Wanna-b-speedy

[Flexmoney]

Well, many of you know that I often pour through the scores that are posted online from the various matches.

The scores don't lie. Usually you can pick out a trend that explains why a shooter didn't do as well as they might have.

One that I see all the time (mainly because I look at my scores as well as others) it the shooter that shot more than fast enough to place at the top of a stage...but they didn't get enouigh points to make the grade.

USPSA is POINTS divided by TIME.

Get more points!!! You won't have to give up much time to do it.

Hi

I'm Kyle.

I'm a Wanna-B-Speedy.

[spook]

Hi Flex, I get what you're writing here. I fall into that category too. Shooting groups helps me with that. Allow yourself to get the points. I've noticed that the perception of speed is a great factor here. When you're trying to go fast, all your mind is occupied with is speed, so your constantly telling yourself that you're fast. This makes you feel fast. When you go for points, your mind is occupied with a lot more than "going fast", like alligning sights, confirming sight positions etc. You're mind isn't telling your body it's going very fast, because it's doing lots of other stuff. That's only perception. You can go fast in either way. All you have to do is ignore the feeling that you're slow when you go for points (at least, that's my little project for now )

[Jake Di Vita]

I think the biggest key to overcoming the Wanna-B-Speedy mentality is learning to shoot without emotion.

[twix]

For me, at this point in my shooting, it is just the visual patience to make each shot a seperate sight picture. It is what I have been working on for the last couple of months with a lot of reading of "the Book" and posts from guys like Flex$ here. It sounds so easy but it is easy to forego under the pressure of the clock.

Tom Bergman

[Ron Ankeny]

Yeah, I am learning that lesson the hard way...Production division and minor scoring.

[twix]

Production, exactly. Changes the meaning of "clean" from mostly A's, some C's and couple D's to all A's with maybe one C. Tight.

[PaulW]

Kinda relates to the discussion that Detlef and I were having in another post. I agree with you 100% Flex, but I might add to get your points and still be fast. Last weekend I had the best match fundementally of my life. This weekend (Sunday) I shot a match and only got 87% of the points, with my new gun. HMM.....last weekend I was using a borrowed gun, now my new gun that I just got back. Still gotta get those points regardless.

[L9X25]

Paul,

The new gun is an STI ... the borrowed gun was an SV. If you want the points and a fast time go back with the SV!

You knew that was coming!

[Matthew_Mink]

Get more points!!! You won't have to give up much time to do it.

Hi

I'm Kyle.

I'm a Wanna-B-Speedy.

What is worse is succumbing to peer pressure induced speediness. I won't point any fingers or anything, but in this next story all 3 of us (uhhh..... them) hang out here.

Get 3 new Masters together at a state level match and watch the fireworks and festivities. At the MO Fall Classic I shot so wild it was scary. Somehow I won Production. I didn't just walk away with it, there was some competition there. I also had 4 misses, all in hardcover and a LOT of dropped points. That is SO not like me. I knew I was going down to MS next, I had to get my mind right for the next match. When I went down to shoot the Mississippi Classic, I had it in my mind I was going to shoot a clean match. The only thing that changed from MO Classic to MS Classic was mindset. I saw every shot instead of one big blur. I won Production there also, again with some competition. The only difference? I just mentally slowed down. Did I do it physically? Maybe a little, but the hits were all there. At MS, I had no penalties. I also won every stage in Production. To date, that match stands as the pinnacle of my performance. I don't think it would have happened quite that way if I hadn't gotten squadded with Kyle and Bryant at MO.

[Steve Anderson]

Yeah...Kyle can do that to you. His trigger figer gets itchy sometimes, and he'll scratch it right before your run.

Chafffin is the same way...F-A-S-T. I would hate to shoot Production on their squad. I shot the FGNs with Flex and Matt Trout. I was in prod, they in lim 10 (well, Trout shot open, but that's a different story ) I definitely let their cadence into my mental game.

I have progressed since then, but it's always 2 back 1 forward with me...

SA

[BerettaRacer]

At the Louisiana state match several months ago, shooting production, I had mindset of shooting a good match, quicly. Ended up with a few mikes and penalties and (for me) decent times.

At the Mississippi classic a month later, again shooting production, I made a concious effort to get hits at the expense of time. It was the best match I have shot, clean match, no mikes, no penalties.

