visualise it over and over again as if you were walking the stage, over and over.

What you are doing is WRITING the information. When the time comes to shoot, you are READING the information from memory. READ access is faster than WRITE access. It's the difference between writing and book and reading one.

Shoot a stage where you don't know where the targets are, you will suck ! Like I did when I did not have a walkthrough on the Sunday match.

Memorise the stage, and you will shoot it quicker.

Want to shoot faster ? Develop your memory skills. If you can visualise the course of fire EXACTLY as it is, picture each target EXACTLY as it will appear when you shoot, then you are storing the stage and then, when the beep goes off, just READ it.

[Holshot]

Speed is bad. Fast is speed. Slow is speed. Never think speed. Do things right. Drive the gun, call the shots, stay neutral, prep the trigger, etc, etc, etc. If you can't do all the things right that you need to do and you push for speed, you'll crash and burn. The conscious mind cannot think about 2 things at once. The subconscious mind delivers what the conscious asks for. If you want speed, you'll get speed. If you want to be a real shooter, you'll get real shooting. There's a term tossed around "Faster and more accurate". Until you understand that you need to practice more. Every match I win has one thing in common - my conscous mind was telling me to Hammer A's.

In practice, figure out what you're doing wrong. Push yourself hard, really hard, but not at the expense of doing it right. Yeah you'll drop 1 or 2 shots out of a 300 round session but don't accept it. Let it tick you off and do it faster and more accurate the next time.

Good Luck

What? Slow is speed? If you want speed, you'll get speed? What is this, Faith? If the subconscious mind delivered what I consciously asked for, wow, just wow. Wouldn't everyone be a GM? There is more than this, and everyone knows it.

This is what I'm getting at when it when I'm talking about regurgitated mantra. There is more to it than memorizing a book. I understand the theological portion of this. I've read (and comprehended) BE's book twice and 'With Winning in Mind'. What I'm getting at is there is more; that actual physical aspect of learning/training your body to accelerate it's capability. I've called it "going faster" "being more efficient" "smoother", pick one but the meaning is still the same behind the mantra as long as the concept is mentally rooted in a healthy manner. The more this concept is explained in different manners, the easier it will be for people to grasp. Everyone learns differently, there is no set path to learning. Unfortunately, most of what I get is the above.

Many have addressed the mental state to progress through this concept. Very few have addressed the physical aspects to assist progression through this concept. Both are extremely helpful, but there is more to this than regurgitating memorized words. That's what I'm digging for here. I've found much of it.

I simply told you what I have learned. I didn't regurgitate anything. But I'll put it in simpler terms:

Learn to shoot. Take a lesson from someone who knows. When you learn then you'll understand what we're telling you and then, hopefully, when someone asks for your assistance, you can put it in better terms than I.

[SA Friday]

So if a shooter is stuck doing a 1.8s reload and they want to do a 1.0s reload, the jedi force mantra says "see what you need to see." The engineer in me for years said "wtf!" I want a diagram and a plan and data.

But then that engineer in me started asking, ok, how do I go faster? As with the reload example, physically I feel like I can't move my arms or fingers faster, so why do I continue to be so slow. Then I started wondering where I could improve? What is holding me back? Am I taking too long to hit the button? Too long to grip the new mag? How do I know? So I started doing reloads just paying attention to one minute detail at a time. After a while my reloads started really improving as I realized things I could make more efficient. And strangely [or not] after a while of focusing on each individual detail, I began to develop the skill to "observe" or "be aware" or "see" so many of the details at once, and I began to get an understanding of what I had been reading in BE's book and here on the forum. So I read certain sections about 3 more times while doing these exercises.

I'm far, far, far from guys like BE or FLEX or XRe or shred or Jake or countless others here who have been great helps. I'm a "paper master" at this point (ink's still drying on the card). But this is how I went from B to M in a year and greatly improved my match shooting. And I did it with very, very little true practice time as life has been hectic lately. But I got there by taking a break from the front sight focus and just trying to see what all I could see. And I would push myself and try to understand where it fell apart if I was "too fast"

Now BE and Flex may come along and poke holes in my understanding. And I hope they do. But it's how I'm making the transition from by-the-numbers engineer to "being aware."

-rvb

YES!!! This is what I'm looking for. Stuff like this. Your break-down of having a faster reload is exactly what I'm talking about. Those minute details of the physical attributes broken down into pieces to observe and reflect upon. This is working through the physical pieces that can be processed into the mental aspect and absorbed. Once absorbed, then the understanding sets in.

