Unique Experience I Want To Share.....

[Nick Weidhaas]

I think this is the right place for this thead. Although have no real knowledge of Zen, what happened to me seemed "Zen Like" if that makes any sense.

A little background- I'm 36 and have been shooting something since I was 7 years old. I'm not a Master in anything, but have tried just about every shooting game out there at one time or another. Shooting handguns has always been my 1st love and I recently returned (full circle I guess). In all my years of shooting I've NEVER experienced what happend this past week.

I was shooting a local IDPA match and they had a stage consisting of two speed strings set up side by side with a mix of steel and paper. Not a normal IDPA stage, but fun. I shot the 1st string and had a good time. I then set up for the second string (which was on a different set of targets) The string was as follows: 10 yards, plate rack in the middle with a IDPA target on either end. The IDPA targets required 3 hits to score and all steel had to fall. Steel and paper could be shot in any order. With a single stack 1911 in CDP I had to reload. My plan was to shoot the 1st paper on the left, the 6 steel plates, do a slide lock reload and then shoot the paper target on the right. I indicated ready and on the beep shot the 1st target. As I transistioned to the steel I got the sensation like I was floating and enverything was in slow motion. I could see each plate fall in order, but did not feel like I was really shooting the gun. It almost felt like I was watching someone else shoot .

As I came to the last plate I think (I'm not sure really what happended) I realized I was shooting (and hitting everything) and I missed my last plate. I felt like I came out of the zone (for lack of a better word) at that moment. However, when I missed, it did not bother me. I knew I missed and it felt like I re-entered the zone as I reloaded, shot three on the right paper and then the plate I had misssed.

The point of all this is that I had never experienced this slow-down, zone, out of body experience, whatever you want to call it in almost 30 years of shooting. It was also very interesting that when I became aware that something was different, I lost the feeling and missed. However, I was able to go back or re-enter the zone and finish shooting. I guess it was this mini-speed bump...this moment of awareness that "I had never been here before" that caused me to think about what was happening and then miss the target. Interestingly, it did not cause a complete crash as I recovered and maybe even re-entered the zone to finish the string of fire.

Any thoughts on what happened to me? Do I need to check myself in for evaluation , or is this what I have been searching for for the last 30 years .

Any input would be apprecaited.

Nick-

P.S. The run ended up being 10:49 I believe. I know that someone shot this string in 8 and change in SSP so my time was not very fast. So another observation could be that this zone I felt myself in did equate to being smooth and relaxed, but not really fast.

[tightloop]

Probably your first time seeing what you need to see.

[benos]

Nick,

Nice description of what's often called the zone. I feel it as a state of merging. When actor and action become one, it's noticeable as a lack of conflict or struggle. The actor, in this case - the physical and mental culmination of will and skill - becomes the result - impeccable action. It's a cool experience to say the least. And it can be transformational in one's shooting career, or even life, if one is open to it.

Like with many things desirable, the trap lies in wanting or trying to recreate the experience. I can say from experience that any attempt, no matter how clever or subtle, to recreate the experiment will fail. Which often leaves the actor frustrated. After some years of being this frustrated actor, I finally realized the best approach was to, what I call - "create the conditions favorable." Which serves to _allow_ the merging to occur. It's characterized by a complete lack of trying - of anything whatsoever. Especially trying not to try. And prefaced by a sense of certainty - pervading everything you plan to do.

be

[Ron Ankeny]

Oh my, what Brian said makes perfect sense. That's scary.

[Nick Weidhaas]

Brian,

Thanks for the feedback. It was right on point. You really have this stuff down Brian........you ought to right a book or something... I have thought about the experience quite a bit and agree that trying to recreate the experience will not work. I tried to think back to what happend before I shot or if I could recall what was different. The only things that I recall feeling was relaxation with no sense of expectation. I had made a plan, visualized it in my mind, but did not try to force anything or to shoot fast. I just kind'a unplugged and let myself execute my plan. I've read your book and your point on awareness, was well received. You've heard the old saying, slow is fast.....when someone TRIES to go fast they usually don't and often crash. I now have a new appreciation for this saying. It was a great experience either way. My approach will be to "creat the condtions favorable" from this point on. Of course I will do this without trying to do it

Thanks again,

Nick

[SiG Lady]

"The point of all this is that I had never experienced this slow-down, zone, out of body experience, whatever you want to call it in almost 30 years of shooting. "

GAH!!! I don't HAVE 30 years to wait for this!!! I want it NOW!!!

I think I'll NOT TRY (or TRY NOT) to have this experience. Heh, heh. That'll probably work.

Congrats to Nick for 'getting there'.....!!!!

[AikiDale]

Congratulations Nick! And I am envious.

The state you describe will occur, as Brian indicated, if you do not seek it, on more frequent occasions as you continue to train. I have had experience in the martial arts and in motorcycle riding ( funny how those get thrown together) you discribe, but not yet while shooting. In the Japanese martial arts in general the state is referred to as Mushin, or 'no mind.' This is a Zen concept. the state where the mind reflects what is without the intervention of desire or prejudicial thought.