The Miss. match felt a little slower, but in control and I think the overall result was slightly better than Louisiana.

Unfortunately there was some guy (Mr Mink) there that kicked all our butts,

[Flexmoney]

Of cousre, this idea isn't new.

But, that 9 hour drive back from Missouri gave me time to put a name on it.

I am guilty of not getting enough live-fire practice in. So, in the local matches, I do a little bit of practicing. I'm often pushing the envelope to try out a few things. Normally, I would be able to rein myself in for the bigger matches. That didn't happen this year. I shot pretty poorly in the four Majors that I attended.

My lack of performance came from trying, rushing, and not trusting my speed.

The "focus" was in the wrong place. It was on speed.

The focus needs to be elsewhere. Steve's "it's a vision test" seems like a good place to shift the focus.

(To Mink's credit, he pulled his head out of his butt at the Missouri match before the half-way point. I continued to shoot with mine inserted...which explains why I didn't see much of my sights. )

[benos]

I was talking with Erik about this exact topic at the Classic. (Although I may be the only one who knows that.)

He was comparing his method (solid finishes overall) with Shred's (nine misses but finished only four percent behind him), trying to figure out how to proceed. You know, the ol' - I gotta go faster thing. I felt it was a mistake to even consider such comparisons because they only seem justifiable to anyone but the winner. (Or those capable of winning.) To the winner(s), there are no such comparisons because they do not deviate from the guiding principle - shoot good points as fast as possible. And although the good points part my not come first in your personal evolvement, in the end, you can't miss (the A box) fast enough to win. (Sorry to end with a cliche.)

[Guest qstick]

My lack of performance came from trying, rushing, and not trusting my speed

Flex,

That is great stuff. You expressed in 13 words what I have been trying to sort out for the past few weeks. I shot 2 great (for my ability) local matches and was feeling great, then I had one bad match, got frustrated and started introducing tension into my grip and body...something I start doing as soon as I put a little pressure on myslef to perform well. Accuracy started to suffer, results got gradually worse and frustration was mounting. This weekend I shot in a squad with a GM, a few M's, and no real wink links. I subconscioulsy tried to match their shooting cadence and found myself struggling even more. Finally at the last 2 stages, I figured that it was a poor performance, relaxed and decided to have fun and nearly won one stage and shot real well on the other...and both runs seemed waaaaaaay slow to me.

For me, when shooting well, I try to think about being relaxed and having visual patience to see what I need to.

Thanks again Flex....

Zach

[Flexmoney]

... the guiding principle - shoot good points as fast as possible.

It's that simple.

Yet...us wannabe's focus on only half of that statement...the as fast as possible.

Doom.

Zach...those words are currently in my signiture line...and are from Brian's book.

(I recently wrote them in the bill of my hat, too.)

[TDean]

Boy is this topic near'n dear to my heart right now.

After being squadded with Dave, Blake, Taran and Mark at Area 2, my head is spinning wondering what the hell happened to my game.

I was well aware of the fact that I was shooting with these hot-shots, and that "peer-pressure induced speed" as Mr. Mink called it was real.

After shooting the first stage, Dave told me to slow down. Taran called me "insane" after another stage. Hmmm...are they trying to tell me something?

I have to say that Dave S. was a big help in this my first super-squad-like experience. I just got lucky to be squadded with them, perhaps it's a benefit of an area match ? This was a great experience! In Dave's words as I stood dejected after earning 4 mikes on stage 8 "..some of the best lessons are learned from things like this.."

Flex,

"..My lack of performance came from trying, rushing, and not trusting my speed.

The "focus" was in the wrong place. It was on speed..."

I couldn't have said it better!!

Brian,

"..it was a mistake to even consider such comparisons because they only seem justifiable to anyone but the winner. ......To the winner(s), there are no such comparisons because they do not deviate from the guiding principle - shoot good points as fast as possible."

I was standing there when you told Erik that and I'm glad I heard it.

If you're winning the match based on your skills, everybody chasing you will be trying to figure out some sort of formula to catch up to you. Meanwhile, the leader will be relaxed, just shooting his game.....

He will expect to NOT win every stage because some stages may be better suited to another's skills (youth, strength, running distance). The winner WILL be consistent though because he's comfortable shooting at his pace over the duration of the match. He will NOT deviate from his known abilities and allow the possibility of him beating himself to creep into the mix.

Is that what you mean?

