How do you deal with pressure in a match?

[Sa-tevo]

Some pretty long hold times by Hoang. (Rio 10M Mens Air Pistol)

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x4ntlk ... OG_HTML5=1

[FWB_700_Alu]

is thier a way to repost the video? The source provided has removed it from thier list.

[David Levene]

I don't know whether inter-country agreements will stop you watching it, but in the UK the BBC are showing all of the finals online (and some on their normal Olympic channels).

The AP60 is http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/live/olympics/36443827

[Sa-tevo]

is thier a way to repost the video? The source provided has removed it from thier list.

Sorry about that. The video was one of the better of the medals shoot off in 10m Mens Air Pistol posted by a Vietnamese fan. The final shot between Wu and Hoang with Hoang 0.2 points behind Wu and Wu shooting a 10.1. Hoang had been having very long holds (22 - 25 seconds) and for the final shot Hoang reached deep and made his 10.7 shot to win by 0.4 points.

I was trying to find the 50m Mens Pistol last night to see Jongoh Jin climb up the board and all I could find were short postings from Vietnamese Youtube posters. Jin's climb reminded me of F1 Motorcycle races where Kenny Roberts had to start in the back of the pack and he made incredible efforts to get to the front. I suppose the videos were taken down by now by our minders.

Being in the US I tried to watch the replays on the official NBC website but the finals were flagged coverage not available at this time. Freedom!

[JFuller]

[quote="FWB_700_Alu"]is thier a way to repost the video? The source provided has removed it from thier list.[/quote]

I think it's still available here in Canada, http://olympics.cbc.ca/shooting/event/1 ... index.html

Select Final or Qualification then click on the > icon above Wu's Photo.

[Sa-tevo]

"Not Available In Your Region"

Freedom! USA style.

Since no Americans made the final it probably didn't happen.

[Rover]

Satevo, I bet you remember Gary Nixon.

[Sa-tevo]

Satevo, I bet you remember Gary Nixon.

Yes, but I started following motorcycle racing in the late 1970s when Roberts was doing everything wrong in F1. Eventually I became a mechanic for a championship winning regional team.

By the way, I could use a "Dan Gurney For President" bumper sticker. I saw a few when I was living at the Curt LeMay club across the highway from Riverside International Speedway.

[Rover]

"Tortured rubber screams for traction!!!"

I used to hang with Reg Pridmore when he was running Nortons, before he switched to BMW. I did a lot of photography for him before he won the National Championship at Daytona.

[DFWdude]

Wow... This thread not only fell off the rails... It was never on the rails... LOL

About dealing with pressure...

I watched some of the archery finals yesterday, and there was a discussion on this topic... (It's difficult to see the expression on a rifle/pistol shooter's face sometimes, but the archery shooters express themselves all the time).

One of the commentators mentioned what we have heard before... After shooting tens of thousands of rounds a year in all levels of competition, year after year, it is sometimes easiest to deal with the pressure by (trying) not to think about it, and simply "go through the motions mechanically" letting all the years of muscle memory and such do the work. Easier said than done, of course.

Have any of you experienced this... I'm not a regular shooter any more (too old, eyesight left me, etc). However, after months/years of inactivity, I find myself occasionally picking up my CO2 LP1P, aiming at the 10m target, and shooting a 10 on the first try. It happens almost without fail. A ten every time. I've also learned that it's best to stop after that single ten... For some reason, a second 10 is as predictably impossible as the shock of the first success.

I put it down to pressure, of course. Expectations are not high when shooting after a long break, hence you just "go through the motions." But at the first sign of success, expectations (and pressure) re-emerge... "Gee, a 10 on the first shot AGAIN!. OK, so I wonder if I can shoot another?"

The old adage still applies. "A match is not 60 shots. It's 60, single shot matches."

[Gwhite]

This is a well know phenomena. Read "Zen and the Art of Archery" (seriously).

The first time I ever fired a perfect score on a bullseye rapid fire target was when I was testing magazines. I wasn't concerned with my score, I just picked up the pistol and put two strings of 5 shots down range at a very good clip. It was all "muscle memory," no ego, no thoughts intruding about how exactly to line up the sights or squeeze the trigger.

The best analogy I've come up with is tying your shoe laces. When was the last time you messed that up? When was the last time you had to think about it? If I put you in a pitch black room with no shoes and your hands immobilized and then told you to tell someone on the phone how to do it, do you think you could? It's a complex process, requiring both hands to move independently and in time with each other. It's not as precise a process as shooting a ten, but for that, you only need one hand. How hard can it be?...

The flip side is that if you try to tie your shoe laces slowly as a step by step process while you monitor it mentally, the odds go way up that you will mess up.

[FWB_700_Alu]

@ OP: I would still like to see what you meant but oh well...

"With winning in mind" and "Bullseye mind", Both VERY good books is my answer.

[Sa-tevo]

FWB_700_Alu,

I'm sorry I wasn't clear. On the last shot Hoang held for a very long time before firing a very good shot. If I had held that long and then fired, I probably would have been in the white. A fantastic performance by Hoang at a critical time. Awesome concentration and control.

Edit: found one with, uh, local colour - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIluZFS7Oxo

[dronning]

FWB_700_Alu,

I'm sorry I wasn't clear. On the last shot Hoang held for a very long time before firing a very good shot. If I had held that long and then fired, I probably would have been in the white. A fantastic performance by Hoang at a critical time. Awesome concentration and control.

Edit: found one with, uh, local colour - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIluZFS7Oxo

It was awesome to watch this, listening to the Vietnamese commentary. They kind of gave up on the 2nd to last shot (damn we lost)! Then on the last shot Wu shot a 10.1 and they felt they lost for certain. When Hoang shot the 10.7 they exploded with excitement! Their comment about being able to listen to their National anthem for the very first time at the Olympics (1st ever Gold for VietNam) just made me happy.

- Dave

[hundert]

Some pretty long hold times by Hoang. (Rio 10M Mens Air Pistol)

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x4ntlk ... OG_HTML5=1

sometimes I can hold indefinitely (a minute) and then shoot and hit, sometimes the shaking sets in and I can't. It's different from day to day. When I can hold indefinitely, it's when I shoot very good, the condition is good, feeling very calm. I don't mean to hold long to shoot good, it's those days where I shoot well is when I know I can hold forever and no shaking will set in.

And then there are those days where you can't hold the pistol still and after 15 seconds it starts jumping around violently. I don't know if it's mental, blood sugar or sleep related...

He obviously was in good form, he wouldn't have won if he wasn't, that's why he held it for so long. If only I could figure out how to have a good day I'd make it into the national team, because sometimes I shoot 570+, sometimes I shoot crap and the difference is not trigger pull, it's the form of the day. Today in competition I shot 560, it's the lowest result in months, the pistol wasn't still and there's nothing I could do about it. I heard doping might help.