[lugnut]

This is a very interesting thread and what is fundamentally the most intriguing thing about this sport... there are just so many ways to improve and we all "look" at things a little differently.

Example- if you watch Max, Kirsch or Burkett move in and out of boxes they each do it differently. Some of my friends and I had lots of discussion about the pros and cons of each method. But instead I decided to "focus" on what was similar. It was efficiency of motion, it was moving without thinking, gun ready entering the box, etc, etc.

"Seeing" things is hugely important but I think that some of the top shooters on this forum overuse the word "seeing". I personally interpret it as "experiencing", "feeling", "observing", and "viewing" everything you can at the appropriate time. It's also moving well, setting up, it's trigger control, stage breakdown, it's necessary sight picture, it's recognizing everything you are doing. You can't just SEE and get better- it's observing where room for improvement is (like rvb posted) and working on it until you ARE better without trying to go faster. All this doesn't even take into account the need for mental toughness at matches either!!

I'm currently a mid B shooter and can "see" how to get to A and beyond... but it takes lots of practice and effort still on all the above.

SA- one thing that will really help you discover where improvements can be made is to have someone video tape you at a match. Talk about eye opening experiences!! Many things look ok at normal speeds... but go in slow motion and you will see things you can't believe you did or were happening. Run your vids side by side to a higher level shooter... you will quickly learn it may not be just one thing... but literally hundreds of little or tiny things... that as we know, all add up!!!

[CHA-LEE]

+1 On videoing your shooting and studying it extensively to find flaws. There is NO WAY I could have gotten better at the pace I have without videoing and studying my shooting. Being not only a user but a student of your craft is a big part of getting better. Trying to study videos as you are shooting isn't the right time either. You need to be in the "Experience it" mode while shooting. Then when you get home and have time to relax and think about things, that is the best time to scrub through your videos and look for things to improve upon.

In my last hobby/sport when I raced I needed two different mind sets to be successful. The first mind set was “Observe and do not compensate for weakness”. I used this mindset while practicing as I would drive the car as consistent as I could but had a very heightened observation of anything that was not happening right. This way I could pin point the weaknesses in my driving or car setup so I could make the necessary changes while I still had time to make changes. The second mindset was “Just deal with it and get it done”. This is where I would change my driving style or aggressiveness to compensate for changing track conditions or a less than optimal setup on the car. The top priority in this mode was to do whatever it takes to get the job done no matter how difficult it is.

I think that in the practical shooting world too many shooters are stuck in the “Just deal with it and get it done” mind set. They are fighting their equipment, throwing their physical mechanics of shooting to the way side, charging through the COF like a battering ram, or consciously commanding every single thing during the stage run.

Alternately if these shooters would just let go a little bit and give their subconscious mind a chance to be in the drivers seat they would be way more apt to “Experience” the shooting in a completely different way. But this requires quite a bit of faith or confidence in your skills to just let go and experience the situation.

Start with something simple such as setting up a practice COF where you come into a shooting position and have multiple choices on the order the targets can be engaged. Left to Right, Right to Left, Up to Down, Down to Up, Near to Far, Far to Near. Then PURPOSEFULLY do not plan any engagement order and run through the COF, letting your subconscious mind take over, and experience how your mind deals with the order of targets engaged. Rearrange the targets to scramble up the order and do it again and again and again. Don’t worry about shooting speed or stage times, just experience how your mind solves the puzzle. What you take out of this will be unique as everyone will have a different experience. But if the shooter is really able to open themselves up to just experience the situation quite a bit will be learned. Video yourself doing this and then you can study the experience from a third persons vantage point, which gives you even more feedback on what you are or are not doing correctly.

I know for myself if I pick a target to start engaging in a given shooting position the rest of the targets in that shooting position will get engaged as well by my subconscious mind. Being able to setup a stage plan with the confidence of knowing that I can do this makes stage planning all that much easier. I don’t worry about left to right, up or down, near or far and which ones to engage in a specific order. I know that if I place myself into a shooting position all of the targets will get engaged so I can focus more on my movement in and out of the shooting position. I hope to one day have the same level of confidence in my movement that it will allow me to do the same thing moving into and out of shooting positions. And on and on and on…… The learning never really stops. Or at least I don’t think so.