[brentm]

from someone who shoots mostly bianchi matches where the perception is speed isn't required...

but really it is

initial speed in target acquisition buys you valuable time for comfortable splits in that series

later in the shootoffs like plates its sudden death- no misses and decreasing time you're actually forced to speed up more and more - puts a lot outside their comformt zone

i certainly never forced myself to shoot faster it just doesn't work - but pushing a little does and it allows you to maintain confidence in making hits as you actually speed up, but it takes time.

my speed comes only from the confidence in my own ability to consistently make hits - thats a mental construct so its a mental limitation...to be beaten menatlly....

i find visulisation prematch provides more gains than anything , i know my ability and i use visualisation like watching a movie of myself before i shoot...i made those hits in 4 sec so i could push a little more...

i struggled when i started to hit those 6 plates in 6 sec some 10yrs on I'm whacking them in under 3sec with a revolver -

Brentm

[Rush]

I am learning the truth of the "Shoot A's as fast as you can" the hard way....

when I looked back at my match performance, my best finish was when the gun was new and I was very careful of the dot while I was shooting the match... after that.. and don't ask me why... I sort of delved into the dark side and went as fast as I could .. but didn't consciously track dot/sight pictures.. he he..

[DogmaDog]

Hmmm.

I seem to be in a different boat than everyone else. Often at local matches, my points on a stage will be about the same as the stage winner's (sometimes I even score the most points), but my times are substantially longer. I'm at the point now where I sometimes win in C class, and I still choke on no-shoots too often, but mostly my points are there...where's the speed?

DogmaDog

[Flexmoney]

Most of the speed is gained in movement, and lost in wasted motion.

Many of us get lured into the trap of thinking that the shooting needs to be focus of speed.

But...if you are taking a long time to break the shot, then an evaluation of the focus that is applied to the sight and the trigger is in order.

[BigDave]

I think someone here, and much wiser than myself, wrote "shoot only as fast as you can see". There is so much truth to that. Most of the performance problems I've experienced I can trace 100% to that. When I finally decided to be patient and "see" my sights, the speed aspect took care of itself.

The tricks, I've found, is realize how (1) little time it takes to make an accurate shot and (2), how very little you have to see to make an accurate shot. On thought #2, what I realized is I (you may be different) don't have to have a 100% perfect sight picture for each shot. What I must be able to do is read my sights well enough to call my shot. I must do that if I expect to shoot at my ability.

I've found the best place to experiment with speed is in practice, not a match. I think it is important at times to just go WFO and "see" what happens. Not so much of a "lets see if this'll work" but rather "lets crank it up and pay attention to what is happening".

This is not easy.

[Dalmas]

I have a slighthly different speed problem that mainly make me very sattisfied. my accuracy comes with speed and when pressed I perform better.

I have the good fortune to train with the world no9 (WS XIII) and I do my best shooting under preassure from him.

If I stand and shoot groups at 25m one shot at the time, then my trigger freeze and jerks come and i spread it all over the target, if I speed up and run about .40 - .50 splits i can keep the hits in the A-zon at 25m. There is too much time to thing about what you must not do. I guess concious though like BE talk about. With speed there is no time for concious thought, love it.

With a Hämmerli 208S .22 target gun I'm top 20 in denmark so the technic for grouping is there but it's a mental game when I pull out the SVI.....

90% of the game is ½ mental....

[benos]

Tdean,

He will expect to NOT win every stage because some stages may be better suited to another's skills (youth, strength, running distance). The winner WILL be consistent though because he's comfortable shooting at his pace over the duration of the match. He will NOT deviate from his known abilities and allow the possibility of him beating himself to creep into the mix.

While everything you said is correct, it is not precisely what I was trying to communicate.

Your words describe remaining within one's capacity or ability, which is a good thing.

Shooting good points as quickly as possible, however, is a principle. Which if adhered to, is a good thing as well.

Personally realizing this principle must happen in the form of insight. Then, you will apply it without doubt. We can talk about it all day long but it won't affect your shooting one bit.

You can't leave out the "good points" part. It is essential.

A good hit factor comes from quickly shooting good points. But quickly shooting good points doesn't come from a good hit factor.

[Steve Anderson]

Day-Ham!

Benos nails it again...when's that new book coming out?

SA

[Flexmoney]

...realizing...must happen in the form of insight.

Bingo!