TargetTalk

Just shot very poorly in a rifle silhouette match, way below my average....let alone my potential!

What kind of self-talk should you use after a bad match?

Should maybe have used self talk earlier. As for now it's water under the bridge, don't dwell on it take away from it what you did right and what you need to work on. Then let it go.

Notice I said what you need to work on, that is positive. Not what you did wrong, that is negative.

Example I need to work on a nice smooth trigger.

Much better than I got to stop jerking the trigger.

As Richard says it's a bit late after the match for self talk.

What you can however do is identify weaknesses i.e. areas to work on. It is equally, or even more important, to identify some good points as well.

Before a match it's a good idea to have a game plan. Have a strategy as to how to cope with distractions, poor performance (technique). For example I will always take a break and sit down / walk away for 5 mins if I struggle mentally or physically, recompose and then start again.

Rob.

RobStubbs wrote:As Richard says it's a bit late after the match for self talk.

What you can however do is identify weaknesses i.e. areas to work on. It is equally, or even more important, to identify some good points as well.

Before a match it's a good idea to have a game plan. Have a strategy as to how to cope with distractions, poor performance (technique). For example I will always take a break and sit down / walk away for 5 mins if I struggle mentally or physically, recompose and then start again.

Rob.

Let's face it, if you are inclined to talk to yourself, NOTHING will prevent that from happening :-)


I agree with with Rob and Richard who give their usual well thought out advice. While it's too late to effect the recent match, its never too early to start working on the next match as both have suggested. Forget the results and start talking up the positives including all the positive things you will bring to the next match. Look at the past performance as a training blueprint and above all - keep the criticism CONSTRUCTIVE.

Cousin Jack wrote:Just shot very poorly in a rifle silhouette match, way below my average....let alone my potential!

What kind of self-talk should you use after a bad match?

Lanny Bassham (http://www.amazon.com/Winning-Mind-Ment ... 1885221479) suggests - just forget it.
You do not want to spend even a second thinking about bad performance (therefore increasing your chances to have it in the future).

It works for me - I (generally) know how to shoot 10, and if I missed - I try to forget about it immediately, and start working on the next shot.
But if I start thinking about "what I've done wrong" - it noticeable affects future shots.

nester wrote:

Cousin Jack wrote:Just shot very poorly in a rifle silhouette match, way below my average....let alone my potential!

What kind of self-talk should you use after a bad match?

Lanny Bassham (http://www.amazon.com/Winning-Mind-Ment ... 1885221479) suggests - just forget it.
You do not want to spend even a second thinking about bad performance (therefore increasing your chances to have it in the future).

It works for me - I (generally) know how to shoot 10, and if I missed - I try to forget about it immediately, and start working on the next shot.
But if I start thinking about "what I've done wrong" - it noticeable affects future shots.

Thinking of bad performance is pointless and counter productive. But that doesn't mean out of a bad performance you can't take lessons to learn.

Rob.

I sure as hell go with you on that one, Rob!

Simple self talk..........Bugger!!!!!!
Now plan for your next match.....Humm.....OK

as said before... i advocate turning the experience on it's head... instead of beating yourself up with birch twigs, sit down, look over the experience objectively and see what you felt was a problem, and use that as a guide for working on for the future.

It may help to talk through it with someone else (ideally someone prepped to make sense and listen)... but i'd recommend write it down... thoughts in your head become much clearer when voiced, and even more so when written... and it's something you can do on your own, which may be easier.

Self talk happens on every shot, whether you want to admit it or not.

For those "just forgetting" bad shots (however that may be defined, and differently for different levels of shooters), that is a result of a positive decision, and is a type of self talk. It would be better to replace the "forget it" with a positive statement.

Many shooters will mentally growl at themselves after a shot not up to their expectations, but they know what they did wrong, and would be better served by telling themselves something positive (follow thru, let it happen, watch the sights, etc) instead.

Also, many shooters lose the chance for positive self talk on good shots, by not telling themselves "good shoot", "that's the way to do it", "that's like me", etc. The more reinforcement you give your brain, the better off you are. If your training partner said those positive things to you on every good shot, how would you feel? Good, I bet. That's because of the endorphins hitting the brain, so the brain says "hey, I like that, let's do it again".

Unfortunately, we get similar endorphins released from the negative reactions we have, and again the brain says "hey, I like that, let's do it again".

Which would you rather encourage? It is your brain, and the decision of what goes into it is yours.

Pat McCoy wrote:Self talk happens on every shot, whether you want to admit it or not.

For those "just forgetting" bad shots (however that may be defined, and differently for different levels of shooters), that is a result of a positive decision, and is a type of self talk. It would be better to replace the "forget it" with a positive statement.

Many shooters will mentally growl at themselves after a shot not up to their expectations, but they know what they did wrong, and would be better served by telling themselves something positive (follow thru, let it happen, watch the sights, etc) instead.

Also, many shooters lose the chance for positive self talk on good shots, by not telling themselves "good shoot", "that's the way to do it", "that's like me", etc. The more reinforcement you give your brain, the better off you are. If your training partner said those positive things to you on every good shot, how would you feel? Good, I bet. That's because of the endorphins hitting the brain, so the brain says "hey, I like that, let's do it again".

Unfortunately, we get similar endorphins released from the negative reactions we have, and again the brain says "hey, I like that, let's do it again".

Which would you rather encourage? It is your brain, and the decision of what goes into it is yours.

Excellent advice Pat.

Why not deal [Think About ] your best shot, Best shots are your goal. Study only them and learn . Repeat your best shot over and over in competition and training. After all you dont need to know how to shoot shots below your ability. If you determine the problem is mental then teach your mind how to thnk only about how you think when shooting that perfect shot. No stinking thinking only applies to the thoughts that are destructive to your performance. Good Shooting Bill Horton

Few people can perform at perfection 100% of the time. We all have bad days in all aspects of our lives. Moving past those "bad days" is tough, but something we must do, we grieve and get over it.

I used to get totally wound up with just a bad shot in the middle of a match, let along blowing an entire match. What seems to be helping me along is focusing on the fundamentals. When I make a mistake, I think about it, determine what I believe to be the cause, correct, and move on.

I think part of the "trick" is to not blow it all out of proportion. You blow a shot, okay, it hurt your score by 2 or 3 points. With that in mind, how serious of a problem was that? Is there anything I can do right now to correct the problem shot? In reality, it isn't all the serious and there is virtually nothing you can do to "take back" the bad shot or match. You learn from it, work on the fundamentals that lead to the problem and move forward.

The more I shoot, the more I realize the importance of being relaxed. I walk into a match with the expectations of having fun, knowing that I am not perfect, knowing that I will have to deal with unkowns and that ultimately, my mind is going to control the outcome. If my mind is going 100 MPH trying to figure out what I did wrong on a bad shot, it certainly isn't focusing on the rest of shots ahead of me, all of which I can affect whereas the bad shot, there isn't anything I can do to change it.

So, I guess my suggestion is, mellow out, focus on what you can do next, and learn from what you did last.

Chris

".Spending your time analizing mistakes is not the fastest way to match sucess. Teach yourself to concentrate on the positive steps that give you the best results. Lanny Basham refered to this as "The Ultimate You'. He went so far as to say "I may have shot a 9 some time in the past but I don't remember it" I don't believe you can achieve the confidence necessary to perform at your highest level if you allow any negative concepts to interfeer with that confidense. Dwelling on less than perfect shots is the best example of the destructive effect of negativism. Good Shooting Bill Horton