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Best way, crouch or kneel?


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Just curious, which is faster, better and more stable when shooting under a barricade as the last part of a stage? I was practicing the other day and the time to first hit kneeling and crouching was pretty close.

Brad

Depends very heavily on how far away and how small the target is, IMO.

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Just curious, which is faster, better and more stable when shooting under a barricade as the last part of a stage? I was practicing the other day and the time to first hit kneeling and crouching was pretty close.

Brad

Faster= almost always crouching. Better, depends on the difficulty of the shot. More stable= kneeling. R,

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It also depends on how flexible your body is. I have a back surgery in my past and crouching beyond a certain point puts too much pressure on my 57 year old body. I go to a kneeling position in those instances. I suspect the answer to your question varies for each individual.

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It also depends on how flexible your body is. I have a back surgery in my past and crouching beyond a certain point puts too much pressure on my 57 year old body. I go to a kneeling position in those instances. I suspect the answer to your question varies for each individual.

A close target, a 'higher' low port, or a situation where it's *not* the last position in the stage... crouch

A tough shot, you're not going anywhere else, and the port nearly requires you to shoot prone... kneel

Lots of exceptions, but them's the basic guidelines.

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You added more info to the equation in your last post.

* Last part of the stage (you don't have top come out of the crouch or kneel to move on)

* Small poppers

* 50 feet away

* Pretty low crouch for you (48", height doesn't matter if the height was hard for you)

Sounds like a kneeling effort for you. Not trying to be derogatory about you or your skills. Try dry fire practicing under various height conditions. Work on getting lower in a crouch. You will probably see more situations calling for crouching AND THEN moving to another position where having to kneel will cause you to spend more time than necessary. Work on your weaknesses.

CYa,

Pat

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You added more info to the equation in your last post.

* Last part of the stage (you don't have top come out of the crouch or kneel to move on)

* Small poppers

* 50 feet away

* Pretty low crouch for you (48", height doesn't matter if the height was hard for you)

Sounds like a kneeling effort for you. Not trying to be derogatory about you or your skills. Try dry fire practicing under various height conditions. Work on getting lower in a crouch. You will probably see more situations calling for crouching AND THEN moving to another position where having to kneel will cause you to spend more time than necessary. Work on your weaknesses.

CYa,

Pat

Everybody can't just stand upright with a slightly scrunched neck under a 48" tall board????? :roflol:

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You added more info to the equation in your last post.

* Last part of the stage (you don't have top come out of the crouch or kneel to move on)

* Small poppers

* 50 feet away

* Pretty low crouch for you (48", height doesn't matter if the height was hard for you)

Sounds like a kneeling effort for you. Not trying to be derogatory about you or your skills. Try dry fire practicing under various height conditions. Work on getting lower in a crouch. You will probably see more situations calling for crouching AND THEN moving to another position where having to kneel will cause you to spend more time than necessary. Work on your weaknesses.

CYa,

Pat

Everybody can't just stand upright with a slightly scrunched neck under a 48" tall board????? :roflol:

Bart,

Not everybody is built like you and Jerry Bridges. :roflol:

Happy New Year buddy, :cheers:

Pat

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In our sport, crouching is almost always going to be better. It is pretty stable and easy to get into and out of. And, there is no gun bounce when the knee touches down too hard. If you have to move to a new position, then you are already off the ground when in a crouch. Kneeling, you only have one leg to drive off with.

Chances are, you will need both.

Here is a pic of a crouch:

post-690-1262241869_thumb.jpg

And here is a video with a couple of kneeling positions (one is the start). In both cases here, I had to go somewhere else after the position. I keep the outside leg up...so that I could drive off of it.

http://www.youtube.com/user/Flexmoney#p/a/u/0/8LkrIiN_E0k

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Hello: Try going to one knee and shoot a little sideways. Or if you can crouch and drop down like a butterfly save that a goal tender makes in hockey. Everyone is different, you just have to decide what works for you. Thanks, Eric

I watched Henning Wallgren drop to a knee and shoot through a 12" low port and my body hurt for 2 days. Double Alpha has the video proof on the 2007 Open Nationals.

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I watched Henning Wallgren drop to a knee and shoot through a 12" low port and my body hurt for 2 days. Double Alpha has the video proof on the 2007 Open Nationals.

If I remember correctly photos of that made it into Front Sight shortly after the match.

Joe W.

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Like so many things, it depends - on everything. One of the things that I am slowly learning is that there is not a "best way" to do most things. For example:

Is the low barricade near the beginning at the end of the stage?

Is this the first stage of the day or the last?

Is it a close or distant shot?

How many targets?

How are my legs and knees feeling?

Etc...

Personally, I can usually keep my feet close and drop into a squat easier than I can kneel. I can also recover from a squat faster. But at my age and general physical condition, neither one is going to be all that graceful and I will feel it later.

In the photo Flex posted, the shooter is using a common squat stance which is more stable than my feet together - knees out posture, but harder for me without more exercise. But if you really want a stable platform, learn to use a horse stance.

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First off, what the hell is a horse stance?

There would be no movement after shooting through the port. At least the way we were shooting at it.

Brad

Think sitting on the throne without your pants around your ankles. Also shoulder width apart.

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like the rest have said, probably depending on your ability or health, he crouch would be 'faster', but somthing to think about if its the last box, why not go prone??? flop an fire??? hehehe that is easier than gettin into a 'ipsc pretzel' and bendin over to shoot underthing and I used to do it almost without blinking if it was the last position, now....tough on the old body...

last i checked the horse stance was in Karate...nuttin like standin in that position for a while then gettin 'tapped' on the thighs by a kempo stick....hehehe

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First off, what the hell is a horse stance?

The name probably does come from martial arts, and that is where I first learned it, but it's a very stable position for shooting as well. One pistol instructor I know calls it the FBI crapper stance.

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It also depends on how flexible your body is. I have a back surgery in my past and crouching beyond a certain point puts too much pressure on my 57 year old body. I go to a kneeling position in those instances. I suspect the answer to your question varies for each individual.

ditto.....

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It also depends on how flexible your body is. I have a back surgery in my past and crouching beyond a certain point puts too much pressure on my 57 year old body. I go to a kneeling position in those instances. I suspect the answer to your question varies for each individual.

ditto.....

Would recommend squat exercises then. A good squat practice will build the back muscles and your ability to vary your height. Find a gym coach or trainer for a session or two. Need to keep the back straight, the feet flat, and the head in the right place.

This comes from a back challenged person. :)

Leam

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