In Aikido, the martial art I have settled into since 1975, the concept is refered to as 'Takemusuaiki.'

This conveys the concept of doing what needs to be done appropriately, correctly, harmoniously and without thought or judgement or trying. In essence, the action exists and you exist as part of the action.

I believe this state can occur, where we allow ourselves to go on auto pilot and we become observers, when we trust ourselves enough to not interfere. We quit talking to ourselves and the action becomes a meditation. It's what all those martial arts instructors mean when they say 'Don't Think!'

[SiG Lady]

But seriously...

The first two or three shooting session experiences I had a couple of years ago brought this type of sensation to consciousness immediately...... "Ohmygod", I said to myself, "this is a meditation!!." By becoming competitive, I became tense and lost a little of that benefit and am currently trying to regain it. I nearly lost it completely several weeks back and had to loosen up and get back with it--or detach from it, as the case may be. I think we're going back in the right direction and "the zone" occurs now and then. It does somehow relate to confidence and trust in oneself.

[Guest Larry Cazes]

Nick, I have definitely been there, in the zone, and experienced it for some time during the last 3 matches I've shot! I have experienced almost being out of my body and on autopilot during stages. I can vividly recall setting up at the start position and waiting for the beep but then everything between the start beep and last shot happened almost automatically, dare I say unconsiously?. Believe it or not, the stages in which I experienced this were the best I've done yet! I am a D class shooter in L10 and shot a classifier to a solid B percentage 3 weeks ago. After our local match this saturday, I discussed this with my wife but no one else until I saw your post. I like it!

Larry

[AikiDale]

GAH!!! I don't HAVE 30 years to wait for this!!!  I want it NOW!!!   

It is NOW!!!

[tightloop]

SiG Lady

It happens most frequently when I am on the pinnacle of my game, supremely confident of my ability, and calm. It is when preparation meets anticipation and you just let it happen.

[Nick Weidhaas]

Thanks everyone for your feedback and comments.

AkiDale,

It is intereting that you bring up the martial arts and specifically Aikido. I have been seriously considering studying this art. I have studied Judo and Kempo Karate (many years ago). I had the wonderful opportunity to train in Japan. My uncle lived in Japan and when I was 16 he brought me over for 3 mos and put me in a dojo. I had been attending Judo classes at the local YMCA for about a year prior to going to Japan. I can't even begin to tell you how good an exerience this was. I don't think I really appreciated it as much then as I do now. I stopped studying in 1986 and have been thinking for some time that I would like to study again. I honestly feel there could be a positive and beneficial relationhips formed from the study of both Aikido and shooting. I know this is a little off topic, but what do you think about this........that is your study of Aikido and shooting....have you found it to be a positive relationship?

If you would rather talk about this off line, please feel free to email me.

Thanks again,

Nick

[SiG Lady]

AikiDale--

Yep, I know. (Was just being sarcastic and goofy...)(as always...)

And the "now" part IS part of it....... ah so.

[Sam]

The problem we have in trying to summon awareness is that we want the awareness for the wrong reason. "I want to get in the zone so I can do this cool feat", I say. Or, another way, "I want to get in the zone to create this cool outcome". The awareness is fleeting or doesn't come at all, because awareness can not exist in the same state of mind as concern over outcomes. If I'm concerned about outcomes, by definition, I cannot be fully aware. Distraction, frustration, worry, none of these have anything at all to do with awareness. They are created by ego and the desire for an outcome. Who we are has nothing to do with how well we shoot. Simply, trust that the outcome will be what it will be. And it will surely be commensurate to your level of training.

[Flexmoney]

Nice.

[Nick Weidhaas]

Sam,

Well said.

Nick

[AikiDale]

Sam,

Hit the nail right on the head! Thanks. (but I WANT to shoot better)

[AikiDale]

Nick,

I do not even think it is off topic. I experience that zone most often on the tatami. I suspect it is because after 42 years of Japanese martial arts, the last 28 Aikido, I am comfortable enough with my knowledge and training I can relax and just allow. I do not yet have the time in shooting to get to this state, my ego gets in the way because I want to do well. The principles of relaxed extension, attention and awareness we discuss on the board and read of in Brians book struck an instant chord of recognition with me because good principles are good principles. I think the kind of shooting Brian writes about and Aikido complement each other because they are the same thing.

My Aikido is better since I started shooting and, I would not be surprised, if a shooters skills increased with the addition of Aikido training.

[AikiDale]

Sig Lady,

I could not resist.

My Sensei is famous for saying years ago as he was just learning English, "Now is Now! Dead is Dead! No Afraid," when teaching us to pay attention to what we were doing and do it without extraneous worry.

