TargetTalk

I am having a hard time with air pistol, and I ran into Ruslan Dyatlov. Has anyone heard of him? Apparently he teaches classes. I was wondering if his classes are worth taking, and if I should invest in them.

Having spent a session with Russ, I will confirm that you will learn very effective techniques to perform the "perfect shot". If you are able to continue with Russ, over time, you will be able to replicate the process much more consistently. Russ is not only a very direct and dedicated shooter, he has excellent skills and experience. I am glad I had such an opportunity.

Craig

Not knowing you personally, I have to make some assumptions. By your posts here and in other threads, I think I can assume you are a "Junior" (age) shooter who is "New" to the sport, and you live in Michigan. Based on those assumptions, I offer some things to consider:

- Coaching can be valuable
- Good coaching is hard to come by
- Bad coaching can set you up for a lot of much harder work later
- You need to decide ahead of time what you expect from a coach, and match your expectations to the coach(es) you choose to work with
- First, you need to understand your coach's coaching philosophy and know how well the coach's philosophy matches your needs
- Second, yoiu need to understand your caosh's capabilities in areas critical to your needs, an d assess how the coach provides those capabilities or not
- Third, and definitely last you need to weigh the match between your needs and the coac's philosophy and capabilities (this is the value provided) against the cost and convenience of working with that coach (bang/buck)

What are the coaching/learning resources available to you within reasonable cost (time/money) constraints? Do you have shooting clubs in your area, and what capabilities do those clubs have? The NRA and USAS have lists of certified coaches that could be available to you.

Selecting a coach is an important decision- do your homework!

Steve

The true measure of a coach is the skill level attained by his best students. All coaches have some that fail for many reasons such as misinterpeting what the coach is trying to teach, no appitude for the shooting discipline . you can surely name many more. I have never heard anything that would cause me to have the slightest doubt about Russ's knowledge ,shooting skills , and coaching ability. He learned his skills in a highly disciplined training program and I expect that he demands a great deal of that same discipline from his shooters. Take a good look at Steves advice and do your best to follow it. We could be talking to a future world champion. Good Shooting Bill Horton

"Do your homework," First!
I'm agree with Steve!
Russ

I think that this may have been hinted at, but look at your working relationship with the coach. I've been working wth some people for awhile and distance is a killer.

Not regularly seeing each other causes a lot of problems. I find that it is difficult to maintain the bond that keeps the two working together. Yes, there is technology in place (Internet, Skype, etc.), but coaching is a hands-on job. Either you're reviewing subtle performances of technique, or constantly reminding (aka, nagging) the athlete to do specific things, or asking them to describe what they just did. The coach provides feedback, and that needs frequent interaction.

If you can get that from Ruslan (and I've heard good things about him, but never met him), then you would do well.

Now, there is another killer out there and it may lurk inside of you. Ask yourself this question: what do you want from shooting? What is your motivation? Most important to your future: what are you willing to do to achieve your goal?

No coach is going to be able to get you out of bed at 6am to come downstairs and train. No coach can get you to give up your social life, so you can afford better equipment and travelling to matches. That comes from inside.

Your will and determination will decide your future. A good coach will help you get there a bit faster.

Just some thoughts as my fiancee is off shooting. (Yes, I'm getting sentimental in my old age. *s*)

Patrick

I have studied with Ruslan twice and seen remarkable improvments in my AP scores. Ruslan introduced me to my first 9mm pistol and I have added this to my target shootin.

I started out in the 6's and with R's help now can score low 9's

After the lessons' R spent lots of time in the months that followed working with me via email, answering my questions, adding periodic remindners, etc.,

Great lessons, highly recommended

Henry Coffey

I've had a chance to work with Ruslan, and it was very very good.
He is an amazing, knowledgeable person
-- just having the opportunity talking to him about pistol shooting for 15 minutes is worthwhile.
It is rare to meet a person with his qualifications.
He is also a very fine person to have as a friend.

one more thing,

it is easy to check people out on the internet --
i enjoy reading people in their own words --
then you can make up your own mind.

By the way, I'm Alice Wang. I didn't realize our names
were not automatically shown.

Ruslan gave me my first air pistol lesson about two years
ago -- and he has always been encouraging and kind and
enthusiastic. At our first meeting, he made me write the words
PATIENCE PATIENCE PATIENCE in huge capital letters, and
one key thing I learned this year was that patience and constancy
and taking a long view of things are really important.

True enough!

http://www.midwestshootingacademy.com/t ... ials.shtml

Now Russ doesn't have to post the link . . . ;^)

Steve

[It looks like the goofiest problems with the national rankings have been fixed.]

Steve Swartz wrote:True enough!

http://www.midwestshootingacademy.com/t ... ials.shtml

Now Russ doesn't have to post the link . . . ;^)

Steve

[It looks like the goofiest problems with the national rankings have been fixed.]

Steve
I appreciate your endorsement of my web site!
This is a big honor for me!
Thank you!
Russ
P.S.
By the way did you made any progress in scores from the time when... :)

IMHO, Ruslan is an excellent coach.

He understands and communicates the fundamentals in way that you can build a shot process that will not vary. He also teaches a mindset necessary to compete successfully. While his approach may not be the only one to successful target shooting, it definitely works. He knows of what he speaks.

He does require a commitment to training seriously. He offers a serious commitment to his students to improve their performance, no matter what their circumstances and expects the work necessary to accomplish that.

I think that you are very lucky to have such a qualified coach nearby.

Rick NC