[Guest Larry Cazes]

AikiDale, do you guys think that this is in any way enhanced or facilitated by traditional meditation? If in fact this state is similiar to the awareness of meditation, maybe regular meditation may facilitate it during a match situation. I have used meditation as a means to reduce stress for many years and have found it to be pretty effective when I need it.

Larry

[AikiDale]

Most assuredly! Meditation is the tool with which one trains the mind to pay attention. Sitting meditation is a good place to start. Moving meditation takes more effort but then the shooting becomes a meditation. See Professor Herrigel's Zen in the Art of Archery for more on shooting and Zen meditation.

[tmckeown]

For me to get to the zone means a good stage planning, walkthrus and then being relaxed enought. Still it doesn't happen everytime. It's funny thou to find yourself watching yourself shooting the stage.

Timo Mc

[AikiDale]

Jump ahead two years. It happened to me this past weekend for the first time shooting. One stage was a forest of 15 static plates. While focusing on the front sight the gun kept firing without my interference as the dot landed on each plate. I have no idea if the time was any good or not yet, the scores are not posted, but I know it was better shooting than I have done before. "One small step for man...."

[kamakiri]

Hello, fellow seekers...

I just had a positive experience of achieving "the zone" at a match, and after thinking about it after the fact, I wanted to share a few thoughts and questions that came to mind, particularly about how one goes about "creating the conditions favorable."

First, the experience: I was at a major match this weekend, the last of the season for me, and I had been hoping to shoot well, as I have felt that I've been improving over the summer/fall. I felt I was having a pretty ho-hum match, however, marred by three successive stages with errors, penalties, or simply sub-par shooting. Then I stepped up to the classifier, and everything just clicked. It was CM 99-7, Both Sides Now #1, three strings shot around a barricade at six targets, four of which are partly obscured by hard cover and one of which has the A zone framed by no-shoots. My first string was OK-- pretty fast, but with a hit that just cut the perf on the A zone no-shoot-- but on the next two everything just flowed perfectly, I felt that the sights just moved across the array with zero wasted time or motion, the shots broke as if the gun was firing itself, and my times ended up being considerably faster, all the hits good. If it weren't for the no-shoot it would have been just shy of a GM-level run, way above my current percentage, and even with the penalty it was still well above my average classifier score. Better yet, when I went to the next stage, a classifier-like course that also involved shooting around a barricade, I hit the zone again and really aced that one, again with the feeling of being an observer simply watching as the gun flowed from target to target without hesitation or superfluous motion.

Well, that's all great, but what intrigues me is the question of what made this happen at this particular time. I have definitely been making an effort of late to work on my mental state at matches, in particular to put behind me any errors or disappointing stages, and I was doing that in this case-- telling myself not to worry about pushing hard (which I had just tried on the stage before, and botched it) and trying to just let the shooting happen-- hoping for that state of "mushin." Nonetheless I can't help but feel that my mental state seemed like rather an unfavorable condition just then; I hadn't slept well the week before the match, I was still subconsciously riled up about the botched stages, and I'm sure I was also subconsciously concerned about the fact that I was about to shoot a classifier, since I've been feeling I should be moving up in my percentages but have not shot my last few classifiers well. So, how did I hit the zone?

One theory that has occurred to me is that it might have had something to do with what I'll call a "dislocation" of my mental state-- that is to say, I approached those stages in a state unlike what is typical for me; on the one hand, calmed somewhat by the deliberate effort to avoid stress or concern over the outcome, and on the other hand, energized by previous disappointments; with the result that I was perhaps more open to simply letting the shooting happen, rather than trying to control it within the context of familiar mental parameters. Does this make sense to those who are following this thread?

One other thought in passing-- We talk about how being in the zone involves a lack of intent, how we are not thinking about hitting targets but simply "watching ourselves" as we do hit those targets; any focus on an outcome would dilute our awareness of the act. And yet, paradoxically, the ability to achieve the zone seems to originate at some point earlier in time when we very much do consciously want to achieve a certain outcome, and fix that goal in our minds, and focus our thoughts on what is necessary to do so-- every little aspect of it, in fact, from subtleties of technique to shades of mental process. I'm not saying anything new here, I guess, except perhaps to suggest that the zone is not so much a perfect absence of intent as a perfect absorption of that intent into the subconscious: it is still there-- or rather, it is truly there for the first time, and we no longer need seek for it; we can just let it be. Which, I suppose, is just a repetition in other words of BE's description of "merging."

[BritinUSA]

From the 'Things that make you go hmmmm', file

Quantum particles can theoretically exist in two places at the same time, some have theorised that they can exist in multiple universes at the same time.

There are some scientist that believe that secret to consciousness are quantum particles or structures within the brain.

You may not be 'in the zone', you may be existing partly 'out of the zone' yet linked to the 'in zone'... as the quantum structures of your brain exist in both zones at the same time.

So in theory your consciousness could exist outside of your body.

Free your mind....